[NEUE02]

It's 12 degrees outside. Perfect time to wash a couple cars! Right? So I cranked up the heat in the garage and used the waterless wash technique. At least it makes me feel better. I literally lose sleep over dirty cars. It's a sickness.

[Zooks527]

Then mine is going to keep you up nights. Winter and no garage = not clean.

[NEUE02]

OMG! I'm going to have to report you to the ASPCA! (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty against Automobiles.) I'll give you a week. If it's not groomed shiny and fed with warm gas I will come and take it away from you. Bad boy, BAD! 😜

[Zooks527]

Worst part is, that's one morning's drive.

[NEUE02]

At least its a new car. In decades past you could probably "hear" the rust forming!

[BMWZ4]

I envy your garage.....

[BEM-S4]

What wash do you use? Just picked up chemical guys haven't tried it yet. May just go to dad's house though he has heated garage w a drain in the floor for winter washing.

[NEUE02]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

What wash do you use? Just picked up chemical guys haven't tried it yet. May just go to dad's house though he has heated garage w a drain in the floor for winter washing.

That's a perfect scenario. Even waterless washing in a warm garage is better!

I have used several different washes. Chemical Guys is fine. I have used several different brands, HD, Blackfire, DP, Optimum, Griots, etc. They all work basically the same.

The trick to using any of them is proper technique. I have a bucket half full of water with a few squirts of waterless wash to add some lubrication and dirt lifting. Pre spray the panels of the car with the bottle of wash. You need to have a lot of towels. I fold them in quarters and soak them in the bucket. Then use them to wipe the panel, always in straight lines and curl the towel as you pull it across the panel so you are not grinding in the dirt. Then fold, use a clean side and make a second wipe. Continue using clean sides of the towel always. After I get eight swipes out of a towel I toss it aside and get another clean towel, soak it and repeat. I never use a dirty towel twice. I do a panel at a time. Then I use a soft waffle weave drying towel to dry the panel. It works well.

I just did my Touareg TDI a couple days ago. It's freezing outside with snow on the ground but I can't stand a dirty car. I just wish it would last longer!

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by NEUE02

That's a perfect scenario. Even waterless washing in a warm garage is better!

I have used several different washes. Chemical Guys is fine. I have used several different brands, HD, Blackfire, DP, Optimum, Griots, etc. They all work basically the same.

The trick to using any of them is proper technique. I have a bucket half full of water with a few squirts of waterless wash to add some lubrication and dirt lifting. Pre spray the panels of the car with the bottle of wash. You need to have a lot of towels. I fold them in quarters and soak them in the bucket. Then use them to wipe the panel, always in straight lines and curl the towel as you pull it across the panel so you are not grinding in the dirt. Then fold, use a clean side and make a second wipe. Continue using clean sides of the towel always. After I get eight swipes out of a towel I toss it aside and get another clean towel, soak it and repeat. I never use a dirty towel twice. I do a panel at a time. Then I use a soft waffle weave drying towel to dry the panel. It works well.

I just did my Touareg TDI a couple days ago. It's freezing outside with snow on the ground but I can't stand a dirty car. I just wish it would last longer!

Awesome thanks for the tips. I assumed something like that was best. Seems I will be raiding the closet at the hospital again to get a big stack of the really soft cloths they wrap infants in. Winter is such a bitch on the cars always make sure to get a few coats of wax on whenever we catch a warm weekend in late fall.

[NEUE02]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Awesome thanks for the tips. I assumed something like that was best. Seems I will be raiding the closet at the hospital again to get a big stack of the really soft cloths they wrap infants in. Winter is such a bitch on the cars always make sure to get a few coats of wax on whenever we catch a warm weekend in late fall.

Those cloths are great. The more you wash them the softer they get! And it sounds like you have an endless supply! Perfect!

Yes, I agree, a late fall application of sealant is part of my modus operandi, too. A sacrificial barrier. At least it makes me feel better.

Another note, I have one of these buckets which are great. Not cheap ($50-60 but sometimes go on sale) but worth it. I like the screw on lid that allows me to keep the water I mix up clean and I can save it a few weeks. There is also a grit guard and roller wheels. Comes with a pad, too, so you can use it as a stool. A nice garage toy!

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by NEUE02

Those cloths are great. The more you wash them the softer they get! And it sounds like you have an endless supply! Perfect!

Yes, I agree, a late fall application of sealant is part of my modus operandi, too. A sacrificial barrier. At least it makes me feel better.

Another note, I have one of these buckets which are great. Not cheap ($50-60 but sometimes go on sale) but worth it. I like the screw on lid that allows me to keep the water I mix up clean and I can save it a few weeks. There is also a grit guard and roller wheels. Comes with a pad, too, so you can use it as a stool. A nice garage toy!

I need one of those. What I really need is for my nephew to get old enough to do this shit for me!

[NEUE02]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

I need one of those. What I really need is for my nephew to get old enough to do this shit for me!

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by NEUE02

With proper supervision, of course! My father once caught me about to spray his entire 500E (the nasty one that was built w Porsche) with wheel cleaner because I like to watch the dirt dissolve and rinse off when he did it to the wheels. Was smart enough, however, to scream "Dad, mom is being baaaaad" with all the power my little 8 year old lungs could muster when she scraped the garage and tried to use soft scrub on her car to get the paint off before he found out.

[NEUE02]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

With proper supervision, of course! My father once caught me about to spray his entire 500E (the nasty one that was built w Porsche) with wheel cleaner because I like to watch the dirt dissolve and rinse off when he did it to the wheels. Was smart enough, however, to scream "Dad, mom is being baaaaad" with all the power my little 8 year old lungs could muster when she scraped the garage and tried to use soft scrub on her car to get the paint off before he found out.

Great stories! I can't tell you how many times my dad has whacked me upside the head for doing stupid stuff to his cars.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by NEUE02

Great stories! I can't tell you how many times my dad has whacked me upside the head for doing stupid stuff to his cars.

Now that you say that it makes me think, we all learn by messing up on dad's car! Poor, poor dad.

A few years back I broke up with a girl over car maintenance. Her clear coat was all jacked up, asked her what happened. "I used the sponge from the kitchen, you know the one that says no scratch on the scrubber side." It was all over after that - date dumb yes. Marry it no.

[NEUE02]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Now that you say that it makes me think, we all learn by messing up on dad's car! Poor, poor dad.

A few years back I broke up with a girl over car maintenance. Her clear coat was all jacked up, asked her what happened. "I used the sponge from the kitchen, you know the one that says no scratch on the scrubber side." It was all over after that - date dumb yes. Marry it no.

Ha! I married a girl over car maintenance. We had just recently met. I offered to give her sports car (Good first sign.) a tune up and she said "Heck no, I want you to teach ME how to do a tune up." SOLD! We were engaged less than a month later. And she's still a car-girl!

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by NEUE02

Ha! I married a girl over car maintenance. We had just recently met. I offered to give her sports car (Good first sign.) a tune up and she said "Heck no, I want you to teach ME how to do a tune up." SOLD! We were engaged less than a month later. And she's still a car-girl!

[img]http://www.fototime.com/F79A6A24539DE94/standard.jpg[/img]

Now that's a keeper! I did once hook up w the girl who shot Alex Roy's cross country trip, dad was an old cannon ball driver. Sadly she was batshit.