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Washing your car.
A few notes:
- Never wash, dry, or wax your car in direct sunlight!
- It is very important to use a seperate mit/sponge on the wheels. Break dust is very fine and WILL leave scratches which may or may not be visible right away.
- Most car soaps have the same basic formula and are safe to use. Stay away from dish soaps as they will wash your last wax job right off and contain chemicals which over time, dry out your paint.
Washing seems like the simplest step to detaling your car. It may be, but it is also the most important. To wash your car properly you need a few things.
1) 2 standard size buckets
2) Your prefered car shampoo (A good localy avalible one is Meguiar's Gold Class)
3) 2 clean wash mits or sponges (One for wheels, and dirty unpainted panels)
4) Somthing to dry with, The Absorber, CWB, or Waffle Weave MF
5) Quick Detailer such as EFCP, MQD or others buff with MF.
The first step is to prepare your wash water for the wheels. Take one of your buckets and mix with the proper amount of shampoo (products vary). Rinse the wheels and wheel wells and using your designated "wheel" mit/sponge wash the wheels and wheel wells thouroghly and rinse. Rinse off and set aside your mit/sponge.
Now empty out whats left in your bucket and rinse it well. Fill that bucket back up with clean water (no soap). Take the other bucket and mix in the shampoo (again following instructions on your particular product). Proceed to wash your car with the clean mit/sponge starting with the roof, working your way down. Do no more than 1-2 panels between rinses. Make sure to keep the car freshly rinsed at all times (especially if it's hot outside) to avoid spotting.
Once your car is clean, and still all wet... its time to dry. There are several locally avalible products that work great. The Absorber is one of my favorite. Microfier (MF) towels can be found locally but usually the quality is low and they are not very absorbant. The California Water Blade (CWB) can be found at most auto parts stores. It is a good product, but I cannot suggest it because if its used improperly it can scratch pretty easily. It is best to start at the top and work down. If your car is waxed (water beads) before you dry, take your hose and hold it over the hood, roof, and trunk so the water sheets off and leaves less to dry. Take the towel and lightly glide it over each panel. ( order: roof, glass, hood, trunk, doors/fenders, etc..)
Once the car is dry, use a towel to dry the rims, preferably not the same one used to dry the car. As I said earlier brake dust does stick and it does scratch.
Now, everything is dry. To add finishing touches try a Quick Detail spray (QD). You can find Meguiar's and Mother's pretty easily. I reccomend (and use) a product called Clear Pearl by Eimann Fabrik(EFCP). It works great to give your car a "just waxed" shine in minutes. You simply spray it on and buff it off using a clean Microfiber towel.
This process may or may not be different than your current one. Nevertheless, it is awesome and once you get it down is easily done in 45 minutes.
Awesome Microfiber towels can be found HERE.
Great sites -
www.meguiars.com
www.topoftheline.com
www.autopia.org
If anyone has anything to add, any questions, or confusion, don't hessitate to email or call me anytime.
volvoguy2001@hotmail.com
(281) 705-8704
ENGINE DETAILING
Supplies needed:
1) Wash bucket with several different sizes of brushes and towels or sponges.
2) Car shampoo
3) Simple Green degreaser/cleaner, Orange Blast (Thanks to Beachnut), and Super Clean work well too.
4) Extra spray bottle for dilluting the Simple Green (optional)
5) Air compressor or leaf blower for drying
6) Torx screw set
7) About 5 plastic baggies, large enough to cover the alternator
8) Saran Wrap
9) MAG polish, rubber/tire protectant (optional)
Notes:
1) I am not responsible for any damage that occurs to your motor. I will do my best in telling you what to cover, and what to check for excess water but it IS possible for water damage to occur.
2) I am explaining how to clean the new FWD 4cyl, 5cyl and 6cyl motors. The steps will be the same for any engine, but I have never cleaned another Volvo motor so I do not know where water tends to collect on the other motors. If you have suggestions for a RWD Volvo, please post them in my other thread.
3) Before you begin, the engine needs to be cool/warm. NOT HOT! The temp guage should be in the lower 1/4 of its range. If it is still a little warm it will help you get the grime off easier.
4) The ECU box is pretty waterproof, so I do not mention it in the steps, but check to make sure water did not get in before you start the car.
The first and most important thing to do is cover the electricals. I find that a few different sizes of plastic baggies work well. Cover the alternator, distributor, ignition coil, and if you can reach it on your car.. the starter. The fuse box is pretty waterproof, but it wouldnt hurt to cover it with some saran wrap. Cover the battery terminals with saran wrap. Also if you have an 850, put a baggie over the ABS control module. (Newer cars ABS units are in a plastic box)
What to cover (Thanks to Admin.)
Once everything is covered, mix your cleaning solution. If your motor is really dirty, you could use the Simple Green full strength. If you feel its not too grimey dilute it by how you see fit. (The dirtier you engine, the stronger you make to solution)
Wet the engine with a light spray, never use a hig pressure spray on your engine. Once it is wet, spray on the Simple Green liberally. Let the product set for a few minutes, don't let it dry. While its soaking, fill your wash bucket with soapy wash water. Use your towels and brushes on the motor. Using a sponge or wash mit clean the bottom side of the hood, and the painted parts of the body. Scrub the grimey parts the most. Some things can be hard to get to and your hands are gonna get beat up and stuck some places. Once everything is scrubbed, rinse lightly but thoroughly. If you feel the process needs to be repeated, do so until you are satisfied.
Take your leaf blower/air compressor and start drying with it. Start with the underside of the hood. Carfull not to blow under the flame retardant hood mat, it comes loose pretty easily. Blow dry all the nooks and cranies until its generally dry. Make sure the injectors are dry (behind the fuel rail) Now use a towel and wipe all the excess water.
Take your torx set and take off the spark plug cover on top of the engine. Water accumulates here VERY easily and water on a spark plug can cause a pretty bad miss which can result in problems later. Wipe it dry, and if there is any sign of moisture in there, pull out each plug wire and make sure it is dry inside. This is very important. Once you are sure it is dry, put the cover back on.
You can now remove the baggies and saran wrap and use a Quick Detail spray on a rag to clean up the alternator, battery terminals and anything else.
If you want to add a little more shine, use a MAG alloy polish like Mothers and a towel to polish the metal. Apply it with pressure and buff it off once it hazes. Use a tire/rubber protectant on the black plastic and buff clean.
Start the car, let it idle for a few minutes while you put everything away. Check to make sure it is not idling rough. Belt squeel for a minute or so is normal especially if you used a spray rubber protectant. (Its the serp. belt) Run the a/c and make sure it blows cold. If all is well, drive it and get it warm.
Thats it!
Suggestions or Comments (Click Me)
Edited by thevolvoguy, 18 December 2004 - 06:07 PM.
