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Well unfortunately for us apartment dwellers, I'm gonna have to use those self wash bays. Does anyone have a good routine that won't cost too much money. Last time I did it, it ended up costing me over $10 Since these things are timed and all and that damn stop button don't seem to work, the time keeps ticking away!!

Just wondering what kind of routine you all use, do you bring your own bucket or just use the spray on soap? If you use spray on soap do you use a washmit as well? Just wondering what works fairly well.

 
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what i would do (everyone has their own way) 1.have a bucket with soap inside ready (spray on wheel cleaner, if you have dirty rims), then spray the car/rims down with water. 2.wash, with your own mitt (start from top of car, then work your way down), and do a quick but accurate job (depending on how much time you have on the water timer or how much $$ you want to spend). if there are any small spots you've missed afterwards that you noticed, just spray some quik detailer on and wipe away. you should be able to do a quick accurate job, i've done many quick washes, and it looked just as good as if i took any longer. try different ways that will work best for you!

 
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i hate it when after i dry the car i noticed dirt styll on the car liek water spots but very dirty water spots an then i take soap an scrub it an wash it away an then dry that part agen, or sometimes i get a wet cloth an jus wipe it away, i guess i should buy the quick detailer but what brand, im not very good in taking care of my car

 
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Wash at the apartment.

1) Fill up one bucket with car soap and water, and two more with just water. Bring them down to the car.

2) Use a wash mit to apply soap to small sections of the car at a time. So do the roof first, then rinse with the water bucket, then do the hood, etc.

3) Usually my car air dries before I can finish it all, which is usually not a big deal cause it's shower water. But you can get a silicone wiper and just wipe off the water as you go along.

Doesn't take me more than an hour to wash, clean the rims (using some shop towels to wipe em), and do the windows.

 
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i use meguiars quik detailer, and it's great stuff. gets rid of water spots, contaminants, dirt, etc...

 
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i got a 5 gal bucket with a lid from walmart that i put car wash soap and 3 gal of warm water in. i start at the front of the car since that usually takes the longest. i go over the car once. then i do the whole car again to get any spots i missed. i use a washmit with a 2.5 ft handle along with a sponge to wash. then i use the high pressure rinse to wash the car off. then i spray on wax-as-u-dry and dry the car off. if i miss anything, i get that at home with quik detailer. it costs me $2.25.

 
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nice, thanks for the ideas...guess i'm off to buy a bucket...I learned the hard way with the Accent not to use that big blue brush of doom. Needless to say what happened but glad I beat the shiat out of the Hyundai before the Honda

 
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*big blue brush of doom*.... lmao! So funny, yet SO true!

 
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you could just do it faster. I used to pay about $5 and got washing the car in, both wax and clearcoat, tire cleaner, and everything else. And it only takes about 5-10 min to do.

 
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What I used to do when I lived in an appartment was go to those self cleaning bays and bring a bucket,wash mitt,carwash soap,absorber. Rinse it off really well with the sprayer that'll cost ya 2 bucks fill your bucket with some water add soap, soap up whole car with your wash mitt and than rinse off very well another 2 bucks. Pull out and dry it with the absorber. So it only costs you 4 bucks!

 
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I go to college and live in a dorm so I have had to resort to the same thing. What I usually do is put in enought quarters to get me a little more than 5 minutes of washing time. It is like 5-7 quarters, can't remember exactly. Actually I don't think all places are the same. First I spray my car down with soap. Stop the water and use a terry cloth sponge and go all around the car and wheels, pretty fast to get the dirt off and not waste too much time. Then I usually spray my car down with soap spray again to make sure everything is clean. Then i spray it down with water and afterwards I just dry it and it looks almost good as new, except with all the scratches and dings. I have perfected it down to an art in my opinion, get the most for as little as possible.

 
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Self Wash Bays yuck

 
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I just use the touch-free car wash. Quick and lazy!

 
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I have the paint sealant on my 2005 Civic EX Special Edition, would wax make it hazy or am I ok to wax? I have heard that if you have a paint sealant that the wax will make the paint hazy.

 
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the paint sealant is wax I believe, they lied to you and took an extra like 300 bucks from you, sorry. wax is hazy when you put it on, than you buff it out. It takes me like 1-2 hours to wash my car every week. I am always detailing the outside, underside, inside. I could not use a self wash bay. Luckily I got 2 houses to choose from for washing.

 
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I do this same routine for $3.00...I live in an apartment and put a little kit carnuba wash (very good) in my bucket, bring my wash mitt and absorber, put in 1.50 to wet the whole car and fill my bucket (you can clean tires if you want now with the extra time)
Next, just take your time (moderately quick since you aren't supposed to be using a bucket in the wash bay, but they never say anything to me), wash your car good with your mitt, then put in another 1.50 for rinse and rinse your car, dry with absorber...

 
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yep, wash at the apartment. i live at a house but i go to the old apartments to wash my car since they have a designated car wash area.

most if not all the apartment buildings around here have faucets on the side. just gotta know where to look and hook up your hose and ur good to go.

.

 
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The best way to wash your car in one of the car bays is this.
My dad at one time ran a car wash and I learned real quick what works best. So here you go:

I always started with the wheel cleaner, get the wheels real good with it and them move to the presoak step. This step has the most concentration of soap and does the best cleaning. Spray the whole car like your painting it. A real nice coat over the whole thing. Next you need to go directly to wax. All waxes have to be kept warm so they don't clog up the lines. Also the hot wax will just about take anything off, except tar. This should leave the car pretty damn clean. Then I always go back with the spot free rinse and spray off the wax. You don't want to blast it all off with the high pressure, then theres no point in waxing. A little wax left over doesn't kill anything. Should be right around 5 bucks. Not to bad. I know how you feel. We used to average about $9.50 a wash in the manuals and $7.00 in the autos. Just my $.02

DMAN

 
Rep Power: 312

wash it late at night.. then no one cares if you have a bucket or not