The Wash Process: ALWAYS try to wash the car in a cool shaded area out of direct sunlight. With a dirty car I always start with a pre wash foam bath and rinse. Use the foam cannon and spray foam the entire car. After a few minutes of dwell time pressure wash off all of the soap. This will remove most of the large dirt and particulate from the paint. Next I like to re apply a second foam cannon pass. This additional foam layer provides great encapsulation and lubrication for the contact wash. This second foam application extends the working time allowing me to make my way around the car without the water drying on the paint. Use a soft bristle detail brush to agitate around badges, panel gaps or any other area that will be tough to access with a wash mitt. The dirtiest part of a car is usually the lower panels and rear. These areas should be washed last to minimize dragging dirt across clean paint. With the wash mitt start with the roof. Wash the entire top or the car first. Next work your way around all the upper panels. Wash the lower panels and rear of the car last. Do Not Let Any Soap Dry On The Paint as it will cause spots. When the contact wash is complete rinse the paint and begin the drying process.

Mixing Soap in the Foam Cannon: Add 1-2oz of soap to the foam cannon and fill the rest with water. For really heavily soiled paint add 1-2oz (depending on the contamination level) of a high quality all purpose cleaner (APC) to this mixture. This will increase the cleaning power of the snow foam. Standard car shampoo is PH neutral and is designed to encapsulate the dirt and lubricate the surface allowing for a scratch free contact wash. PH neutral shampoo does not chemically cut away the dirt. Increasing the PH with APC will increase the cleaning power and reduce the amount of agitation required to clean the panel. This reduced agitation will lessen the chance of scratching the paint. You have to find a happy medium with this technique. Too high PH = Bad as it can strip off sealants and can also cause spotting if it dries on the paint. Too Much agitation = Bad as you may scratch or mar the paint.

The Bucket Wash: I like to use the 2 bucket wash method. Pour 1-2 oz of soap into the WASH bucket and fill with water. Fill your RINSE bucket with plain water. During the contact wash be sure to rinse your mitt in the rinse bucket often. Grind it against the grit guard to remove any dirt that may be clinging to it. After its thoroughly rinsed dip it back into the wash bucket and continue your way around the car. The more you rinse and re soap the mitt the less chance of accidentally dragging dirt around the paint while washing. How often you do this is based on the dirt level on the car.

What is the benefit of a thick foam? With a higher PH pre wash scenario thin runny foam sheets off the paint fast minimizing dwell time. Thick foam hangs on longer and dries slower allowing a much longer dwell time. This longer dwell time allows the product to work longer and be more effective. A PH neutral wash soap used for a pre contact wash foam application benefits from a thicker foam and longer dwell time as well. This longer lasting, thicker foam dries slower providing more working time to make your way around the vehicle during the contact wash. A thin, runny foam runs off fast reducing your working time. If its too thin you will not make it all the way around the whole vehicle before the drying/spotting starts. In a warm/hot climate this few extra minutes of working time can make all the difference.

Videos to help you with the wash process:

EXTERIOR WASH VIDEO

2 BUCKET WASH METHOD VIDEO