[Oligarch]

Finally took delivery of my new x45e from the dealer on Thursday. It’s the first car I’ve ever bought and owned myself, so very excited, and want to ensure I treat it right from the start.

I didn’t buy any of the protection packages from the dealer given all the comments about how they tend to be overpriced. I have also thus far not gone for any PPF or ceramic.

I’m living in a condo in the Boston area, and the car is parked in the above-ground garage next door. I had a look today and see that every floor has a spigot for water, but otherwise, I’m starting from scratch in terms of cleaning equipment. My intention is to wash the car myself and essentially by hand.

What all should I get for my cleaning ritual?

Should I use BMW cleaning products only, or is it in fact better to use third-party supplies?

I came across this package on Amazon, for example: https://smile.amazon.com/Chemical-Gu...d_gw_ci_mcx_mi

Can one wash the car too early or too much?

Any other tips/advice for starting out correctly in terms of cleaning/maintenance?

Thanks in advance for your advice and guidance.

[P1]

Are you able to use the spigot and wash your vehicle with a hose? If so, get yourself some basic materials and you'll get perfect results each and every time. I know everyone has their own favorites, but here are mine.

1) Zymol sponge - I have one for the upper panels and one for the lower panels
2) Duragloss 901 - my favorite car shampoo
3) Waffle weave MF drying towel
4) Optimum Instant Detailer & Gloss Enhancer
5) Good set of microfiber towels
6) Jescar Power Lock

My wife's M was bought new and I decided to give PPF a try but not sure if it's worth it. I also don't think you need to spend top dollar on ceramic coatings.

I recently sold my 2015 X5 with nearly 100,000 miles and used all the above. Here's how she looked:

[Oligarch]

Thanks P1!

That's a beautiful vehicle. Did that one have any PPF or ceramic? Inspiring to know one can get to 100K looking like that with basic but consistent cleaning! Really impressive.

On the spigot, yes, I believe I can use a hose -- or at least I will do so until I learn otherwise

[P1]

Originally Posted by Oligarch

Thanks P1!

That's a beautiful vehicle. Did that one have any PPF or ceramic? Inspiring to know one can get to 100K looking like that with basic but consistent cleaning! Really impressive.

On the spigot, yes, I believe I can use a hose -- or at least I will do so until I learn otherwise

Zero PPF and zero ceramic. Just religious with my methods.

If you cannot use spigot, let us know and we'll prescribe another method.

[malvern_man]

I've had my X5 40i PPF'd and ceramic coated and it makes cleaning the car a lot easier.

I'd suggest that you get a power washer and a snow foam cannon/lance.

For the contact wash use the 2 bucket method, make sure you've got grit guards in both buckets. DO NOT use a sponge, get some microfibre wash mitts/pads, there's lots of quality makes on the market.

For drying use a twisted loop drying towel or a car blower, drying is so much easier if your car is ceramic coated too.

Don't forget about the wheels, DO NOT use the same buckets or wash mitts/pads that you use on the paintwork, use a dedicated microfibre wash mitt, I use one from Garage Therapy together with Garage Therapy One wheel shampoo.

If you want to add some protection after the final rinse there are lots of snow foam cannon/lance applied spray on and rinse off products on the market, my personal favourite is Bilt Hamber Touch-On.

Get yourself a good selection of microfibre towels too, for dirty jobs like engine bays and exhaust tips etc I use cheap ones from Aliexpress, for paintwork I like to use towels from the Rag Company, but there are lots of quality microfibres on the market.

[I2P]

If you can attach and use a hose, I suggest the following one from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1
Much better than the original "pocket hose", since it has brass connections. It's very light.

[Oligarch]

Thanks for all these helpful replies!

In terms of the hose/power washer, it's a bit of a grey area, since the spigot is there and there's no sign saying I can't use it, but I won't really know until I try.

Reading here and elsewhere, it sounds like one shouldn't actually go for the most powerful PSI on a washer. I was wondering if it makes sense to start with something like this:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...AITGXCXZ&psc=1

That way if they don't allow me to use a garden hose, I can still just have it fed by a bucket. Or is a garden hose the preferable thing?

Perhaps the way to do it is start by buying i2P's J&B hose suggestion from Amazon, and if get told off, then progress to the pressure washer with bucket?

[chayden2005]

I just use the rinseless wash method. There's plenty of forum posts describing easy and not so easy ways to achieve. I just hose my car down really good to get off the loose stuff or take it to a self wash to use the pressure wash ( when extra grungy) only then home to finish with a rinseless wash. I have to do this at zero dark thirty due to the freaking heat out here or the wash dries instantly on the car even in my garage.
I have never had a car with such soft paint. This stuff chips if a flake of snow looks at it (maybe an exaggeration, but it is not resilient by any stretch of the word). I'd get a bra or full front PPF done if you do any driving that includes crappy city streets or freeways with any kind of debris that'll get kicked up by vehicles around/in front of you.

[malvern_man]

Originally Posted by Oligarch

Thanks for all these helpful replies!

In terms of the hose/power washer, it's a bit of a grey area, since the spigot is there and there's no sign saying I can't use it, but I won't really know until I try.

Reading here and elsewhere, it sounds like one shouldn't actually go for the most powerful PSI on a washer. I was wondering if it makes sense to start with something like this:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...AITGXCXZ&psc=1

That way if they don't allow me to use a garden hose, I can still just have it fed by a bucket. Or is a garden hose the preferable thing?

Perhaps the way to do it is start by buying i2P's J&B hose suggestion from Amazon, and if get told off, then progress to the pressure washer with bucket?

These are ok but you'll be forever refilling the bucket. I started out using a Bosch Fontus cordless washer, it has a 15 litre water tank and I was forever refilling it, and that was just using it on my Nissan Qashqai so heaven knows how many refills I'd need for my X5. I just use it for doing a seperate maintenance wash on the wheels now.

[dlacy]

Does anyone have a suggestion as to which product is better. Road rash can be a problem in Colorado, particularly in winter. I would like to protect the front end and hood of my new X5 45e as best as possible and still at a reasonable cost!

[malvern_man]

Originally Posted by dlacy

Does anyone have a suggestion as to which product is better. Road rash can be a problem in Colorado, particularly in winter. I would like to protect the front end and hood of my new X5 45e as best as possible and still at a reasonable cost!

The only way is PPF, I've had a full front end PPF application on my X5 40i which is...front end, bonnet (hood) wings, headlights and mirrors, I also had the sills (rockers) done too.

[Oligarch]

So thanks to all the helpful replies above, I've zeroed in on some supplies for my wash routine.

Before my first wash, however, should I be using a stripping product like this?

https://www.chemicalguys.com/clean-s...8aAt_9EALw_wcB

My X5 had a build date of 30 August, I picked it up from the dealer exactly a week ago here in Boston, and would be washing it this weekend.

It's been generally parked in a garage. It was raining here, so there is some light dust etc, and there was one bird dropping that I just sprayed with water within the hour (waiting on the cleaning products), wiping off what was left with a paper towel that was handy (again, waiting on the microfiber and sponges).

I'm a total newbie to detailing so want to start of right, but also wary of damaging the car by applying something unnecessarily aggressive.

Again, thank you all for your help and guidance.

[malvern_man]

This is what I did for my new X5's first wash...

Gyeon Foam with 30ml of Gyeon apc mixed in through my MJJC Pro V2 foam cannon.

Contact wash was with Gyeon Bathe Essence, I added 20ml to my other foam cannon and used it as a snow foam to give some extra lubrication, I did a couple of panels at a time using the 2 bucket method together with a Gyeon microfibre wash mitt, I used a cheap noodle mitt for cleaning under the sills (rockers) and wheel arches etc.

Dried using an Autobrite twisted loop Ultimate drying towel and finished off with my BigBoi BlowR Mini+ car blower.

I then went round it with Soft99 Fukupika Spray Advance Strong Type.

I did the wheels with Garage Therapy One wheel shampoo in an IK pump foamer (using a dedicated wheel bucket for rinsing my Garage Therapy wheel mitt) together with wheel woolies to clean the barrels and ultra soft detailing brushes for doing the faces.

This was the first wash I'd given the car as it is brand new, it has been Gyeon PPF'd and ceramic coated.

I gave the engine bay a quick going over a few days later.

I'm in the UK so some products etc might not be available elsewhere.

[elite-fusion]

Whats a good pressure washer for the car? Is a gas 3200psi too powerful?

[malvern_man]

Originally Posted by elite-fusion

Whats a good pressure washer for the car? Is a gas 3200psi too powerful?

Flow rate ( gallons per minute or litres per minute ) is more important that PSI. The spec of my electric pressure washer ( BigBoi Washr FLO ) is...

Motor: 1600W (Peak) Induction

Maximum Pressure: True 2600PSI

Max Flow Rate: 6.5L to 7L/min

I have no trouble cleaning my X5 with it.

Found this on Google...

Safe PSI for car washing:

In general, 1200 to 1900 psi is seen as the best range for washing your car with a pressure washer. Most pressure washers can be set to this pressure. Make sure to use the right nozzle, with 25 degrees or 40 degrees, when cleaning your car. And keep the tip of the pressure washer at an appropriate distance from your vehicle.