Wash

Overview

Washing and drying is the foundation of any detail, whether it's simply maintaining your vehicle with a wash and dry or the start of a long detailing process. It's often overlooked that properly washing and drying your vehicle is the single most important step in any detailing process. This is due to the fact that most imperfections (swirls, scratches, water spots, etc.) are added to your paint during the washing and drying phase. With the proper tools, products and technique, you can easily minimize adding imperfections to your paint. There are various methods you can use to properly wash, which will be explained below in detail. We recommend washing once every week or two.

Foam Wash

Using a Gilmour Foamaster II Foam Gun in conjunction with your two bucket wash method can further minimize adding imperfections to your paint, as well as add some fun to your wash process. The main benefit is that you can pre-soak your vehicle with shampoo without the need to touch your paint. This allows the surfactants in the shampoo to start lifting contamination from the surface of your vehicle, which can also speed up the wash process.

How-To Wash using a Gilmour Foamaster II Foam Gun

Step 1: Follow the Pre-wash Setup Procedure, making sure you use the Gilmour nozzle that comes with the Foamaster II

Step 2: Pour roughly an ounce (or as directed on the bottle) of shampoo into your non-rinse bucket

Step 3: Spray the bucket with shampoo to generate some lather and suds

Step 4: Pour the appropriate amount of shampoo into the foam gun reservoir and add water if desired (we like 4 - 6 ounces of shampoo with 4 - 6 ounces of water)

Step 5: Adjust the dial to the appropriate dilution setting (we like Setting E for maximum suds)

Step 6: Shake the foam gun tank to mix the shampoo and water, which helps generate more suds

Step 7: Attach the foam gun tank to the foam gun nozzle

Step 8: Starting from the top of your vehicle, cover your entire vehicle in suds with the foam gun

Step 9: Take your wash mitt or sponge from the rinse bucket, and dunk it into the bucket full of suds

Step 10: Starting from the top of your vehicle, gently glide your wash mitt / sponge across a section of your vehicle, using little to no added pressure

Step 11: Clean your wash media in your rinse bucket, running your mitt or sponge over the Grit Guard insert to release as much contamination as possible

Step 12: Repeat steps 7 through 9 until your entire vehicle has been washed

Step 13: Remove the foam gun and thoroughly rinse off the suds from your vehicle

Step 14: Turn the shut-off valve to the off position and remove your spray nozzle

Step 15: Turn the shut-off valve back on and use the free flowing water to perform the sheeting method

Step 16: Proceed to drying your vehicle

Note: There is no one right dilution ratio for a foam gun and any shampoo combination. We recommend you experiment with different ratios to see what you like best. If you provide a richer concentration expect more suds and a slicker surface while washing, but if you want a great value try diluting it more.

Sheeting Method

The sheeting method is a simple process that allows you to dry most of your vehicle without ever needing to touch the paint with a drying towel. The main idea behind the sheeting method is to create a cascading effect where the water flowing onto the car combines with the water already on the surface, pulling it down off of the vehicle. Simple physics states that like particles stick together, which is why this method is so successful. When done properly, especially on a vehicle with a sealant or wax on it, you are left with only a few drops of water on each panel, which can easily be absorbed with your drying towel.

How-To Perform the Sheeting Technique

Note: This should be performed after you vehicle has been properly washed following the recommended steps. Also, make sure your hose is dispensing free flowing water prior to starting.

Step 1: Starting from the top of your vehicle moving left to right, flood the roof until water is pouring off the edge

Step 2: Quickly lower the hose a little to "catch" the water falling from the roof, this time moving right to left

Step 3: Lower the hose again and continue in the opposite direction moving left to right

Step 4: Continue this technique until you reach the lowest panels of your vehicle

Step 5: Finish drying your vehicle

Drying Your Vehicle

One of the most common mistakes people make when detailing is improperly drying their vehicle. This is often a major cause of adding imperfections to your paint. Before putting a towel to your paint, if you have access to a blower, we recommend blowing out panel gaps, trim pieces, lug nuts, between mirrors and glass, and lights. This helps prevent the continuous drip from these common areas which can be a pain when you are performing other detailing steps. For a drying towel, we highly recommend using a microfiber waffle weave drying towel for removing any water left behind (after performing the sheeting method of course). Waffle weave towels are textured so that it can help pull remaining contamination away from the surface rather than dragging it across the paint like a chamois (such as The Absorber or Shamwow). It's also much softer than a cotton bath towel, and can hold more than 5x it's weight in water.

How-To Properly Dry Your Vehicle

Step 1: If you haven't already, be sure to perform the sheeting technique to remove a majority of the water

Step 2: If you have access to a blower, blow out panel gaps, trim pieces, lug nuts, between mirrors and glass, and lights to stop any dripping

Step 3: Starting from the top of your vehicle working down, blot dry (avoid dragging as much as possible) any remaining drops of water with your waffle weave drying towel.

Note: If you are performing a maintenance wash and don't plan on doing any steps afterwards, we recommend going over your paint with a quick detailer and a plush microfiber towel to remove any tiny droplets of water and to enhance your paints finish. If you are moving on to claying or polish, a few tiny drops remaining on your vehicle are OK, as the next steps will remove them.