Good Results Comes from preperation

Almost every family in Australia owns a car. In a perfect world, cars won’t get dirty and paintwork are flawless without any imperfections. While in reality, cars do get dirty easier than you think from harmful environment factors such as bird and bat poo, industrial fallout or even tree sap.
The good news is there are ways to keep them less dirty with waxing your car regularly or by using paint protection coating’s self-cleaning effects. You can check out our article about paint protection coatings here.

We love our cars and most of us always want a clean car, that is why car washes and car care products exist. Compared to windscreen glass for example, painted surfaces on a car is actually quite soft and they tend to get scratched easily. If your car is covered in dust and your brush it off, chances are you’ve created fine scratches on the car. Ever wipe your car with something like a tissue? That has also probably scratched the surface.

Without the right washing methods, it won’t be long for your car paintwork looks tired and loses its lustre and gloss, leaving behind swirl marks, scratches and a dull finish.

One of the best and easiest ways to keep your car in the best condition in the long run is by using the famous 2-bucket method in conjunction with Grit Guards to wash your car safely, this method is also included in our 21-Stage Wash and Decontamination.

2-Bucket method is a safer way and a major improvement to wash your car while reducing the changes of any swirl marks caused in the process. Project Detail will go through the process with you below.

2 Bucket Wash Method

Contents include:

• 2 Large Buckets
• Car shampoo of your choice. We suggest using a pH neutral one if possible.
• 2-3 Microfibre Wash Mitts (We heavily advise against using sponges. Look out for this in another article.)
• Optional – Grit Guards. Easily found online, if you have these, these are a major bonus.

Process

1. Start by filling two buckets with as much water as possible. This allows the dirt to be released easier and suspended in the liquid. While having too little water means the dirt and debris is more concentrated.
2. Pour your shampoo mixture to the right dilution ratio into one bucket only. This becomes your ‘wash’ bucket.
3. The second bucket is filled with water only, this bucket becomes your rinse bucket.
4. Using a clean microfibre mitt, begin washing the vehicle top to bottom. This allows any loose dirt to pour down and not create any more work in this fashion.
5. Try not to use excessive force otherwise the friction may push into the paintwork and cause swirls or scratches. Allow the microfibre mitt to glide over the surface and catch all the sediment in it’s microfibre fingers.
6. Every panel or adjusting depending on how dirty your car is, rinse the microfibre mitt in your ‘rinse’ bucket. The dirt will be trapped in this bucket. Wring the mitt clean and dry.
7. Dip your mitt into the ‘wash’ bucket. Your mitt should be clean and be carrying clean shampoo water onto the vehicle.
8. Repeat the process until your vehicle is washed.
9. If vehicle is excessively dirty, it’s ok to change the water for fresh water or even change mitts.
10. After washing and drying your vehicle, be sure to wash the mitts and buckets for next use.

We hope that this article has been useful for you, feel free to share and comment as we believe this will assist in keeping your car swirl free for longer. If you would like to know more about how Project Detail washes their vehicles, be sure to check out our 21 stage wash method by clicking here.

To know more or for any additional questions, click here to contact us.