I just wanted to start a thread where you could list your car wash routine, listing what you start with what products you use, what order you do things in, just your whole routine.

If you take it to a drive through, great, but only mention it if it's part of a bigger ritual.

List what products you use and why you like it possibly, but please no product arguments.

This is for the FULL wash.


1) Wash and scrub tires with NXT soap and brush
2) Wash with two bucket method using NXT soap and wool mit
3) Rinse, then clean door jams
4) Clay with Motherys Clay Kit
5) Wash again
6) Rinse
7) Polish with Mothers PowerPolish and PorterCable
8 ) Wax with Mothers PowerWax
9) Remove wax from panels and rubber...then work on those.
1o) Stoners invisble glass on the windows

This i due about once every six months. Usually before winter and summer. The washings in between are just regular washes with a spray wax, or another coat of PowerWax.

Products that I will probably try this weekend are Megs26 and KlassAIO

Basically everything I do is the same as the previous post by timehoc, except we do this every 4-5 months.

I use only Wolfgang Car Care products and I am amazed at the show quality results. I start with AutoBathe, follow with Pre-Wax Polish Enhancer and then Deep Gloss Paint Sealant. In-between these 5 month all-dayers I use Wolfgang Auto Detail Spritz for a just waxed look. Even the tires are cleaned with Wolfgang Tire and Wheel Cleaner. Have I mentioned that I LOVE Wolfgang products? :grin: We used to use Mothers and have experience with Mequires also.

BTW, Wolfgang products are on sale till 8/15/05 with free shipping. Wolfgangcarcare.com :)

Oh, and I can't express enough how IMPORTANT using the right polishing cloths, sheepskin wool mitts, etc. is. If you don't want those nasty swirl marks, use the right stuff.

My humble .02

The weekly process, (yes I wash it weekly and hate E's that look like they are made out of dust), is quite simple:

Starting on the outside I get the Green E wet, then fill a orange home depot bucket full of water and add Meguires Gold Class Shampoo & Conditioner. I do this because I use an extendable brush that I keep dipping into and it saves water. I then scrub a dub, dip dip, scrub scrub until it's all nice and bubbly. I spray it down and then use old white t-shirts (my costco ones are very lint free, better than the chamois they sell!) to dry it off. Depending on how much time I want to spend I'll either leave it at that or put on some Meguires Professional Showcar Glaze #7 for the waxing. I still have the Wranglers on so I don't bother scrubbing the tires past what the wand does and use the chamois to get the brake dust off of the rims. Yea I know, it defeats the purpose of a chamois right? Well then take my advice and don't buy the costco chamois, it is so grainy and stinky, almost like it should come with hooves and hair. I just throw it in the washing machine and it all comes out ok anyway.
The finishing touch is, yep, you guessed it Meguires Hotshine High Gloss Tire Protectant. I use this because I can control the amount of shine I desire.

I have the all season mats so I just pull those out and give them a scrubbing with the wand if need be, then I 409 the surfaces, usually the floor after it's swept or vacuumed. I use Glass Plus on the windows because it is quite gentle and works better than Windex. I think it is alcohol and ammonia free so it works great on window tinting too.

Oh and what about the dash dust? I use a mit made out of microfiber, so I don't have to put any product on the dash because it picks it all up. I found out that if I keep my hands from the temptation of wiping the dust off, I don't get skin oils on the radio that then in turn attracts more dust.

Phew, oh great, it's the weekend, time to wash it again.... :-o

Here's my weekly round up...

1) Wash and scrub wheels / tires with Eagle One A2Z (or All Wheel Cleaner)
2) Spray car with jet setting on sprayer to remove loose dirt and
3) Spray on lower pressure setting to wet car
4) Wash with Terry Cloth wash mitt from roof to down to panels and Eagle One Bucket Free Car Wash... rinsing mitt generously
5) Rinse on high pressure
6) Rinse on low pressure using runoff method
7) Dry with Eagle One Wax As U Dry
9) 303, if necessary for the panels
10) Rain-X, if necessary