[BOT_ROCKET]

See the attached flow chart to determine what course of action to take for your car. I wont go into detail on products to use because that could be a 10 page essay requiring thousands of dollars/hours that I don't have to test various products.

These youtube channels can give you more info than you need. Obviously they pedal their products, but the infois universal when it comes to fundamentals.

https://www.youtube.com/user/AMMONYCdotcom
https://www.youtube.com/user/chemicalGuys

Try to avoid washing your car in direct sunlight. If you let unfiltered water air dry on the car, you will probably get spots.

The washing step:
-Wash the rims.
-Rinse off entire car to remove loose dirt.
-Apply foam or soap. A pressure washer with a foam canon works best, but isn't required. Just make sure you get it good and soapy with as much lather as possible.
-Use soapy sponge or mop mitt with light pressure in straight lines. Avoid circles because you can cause swirls which are ugly. Keep it good and sudsy. A two bucket system helps keep the dirty water separate from the wash water.
-Rinse soap off entire car.
-There are a few methods of getting rid of water spots. You can dry right away or rinse again with filtered water to get rid of water spots. I am putting together a filtration system that I'm hoping will work to get rid of spots. I've seen some sprays that are supposed to help with spots as well.

If your paint isn't smooth because it has some stubborn residue on it, hit it with a clay bar.

You may want to wash again if you used a clay bar, but don't have to.

If your paint is bad you will need to make some paint repairs. I'm not going into that here. We'll assume your paint is in good shape for this.

Glazing is supposed to fill in very minor imperfections like swirls and gives the car a nice shine. It is optional and I have found some debate about if you should do it before or after sealing. I'm not planning to glaze because I'm not sure it does anything that the seal/wax wont. As far as I can tell, you spread it on like wax and wipe it off.

Sealing or waxing is not optional. You can seal, wax, or both. If you do both, be sure to do the sealer first. If you seal, follow the instructions for your specific product, as many sealants are applied in different ways. Waxing is also generally dependent on the type of wax you use. Just type your wax/sealant into youtube and you are sure to find the right way to apply it if you aren't sure. Usually, you will need to let the sealant/protectant cure for a while before waxing if you do both.

Quick detail is a waterless quick wash type of thing that you spray on and wipe off for a quick easy wash as long as your car still has a good coat of wax/seal.

 

[BOT_ROCKET]

I'll review the products that I have once I've used them.

Those are:

-AR Blue Clean 1600psi electric pressure washer
-Chemical Guys Torq Foam Cannon
-CG Honeydew Snow Foam, Citrus Wash and Gloss, and Glossworkz Auto Bath
-CG Jetseal paint sealer/protectant
-CG Pete's 53 Black Pearl wax
-Water filtration system for spot free rinse (DIY)
-Mother's California gold clay bar/lube
-rags, towels, sponges, etc.

 

[Wildcat Birdie]

I personally like Ammo's vids better than Chemical Guys. I haven't used any of their products yet though, except some chemical guys microfiber towels. None of their soaps or anything else.

I use Dodo Juice soap
Rejex Sealant
Pinnacle Signature Series II wax
Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay bar and lube


I am interested in your DIY Water filtration system.

 

[BOT_ROCKET]

I personally like Ammo's vids better than Chemical Guys. I haven't used any of their products yet though, except some chemical guys microfiber towels. None of their soaps or anything else.

I use Dodo Juice soap
Rejex Sealant
Pinnacle Signature Series II wax
Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay bar and lube


I am interested in your DIY Water filtration system.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I am NOT a car detailing guru, so all of the info I post regarding detailing is simply info that I found that I'm passing along. I am also not endorsing or promoting Chemical Guys' products because I haven't actually used any of them yet.

As for the filtration system, it's just a couple 10 inch whole house filter housings that I'm going to make a mobile mount for with a bypass so I can hook the hose up and easily switch between filtered and unfiltered water. I have 10 micron poly, 5 micron pleated, 1 micron poly, 1 micron cheap pleated, 1 micron absolute, and a carbon block filter. I also bought a TDS (total disolved solids) meter to I can test the effectiveness of each filter. The only one that was pricey is the 1 micron absolute, which is not likely to be used for the wash filter. I'll post an article once I get it put together and tested.

 

[Wildcat Birdie]

Oh, I forgot to mention that I am NOT a car detailing guru, so all of the info I post regarding detailing is simply info that I found that I'm passing along. I am also not endorsing or promoting Chemical Guys' products because I haven't actually used any of them yet.

As for the filtration system, it's just a couple 10 inch whole house filter housings that I'm going to make a mobile mount for with a bypass so I can hook the hose up and easily switch between filtered and unfiltered water. I have 10 micron poly, 5 micron pleated, 1 micron poly, 1 micron cheap pleated, 1 micron absolute, and a carbon block filter. I also bought a TDS (total disolved solids) meter to I can test the effectiveness of each filter. The only one that was pricey is the 1 micron absolute, which is not likely to be used for the wash filter. I'll post an article once I get it put together and tested.

I completely understand. I take pride in detailing, but I don't use extreme top of the line in anything. I try what has good reviews, and see what I think. I continue using what I like.

I will be very interested to see what you come up with and what results you get from the filtration. I would like to see your build process as well.

 

[Deathsting]

Totally detailed my car over the weekend lol

 

[Wildcat Birdie]

Unless you have a lot of particulate in your water I'm not sure how effective your filtration experiment will be. A carbon filter might be marginally better. You really want softer water. They do make softener cartridges for those types of housings but the flow rate is pretty low--1/2 gallon per minute.

Most normal outdoor taps have quite a bit of particulate. Spray your car with your hose and let it dry in the sun and it will be covered in water spots. It will be like a leopard. Go to one of those self serve car wash places and do the same thing with the "spotless rinse" setting and you will not get much of anything for water spots. And yes a water softener can help, but like you said you get low flow rates, which is not good for trying to wash a car, and unless you are going to set up a system to go on your hose, most household water softeners will not be hooked up to the water spigots. So if you are going to build something, may as well build something that will get you your desired results.

I looked into buying a system, but its pretty expensive and unless you wash your car every weekend, it goes bad and you need to replace the elements. Realistically that is only good for someone who ones a detailing business.

 

[BOT_ROCKET]

Yes, but a lot of that is dissolved minerals and a particulate filter won't remove those. A softener won't get them all either--for example my last house we had high iron and the softener with special iron-removal salt was only marginally effective. Lime it did great. A whole house softener would give you plenty of flow for rinsing a car but you wouldn't want to water your lawn, etc with the same tap.

Water softeners dont actually reduce the TDS at all. They just replace certain minerals with others, which doesn't do much for your water spots. 1 micron will remove a lot of disolved minerals, but may not flow enough. One guy reported good results with a 5 micron filter, so... Like I said, I'll try out the various filters and if it works, great. If not, I have a nice drinking water treatment system. Reverse Osmosis and distilling are about the only ways to remove ALL the TDS, but thats hardly going to happen.

 

[BOT_ROCKET]

I thought about getting a refillable cartridge for the 10x2.5 cans i got, but i want to try the filters i have now first. i might end up getting a big 20 incher for the wash and use the 10 inchers for drinking water.

 

[Not_Focusted]

Totally detailed my car over the weekend lol

Your the real MVP!

 

[cockerdogs]

Tuesday in DFW, 85 degrees. Both my wife's Explorer Sport and my FusSpo: car wash, clay bar, meguiar's wax.. Happy Day.

 

[joebrez]

As a Detailer, I would add that I use a 3 bucket method, one specifically for Rims and Tires.

Additionally, ALWAYS use a Quick Detailer when you dry with a towel. It provides lubrication.

I typically use an air dryer in the garage to knock down most of the watetr and then go over it with a Quick Detailer (CG's V7 Hybrid is a fav) on a Waffle weave towel.

 

[OhioFFSport]

great info thanks