webbah
Active Member
I guess I'm the odd man out, but I do a "hybrid" approach. I can't wash at home unless I do a rinse less wash. Living in Switzerland we have a lot of salt that coats the car all over including the rims, rim barrels, calipers and brakes, suspension, etc. No way I want to let that sit on my coilovers and rims for too long. So I do the following and in this order:
Tires/Rims and Wheel wells:
1) Go to a 24/7 self service wash bay
2) Spray the wheels and tires with Gyeon Tire Cleaner (in Winter this is the best as it focuses on dirt/salt more than standard rim cleaners)
3) use wheel woolly and tire brush to clean rims
4) Insert 4 tokens and Thoroughly rinse all wheels, tires and wheel wells with using the "spotless rinse" setting (very clean water with a hydrophobic additive)
Car Wash:
1) I bought a 5 liter Gloria pump foamer and changed out the connector to allow me to pump it with my portable air compressor I keep with me in the sub trunk. 40ml of Gyeon Bathe+ and the 2.6 liters of hot water pre-filled at home. Hook up the air compressor and fill to 3 bar pressure, then start foaming the car completely from top down. Let sit for 3-5 minutes. Air compressor keeps the pressure constant at 2.8-3bar. Voila, no need for a Karcher pressure sprayer connected to a hose!
2) Insert 2 tokens and do a thorough rinse with the "spotless rinse" water again.
3) Inspect and see if steps 3 onward are needed. Yes? Pull out 2 buckets, wash mitt and nitril gloves. Fill wash bucket with 1 token of hot rinse water and 80ml of Gyeon Bathe+. Wash car from top down.
4) Insert 2 tokens and rinse car with "spotless rinse" setting.
Dry:
1) I bought a battery powered leaf blower that can output 250 km/h of air and holds 2 batteries for about 30 min run time. Uses same batteries as the air compressor. Pull this out and blast out the wheels, tires, wheel wells first. Drying these out really helps to both prevent new salt from sticking when you drive off, and also drying out the brake calipers and disks prevents stuff slinging back into the rim barrels within the first 1 km of driving.
2) Then blast the mirror housings and all trim, brake lights, etc to remove any hidden water in cavities.
Vacuum:
1) Do it at home with my cordless Dyson
Tire dressing:
1) Gyeon Tire Q2m is amazing. The tires need to be dry, and even better if you can warm them up with a hair dryer or heat gun to pen up the rubber pores prior to application even better. Apply first coat and do not wipe off. Wait 1 hour and apply second coat. After a night (8 hours or so) wipe down IF you prefer a matte tire vs a shiny gloss look. Voila, this tire dressing should last for months and typically through at least 5-6 car washes for me, including heavy rain, snow, etc. This tire dressing is one of the few which is hydrophobic, doesn't sling, and adds protection to the tire vs just making it look shiny until the first rain comes.
Detailing:
Every 3-6 months I'll use an assortment of Ceramic and more recently Graphene detail sprays to renew the gloss and hydrophobicity.
All in the car was touch ups typically only take me 1 hour or so every few weeks once you have a plan and the right stuff to do the job! And doing it at a self service means I don't have a mess to clean up at home after cleaning the car for the most part.
Tires/Rims and Wheel wells:
1) Go to a 24/7 self service wash bay
2) Spray the wheels and tires with Gyeon Tire Cleaner (in Winter this is the best as it focuses on dirt/salt more than standard rim cleaners)
3) use wheel woolly and tire brush to clean rims
4) Insert 4 tokens and Thoroughly rinse all wheels, tires and wheel wells with using the "spotless rinse" setting (very clean water with a hydrophobic additive)
Car Wash:
1) I bought a 5 liter Gloria pump foamer and changed out the connector to allow me to pump it with my portable air compressor I keep with me in the sub trunk. 40ml of Gyeon Bathe+ and the 2.6 liters of hot water pre-filled at home. Hook up the air compressor and fill to 3 bar pressure, then start foaming the car completely from top down. Let sit for 3-5 minutes. Air compressor keeps the pressure constant at 2.8-3bar. Voila, no need for a Karcher pressure sprayer connected to a hose!
2) Insert 2 tokens and do a thorough rinse with the "spotless rinse" water again.
3) Inspect and see if steps 3 onward are needed. Yes? Pull out 2 buckets, wash mitt and nitril gloves. Fill wash bucket with 1 token of hot rinse water and 80ml of Gyeon Bathe+. Wash car from top down.
4) Insert 2 tokens and rinse car with "spotless rinse" setting.
Dry:
1) I bought a battery powered leaf blower that can output 250 km/h of air and holds 2 batteries for about 30 min run time. Uses same batteries as the air compressor. Pull this out and blast out the wheels, tires, wheel wells first. Drying these out really helps to both prevent new salt from sticking when you drive off, and also drying out the brake calipers and disks prevents stuff slinging back into the rim barrels within the first 1 km of driving.
2) Then blast the mirror housings and all trim, brake lights, etc to remove any hidden water in cavities.
Vacuum:
1) Do it at home with my cordless Dyson
Tire dressing:
1) Gyeon Tire Q2m is amazing. The tires need to be dry, and even better if you can warm them up with a hair dryer or heat gun to pen up the rubber pores prior to application even better. Apply first coat and do not wipe off. Wait 1 hour and apply second coat. After a night (8 hours or so) wipe down IF you prefer a matte tire vs a shiny gloss look. Voila, this tire dressing should last for months and typically through at least 5-6 car washes for me, including heavy rain, snow, etc. This tire dressing is one of the few which is hydrophobic, doesn't sling, and adds protection to the tire vs just making it look shiny until the first rain comes.
Detailing:
Every 3-6 months I'll use an assortment of Ceramic and more recently Graphene detail sprays to renew the gloss and hydrophobicity.
All in the car was touch ups typically only take me 1 hour or so every few weeks once you have a plan and the right stuff to do the job! And doing it at a self service means I don't have a mess to clean up at home after cleaning the car for the most part.
