How often should I wash my car?

[ChinoCharles]

I'm working on a detailing DIY. If you're like me and didn't know much about washing and waxing before, it should be a good read.

[Razr]

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

I'm working on a detailing DIY. If you're like me and didn't know much about washing and waxing before, it should be a good read.

Sounds cool!

If you're getting into this, please make sure you research actual wax longevity as well. I saw some posters saying that you only need to wax every 6 months, but that is folly in my experience... I've never seen any wax that could hold its "freshly waxed" look/feel/protection for more than about 4-6 weeks, regardless of what the informercial guy says

While I'm at it, here's some other suggestions for the DIY off the top of my head:

* Explain the two bucket system.
* Explain top-down system (this is for noobs right? )
* Why sponges/rags are reallly bad, and wash mits are reallly good.
* Why you shouldn't let your car dry naturally after washing.
* Why you don't use dish soap
* Why newspaper is the best "rag" for cleaning glass
* What claying is for
* What chemical cleaners are for
* The differences between polishes, waxes, sealants and conditioners
* Why newbie detailers should never machine buff a car
* Why rotary buffers are bad, and orbital/dual-action buffers are good
* Why applying polishes/waxes should be hard, but removing them easy
* How to clean wheels
* How to remove stuff like tar, and cow/bird shit safely
* How to polish plastic light lenses
* How to remove/reduce swirls, and how to avoid them in the first place
* How to clean tires, and how to dress them
* How to dress exterior rubber and plastics
* How to vaccum your carpet properly using the hairbrush method
* How to clean interior plastics/trims, and how to dress them (if that's your thing)
* How to remove chewing/bubble gum from seats and carpets
* How to dress your external glass surfaces
* How to remove wax build up around badges/emblems
* How to clean the inside of air conditioning vents

[static808]

WHOA! that is really comprehensive, just about everything and anything you could think of is covered there. a great (if not intimidating!!) starting point for the DIY!

--B