12 simple steps to safely wash your car

Yes, 12 steps may seem scary at first and you may think this will take hours to wash your car, but with some understanding of how to efficiently move around your vehicle, and a little practice, this entire process can be done in as little as 30 minutes 

1. Do it in the shade! – despite many manufacturers claiming their products are safe to use in direct sunlight it’s always best practice to work in the shade on cool body panels where possible. This will help avoid soap or water drying on your vehicle causing spotting 

2. Do the alloy wheels first. Not only will this prevent water drying on your paintwork while you clean your wheels, it will also help prevent any contamination flicking from your wheels to your clean paintwork.  

Treat your wheels with a dedicated wheel cleaner that also contains a iron fallout removal chemical to help break down and release baked on brake dust from your wheels.  Always use a dedicated wash mitt that is for your wheels only. Brake dust is abrasive, and you do not want to wash your paintwork with a contaminated wash mitt   

 3. Apply Snow Foam with a pressure washer to loosen surface dirt before you go anywhere near the car! Allow to dwell for 5 minutes but without allowing it to dry. 

4. Use the 2 bucket method with Grit Guard Inserts:  One bucket  for your shampoo solution and the other bucket for clean water to rinse your wash mitt.

5. ¾ Fill bucket 1 with cool water. Add your preferred car shampoo in the correct dilution and use a strong jet of water to mix the solution and fully activate suds. Fill bucket 2 with clean water for rinsing your wash mitt. 

6. Thoroughly power wash the Snow Foam off and rinse the car to remove the loose dirt that has been lifted away from the surface. 

7. Wash in small sections in straight, overlapping lines, NEVER in a circular motion. Apply as little pressure as possible and rinse out your wash mitt regularly, usually after each panel. 

8. Wash from top to bottom, Generally the highest concentration of dirt is on the bottom of the car, around the sills and bumpers, you don’t want to drag that dirt back up to the rest of the car and risk scratching.   

The best order to clean the panels is roof, glass, bonnet, upper half of doors and guards, boot, front bumper, lower half of doors and guards, rear bumper 

9. Load up your wash mitt with your car wash solution and wring it out over the wash surface. This acts like a pre-soak and helps loosen surface gunk. It also adds more sudsy water to the surface and more lubricity helps safely wash the grime away without scratching. 

10. Rinse your car by using your hose without a nozzle attached to it. You want the water to run or sheet over the surface. This helps leave fewer residual droplets behind which means less drying time. 

11. Dry the car quickly but carefully to avoid water spots developing, the severity of water spotting will depend on the hardness of the water in your area. Use high quality microfiber twisted loop microfibre drying towels. Again, use as little pressure as possible, allowing the towel to absorb the water on it own. 

12. To finish the job off,  if your wax or sealant is still in good condition, go over the car with a quick detailer spray and a quality microfibre cloth to restore a radiance and slickness to the paint. This enhances gloss and makes the most of all the hard work you’ve just put in!