Cliff - no expert, but I like to keep our cars and boat looking good. I think the key to washing a car is:

1. Use a quality car soap - I like Mequiars.
2. A clean microfiber mitt.
3. Use two buckets, one for the soapy water and the other to rinse the mitt each time before you dip it in the soap again.
4. Separate mitts for wheels / tires.
5. Never wash a car in the sun if you can help it.
4. Lots of water.
5. Always dry when finished - buy some nice towels.


Our cars stay in our garage and I am in a parking deck at work, so they stay pretty clean. I generally wax in the spring / fall (I like the Mequiars NXT) and use a spray wax occasionally in between. Our cars are white and silver, so pretty forgiving and easy to keep looking good. Keeping a car in a garage is 90% of it. I used to have a dark blue BMW (no metaflake in the paint) - that car looked great, but it was a lot of work to keep it that way. I really like a black car, but have never bought one because of the cleaning / upkeep. If you can't keep the Porsche in a garage, I would think about a cover.

 

Cliff - no expert, but I like to keep our cars and boat looking good. I think the key to washing a car is:

1. Use a quality car soap - I like Mequiars.
2. A clean microfiber mitt.
3. Use two buckets, one for the soapy water and the other to rinse the mitt each time before you dip it in the soap again.
4. Separate mitts for wheels / tires.
5. Never wash a car in the sun if you can help it.
4. Lots of water.
5. Always dry when finished - buy some nice towels.


Our cars stay in our garage and I am in a parking deck at work, so they stay pretty clean. I generally wax in the spring / fall (I like the Mequiars NXT) and use a spray wax occasionally in between. Our cars are white and silver, so pretty forgiving and easy to keep looking good. Keeping a car in a garage is 90% of it. I used to have a dark blue BMW (no metaflake in the paint) - that car looked great, but it was a lot of work to keep it that way. I really like a black car, but have never bought one because of the cleaning / upkeep. If you can't keep the Porsche in a garage, I would think about a cover.

+1 and the only thing that do in addition is use a spray as you dry wax.... So I squeegee excess water off, spray wax as you dry and then towel dry with a very soft (no dryer sheets or fabric softener on towels). Inifinty G35 '04 original owner with 50,000 on it now and it looks like it came off the showroom floor.

 

Try these guys. I purchase all my car cleaning supplies from them.
http://www.griotsgarage.com

 

I agree with above about the separate buckets and clothes. Soap: do not put soap in bucket and make a foamy. Fill water first and then add correct amount of soap. mix with your hand. It should be slippery not foamy. Use a good clean wash mitt and rinse with either a clean mitt or water. Also invest in a dirt seperation rack. They fit into a 5 gallon bucket and keep the dirt on the bottom and will not mix with your clean detergent/water.

 

I use Mequires Quick Detailer after its clean and dry- no wax. - makes bug removal later much easier.

I've also used it on my Bonanza since the last paint job (10 years) and it looks like it just rolled out of the shop.

Wipe down the leading edge after every run and bugs come right off.

Member of hole in the sky club too!

 

Avoiding swirls completely is impossible. They are introduced when you wash, dry, quick detail, or wax your car.
But you can slow them down considerably by doing a proper wash, dry, wax.
If you are serious about proper washing and surface maintenance, you need to get some supplies to get you started. An assortment of wheel brushes, quality wash mitts, grit guards for the bottom of your wash buckets, some good quality micro fiber cloths, and some quality wax applicators.
I get my stuff from a variety of places, but a place like Autogeek is a good place to start. They carry some good stuff to get you going until you find individual products you may like better. If you hunt around their website you'll find some good info for beginners.
Here is what I do:
I have a separate bucket and supplies that I use for wheels and wheel wells. Some prefer to do wheels last with the same stuff they washed the car with, I prefer to do them first, and use separate stuff that never touches the body of the car.
I give the car a good rinse to get whatever dirt and debris off of the finish before I start the wash.
For washing the car, I use the two bucket method with grit guards in the bottom of the buckets. One bucket is for soapy water, and the other is for rinsing off the cleaning material (wash Mitt) before it goes back in to the soapy water bucket.
I prefer either a lambs wool or chenille wash mitt for washing.
For drying, first I sheet the water off with a hose, and then I use an "Air force Master Blaster" to get about 90% of the water, before following up with quick detailer and a quality waffle weave. Before I got the Master Blaster, I used an electric leaf blower. They work pretty well, and are cheap. DO NOT use a gas powered blower to dry because it will blow exhaust soot on to the car.
No towel or cloth ever touches the finish dry not matter how good quality it may be. That's where you get swirls from.
If I am not waxing after the wash, I follow up with a quality micro fiber and quick detailer to get the surface slick and make it harder for debris and contaminants to stick to it.
If I am drying with a waffle weave, I use quick detailer to lubricate the surface before the waffle weave touches it.
The soapy water lubricates the surface for the wash mitt.
When waxing, the quality applicator is lubricated by the wax, as is the micro fiber I use to buff it off with.
Some people like to use quick detailer in place of a wash. I never do that. If one of my cars is dirty, it gets washed. No short cuts.
When the time comes to do surface correction, there is another whole list of stuff you'll need to get you going with claying, compounding (only if needed), polishing, and then protecting.
But if you are serious about getting in to the hobby, learning how to do a proper wash, dry, detail, wax, is a good place to get started.

 

For drying, first I sheet the water off with a hose, and then I use an "Air force Master Blaster" to get about 90% of the water, before following up with quick detailer and a quality waffle weave. .

+1 on the master blaster - only way to properly dry your car with out swirls

 

Does anybody use a foam gun or foam cannon? There's also a lot of good info and how to videos on The Chemical Guys website.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

I must admit, I THOUGHT I was keeping my vehicles clean. I am not worthy to be posting in this thread. I will leave now.

 

plus 1 lol
As i got older I started using the poll and brush method like I use on the boat, been going to the car wash more offen....

 

Take a look over at www.adamspolishes.com they have a number of videos that will walk you thru the steps to professionally clean your car.

 

thanks for all the good input....since this car is so small it won't take a lot of time to clean it properly....

looks like I have some shopping to do for supplies....:grin:......

cliff

 

All of the above. I use mostly the Mequiar's Professional products not the red bottled stuff sold at the auto stores been using them for years. Here's a pic after I did our 2014 ATS minus wheels & tires did them the next day.

http://www.meguiars.com/en/professional/products/

 

Tons of info on you tube.

 

I just drive junk and spend my efforts on my boat :grin:

 

:lol: I like that choice.
Same thing for me, less time spent with a spotless truck and more time on the boat.

 

got some supplies ordered....

- two 'grit guards' for the wash and rinse buckets
- a contoured tire bush
- a long handled wheel brush
- micro fiber wash mitt
- micro fiber drying towel
- silicone blade squeegee for the windows
- tire dressing applicator
- tote caddy

I already have several 5 gallon buckets that can be used for the wash and rinse buckets....and I already have most of the Meguiars products i will need....i also have a powerful electric leaf blower to blow most of the water off after the final rinse.....

thanks again for all the input.....

cliff.....

 

You will want several microfiber dry towels. Don't use a leaf blower for anything else if you do use it on the car. Clean it and put it away.

Porsche paint from that era is kind of soft so it will be prone to scratches and will take a lot of work to shine like it's wet but it will look great if you take care of it. On Porsches, I like to polish with a product called Glare Spider using a DA buffer and soft foam pad pad, followed by a light glaze of sealant/wax hybrid called Dodo Juice Supernatural Hybrid. It is very easy to work with and gives great results. I have water in the garage and it is run through the water softener so it minimizes water spotting. Also, since it has a canvas top, you need to be careful to get bird/bug droppings or cleaning off quickly. Microfiber tends to leave fibers stuck to it too, so I use a lint roller on them.

If you want some ideas, Detailedimage.com is a good resource for tutorials. They have great products and pricing as well.

 

Wow, until I read this thread I didn't realize how "car wash impaired" I was/am. Our cars get washed a couple of times a year whether they need it or not.

I squirt the soap into the bucket and spray it to get it all foamy. I use a lambs wool mitt (no dirt separator at the bottom of the bucket) and use the same mitt on the tires and scrubbing the front (bow?) of the car to get the bugs off. My chamois is an old one that sits on the bottom of the bucket until I'm ready for it. Then I hose it off to get the majority of dirt and dust off, then dry the car with it. Oh, and the soap I use is West Marine boat soap.

Youse guys is waaaaay to anal for me.

 

I'm not sure how much brake dust Porsche's are know for, but my BMWs throw a ridiculous amount. The only thing that really gets the dust off is p21s. It comes in two versions, gel and non-gel. Get yourself the gel based, it's almost as thick as Palmolive soap. Just spray it on the wheels, wait about half an hour to an hour then power wash it off.

 

Ok stop already , use liquid gold pre cleaner then liquid gold wax , I use it and it's awesome .


Boltman