Hand washing a car needs to be done with extra care and the right tools to avoid causing too many swirl marks. We recommend following this step-by-step guide to minimise swirl marks caused during the hand washing process.
Before beginning, we recommend you prepare the products from the What you will need list below. We cannot stress enough how important it is to never dry wipe your car when it comes to removing particles stuck to the paintwork. When you dry wipe the paint you damage the clear coat by rubbing the particles such as dirt or dust into the paint and therefore damage it as well as the ceramic coating (if the car has one applied).
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
- A high-pressure water blaster
- A foam soap sprayer (some water blasters have one built-in)
- Foam soap (use a ceramic coating friendly formula if your car is coated)
- A scratch-free wool mitt
- 2 buckets with spacers
- A leather chamois
- A leaf blower (optional)
1. Fill one bucket with water and soap and the other with plain water. Place wash mitt into the bucket with soap and water.
2. Pre-soap the entire car with a foam soap sprayer. Wait for a couple of minutes before proceeding to the next step.
3. Rinse down the entire car with a high pressure water blaster to remove surface dirt.
4. Start washing from the top half of the car, then move on to the bottom half.
Most of the particles and debris will be on the bottom of the car, this is one of the motivations for using the top to bottom technique.
Begin with washing one side of the car, front to back, top to bottom, and section by section(panel by panel). Grab your wash mitt and do not scrub or apply too much pressure. Simply use the weight of the mitt and rub lightly on the surface.
PRO TIP: After washing a section, clean the mitt in the bucket filled with plain water to remove collected dirt and debris.
5. Clean the wash mitt and begin to wash the wheels
6. Rinse off the soap with the high pressure water blaster, from top to bottom.
7. Dry the exterior
We highly suggest drying the exterior with a leather chamois instead of a microfibre towel to minimise the chance of leaving swirl marks on the paint.
Our top tip when it comes to drying the exterior without leaving watermarks or droplets is to use a leaf blower to blow off any excess water.
