[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Game

I’m a weirdo and love trying new products.

Not weird at all! how do you think I got all that stuff??

Originally Posted by Game

deionized water for my final rinse. I just can’t justify the nice deionizers just yet…if I lived in a warmer climate sure. Do you purchase bottles and use them in your wash bucket?

I have that CR Spotless, but despite it only taking 20 seconds to hook up I hardly ever use it since it's just so damn easy to buy deionized water at the grocery store.

I stopped doing 2-bucket 15 years ago so my normal process is basically this:

(1.) If it's been in snow or rain (ie. road film) spray down w/ degreaser pre-wash
(2.) Spray down the car with deionized water + rinseless, let it drip for 5 min
(3.) Grab a clean chenille mitt, dip it or spray it with de-i+RW
(4.) Do the roof, flip, do the hood, then do the windshield & windows only
(5.) Grab clean mitt #2, dip it, do waist up pass-side, flip it, do waist-up drivers
(6.) Grab clean mitt #3, dip it, do waist down to bottom 1/4, flip, do the rocker
(7.) Grab clean mitt #4, dip it, do the other side waist-down & bottom/rocker
(8.) Grab clean mitt #5, dip it, do the tail-gate, flip, do the front end
(9.) Dry with a double twistress
(10.) every 4-5 weeks I put on a layer of water-based sealant

Over the years I've found this to be the best process with the least marring and it has the benefit of being super simple, can be done anywhere without access to running water - incl on roadtrips!
, and takes 20 seconds to set up and clean up.

So, basically, I always have a bucket full of de-i + rinseless in the garage, and a marolex sprayer in the trunk for when I'm away from the house, and use a hydroshot with the watering wand to spray down the car. That's super portable so I can take it with me on roadtrips and use a 2L bottle to power it.

Always stays clean and hydrophobic that way which resists dirt and prevent having to clay later

[Game]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

I have that CR Spotless, but despite it only taking 20 seconds to hook up I hardly ever use it since it's just so damn easy to buy deionized water at the grocery store.

I stopped doing 2-bucket 15 years ago so my normal process is basically this:

(1.) If it's been in snow or rain (ie. road film) spray down w/ degreaser pre-wash
(2.) Spray down the car with deionized water + rinseless, let it drip for 5 min
(3.) Grab a clean chenille mitt, dip it or spray it with de-i+RW
(4.) Do the roof, flip, do the hood, then do the windshield & windows only
(5.) Grab clean mitt #2, dip it, do waist up pass-side, flip it, do waist-up drivers
(6.) Grab clean mitt #3, dip it, do waist down to bottom 1/4, flip, do the rocker
(7.) Grab clean mitt #4, dip it, do the other side waist-down & bottom/rocker
(8.) Grab clean mitt #5, dip it, do the tail-gate, flip, do the front end
(9.) Dry with a double twistress
(10.) every 4-5 weeks I put on a layer of water-based sealant

Over the years I've found this to be the best process with the least marring and it has the benefit of being super simple, can be done anywhere without access to running water - incl on roadtrips!
, and takes 20 seconds to set up and clean up.

So, basically, I always have a bucket full of de-i + rinseless in the garage, and a marolex sprayer in the trunk for when I'm away from the house, and use a"]a"]a"]a"]a"]a"]a"]a hydroshot with the watering wand to spray down the car. That's super portable so I can take it [...]

Just watched the Gary Dean Method, seems like a very efficient and effective way to clean a car. Only thing I don’t like about it, it removes the need for all the new product I have

Gorgeous X5M. Is that aventurine or ruby red?

Edit - not sure why quoting you seems to unravel the apps formatting.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Game

Just watched the Gary Dean Method, seems like a very efficient and effective way to clean a car. Only thing I don’t like about it, it removes the need for all the new product I have

Gorgeous X5M. Is that aventurine or ruby red?

Edit - not sure why quoting you seems to unravel the apps formatting.

It's Ametrin and, yeah, I'd rather have had Ruby or - not available - moonstone, but it was later 2021 and order dystopia so I was lucky to get anything

On the GDM, I use a pretty modified version. I used to go panel-by-panel but after I got used to it I switched to a more top to bottom approach that I listed above. I still hook up the Kranzle every few washes, and for sure when I do the wheels / tires or drove in the rain or snow, but the modified GD method is so fast and easy that I do it ever few days.

I spent years testing various wash methods & media for marring (and products AND coatings AND Sealants!) and BY FAR the least marring is McKee's N914 mixed "thick" combined with chenille mitts; I think because you can shake the mitt fingers maybe, I dunno.

I also found for basic chemicals like shampoos, degreasers, APCs, etc no brand name works better than "generic", and that includes Matt's Obsessed Garage stuff. Not to say any of it is bad, just not better than stuff that's WAY cheaper.

So, for example, I just bought 10 gallons of concentrated APC & shampoo delivered for $80:



Both of these should be mixed at least 4:1 and you can combine them for a bitey snow foam. You can order them from O'Reilly's by part number, e.g., Cherry Foam would be C62-1 for 1 gallon or C62-5 for 5 gallon. For holidays OReilly's usually has online sales or you can just call a local one and order it, then pick it up the next day. If you order the 5 gallon, don't forget to get a spigot if you don't have one

For pre-wash degreaser I LOVE LOVE LOVE Road Warrior which also works great for wheels, and then Pink Perfection which is a shampoo with some bite and works great for road film and bugs.

For Rinseless I love McKee's N914 over ONR, though now I'm using P&S Absolute which, for me, is a poor user experience since it's like sun tan lotion to mix (and smell), but works at least as well as McKee's in terms of lubricity ... and DOES leave some protection behind for better or worse.

[Game]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

It's Ametrin and, yeah, I'd rather have had Ruby or - not available - moonstone, but it was later 2021 and order dystopia so I was lucky to get anything

On the GDM, I use a pretty modified version. I used to go panel-by-panel but after I got used to it I switched to a more top to bottom approach that I listed above. I still hook up the Kranzle every few washes, and for sure when I do the wheels / tires or drove in the rain or snow, but the modified GD method is so fast and easy that I do it ever few days.

I spent years testing various wash methods & media for marring (and products AND coatings AND Sealants!) and BY FAR the least marring is McKee's N914 mixed "thick" combined with chenille mitts; I think because you can shake the mitt fingers maybe, I dunno.

I also found for basic chemicals like shampoos, degreasers, APCs, etc no brand name works better than "generic", and that includes Matt's Obsessed Garage stuff. Not to say any of it is bad, just not better than stuff that's WAY cheaper.

So, for example, I just bought 10 gallons of concentrated APC & shampoo delivered for $80:



Both of these should be mixed at least 4:1 and you can combine them for a bitey snow foam. You can order them from O'Reilly's by part number, e.g., Cherry Foam would be C62-1 for 1 gallon or C62-5 for 5 gallon. For holidays OReilly's usually has online sales or you can just call a local one and order it, then pick it up the next day. If you order the 5 gallon, don't forget to get a spigot if you don't have one

For pre-wash degreaser I LOVE LOVE LOVE Road Warrior which also works great for wheels, and then Pink Perfection which is a shampoo with some bite and works great for road film and bugs.

For Rinseless I love McKee's N914 over ONR, though now I'm using P&S Absolute which, for me, is a poor user experience since it's like sun tan lotion to mix (and smell), but works at least as well as McKee's in terms of lubricity ... and DOES leave some protection behind for better or worse.

Appreciate all of the good info.

I just picked up some Carpro Echo2 and used it as a drying aid this past weekend. I was happy with the results. Easy application and left a great shine. Apparently it can be used as a rinseless wash as well but I've heard so many great things about McKees I may have to grab a bottle...especially at that price.

[KevinGS]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

I stopped doing 2-bucket 15 years ago so my normal process is basically this:

(1.) If it's been in snow or rain (ie. road film) spray down w/ degreaser pre-wash
(2.) Spray down the car with deionized water + rinseless, let it drip for 5 min
(3.) Grab a clean chenille mitt, dip it or spray it with de-i+RW
(4.) Do the roof, flip, do the hood, then do the windshield & windows only
(5.) Grab clean mitt #2, dip it, do waist up pass-side, flip it, do waist-up drivers
(6.) Grab clean mitt #3, dip it, do waist down to bottom 1/4, flip, do the rocker
(7.) Grab clean mitt #4, dip it, do the other side waist-down & bottom/rocker
(8.) Grab clean mitt #5, dip it, do the tail-gate, flip, do the front end
(9.) Dry with a double twistress
(10.) every 4-5 weeks I put on a layer of water-based sealant

Over the years I've found this to be the best process with the least marring and it has the benefit of being super simple, can be done anywhere without access to running water - incl on roadtrips!
, and takes 20 seconds to set up and clean up.

So, basically, I always have a bucket full of de-i + rinseless in the garage, and a marolex sprayer in the trunk for when I'm away from the house, and use a hydroshot with the watering wand to spray down the car. That's super portable so I can take it with me on roadtrips and use a 2L bottle to power it.

Always stays clean and hydrophobic that way which resists dirt and prevent having to clay later

Damn, GG, and here I thought I was anal about car cleanliness

[oldguy00]

Can someone edumacate me.........regardless of how hard the water is, how would you end up with water spots if you immediately wipe the car dry???

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by oldguy00

Can someone edumacate me.........regardless of how hard the water is, how would you end up with water spots if you immediately wipe the car dry???

They were there before or the car dried a bit because it was hot & dry out.

Best to buy deionized water at the grocery store bulk section & wash with that

[tracer bullet]

I use tap water, but only wash and rinse in the shade. Also when I rinse off a section of car I usually give the rest of the car a little water too in the hopes it'll not start drying quite yet, just in case. Afterwards I get onto the drying thing pretty quickly and use 2 towels, one in each hand, the first gets most water the 2nd almost all the rest. 2nd is used in the door jambs and such afterwards.

Only time I have water spots is from washing in the sub or parking near a sprinkler at a business (and that latter can be awful the 2 or 3 times I've done it in my life).

I do love the ideas and methods outlined earlier... I am a little lucky to live in the land of plenty of water.

[NoMods]

Time for a DI, worth every cent and I even own an air cannon too.