Hand Wash

(Every 1500-2000 miles/monthly)

¶Always wash in the shade.¶

Microfiber towel care: wash with liquid detergent only, no fabric softener, tumble or air dry only, no heat.

Supplies: 
·         Optional: tent for shade*
·         Mild alkaline presoak
·         Presoak sprayer
·         Pressure washer (recommended: 1800 psi maximum, 3 gal/min minimum)*
·         Car safe hand washing soap
·         1 wash mitt
·         3-5 gal bucket with grit guard
·         1 wheel brush
·         1 primary drying towel
·         1 secondary drying towel
·         Optional: Air compressor w/handle attachment, automotive blow dryer, or leaf blower*
·         Tire dressing
·         Optional: 2 window cleaning towels
·         Optional: Glass cleaner

*Not included in Classic Supply Buckets

Directions:

Time Estimate: 1 hr 20 min – 1 hr 50 min, add 20-35 mins for windows

1.       Optional (for best results): Mix and fill presoak sprayer and presoak entire exterior of vehicle including wheels, tires, and wheel wells. Just enough to wet the surface.

2.       Pressure wash the entire vehicle from the bottom up, so as to not rinse the soap away before the friction of the direct pressure washer blade reaches the surface, gaining the full benefit of the presoak lifting the dirt off the surface. Pressure wash from 3-6 inches away and perpendicular to the surface being pressure washed. Include the wheels, the barrel of the wheels, tires, wheel wells and the outer edges of the door jambs as necessary.

3.       Fill bucket (with a grit guard) with water and hand washing soap to the instructed dilution ratio, and soak wash mitt in bucket, do not wring out before using. With the wash mitt, hand wash the body from the top surfaces down; this will ensure the wash mitt does not get prematurely soiled, grinding and swirling around from more contaminated surfaces to clearer ones. Work the lubricated wash mitt into every crack and crevasse of any intricate body trim, re-soak your wash mitt at least four times throughout this portion, and do NOT over scrub any contaminants and blemishes that to do not make a significant visual change after the first few light to medium pressure passes with the wash mitt. After hand washing the body, go over the front impact areas and lightly re-rub any bug guts, most are water soluble and after soaking for some time will come off with relative ease, do not increase pressure while rubbing. Lastly, make one more trip around the vehicle to hand wash the underside of both bumpers and rockers as well as the wheel well lips.

4.       Thoroughly rinse all soap off with a pressure washer (12-18 inches away) or garden hose.

5.       Roll the vehicle forward to rotate the wheels 180°, reapply presoak to the wheels and tires, and lightly scrub barrels and faces with wheel brush, and pressure wash again.

6.       Gently drag primary drying towel across all exterior surfaces, top down. It is okay and good to leave it slightly damp for the next step. It is imperative that you move swiftly so that the smears and streaks do not dry completely.

7.       Use your secondary drying towel with compressed air to push water out of panel breaks, seams, and trim, catching the excess water in your towel and removing smears on panels at the same time the towel is slightly damp. Again, work from the top down.

8.       Dress tires as necessary.

9.       Optional: Two Towel Method Windows: fully saturate the waffle weave microfiber towel and scrub the window to be cleaned starting around the outside perimeter then the center, rubbing with firm pressure and in multiple directions. Use one portion of your dry terry cloth towel and dry following the same patterned used with the wet towel, flip to a new part of the towel and rub until there are no smears left. Move quickly to avoid smears completely air drying.

10.   Wipe and dry the jambs, then wheels, with the same towels and method used on the windows until smear and spot free.

11.   Clean, dry, and store products for future use.

12.   Enjoy the unique feeling of pride that comes with creating and driving a clean and shiny vehicle!