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[Trouble]

Your Costco has a car wash??

Yep. Gas station too.

 

[Maedre]

That would probably land you in jail here in Germany.

Because of the non filtered wastewater.

 

[acksman]

Wrapped the car in Xpel paint protection film and use whatever.

 

[bjork]

With soap and water and a sponge. Then dry it off with a chamois and vacuum inside if needed. It's really not that hard unless you're some maniac about detailing it.

 

[OldMan]

Down there at the car wash or by hand during the warmer months

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I take it through an auto-wash about 4 times a year after which I vacuum out the interior. That's it. I don't really care how it looks. It's just a conveyance, I feel no love for it, and I won't trade it in or sell it unless it's unusable, at which point it's not worth much anyway.

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

Dollar car wash that recycles their water.
Probably twice a week.

 

[The Albatross]

I take my car to a car wash with my dog. He likes it.

 

[chancellor]

Hose it, sponge it with soap, rinse of again with the hose. Always start at the top and work down because the bottom is dirtiest. Takes 5 or 10 mins.

 

[Wyndstryker]

Let mother nature determine when to wash it.

Unless a bird decides to dump on my car then it's to the automatic drive through ones

 

[Meier]

Hope it rains.

 

[parrotbeak]

I live in an apartment building so that's not really an option.

We lost our car wash area and the nearest DIY car wash isn't convenient so I've been using this on my new car:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006FUT0CS/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It is fine as long as you keep the car from getting too dirty. I use a detailer to spot clean bird shit or other things that will damage the paint if left too long.

I go through the bottle fast. I've been looking for a bulk version but haven't found one yet.

 

[HvySky]

With a hose and a bucket.

 

[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

car wash by hand, it sucks that the place i used to frequent closed though and im in this new place but it aint the same

 

[AstroNut325]

Question: when should you wax your car? And when should you clay bar the car? Is it better to do them together? If yes, which goes first, the clay or the wax?

 

[dubc35]

That would probably land you in jail here in Germany.

Because of the non filtered wastewater.

??

There's no rinsing or run off. That's one of the major advantages of using Optimum No Rinse (and other no rinse washes).

http://www.autogeek.net/how-to-use-rinseless-wash.html

 

[ascii42]

I just use a touchless car wash at a gas station now. It doesn't do a particularly good job, but it saves time and get the big stuff off.

Every few months, I'll apply Wet Paint glaze, which really is as good as the site claims.

Yeah, I recently found a touchless wash near me, which is nice. It also has self wash stations, too, but I haven't used those yet.

 

[Matticers]

I do the two bucket method in the spring and summer but I might try the local car wash for the first time this winter if the car looks particularly bad. They have different automatic, hand wash and detailing options there.

 

[QualityPixel]

I watched this last night and it sounds awesome. This method will make subsequent washings easier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFXfSBR5Q9w

 

[Cerity]

Question: when should you wax your car? And when should you clay bar the car? Is it better to do them together? If yes, which goes first, the clay or the wax?

1. Wax whenever your previous layer of wax wears off, depending on the wax it can be anywhere from a week to a few months.
2. Do a standard wash of your car, then run your bare hand over any of the panels. If it feels pretty rough then it's time to clay.
3. It'd go clean -> clay -> cut/polish -> sealant/wax.

There are a lot of good channels on youtube for learning up about detailing, very much worth watching if you want to take good care of your car.

 

[UncleMeat]

Just use the two bucket method


Hand washing is mad cheap.

Thanks for this! I always wash my car myself with all the right stuff (I thought) but still battle the swirls, this is really going to help.

 

[PantherLotus]

This is the dorkiest shit. Go to the auto-wash like a normal human. Unless you're driving a Rolls Royce or some ancient shit, your car will be just fine in an automatic.

 

[Ovid]

I'm willing to bet money there's a DIY car wash place fairly close. Those can be good to use for just the water.

This does not exist in NYC.

I've seen it all over the place in Cali though.

 

[TSM]

I just keep a protective layer of filth on my car.

 

[turtlesbonanza]

About fortnightly. The two bucket method with a snow foam prewash first using a pressure washer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1_aAp4gYak

 

[johancruijff]

20€ inside&outside, every 40/50 days

If it rains sand, i use a self service washer

 

[mmazurkiewicz]

Tools Used:
Electric Power Washer
2 Five Gallon Buckets
Soap
2 Wash Mitts
Wheel Cleaner
Wheel Woolies
Leaf Blower
Large MF Towel
Small MF Towels
Detail Spray
Bug/Tar Spray during summer
Glass Cleaner
Glass Towel

Steps:
Spray wheel cleaner on dry wheels and let sit for 3 to 5 minutes.
Use wheel woolie to scrub the cleaner around
Hose off cleaner with pressure washer
If summer time, spray bug/tar spray over front of car and mirror caps. Use wash mitt to break the bugs/tar down.
Hose down the car with water.
Fill one five gallon bucket with four gallons of water.
Place the wash mitt in the other bucket, add soap, and fill with water. Do not add water and then soap as you wont get as good a mix.
Clean car from top to bottom, cleaning the mitt in the clean bucket of water as often as possible.
Clean wheels with leftover soap using a wash mitt to get any excess dirt not removed in prior wheel cleaning step.
Hose car off.
Blow car off with leaf blower from top to bottom.
Use large MF towel to pat car dry of any extra water.
Use small MF towel to hit up large body panels with detail spray to remove any water spots.
Open all doors and trunk and dry all door jams with small MF towel.
Bring car into garage and clean all windows now likely covered in water spots using glass cleaner and glass towel.

I try to do this every two to three weeks. During the winter I only do this if theres a warmer day during the weekend, otherwise I bring the car to a touch less wash with undercarriage cleaning for $10.