Washing a car

[Mr Vlad]

Well I thought I'd post how I washed my car today. For a good number of years I've had a Karcher power washer. The smallest one they do. More than good enough for a car. Anyway since I've had time on my hands I watched numerous videos on YouTube as you do lol. I eventually found one with a guy with the same karcher as me tho the latest version. So I ended up buying a new foam lance thing and some foam soap. Same as the guy. I also bought from Halfords the posh looking TFR stuff. 

So I takes all the gear out to wash my car. Attach the expanding hose to the tap, plug the mains extension in thru the kitchen window, attach water hose, attach the karcher hose (the type I have is a ruddy pain, the new version looks ace), make up the TFR in one of those 2l pump bottles, make up the foam in my new lance. Thread the karcher pistol gun thru the garden fence. Blimey I thought to myself  I could have washed the car by now with a bucket and mit. But anyway I sprayed the TFR, left it a few mins the hosed it off. Blimey I thought again this is soapy stuff. Then I foamed the car. Ruddy hell this foam is like shaving foam ( the guy in the video warned its thick and a pain to swill off the tarmac). Left that a few mins then I got my wooly hand mit and proceeded with warm water in a bucket to wash my car. In all the times I've washed any car of mine the wooly mit glided across the car wow I thought. After washing I emptied my foam lance and flushed it and poured a bit of auto glym shampoo conditioner and water then attached it to my pistol gun and sprayed the car. Then I rinsed the car off with just water thru the pistol and attachment. I dried it off with a large microfiber cloth.

Doing all that (including putting everything away, took over an hour. Will I was my car like that again? I doubt it very much.

I finished off by using Williams waterless wash. It's got carnauba wax in it and that's why I use it as a polish.

Just thought I'd post this because I found it one helluva palaver. 

To those of you who do this I doff my cap to you. You must have the patience of a saint. 

[cruisermark]

Fater all that I would of liked to se some pictures 😍

[First_Lexus]

@Mr Vlad  I’ve been detailing my cars for years. Honestly, I find spending hours on my car thinking about nothing else therapeutic, similar to how others find gardening (which I hate) or going to the gym. Keep doing it, you may get hooked!

[Mr Vlad]

Hi Ed. Funny you mentioning hating gardening. I do too. I did over an hour of it before I did my car. I wash my car every weekend and I'll keep doing so but I'll use my trusty bucket 🪣 and mit 90% of the time. Like I said I doff my cap to those like you 👍

[Fatts]

56 minutes ago, Mr Vlad said:

Hi Ed. Funny you mentioning hating gardening. I do too. I did over an hour of it before I did my car. I wash my car every weekend and I'll keep doing so but I'll use my trusty bucket 🪣 and mit 90% of the time. Like I said I doff my cap to those like you 👍

Like you I bought the karcher and only used it once, I find all the foaming rinsing procedures etc overwhelming and have reverted to using the bucket or £8 at my local car wash. The only part of using the machine was jetting brake dust off the tires.

[Mr Vlad]

I've actually used it a couple of times now in the past 3.5 years. However when I bought it I used it quite a bit until I got fed up getting it out, setting everything up and putting it away again. 

[Las Palmas]

4 hours ago, Mr Vlad said:

Well I thought I'd post how I washed my car today. For a good number of years I've had a Karcher power washer. The smallest one they do. More than good enough for a car. Anyway since I've had time on my hands I watched numerous videos on YouTube as you do lol. I eventually found one with a guy with the same karcher as me tho the latest version. So I ended up buying a new foam lance thing and some foam soap. Same as the guy. I also bought from halfords the posh looking TFR stuff. 

So I takes all the gear out to wash my car. Attach the expanding hose to the tap, plug the mains extension in thru the kitchen window, attach water hose, attach the karcher hose (the type I have is a ruddy pain, the new version looks ace), make up the TFR in one of those 2l pump bottles, make up the foam in my new lance. Thread the karcher pistol gun thru the garden fence. Blimey I thought to myself  I could have washed the car by now with a bucket and mit. But anyway I sprayed the TFR, left it a few mins the hosed it off. Blimey I thought again this is soapy stuff. Then I foamed the car. Ruddy hell this foam is like shaving foam ( the guy in the video warned its thick and a pain to swill off the tarmac). Left that a few mins then I got my wooly hand mit and proceeded with warm water in a bucket to wash my car. In all the times I've washed any car of mine the wooly mit glided across the car wow I thought. After washing I emptied my foam lance and flushed it and poured a bit of auto glym shampoo conditioner and water then attached it to my pistol gun and sprayed the car. Then I rinsed the car off with just water thru the pistol and attachment. I dried it off with a large microfiber cloth.

Doing all that (including putting everything away, took over an hour. Will I was my car like that again? I doubt it very much.

I finished off by using Williams waterless wash. It's got carnauba wax in it and that's why I use it as a polish.

Just thought I'd post this because I found it one helluva palaver. 

To those of you who do this I doff my cap to you. You must have the patience of a saint. 

We take out car to the petrol station, drive it through the automatic washing machine and it is more or less clean. Wipe the rest of the water off with a couple of leather like towels ot whatever it is. 15 minutes, including controlling air pressure inn tyres now and then.

Have done that with all our cars. Never polished a car in my life. Car looks good. We are satisfied.

While selling/working with Fujitsu-10 audio equipment (only 3 years), when a car was to be exhibited, we let somebody polish it.

[Las Palmas]

2 hours ago, Fatts said:

Like you I bought the karcher and only used it once, I find all the foaming rinsing procedures etc overwhelming and have reverted to using the bucket or £8 at my local car wash. The only part of using the machine was jetting brake dust off the tires.

Do not remember seeing brake dust. All braking must be done with refilling the hybrid Battery.

[Las Palmas]

4 hours ago, First_Lexus said:

@Mr Vlad  I’ve been detailing my cars for years. Honestly, I find spending hours on my car thinking about nothing else therapeutic, similar to how others find gardening (which I hate) or going to the gym. Keep doing it, you may get hooked!

I was hooked riding my mtb uphill from sea level to top of the hill here (2000 m above sea level) until had a few skin cancers lumps of meat removed.

Above the clouds, air is fresher and, on the way, up the birds fly faster than I could pedal, on the way down the swallows were flying around me. They really fly fast. On paved roads I was now and then faster than 70km/h.

I miss it.

[Fatts]

19 hours ago, Las Palmas said:

Do not remember seeing brake dust. All braking must be done with refilling the hybrid battery.

I meant to write blasting off the dirt from the alloy wheels, that’s the only bit I enjoyed using the karcher for. I tried editing the original message but it didn’t work 

[Fatts]

I suppose what the thread shows is that we’re all different. While some take pleasure in detailing their cars for hours some are happy with a trip to the car wash and others are happy with a bucket & chamois leather. The main thing is to be happy 

[Las Palmas]

9 minutes ago, Fatts said:

I suppose what the thread shows is that we’re all different. While some take pleasure in detailing their cars for hours some are happy with a trip to the car wash and others are happy with a bucket & chamois leather. The main thing is to be happy 

Don't worry. Be happy!

My little one like to sit in the car while driving through the soap sprayed on, the water blasting and the brushes flying round and finally the air is roaring to blast off the water droplets and that is making me happy.

[Bowserman]

Does anyone know the formula of the rubber in Karcher hoses? 

Interested how they make the hose, so when you uncoil it so its straight, then walk around the car and find its curled up again?

[Sherra]

took them years to develop the self tangling hose😉

[NemesisUK]

On 5/19/2021 at 9:57 AM, Bowserman said:

Does anyone know the formula of the rubber in Karcher hoses? 

Interested how they make the hose, so when you uncoil it so its straight, then walk around the car and find its curled up again?

You need this (for £83 😳 )

https://www.kaercher.com/uk/accessory/h-10-q-premiumflex-anti-twist-26435850.html

 

[Mr Vlad]

AuWell I'm back on my thread. Well I stated I'd not use the TRF FOAM method again But I've not long got back in sat on my arse typing this. Ruddy ell it took TWO hours start to finish. The foam stuff tho really good has a massive drawback. It takes over half an hour to wash it off the ground into the drain 😒.  So like I said before I doff my cap to those who spend a couple of hours or more detailing their cars but me? I'll use the TRF but use the bucket with a good soap and some Auto Glym shampoo conditioner as a rinse aid. 

Didn't finish off with my waterless wash wax as I was knackered lol. 

[ALAW]

Vlad i gave mine a quick wash tonight it wasn't very dirty and i did what i always do hose all over first then sponge and a bucket of water with Autoglym shampoo conditioner in. I'm pleasantly surprised how good a finish the UX has Lexus must use a good lacquer. Like you ive been considering snow foam. We go to father in laws on a sat and there is this BMW we pass covered in what looks a good snow foam left to stand for a bit. Thought about doing this for a while now.

[LenT]

 

On 7/18/2021 at 12:56 AM, ALAW said:

…there is this BMW we pass covered in what looks a good snow foam left to stand for a bit. Thought about doing this for a while now.

Having had mine ‘detailed’ some time ago, I am now committed to the snow foam / two bucket palaver.

One question as a newbie to this method is: 

a) to first snow foam, leave for 10 - 15 minutes and then rinse

 b) rinse and then snow foam.  And then rinse.

As an old-fashioned car washer, I’ve instinctively gone with b.  And there’s many as agree.

But those who make snow foam disagree - as do professional detailers.  They claim that putting on a layer of water first prevents the snow foam from getting at the road dirt / dust and doing its stuff.

So who’s right- and does it even matter?

Clearly, as Harry Hill used to say, there’s only one way to resolve this dilemma….

 

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=241248

[deltapapa]

I confess to rinse first ( possibly through having read somewhere ) that this will loosen the dirt.

For next wash I'll try snow foam first

[Brian R]

Must admit Len, I would be in the snow foam first camp all day long. I learnt all I know from my son who is something of a perfectionist when it comes to cleaning cars. I'll also confess he walked away with the Karcher when he left home and frankly I couldn't be faffed to replace it! So I am now a 2 bucket man (with grit guard don't you know) and copious amounts of unmetered water. I've convinced myself I'm protecting an investment, and strangely that engenders significant enthusiasm in my cleaning quest(s). Actually, thinking about it, I would enjoy it regardless!

[LenT]

1 hour ago, Brian R said:

Must admit Len, I would be in the snow foam first camp all day long. I learnt all I know from my son who is something of a perfectionist when it comes to cleaning cars. I'll also confess he walked away with the Karcher when he left home and frankly I couldn't be faffed to replace it! So I am now a 2 bucket man (with grit guard don't you know) and copious amounts of unmetered water. I've convinced myself I'm protecting an investment, and strangely that engenders significant enthusiasm in my cleaning quest(s). Actually, thinking about it, I would enjoy it regardless!

I’m with you there Brian - although really by default.

Little did I know when I thought that as we weren’t driving anywhere, I’d spend the money I was saving on detailing & Ceramic Coating, that I’d end up doing more car washing, not less!  No longer can I run the motor through the local car wash!

My Karcher, which was bought for car washing, patio cleaning and neighbour lending, now just does patios and neighbours.  The snow foam gun does perfectly well on a standard hose, which is also fine for rinsing down.  But at least that saves setting up the Karcher.

Like you, I’ve invested in all the other associated paraphernalia.  But I certainly shan’t be bothering with those dual-action polishers and hot air dryers….probably!

[ALAW]

4 hours ago, LenT said:

 

Having had mine ‘detailed’ some time ago, I am now committed to the snow foam / two bucket palaver.

One question as a newbie to this method is: 

a) to first snow foam, leave for 10 - 15 minutes and then rinse

 b) rinse and then snow foam.  And then rinse.

As an old-fashioned car washer, I’ve instinctively gone with b.  And there’s many as agree.

But those who make snow foam disagree - as do professional detailers.  They claim that putting on a layer of water first prevents the snow foam from getting at the road dirt / dust and doing its stuff.

So who’s right- and does it even matter?

Clearly, as Harry Hill used to say, there’s only one way to resolve this dilemma….

 

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=241248

Interesting Len. I always just hose over with water thinking its going to take off any dust etc hence not scratching paint.

[LenT]

1 hour ago, ALAW said:

I always just hose over with water thinking its going to take off any dust etc hence not scratching paint.

And who wouldn’t?  It stands to reason, as they say. And of course to some extent that’s what happens.  Except, as the link I gave demonstrates, that’s not the most effective way of doing it.

I did read somewhere that snow foam was actually developed for use in cleaning the likes of muddy farm equipment.  

I suspect it’s because snow foam contains wetting agents or surfactants that reduce the surface tension of the water and allow the molecules to penetrate surface muck more effectively. You could say it makes water wetter!

 

[Brian R]

20 hours ago, LenT said:

Like you, I’ve invested in all the other associated paraphernalia.  But I certainly shan’t be bothering with those dual-action polishers and hot air dryers….probably!

Don't want to worry you Len, but I've got a DA in the garage. I didn't buy it, but my son seems to have gifted it to me. Perhaps there's some ulterior motive going on here and he's morphing me into a "detailer" a bit at a time!

[LenT]

25 minutes ago, Brian R said:

Don't want to worry you Len, but I've got a DA in the garage. I didn't buy it, but my son seems to have gifted it to me. Perhaps there's some ulterior motive going on here and he's morphing me into a "detailer" a bit at a time!

Somehow I don’t think that it’s I who should be worried Brian.  Would you, by any chance be recently retired or otherwise have time on your hands?  Has he been suggesting ways of keeping you busy?

Still, I think you only have to suspect his motives if he mentions that his car could do with a good clean!

Oh, you say he just has….🙄