Ok so Sunday morning at 8 AM with the fog rollin in from the ocean we washed the car for the first time.

Materials from Richard's (Octaneguy) starter bundle:
Prima Mystique
Lambswool Wash Mitt
Dirt Guard (2 5 gallon buckets from HD)
Prima Waffleweave MF towels
Prima Hydro

1) Washed the rims with a new sponge (dishwashing kind)
This part took the longest because of the brake dust and road grime. The fresh water bucket was very very dirty after the rims so I decided to dump it.

2) Washed from top down using lambswool wash mitt. Awesome mit by the way and soap smells good

3) sprayed on hydro

3) Dried using 2 WF towels.


Questions:

1) The rotors got rusty looking after getting wet and drying. Is this normal? Is there a prevention for this?

2) WF towels did not dry the car very well. they got soaked in water and didn't dry the car and left wet marks (yes I wrung them out in between). Should I use a chemoi (sp?) first and then dry with WF towels?

I will post pics when I get a chance. Thanks Richard for a great bundle. I will have to ask for help when I start the epic and clay materials.

...and yes it looks like ill be washing my car every week

Kris

 

Ya, that's a great bundle, pretty much everything I put together before Richard started offering it.

1) Every car I've owned has done that after a wash. I'm pretty sure it's normal.

2) Waffle towels have done a great job for me (even drying out my hands pretty well). There's two things I would suggest.

A) Take the nozzle off the hose and run the water over your car like a river. It sounds like the nozzle is shooting water all over your car in a mist so you have a lot more water on the car than if you just ran the hose over it. It will reduce the amount of water you have to dry off. Not sure i'm making sense, I had to see it to understand

B) In my cleaning kit I also picked up a Meguiars Microfiber Chamois. It's excellent for drying off a car.

I'm sure some of the other OCD car care forum posters will have other great nuggets of info to share

 

I always use 2 towel to dry with, and help spread Hydro. I use one towel to get most of the water off and spread the Hydro, then use the other towel to really dry the car. The first towel gets soaked, even wringing it out, but the second towel does a good job of getting the surface dry, as it does not get wet.

Mark

 

Also - did you wash the towels before use? Because the WW towels are definitely "thirstier" after they've been through the washer and dryer (never with fabric softener). Ditto to lotsie's two towel method...

 

DId not wash them prior to use. Next week I will get most of the water off with one towel and then use the dry one for the finish.

I washed them separately on low in the washer and hung them to dry.

I think my girlfriend wanted to get in on the drying action so we both went in at the same time.

I guess the rusty rotors are completely normal after washing. I have never owned a car that had the rotors so visible so I guess I have never noticed it.

When would be a good time to use Epic on my car. Its almost a month old...would this be a good idea to help protect it? After thanksgiving and before the xmas trip to the bay area (SF) would be a good time to give my car the whole nine yards. Would this require claying ? or keep the claying for later in the cars life?

thanks

 

It's absolutely normal. Don't worry about it, once you sart driving and hit the brakes a few times it vanishes.


I still use a The Absorber by laying it on my paint and then lifting it without wiping, in a blotting action. This goes pretty quickly and soaks up most of the water, making it easier for the drying towel to finish things off.

 

I think you'll find the towels dry better now that they've been washed.

Regarding rotors, yeah, they do that. The surface rust goes away the first time you drive (except on the edges).

Regarding Epic, the sooner the better. You can do the "baggie test" to see if you need to clay - after washing and drying (with the paint CLEAN) put your hand in a plastic baggie (like a ziploc) and slide your fingertips over the surface of the paint. Does it feel perfectly smooth? Or does it feel rough and bumpy? If rough, you need to clay.

 

will do.

Also, I think I might as well get a gallon of the Mystique...if I wash once a week, that 8 oz bottle is gone in a month...yikes.

 

I would clay the car before putting any sealant on. It hurts nothing, takes maybe 1/2 an hour to do, and you will be amazed what it pulls off even a new/clean car.

Mark

 

I have Mystique in gallons if you need.

Btw, as mentioned previously, sheeting the water will significantly reduce the amount of standing water on the paint that needs to be dried off. This only works on a car that has been waxed. A car without protection will just pool and stick water all over, so the sheeting method won't work. If you've Hydro'd the paint, that will also enable you to sheet the water.

Also, the Absorber blotting technique is a good one, except you can't use it with Hydro--so you still end up needing a good waffle weave mf drying towel if you plan to Hydro at some point.

Rusting rotors happens all the time. You could wipe it with a towel if you wanted to, but it's easier to drive it a little bit. This happens regardless of whether you use a wheel cleaner or not.

Also I dry off all the paint first, then dry the windows.

Richard

 

And you don't need to use MF on the windows. I use an old bathtowel for them, the trim, the wheels and the doorjambs after I dry the paint.

(Cue someone saying that the bathtowel will drag on the paint and put swirls in it.)

Having said that, you might want to buy a bunch of waffleweave MF. If you're going to wash your MF separately, you'll need a lot of it to get a decent washer full.

I buy them from the Meguiar's truck at car shows for $10 each, much cheaper than I've seen them from online retailers.

 

It's all been said but after you've waxed and rinsed without the nozzle most of the water is gone. I get away with hydro and one pass with one waffle for all the paint and windows. Remember the less you rub around on your paint the longer you'll get between polishes. I use my good waffle weaves on the paint and my cheaper utility microfibers for the jambs , wheel trim and then a terry towel for the wheels. I don't want my wheel towel touching the paint, ever. Enjoy your new MINI

 

Good advice. I will try to get some cheaper MF towels for the trim and door jams and such and leave the nice ones for just the paint. I have uploaded some photos to the gallery...having issues placing the photos directly on the post...

Richard, I will get in touch with you when I need that gallon..perhaps even a gallon of hydro, but we'll see.

 

I washed my car again tonight and sheeting the water worked wonders for less standing water on the paint! Magic almost. I also used one WF to blot dry most of the standing water and then did the paint and then windows. Worked a lot better this time. I used a towel to get the doorjams and wheels.

I also tried the Clarity on the windows. Now I used the MF glass cloth on all the windows and it seemed to get quite wet. Am I using too much clarity? I did about 4-5 squirts per window. Would 2 WF glass cloths be useful?

Next weekend I will Epic the car. This will consist of washing as normal and drying. Then applying epic to one applicator and rubbing on the paint. Let dry and then take off with the MF starfish.

What major precautions for appling and removing the epic will I need to consider? Should I worry about the bonnet stripes (tape..) or just go over the lines with a MF after? I have never waxed a car so a link to the steps, a video, or any help would be great.

baby steps...

 

You can never have too many microfiber towels. Like Bee said, it's nice to be able to accumulate a washer-full of used MF towels, so you're not tempted to wash them with anything else, or having to wash multiple small loads because you're constantly running out of towels.

Also, having lots of towels removes the temptation to "stretch" a towel further than you should. For instance, rather than trying to quick-detail the entire car with one Monster Fluffy, I use one for the bonnet and boot, and then a second one for the sides of the car, mirror caps, etcetera.

Right now, I've got about a dozen Waffle-weave towels, fifteen Monster Fluffies, four of the MF glass-cleaning cloths, and countless of the cheap "utility" MF towels and a bunch of the "Platinum" cloths that I only use for removing polishes/sealants. This way, I know I can accumulate a full washerload of dirty towels before I run out of clean towels. I could get by with half as many Waffle-weave towels, but the "bulk" sale at Detailer's Paradise was too good to pass up!

 

You might consider buying a Jelly Blade. I use it all the time since my quick connect fitting on my hose does not easily allow me to sheet water. With the Jelly Blade I wipe the majority of the water off, Hydro then dry. I only use one towel for the MINI (the Expedition takes two).
As for Clarity, I usually apply it to the cloth not the glass. Keeps over-spray to a minimum and it doesn't drip down the window before I wipe.
Before doing Epic you can do the plastic trim with some Nero or Black WOW to ease the removal of any Epic you might get on your trim. I have not had any staining from Epic on my trim however.
And as far as DP MF Towels - I got more than a Turkish Bathhouse. Waffle Weaves, Monster Fluffies and Platinums - I got them all and lots of them. Keeps me from having to wash towels often and I have enough for a (very) full load.

 

+1 on the blade - I do exactly the same thing, with the same results. Fast, easy, works great.