car washing routine?

[gdub17]

It seems to rain here every fudging day and like my car (2025 Honda civic hatchback sport desert sand pearl non hybrid) clean but it’s damn near impossible How often do you guys wash your rides to keep them looking good while not being super laborious to clean? Thank you

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[latole]

Twice a year .

 

[Catanzaro]

Do not go overboard with washing your vehicle. Wash no more than monthly, and be careful to use clean wash mitts, towels, etc. as to minimize scratches. Keep soft microfiber towels and 2 spray bottles in a car at times, with wipes. Bird droppings or other items like sap can damage the cars. Also, keep another bottle of ISP Alcohol. You can quickly throw out wipes after cleaning the mess. Also, keep disposable gloves. After you clean an area, spray some wax and buff that area only. Wax twice per year, and use a liquid topper as you wash monthly. Label your towels, wash by hand, allow to air dry, and then place them back in the ziploc bags.

Recently, on my Avalon, little droplets of sap all over the car, from the front to the back. I quickly came home and used very hot/warm water with heavy soap to wash twice, and it removed everything. Because I had wax on the car, very easy to do quickly. Topped it off again. I use the Griots spray wax, as I feel it lasts and is worth the money. If allowed to cake on, it would take 10X longer to remove the sap.

Bird droppings can be cleaned with wipes, put on gloves first, then spray wax, and buff that area only. On Windows, I use a separate window towel with a mixture of alcohol, index, and window cleaner, and they stay very clean. Keep dedicated bins and areas for all. You can even find a small used suitcase and keep it in the trunk if you are that picky with your car.

Good Luck!

 

[Tougefl5]

Griot's products soap, ceramic soap , chemical guys Diablo wheel cleaner and finish with spray on ceramic detailer turtle wax or Griot's.
Great products easy to find and it keeps my car clean.
I enjoy washing my car because it means I'm not on the road working lol

 

[Nanook]

Griot's products soap, ceramic soap , chemical guys Diablo wheel cleaner and finish with spray on ceramic detailer turtle wax or Griot's.
Great products easy to find and it keeps my car clean.
I enjoy washing my car because it means I'm not on the road working lol

Griot’s makes great stuff.
Ditto on Diablo wheel cleaner!!

 

[MooMoo]

I wash it when it needs to be washed. Pollen season is upon us so might have to do every week if you don't have a garage. Usually i do probably once a month. If I go to the track then I wash it after then track day because of the all the rubber marks and bugs.

You can wash your car as many times as you want really, if you do a proper wash you will not damage anything.

Also 2 bucket wash method for me. I have an active 2.0 pressure washer. Soap I use Adams, foam I use Koch Chemie which is by far the best I have used. P&S wheel cleaner for the wheels. Once every 3 months I will do the turtle wax ceramic. Always blow dry it with a leaf blower.

 

[TheFactor]

As mentioned over washing even if your careful can add scratches. I know guys that don’t wash their car all winter”no salt used on roads there” for that reason. I’m from Oregon and it rained 90% of the time so it was difficult not wanting to wash it all the time so I did it about only once a month in the winter and every couple of weeks in the summer. Now I’m in California so it’s much easier to keep clean and wash it every week or week and a half. Get a microfiber drying towels and as some have mentioned my favorite care products are also Chemical guys, Maguires and Griots in no particular order. Also because I’m in a dry but dusty environment and garage kept I can get away with using a Griots duster/mop in between washes but the trick is very light passes no pressure what so ever .

 

[Integra23]

Car wash twice a week for me

 

[Chilly613]

I contact wash with a pressure washer about every 3-4 weeks.

In between if I want to freshen it up a little I use a waterless wash like Meguiars Ceramic Waterless wash and wax.

https://a.co/d/fKg20Uu

 

[TheFactor]

I contact wash with a pressure washer about every 3-4 weeks.

In between if I want to freshen it up a little I use a waterless wash like Meguiars Ceramic Waterless wash and wax.

https://a.co/d/fKg20Uu

I do the same with Meguiars waterless but I make sure I dust it off first with Griots dust mop. I’m only about a mile or so from the beach/coast so I have to be careful of sand.
https://www.amazon.com/Griots-Garag...cphy=9031543&hvtargid=pla-2281435175938&psc=1

 

[egxflash]

I do the same with Meguiars waterless but I make sure I dust it off first with Griots dust mop. I’m only about a mile or so from the beach/coast so I have to be careful of sand.
https://www.amazon.com/Griots-Garag...cphy=9031543&hvtargid=pla-2281435175938&psc=1

Dusting it off before the waterless is counterintuitive. The whole point of a rinseless is you're providing lubricity so anything you drag across the paint (like say, a microfiber or rinseless sponge) will not catch the dust and cause swirls/scratches.

Like @Chilly613 I do a contact wash about once a month and use a rinseless for interim maintenance washes (I use absolute)

 

[cryptolime]

as little as possible. seem to scratch it every time i wash no matter how many precautions i take. maybe i need to get one of those foam guns.

 

[TheFactor]

Dusting it off before the waterless is counterintuitive. The whole point of a rinseless is you're providing lubricity so anything you drag across the paint (like say, a microfiber or rinseless sponge) will not catch the dust and cause swirls/scratches.

Like @Chilly613 I do a contact wash about once a month and use a rinseless for interim maintenance washes (I use absolute)

Anything that can cut back on the chances of scratching is not counterintuitive to me. The Griots dust mop lifts the dust without rubbing or any pressure as is done with a microfiber towel .
To each there own and happy cleaning scratch free
Btw Sand and some dirt does not desolve no matter what product thus why I choose lift the sand/dust off with a Griots duster first. If you lived a mile from the beach like me I guarantee you’ll get scratches with your method.

 

[egxflash]

Anything that can cut back on the chances of scratching is not counterintuitive to me. The Griots dust mop lifts the dust without rubbing or any pressure as is done with a microfiber towel .
To each there own and happy cleaning scratch free
Btw Sand and some dirt does not desolve no matter what product thus why I choose lift the sand/dust off with a Griots duster first. If you lived a mile from the beach like me I guarantee you’ll get scratches with your method.

Rinseless doesn't aim to dissolve it FYI.

But hey you know, people do what they do for their own personal reasons. Granted I'm just a hobbyist detailer but I'm settled on a method I know doesn't cause my car swirls even under an inspection light.

And no, I guarantee I wouldn't.

 

[Chilly613]

Not a super huge fan of those dust mops on paint. Used to use them on previous cars and they left swirls. I will use the smaller ones on glass and interior panels. Have not gotten any scratches from using waterless wash yet, but then I also have a white car so it hides it well.

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