OCBen

….. Or How to Properly Wash Your New Car

(I had posted this on that old detailing thread I had going but decided it would best work in a stand alone thread, as it seems easier to edit and not get bogged down. I plan to complete this in detail but for now this introduction alone might prove helpful for a few of you. Again, I don't claim to be an expert. But if I can help someone with the little that I know, I'll be more than glad to help. I’ll expand and complete this by way of edits to this post.)

Wouldn’t it be nice if instead of a clearcoat your new car came coated with a thin layer of synthetic diamond material that would resist any and all scratches? Ahhh, such is how I sometimes spend my daydreaming moments. It could happen you know. They’re already working on chemical vapor deposition of diamond for many practical applications such as growing an unscratchable watch crystal/bezel. (http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/diamonds/future.html) But before it could ever become practical to do that on a car it would be many years into the future, and cars would probably cease to exist as such and we’d all be piloting around in PTVs instead (Personal Transport Vehicles). (I’d order mine with the pricey XDCR option – the diamond clear coat!)

But, alas, we live in the here and now with our easily scratched fine automobiles. And our mission, for those who wish to accept it, is to minimize the amount of fine scratches our new cars pick up on a daily basis, and keep it looking new for as long as possible.

Today’s auto paints are not at all tough but rather soft when compared to other materials. It wasn’t always that way. I’ve heard that the enamel paint finishes on cars from the 50s and 60s were as tough as porcelain. But due to environmental concerns these petroleum based paints have been generally outlawed around the globe, resulting in the softer paint finishes of today and the unavoidable orange-peel seen on many of the new cars.

I believe that in order to prevent and avoid scratches you need to understand the science behind scratches.

Scratches 101

Axiom I

In a clash between two materials the harder material will come out the winner – virtually unscathed – and the softer material will wear the battle scars. (i.e., never pick a fight with Diamond – Diamond is Lord and King in the material world. And if your wife/fiancé is wearing her rock, pretend to be a gentleman and insist on opening and closing the door for her to avoid accidental scratches when she reaches for the door while wearing her ring.)

Axiom II

Hard and soft are relative terms. I can scratch the “hard” surface of your car’s paint finish with a “soft” towel if I apply enough pressure. To understand why is to get down to the nitty-gritty of what causes a scratch in the first place.

Both pressure and mechanical stress (as you might know) are defined as force per unit area. You already know from high school physics that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction – Newton’s Third Law of Motion – which is a fancy way of saying that contact forces always come in pairs and are always equal and opposite in vector. But a force acts through a body and a body has surface area; and if you make the surface area really small while keeping the force equal, you make the pressure really astronomical and the object under pressure capable of penetrating through the surface of an otherwise tough material. (That’s how the proboscis of a tiny mosquito penetrates the tough hides of mammals.)

Hardness is defined as the ability to resist local deformation (or penetration) from an externally applied pressure point. Hardness is directly related to the tensile strength of a material. And, intuitively, stronger materials are generally harder. Today’s paints, unfortunately, rank somewhere near the bottom of the scale of hardness when compared to all the materials your paint can possibly come in contact with. Keep that in mind. That’s why a tiny polyester thread in an otherwise soft microfiber towel will scratch your paint with enough applied pressure. That’s also why a paint finish gets damaged when practical jokesters write “WASH ME” on the side of a dirty car.

Yes, if you press down on your paint finish with your palm it feels really hard and tough, but that’s because the surface area of your palm is relatively large and what you’re actually feeling is the resistance of the steel underneath the paint. Try pressing your thumb nail into the paint with the same amount of force you used with your palm, if you dare. See what I mean?

This axiom can best be summed up as: Your car’s paint finish, though it may feel hard, is actually rather soft. Nearly everything else that comes in contact with it, though it may feel soft, is harder by comparison and will scratch it with enough pressure – sometimes just the slightest of pressure.

Axiom III

This one is really short and simple and rather obvious. Heat makes solids softer; cold makes them harder. Keep that in mind when detailing your car in the sun or on a really, really hot day.

With this basic understanding, practical applications will become obvious.


Proper Car Washing Techniques

You probably realize by now why a new car’s paint finish ceases to look the way it once did in the showroom, why it loses that unmistakable new car luster after only a few months of ownership, why fine micro scratches seem to have suddenly had a population explosion and can now be seen everywhere you look as you examine your car’s finish. The main culprit is improper car washing techniques.

It should go without saying that if you care about preserving your new car’s look at all, you don’t take your car to an automated car wash with huge brush rollers. (I shudder at the thought!) And you don’t let some kids in a fund raiser wash your car. (Just give them a contribution for their cause and they’ll be just as happy.) And you don’t let so-called professionals using a hand-car-wash technique wash it either – especially those hired by a dealership or a service center. These people use the same soap bucket from car to car and haven’t the slightest clue about proper car washing techniques. If you need to take your car in for service, make sure you have them place a large placard on your dash that says NO WASH and a sticker on your steering wheel that reads NO WASH – in fact I would insist on placing the signs myself. I can’t recall how many times in the past I’ve had to repair the “paint damage” after picking up my car up at a service center. That’s why I insisted on no detailing when I took delivery of my new 997S and will continue to insist on no washes or detailing whenever someone else has custody.

So guess what option that leaves you with? You got it – total commitment and dedication to do-it-yourself. That’s the only way if you really want to preserve your new car’s appearance.

Water

Ordinary tap water typically has many dissolved minerals, primarily calcium and magnesium, which, if allowed to precipitate on your paint as the water evaporates, will etch your paint – and even your glass – and form the familiar “water spots” on the surface. This is another reason why I don’t allow service personnel to wash my car – they are often careless and allow beaded water to sit and dry, especially if they are washing in the sun. Paint damage from water spots is worse than the damage from fine micro scratches, simply because there are usually more of them when it occurs.

Your typical water softener system is designed to remove these harmful minerals, though the tradeoff is an increase in the sodium content of the water. Those who have one swear by them, and won’t do without one. They also know that soap is more efficient in soft water than in hard, and won’t require much to get a good soapy solution.

I personally don’t have a water softener installed in my home, and so I wash my car as many of you do with ordinary tap water. Here’s how I minimize the effects of hard water when I wash my car. I wash my car after the sun has set, the air has cooled, the dew point has risen (more moisture in the air means water evaporates more slowly), and the bombers of the air have flown home to roost.

Nozzles

The most important thing to look for when buying a nozzle for washing your car with a garden hose is that it have a rubber or plastic tip. Raise your hand if you’ve ever contributed to your car’s character with a metal tipped nozzle. I know I have in the past, no matter how careful I tried to be. A pressurized hose can sometimes twist unexpectedly as it lies there on the ground.

The next thing to look for is one that has an adjustable fixed spray pattern. You don’t want to be using one of those cheapo green plastic, pistol grip nozzles that you buy at the 99¢ store that starts spraying out in a broad conical pattern and narrows down to a jet stream as you squeeze the grip. If you’re cleaning just your wheels why risk getting water all over your car? You’ll want the kind that has an adjustable fixed spray that you can set and forget, and will always deliver the pattern you prefer.

Soap

Really, any good quality car wash soap from a reputable car care products manufacturer will do. They sometimes refer to their products as car wash shampoos to emphasize the gentle, wax-friendly aspects of their products. There are two extremes to avoid when it comes to using soap. Stay away from harsh dish washing detergents such as Dawn. Those are great products for cutting grease on your pots and pans. But for washing your car, they really suck the oils out of your rubber molding and prematurely age them (drying, hardening and eventually cracking), as well as strip the wax clean right off your car. The other extreme is to use no soap at all when washing your car – a real bonehead no-no.

Soap does two things for you when you wash your car. One, it dissolves the dirt; i.e. it loosens and breaks the chemical attachment bond it has with your paint. If you happen to get clumps of mud on your paint finish, it is advisable to pour some of your soapy water over the mud first, allowing enough time to soak in, soften and loosen up before hosing the mud away. You don’t want to be using your soap applicator on a car that has mud on it. (If you have an off-road vehicle that often wears mud, consider investing in one of those soap injected nozzles.) And two, soap lubricates your soap applicator, allowing it to glide and float as you loosen the dirt film off your paint. Do not use an excessive amount of soap – bubble baths may be okay for your dog but not your car. Like decaffeinated coffee, too much and you’ll end up getting what you were trying to avoid in the first place – namely, wax removal. Use just enough so your soapy water is a bit sudsy – usually a lot less than the recommended amount on the label (manufacturers always seem to be interested in having you use more so you can buy more).

Soap Applicators

It is not in the rinsing or drying, but in the soap application process that beautiful finishes are dulled over time. And using the wrong soap applicator is a contributing factor. Dirt is the enemy. Always remember that. And how you go about extricating it from your paint finish is crucial if you want to prevent the enemy from doing its damage. Now though it might be an exaggeration to say you must be as careful in removing dirt as you would be in diffusing a bomb, the analogy is at least useful. That means you must wash your car often enough to prevent a serious accumulation of dirt so that no one can accidentally rub up against it while it’s dirty.

Now that you have a good understanding of how scratches are created you should be able to confidently pick out the best soap applicator out of a lineup. I bet by now you know that when it comes to your paint finish you do not scrub it like you would your tire sidewalls. So that means absolutely no brushes, no matter how expensive or how highly touted their effectiveness for washing cars. If you drive a dump truck or a garbage truck, you might find brushes useful. But on an expensive new Porsche such as yours? Fuggedaboutit! Except of course for use on your tires, wheel wells, undercarriage and other less delicate areas. If a filament of your applicator can stand straight up on end, it’s too harsh and not suitable for your delicate paint.

Sponges. That’s another applicator that is popular among the less informed masses. Sponges come in two varieties: the natural sea type and the synthetic foam type. Of the foam variety there are two types: closed cell and open cell. Closed cell foam is useless for holding water so that leaves open cell foam and the natural sea type (which is naturally open celled) as the two useful sponges for washing. The reason why sponges are not suitable for your new car is that they can trap granules of dirt in their tiny pockets and contribute to the formation of micro scratches when trapped dirt is dragged repeatedly across your paint’s surface.

Terry cloth towels or mitts of the 100% cotton variety. What you’re really looking for in an applicator is the softest material to the touch you can find. Use your forehead or the back of your hand as a test field. If you’re looking for the softest, gentlest material, you’ll think you’ve found it when you pick up a cotton applicator, especially after handling the brushes. There are two problems I find with cotton terry cloth applicators. Although they may feel really soft when new, they stiffen up after they dry out, especially if you’re using tap water (hard water) for washing. And when they’re stiff like that they can potentially scratch if you immediately start washing with them and don’t allow enough time for them to first soften up in your bucket of soapy water. The other problem I have with terry cloth applicators is their loops which can potentially trap dirt (see sponges).

Sheepskin wash mitts. These are by far the gentlest soap applicators in the market. They are sometimes advertised as 100% wool wash mitts, which I think is unfortunate because when I think of something being 100% wool I’m thinking sweater material. And some of the better ones are supposedly those that come from Australia, at least that’s what the advertising wants us to believe. But if you’ve handled one of these you know how soft and gentle they are against your face and hands, and how perfect they’ll be for your prized possession. These can actually be found at WalMart. Just make sure you select the softest one of the bunch, since they vary being natural and all.

The main advantage of a sheepskin mitt is in the long fine hair fibers that gently loosen and break up the dirt without trapping it. As the dirt film is loosened the dirt particles remain suspended in the soapy solution between the hair fibers, so you need to constantly monitor the accumulation and rotate the mitt on your hand to the clean side as soon as you can see the faint accumulation of dirt – it’s easier if you don’t use the thumb. You don’t want to apply any pressure at all when using one, just let the soap and the weight of the saturated mitt do the work for you. I like to use an agitating motion that ensures complete and thorough coverage. (One of the things I hate most is realizing I missed a spot – it doesn’t happen often with my technique now.) As a general rule I use one side of the mitt per body panel while constantly monitoring dirt accumulation. After I’ve used both sides of the mitt I dunk it in the wash bucket repeatedly to shake loose the dirt, and go on to the next body panel.

A word of advice when using a sheepskin mitt: Never let it sit in water for a long period of time. The first time I had bought one I got lazy one day and left the mitt in the wash bucket overnight. I think I forgot about it and it actually sat in soapy water for more than a day. Anyway, the next time I tried to use it I was surprised to see that it was coming apart – the fur was falling off the skin and the stitching was coming undone! I learned my lesson and now I always rinse thoroughly and squeeze out as much water as I can making sure not to wring and twist the delicate construction. As it’s hanging to dry I occasionally use my palms to “comb” down the fur so that it doesn’t stiffen as it dries (hard water effects).

Wash Buckets

Oh c’mon now, you’re probably thinking, what can you possibly say about buckets that we don’t know already? Well, just a few things really, that bears repeating for the sake of those who don’t know. You don’t use a metal bucket for one, and you only use the Goldilocks size. You know, not too small that the soapy water gets dirty real fast and not too large that it becomes unwieldy to work with, but one just right.

Here’s something you probably don’t know about the proper wash bucket for car washing. I think I learned this somewhere but it makes perfect sense when you think about it. I bought a piece of thick (about an inch thick) plastic grate at the local hardware store that I cut into a circle as best I could so it could fit at the bottom of my wash bucket. That way my wash mitt will never come in contact with the dirt that has settled at the bottom.

Washing Techniques

Do I really need to mention that you start from the top and work your way down, and that you rinse with a side to side motion to “sweep” away the soap? Good, I’ll assume you already know this. The one exception to the top-down rule that I make is that I always wash my wheels first. (With a special wheel cleaner of course, not with the soap water.) For one thing, they are usually the most labor intensive aspect of the car wash, and so I like to do them first while I am full of energy and not tired to do a thorough job. Secondly, because I wash with hard water I don’t want the water sitting and developing water spots on the rest of the car while I’m cleaning my wheels. And it doesn’t make sense to wash and dry the car first and then do the wheels, although I suppose you could do this provided you tend to the inevitable splatters right away. So after cleaning my wheels I periodically rinse them down to prevent water spots while working on the body. I also don’t let soap sit for long either (risking streaks), so after washing a major body panel I’ll rinse the soap away.

You probably know this as well, but just to be complete here, make sure you hose the car down thoroughly before you begin so that you can rinse away the dust and moisten down the film of dirt prior to soap application – I don’t know who in their right mind would ever start soaping without first wetting down their car, but ignorant people sometimes do the stupidest things. If it’s an especially hot or dry day (I’m assuming you know better than to wash in the sun) you’ll want to make a habit of first rinsing down body panels to remoisten before washing.

Oh, here’s something I learned from the experts. I actually use two wash mitts when washing. The newest one for the top half of the car and the older one for the lower half which is usually dirtier, especially near the wheels. You don’t want to contaminate your new sheepskin mitt right away with brake dust. It will come off but it takes some effort.

Drying Techniques

If you’re using softened water I see nothing wrong with using a blower to dry off your car, if you’re careful not to bump the nozzle against the paint, so I’m told. But if you use hard water, it seems that you’d only be accelerating the evaporation process and that those harmful minerals that cause water spot damage are still being precipitated out as the water evaporates and must therefore be collecting somewhere, in the crevices perhaps? Maybe someone here who uses a blower with hard water can comment and let us know if there are any effects such as streaking that might require following up with a towel.

One thing that concerns me, though, is that these high speed blowers typically have a claimed outlet velocity of 340+ mph. Now if a grain of sand or other small particle were to get ingested in the inlet, it would come flying out striking your car with the same exact velocity! That would also go for any internal fragments or components such as a screw that might come loose from vibration. Uh, on second thought, no thanks. No blowers for me. No shortcuts either when it comes to drying.

So here’s my preferred and recommended method of drying your pride and joy. As I mentioned, I like to wash and dry my car when the dew point is high in order to slow down the water evaporation. Sometimes I don’t have that luxury so I need to work quickly when I dry my car. I have tried many products over the years for drying but I finally found what really works the best, and that is to use two particular excellent products in combination. I use a professional synthetic chamois for the bulk of the drying and microfiber waffle drying towels to complete the process. The synthetic chamois when wet is very, very soft and super absorbent, and glides easily, unlike some other super absorbing products that drag and jerk when you use them. But if you use one, never use it when it’s dry and stiff – it can potentially scratch! That goes for whatever you use for drying, including cotton towels. If it’s stiff it can scratch. Make sure you wet it down good and then wring it out thoroughly before using.

With the synthetic chamois I sop up as much water as I can, wringing out often to keep the absorption efficiency up and wringing out also those harmful minerals in the process. When the only thing left on the surface are tiny micro beads of water (really noticeable on a black car), which I easily wipe off with a pass or two of the highly absorbent waffle towel and leave the surface bone dry. This drying technique is excellent for black cars. I learned it when I had my black Boxster.

And there you have it. That’s the car washing method that works best for me in preventing fine micro scratches and keeping my new car looking new. If you’re looking for a good washing method give this a try and see if it works for you as well.

You did notice that throughout the entire process I never mentioned scrubbing, rubbing or applying any pressure whatsoever. The only time I ever apply pressure on the paint is when I am polishing away those fine scratches that my car eventually picks up. But that discussion as you know is somewhere else on another thread.

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-forum/223192-a-primer-on-waxing-for-those-who-really-really-need-help.html

rss997

You are a sick man OC......Does the OC in our name stand for Obsessive Compulsive???????????????????????????????

1080iAddict

roflmao!!

That is classic. Of course I share his disease.

rss997

munro86

Excellent! Bring on the next installment Benny Boy (not meant as an insult).

OCBen

Next installment added. See post above. (No offense taken. It's Sir Benny Boy to you.)

munro86

Sorry -"Sir"

AeroSmith

Speaking of hose nozzles, I love this one. I have one on the front yard hose and one on the back yard hose.

It meets your criteria for a propper nozzle.

OCBen

Hey thanks a lot, Bud, for posting that link. My neighbor has one of those and I’ve been thinking of getting one myself. You can't lose with a lifetime warranty.

bdbx18

Good read with some interesting info.

Problem is you need to keep it up from new.
It won't reversed those micro-scratches now.

Leader

Which is why I'm waiting (and waiting) for the continuation of this explanation. My Black 997 C2S will be here within days!

Let's have the rest of it!

bdbx18

Black is very nice.
With the exception of a red '96 Pathfinder, all our cars have been black and that's more than 12 of them.
This time, I swear, whatever I get, will not be black.
I guess my life is a little busier than before with scarce time to do more frequent washing.

OCBen

Sheesh! ... You guys are slave drivers! I can hear the tapping of your feet from here! Hey, I'm doing some critical work here at work getting a spacecraft ready, so I'm super busy this week.

But I see a quick reply is in order. Obviously the only way to remove those fine scratches that your paint inevitably picks up is to polish them away. See the following thread for detailed information on doing just that:

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=223192

Eric - Plug Guy

OCB....I think you are sick....but only half as sick as me and rest of the gang here.

munro86

Theres a method in his madness!