What is the best way to wash my car? What is the two bucket method?

Well, it depends! Washing your vehicle depends a lot on how dirty it is, and that can mean bird droppings caked in, tree sap on your paint baked in, and a host of other nasties ready to eat into your paint layers.

The key thing to remember is

Most of the swirls, scratches happen during the incorrect washing (wiping, scrubbing) harsh foreign matter from your paint.

Most people just dunk their sponge in soapy water, and start scrubbing, this is a sure way to damage your paint.

The best way to remove as much of this abrasive contaminants off your paint when washing is to get as much of it off your paint BEFORE to start sponging.

Get a foam gun! They are not expensive, here is a pic of one here, they can be used with your regular hose.

Get a good foam wash to use in your foam gun, this make a very slippery foam when sprayed on your car, it lifts almost all of the abrasives, which are then hosed off (yes you heard me, no scrubbing yet!)

Speaking of your hose, it's not a bad idea to get a filter for your tap (again, not expensive), this prevents rust particles and sediments that are in your old pipes.

You simply connect it between your tap and your hose, get a glass one so you can see the particles accumulate, and have that satisfying feeling knowing they aren't being rubbed into your precious paint.

While we are on the topic of buying kit, here are a few other things, again cheap to buy but make a huge difference.

Two buckets! Yes that's right, Two buckets, and better yet, get the ones that have a separator at the bottom which stops your sponge from picking up the sediment and gunk that will accumulate at the bottom of the bucket.

The rest you likely already have, car wash liquid (good quality) and a nice couple of chamois. Why two? Because we prefer you have one that you only use on the top surfaces of the car, and the other can be used around the sides.

Here is an example of a good wash mitt.

As for a sponge, we recommend a wash mitt, as they don't fall and become contaminated with dirt and are easier to use.

Okay so now you have all the kit, let's lay out all the steps to a non-abrasive car wash you can do yourself.

1. LOCATION - Pick a good spot to wash your car, not in direct sun

2. FIRST RINSE - Hose off the car to remove most of the dirt and grime

3. FOAM - Fill up your foam cannon and let it rip, foam up the whole car (if it's not too hot, let it sit a minute or two, but don't let it dry)

4. SECOND RINSE - That's right, do not scrub anything, just rinse all the foam off, as this will remove almost all the grime off your paint.

5. BUCKET PREP - Remember the two buckets with the grit guards, fill both with water, one gets your quality car was solution mixed in, the other is just plain water.

6. CLEANING - Get your mitt or sponge and dip it into the soapy water bucket, and gently wipe/clean a section of your car, then rinse the mitt in the water only bucket, then dip again in the soapy water and wipe the next section (start with the roof, screens, bonnet/boot, then sides). One a hot day you will need to work fast, and will likely need to hose off each section to prevent the soap drying (you don't want that).

7. WHEELS - I like to use a completely different mitt for the wheels (make sure you have them clearly marked)

8. FINAL RINSE - At this stage I like to rinse the car a last time. On a hot day you will have already rinsed each section one a time to prevent drying, but on a cooler day you can sponge up the whole car and just final rinse once.

9. CHAMOIS DRY - Pre wet your chamois, squeeze out, if the water squeezing out is dirty you need to clean this chamois (best to do this before you start or after each use)

   Start in the same order as you washed, roof, windows, bonnet, boot and sides.

   Pro tip - If you have a high pressure blower (like a Big Boi) you can blow out all the water droplets hiding in the mirrors, gaps BEFORE you chamois.

   Again using very light wipes is key to avoiding damage.

10. OPTIONAL - Protectant application - at this stage your car should be clean and dry, and it's not mandatory for every wash, but this is a good time to apply some simple protectants. Again, small applications, very light wipes is key to avoiding damage. As is a clean area.

So now you are ready to wash your car with the two bucket method!

If you want to join one of our wash training workshops, where you will learn everything listed here and more, reach out to us on our contact form here