So it seems that there are a hundred sites out there on how to wash a car correctly but they all have a different opinion on what products to buy. I am curious on what soap and type of rag/cloth/etc people use to wash their Model S? This is, by far, going to be the nicest vehicle I have ever owned (second place would be the mini van I own now :tongue so proper hand washing isn't something I have really done in the past. Thanks all!
check out this article.... Do's and Dont's of Washing Your Car | Car Wash - Consumer Reports As for products, I have used Griot's mitts and spray on wash in a Gaylord sprayer. Start from top and work down always. Clean wash mitt well during the wash. I use a two bucket method in a bucket buddy Bucket Buddy - - Amazon.com I like a water blade to wisk off the water and a nice chamois to grab whatever water is left. Again, top down.
Not to nitpick, but there are plenty of discussions on TMC about how to wash the Model S and with what tools (of course there are a variety of approaches too). I described my own set-up here: Washing my Model S - First Time - Page 3
On Easter Sunday, my husband looked out the window and was floored to see me washing the Tesla. This is first for me. He washes by hand, I use the drive through (even on the BMW and the 911). That said, I used Opti-clean waterless and a bunch of micro fiber cloths and was pleased with the results. Ordered with 15%off from autogeek.com
Be careful with the no rinse products. I had a black Infiniti prior to the MS and using no rinse left horrible swirls on it.
For super high quality microfiber washing/drying cloths check out theragcompany.com They are inexpensive, and are head and shoulders above what people usually buy. I have no affiliation with them, except to enjoy a good bargain with great quality. - - - Updated - - - Since Tesla is an electric car, it there any problems with just driving it through a regular car wash.
I wash my cars with this method jet wash to get as much dirt off as possible snow foam with jet wash wash jet wash foam off (If needed when really dirty) hand wash with microfibre noodle mitt - 2 bucket method wash and rinse each panel jet wash off microfibre dry 2 towel, wet and finish cloths spray on quik wax by meguiars/Autoglym ultra deep shine additional steps when needed Autoglym super resin polish dry 2 towel microfibre buff hd wax application clay bar after wash and dry once a year after a wash, Polish and wax I can usually just snow foam it for a while which is contact less
My dad just took his P85D to a hand car wash and came back with swirl marks all over his new Tesla!! He doesn't even care... Another reason to never trust anyone with your car!
I read thru 14 different threads and many replies to find the most fitting place to brag about my cheap Bucket Buddy. Luckily I had two buckets and the furniture dolly laying around the garage. I used some wooden blocks savaged from shipping packet. So the only expense besides about 40 sheet rock screws was the housing straps 18"x1.5"x1/8" thick @ $ 1.19 each. So not counting the items laying around the house, the current out of pocket cost was less than $ 7.00 It looks clumsy and their may be ways to make it simpler - but it works. And it didn't cost $80-100 like a couple on the Internet do. I know this thread has a link to Amazon's Bucket Buddy. I don't consider that easy to operate for washing a car. Mine's got a low center of gravity and the buckets don't tip over. I can drag it around the garage beside the car and it tracks easy. The outside frame gives me a place to lay a microfiber cloth or brush. Remove the buckets and hang the dolly on the wall.
Hi I own OCDetail in SF bay. I recently made a video showing the way we wash cars using minimal water. Here is the link to the thread on this forum. I was really nervous never doing a video like that but the process is what we use and have been for a long time now. Hope that helps! Thank you
For drying towels, snag up a few Microfiber Madness Dry Me Crazy 25x17 towels. For washing the uppers, I am a big fan of Microfiber Madness Incredimitts. Washing lowers? Get a micro chenille mitt. Shampoo: CarPro Reset Snag up 2 grit guards, 3 buckets, a foam lance and p21s Total Auto Wash. The idea behind a safe maintenance wash is to remove debris as gently as possible from the surface before using force. Scratches and swirl marks are not caused by dirt getting on your car. They are caused by rubbing dirt while it's on the car. While there are general rules for car washes and detailing, I like to think in terms of theory. If you follow good practice, the rest should fall into place. Always use a separate bucket for your wheel, wheel well and tire cleaning tools. Do not share buckets with these tools ever. Place your grit guards into each of your other 2 buckets and use these 2 buckets for washing the car. Follow the mixing instructions for shampoo and create your wash mix in 1 bucket. The other bucket should have fresh water in it. Have your p21s TAW ready to go. (this can be cut with water upwards of 1-10) The Wash Starts Clean the wheels, wheel wells and tires first. Follow our guides for doing that, here: Southeast Detailing, Paint Protection, Tint - Sponsored Rinse off the car to remove all of the loose dirt and debris. This also starts to soften harder set contaminants. Spritz p21s TAW onto the front, lower sides and rear areas of the car to begin a safe chemical breakdown of bug marks, tar, heavier bonded dirt and other similar junk. Using a gentle boar's hair brush, you can agitate some of the finer gaps or you can just go ahead and rinse. If the car is very dirty, it may be best to wait to clean gaps with a brush. Rinse the car once more and then foam it with a solution of Carpro Reset and a few drops of p21s TAW. Allow the foam to dwell only if the car and air is not warm or hot. Rinse the foam from the car. The idea behind a 2 bucket wash method is to use one bucket to wash the paint and the other bucket to wash the mitt before returning it to the car wash bucket. This limits the debris that can find its way back into the bucket you wash your car's paint with. The grit guards are there to allow the debris to settle in the bottle of the buckets and not agitate upwards and back into the wash mitt. When cleaning the paint, start at the top and work your way down. We like to wash the roof and glass in one step, then rinse. Hood and top of the front fenders, then rinse. Top halves of the doors, then rinse. Trunk lid, then rinse. Respray p21s TAW to the lowers, wash the front bumper then the sides and finally the rear. We feel this fairly keeps the dirtiest parts of the car for the last. Again, the idea is to limit how much debris you could be scrubbing with a mitt. Once you've rinsed the whole car free of any residue, dry it with your new towels. Drying is straight forward. Place it on the paint and you can drag it across the surface. On the sides this may not work as well, so grab the towel and as gently as you can pull it along the paint. With 2 Dry Me Crazy towels you should be able to dry the whole car. Sit back and enjoy your freshly cleaned car.