Wash Routine?

Seth_FC3

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I have a white civic 2.0 and I'm trying to develop a wash system I can use once a month. This is is what I have from the research that I've done. I'm just concerned about polishing and waxing. Is that required every wash or should I do it every 2 or 3 washes?

1. Rinse off any dirt and debris

2. Soap and wash with RainX car wash

2. Dry with microfibre towel

4. Clay bar (every 6 months)

5. Polish with Meguiars polish

6. Wax with Meguiars quick wax

7. Finish it off with Meguiars quick detailer
Dry with a leaf blower is possible! Using that is the safest for your paint since there's no direct contact. After drying most off with the blower, you can hit the little extra water spots with a micro fiber
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joecalta3

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One thing to note when drying is the method... I have never dragged a cloth, microfiber or otherwise, across my panels. Hood, roof, trunk, door, front and rear fenders. Simply lay the towel on the paint and then allow the towel to absorb the water. Patting it as needed. 3 years in and scratches are non-existent. Check out:
 

Siqc Cafe

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It's become a bit of a hobby for me, hard to fit in too many hobbies with a bunch of rugrats running around anyway:

Friday Night: pressure wash the car with ONR in a foam cannon and deionized water. I can let it dry overnight and it gets rid of most of the debris on the car, takes < 30 mins

Saturday Morning: ONRWW wash in my air conditioned garage, takes < 30 mins

Sunday Morning: lightly clean interior, vacuum, etc, <15 mins

Daily driver is ready for another week
Wow AC garage =)
 

IronFusion

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My car is garaged at home.

In the summer I'll do weekly or bi-weekly light cleans with a foam cannon. Monthly deeper with two-bucket.
My goal is to have very few involved cleanings where I'm polishing so long my hands are pruney or claying such that it looks I choked out a smurf. Do it right, take a long time, but do that as few times as possible. Then I'm enabled to be in place so a quick wash returns the dazzle it has after the milestone washes.

Light washes go like:
Start w/ a quick high-volume rinse to wet everything and flush big stuff. I wag the nozzle back and forth rapidly, essentially slapping the car with clodds of water. It's effective. This probably accounts for half the water used. Then I use a 40 or 20 degree tip with a small power washer, giving a lot of attention to the base and the rear. Then foam cannon with my under-powered washer (the car looks glazed more than snow-foamed). Then a thorough rinse with power. Then a quick high-volume low pressure rinse from top to bottom to rly flush the channels and gaskets clear (sudsy water tracing down after you're done is agitating). Then lube+bead spray-down. This makes water run itself off the car, helps a cham grab the water, and rly enhances the hydrophobic protection from the shampoo. Because the car is misted with lube, drawing the sham across panels is less likely to put a lot of micro scratches in the surface. I can get this done in as little as 40-50min, which includes drying off.


Coming into and heading out of winter I use a detergent to remove polish and wax, and will run some clay over things, and then apply a synthetic polish and protectant.
Doing the deep clean to protect the surface for winter and then doing it again to reestablish a nice top finish allows me to keep the car looking very clean on the touchless washes. Usually the only spots needing a quick scrub are just the rear fender, the rims of the tire wells and the side underbidy spoiler. Between road and brake dust, that's not bad.

I highly recommend getting a basic foam cannon and an inexpensive power washer if u have ur own place.
I really like the scent and satire of Chemical Guys Stripper Sudds Shampoo. Their after-wash drying assist spray leaves my car smelling like like cotton candy for days.

I recently received a random-obit buffer I'm going to incorporate into my process. I haven't done chip maintenance for a year and may have a pro make-whole all outstanding touch-ups.

I've had my car for over 4 years, and it still looks impressive to this day.

Honda Civic 10th gen Wash Routine? IMG_20210305_193910_258

Honda Civic 10th gen Wash Routine? IMG_20210224_173042_768

Honda Civic 10th gen Wash Routine? IMG_20210305_193910_261

Honda Civic 10th gen Wash Routine? IMG_20210305_193910_290
Honda Civic 10th gen Wash Routine? IMG_20210224_194322_815



Images 1 and 4 are from a security cam, and show before and day-after. I started after work and left the car sit for two days so I could get it into the garage without flinging dirty snow all over it). All in-order except the very last (taken just after being dried) just bc the Pic is the best.
 
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