Toby is going to be very busy this christmas, what with family spread from Bunyip to Geelong, so i thought i'd apply my expert hand at giving him a nice bath.
So it was off to the BP carwash on preincess hwy near warragul rd for a wash.
Now, this is to be an explanation of how to make the most of your time at your average carwash.
I was going to photograph everything as i went, but deemed it too hard.
This is bought to you by Myself, A Detailer with 10 years experiance who currently works for City Nissan/Yarra Honda/Yarra Suzuki/Yarra Hyundai.
The first thing to remember is dont pussy foot around worrying you're going to get things wet.
They will live.
This is important to remember for later on.
Now. Pop the bonnet, Fuel cap and Boot.
Insert Coins, select engine and tire cleaner.Begin in the engine bay. Give everything a good thoughour coating in green, including the underside of your bonnet and bonnet matt. Be sure to coat the scuttle tray and wipers. you would not beleive how much crud accumulates there.
Once thats done, move to the front bumper. coat it well in the tire and engine cleaner. it will strip the bugs and crud like you wont believe.
At this point i like to move to the left side of the car.
The front left wheel and tire. Dont forget the brakes and under the guards.
Then move along the left side. Keep applying the green to your sills. get on your knees, get low, get everything. Tar and grime is thrown down here, and there is nothing like a degreaser to strip it off. Keep going round. Left rear wheel, tire and under gaurds.
Rear bumper. Just like the front, you wanna coat the whole thing. Dont forget the defuser. Get on your knees again. get those mufflers and tips soaked.
Now repeat the right side as you did the left.
I like to circle the car, not going backwards. I find it just makes things easier.
return to the left side and open the front door, spray all the jams and hinges, do the same to the rear door, and boot jams. Move to the right and repeat.
Next. PreSoak.
At this point you can knock the boot shut. it will get in the way other wise.
Still circling the car, start at the top, working your way down, I wanna see the whole thing pink. Everything, even if you've already sprayed green on it. you dont need to re do your door jams this round, they are fine till rinse time.
High pressure soap.
I like to use this to rinse the green and pink away, and blast off any grime the soaking has softened up. You'll note how many bits that used to be a pain to remove are coming off easy.
The bonnet should still be open, get in there and blast everything. Dont be a pussy. If you're scared, have the motor running.
Now lets give this thing a scrub.
Start by rinsing the broom out with the high pressure soap.
Take note. it is not the brush itself that can scratch your car, it's trying to continue using it when the time and soap have run out and you're too cheap to put more coins in.
take your time here. start at the roof, and work yourself down and around, panel by panel. over lap your strokes. Get in and around everything.
As i get to the rear of my car, i like to get on my knees and brush over the chrome muffler cans. this kind of stuff will make the world of difference.
the bonnet is still up yeah? give the engine cover a scrub.
Rinse time.
I start at the engine bay where i started long ago (10 minutes maybe).
work your way round just as you did with step one, but instead of just concentrating on the low stuff, start high, and use the water you're spraying on top to wash the soap off below.
Once you've taken the soap off the body, open the doors and blast out the green. Wholah clean hinges. Close up again and just rinse any dirt or soap you've dislodged while doing your hinges.
Thats It.
Take it out now and Chamois it down.
Start on the body, start at the top.
Always it's start at the top.
dont forget your door jams. While the doors are open, i like to chamois the dash and door trims ect.
And thats it. Polish if you like (i wont get into that here) Add some tire shine (Silicon only! avoid citrus based tire shine, it just flings off) I like to stray tire shine on the black plasctic sections on the rear bumper, under the gaurds and in the front bumper and lip.
Your results should look like this.
Now stand back and enjoy.
This result took me 35 minutes in total.