Cleaning a recently waxed car

Any tips?

Give up driving.

haven’t really gone anywhere in it

It'll come up clean again with minimal effort. I'd give it a gentle wash: Hose or pressure wash. Wash. Rinse. Dry. Or just jet wash it if you want rid of the worst.

Yes it will be easier to clean, but if big blobs of dusty water dry on it then you'll be left with big dusty marks.

If it's hydrophobic enough then the water forms bigger blobs and that causes it to run off, but even that has limits. And the dirt might not get agitated up into the water. It's wax, not a dirt teleportation device.

Wash it, gently with a mild car shampoo and a hose, nothing agressive or a jetwash. The stronger the chemicals you use and the stronger the jetwash the more of the wax it'll take off which defeats the point.

The MG gets posh shampoo in a garden sprayer, which works at least as well as snowfoam I've found, but just doesn't look as fun. And doesn't strip the wax off. Followed by a hose after a few minutes (which gets 99% of any dirt off. Then a bucket of posh shampoo and microfiber noodle mit. Microfibre to dry, then a coat of bilt hamber double speedwax (it's a small car, so I can just do one coat all round and it's only just dry by the time I get back to the bonnet).

The other car(s) get whatever truckwash TFR I've got to hand and blasted with the Jetwash followed by turtlewax wash'n'wax. TBH it shows, but life's too short.

I had the dusty blob issue recently and I ended up polishing the whole car again (black car so blobbing was awful). When waxing it's a good plan to check your polishing cloths for metal cuttings. If you don't there's a high probability that you'll put deep scratches into your bonnet - deep enough to require a respray 🙄

I left mine until the torrential downpour tonight hosed it clean 🤷‍♂️

Try giving it a light wash in the rain.

Seriously, stops the streaks on a recently washed and waxed (black in my case) finish.

This stuff in a pump action garden sprayer, leave it a few mins, then blast off with pressure washer. That's enough to clear off dust residue etc. I don't have the time/inclination to watch the car/van properly a lot of the time, and unless it's properly filthy this stuff does a great job. Even when washing the car properly I use this as a prewash to get the worst off before touching the car with soapy water.

https://bilthamber.com/product/auto-foam/

I have a snow foam thingy.  Sounds like that plus a gentle rinse with the jet would be worth a try.

+1 for bilt hamber.

Thunderstorm and hailstones to finish seems to have left ours sparkling.

What tinas said. Dirt makes things dirty.

If its not picked up muck from driving you could probably get away with a foam pre wash and rinse.

You could just NOT use up an important resource during a dry spell to do a completely unnecessary thing?

Use a no water cleaning spray? Eg waterless wash & wax. Easily gets rid of soiling, shouldn’t remove the wax, and adds even more shine.

We regularly get Saharan sand in our rain, I just do a 2 bucket wash as usual and wax every couple of months.

Dry with a synthetic thingie from autoglym

OP - new car?

Thunderstorm and hailstones to finish seems to have left ours sparkling.

Where I live you need to be a bit more careful with hailstones.

One of our cars got dented by hail when I left the garage door open in a storm!

This isn't a photo of my car, but i've seen worse.

I have the same issue as the op, it looks a right mess following a bit of rain after a dry spell - compounded by it being high gloss black paint.

IME you have two choices:

1). Live with it and just maintenance wash it every couple of weeks (with a wax friendly car shampoo like Carpro Reset, which despite the name doesn't strip wax)

2). If you have a good wax applied (or preferably a ceramic coating) then hose/pressure wash it down and use a blower to dry it (or microfibre cloth if swirl marks don't bother you, as there's more chance of still being dirt on the surface as you aren't actually washing it)

I had the dusty blob issue recently and I ended up polishing the whole car again

I really don't get this, you shouldn't need to polish for dusty blobs. Maybe if you've got actual water spots that you can't get out but not surface dusty blobs. Polishing should be done as little as possible as you're removing a layer of clearcoat every time.

Ah but that’s what your paint thickness testers for 🙂

I think it depends a lot on what polish and what other polishes you’ve applied as well as whether you’re hammering it with a machine or a light hand er hand job.

You can easily go mad if you get into detailing 🙂

Two bucket maintenance wash with grit filter obvs

Or something...

I’m gutted as my yeti fist has finally expired and I can’t easily pick one up 🙁

Two weeks of dust on it, then it rains ! Hmm

yes its a pain. Ive recently got my first gloss black car (30 year old rust buckets dont count) and its terrible at spotting.

As a quick sort out. i can recommend getting yourself the autoglym polar kit. it works really well and is almost a touchless washing process. you just need 1 bucket to rinse your mit.20 mins and job done

You can try hosing it down with just the hose, no sprayer, and it might sheet the dirt off with the water.

My suggestion though, if it's just got dried on pollen etc, use a rinseless wash for example Optimum No Rinse ('ONR').

All you do is put a couple of capfuls in a bucket, apply to a panel using a microfibre then dry that single panel using your soft towel. Then another microfibre, dry. Repeat. You can also use a plastering type sponge (not a cheap normal shitty car washing one).

This type of product is not a soap, it's an extremely slick polymer which will slide the dirt off but leave the wax/sealant/etc untouched and will not cover the paint in swirls.

You can go a step further and use a waterless wash like Meguiar’s Ultimate Waterless Wash & Wax, it's the same sort of thing but they do work out quite expensive as you are not diluting it down.

I'm astonished how often people seem to be washing their car. Every couple of weeks?! Mine gets washed when it goes to the dealer for a service.

yup every 1-2 weeks for me.

wax every 4-5

polish every 3-5 months

Gosh.

The last time I waxed a car was likely in the 1990s and I don't think I've ever polished one, I didn't know that was a thing even. Do you have a posh car or are you stuck for something to do?

DON'T JETWASH IT!

Snowfoam and a gentle once over with a soaking lambswool mit and then a rinse with a hose and fast drive to clear the water.

Buckets of very shampooey water will be sufficeint if you don't have a snowfoamer.

Minial water, minimal effort and you won't damage the wax coat.

The last time I waxed a car was likely in the 1990s and I don’t think I’ve ever polished one, I didn’t know that was a thing even. Do you have a posh car or are you stuck for something to do?

Well, this is the thing. I never used to wash cars and they ended up pretty grimy and I didn't care.  But there's two issues.  The Merc is a really nice car, and that makes me want to look after it and keep it nice.   It's interesting to consider how I think about it.  It's not about status, for me, I never had an aspiration to own such a thing nor have I ever even window-shopped for one in the past.  And this one is old, and consequently not particularly high value, so it's not really a wealth indicator.   I don't own anything else showy at all.  But I have grown to really like it, I like how it looks, and I want to keep it looking nice.  Within reason, of course - there is a line beyond which insanity lies.  The other issue is that it's metallic black which looks absolutely amazing when fully polished up, and really quite bad when it's dirty!  That said I still didn't clean it at all over winter.

The reason behind waxing it, by the way, is that it's meant to keep it cleaner for longer, so the theory is that it will require less work to look better longer.  There are many super fancy things you can do that I am not going to bother with.

Another aspect is that it's quite a pleasing activity in some ways.  It's a problem with narrow scope, so it allows me to indulge my need to do a nice job and make a good shiny smooth pretty thing, whilst not needing to worry about anything else such as the absolute tip that is my house.

Something I learned when I accidentally bought a Scorpio,

You can't see it from the inside.

I'm in the annual wash camp, but to answer the OP I'd be trying something very mild -baby shampoo maybe?

I clean either weekly or bi-weekly, draw the line at polishing which I don't think I have ever done.

You can’t see it from the inside.

True but I pass it on the outside way more than I sit inside it these days.

Yeah my last car was an Octavia estate with various dents and scratches - I think it had 3 automatic car washes in the 10 years I had it (metallic grey paint also helped disguise some of the dirt)

DON’T JETWASH IT!

Of course you can use a jet wash. At about 40cm+ from the paint it's probably less aggressive than a hose on the jet position.

Of course you can use a jet wash. At about 40cm+ from the paint it’s probably less aggressive than a hose on the jet position.

You and I must have VERY different pressure washers.  At 40cm, mine would still cut through plants.

Also, if it's been waxed you don't need a pressure washer or even a hose on the jet position.  The snowfoam should raise the dirt from the surface, and a quick once over with a mit will remove it.  The hose is just to remove the suds.

molgrips
The reason behind waxing it, by the way, is that it’s meant to keep it cleaner for longer, so the theory is that it will require less work to look better longer. There are many super fancy things you can do that I am not going to bother with.

Was it a traditional type wax?

If so next time get a hybrid ceramic spray wax e.g. Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax. TurtleWax have a very good range of these as well. It is so much quicker to apply and so much more durable than the traditional types.

As per my post above though, when you wash the car you need to use something mild/quality like ONR or you will ruin the hydrophobicity.

Was it a traditional type wax?

No, Turtle Wax Graphene bollocks.

I've not had much experience with wax but that seems a right pain to apply. You have to apply, then spread it about and wipe up the smears with a damp cloth, and then buff. It's hard work to get it smooth.

The shampoo I have is Halfords 'shampoo and wax' basic stuff that I happened to have. I appreciate it may be a weak link.

You and I must have VERY different pressure washers. At 40cm, mine would still cut through plants.

I have a sensible domestic pressure washer bought to wash cars and bikes, and yes you can put your hand in it after about 30cm and it's just fast moving mist at 60cm. Because I don't need industrial equipment for home use 🙂

I might try the snow foam, mitt and rinse tomorrow morning. I can only do it early on a sunny day otherwise the bodywork becomes too hot to touch, which means products dry on instantly.

Whilst we are all here, how do you dry your cars after washing with a mitt?

I washed mine for the first time in 3 months last Friday. It's now covered in pollen, dust and bits of dead blossom. Shan't be cleaning it for another 3 months, life is too short. I'd rather be riding my bike.

molgrips

No, Turtle Wax Graphene bollocks.

I’ve not had much experience with wax but that seems a right pain to apply. You have to apply, then spread it about and wipe up the smears with a damp cloth, and then buff. It’s hard work to get it smooth.

That's a good wax, you probably applied too much, panel was too hot or something.

I might try the snow foam, mitt and rinse tomorrow morning. I can only do it early on a sunny day otherwise the bodywork becomes too hot to touch, which means products dry on instantly.

Hopefully you mean either snowfoam, rinse
or
snowfoam, shampoo, mitt, rinse ??

Generally you don't use a mitt with snowfoam, it is not slippery enough and you risk marring the paint.

If you're going this route, I highly highly recommend the bilt hamber autofoam somebody already mentioned above, it's excellent.

Whilst we are all here, how do you dry your cars after washing with a mitt?

overpriced microfibre towel or drive it

Whilst we are all here, how do you dry your cars after washing with a mitt?

I bought a big bulk bag of 40-50 microfiber cloths. Much quicker, easier and cheaper than chamois.

They get gradually demoted from polishing, to drying, to cleaning cloths, to oily rags.

Those people saying go for a drive, surely you've then just got a car covered in crap waiting to swirl into your paint if you then wax it.

Do you have a posh car or are you stuck for something to do?

I wash mine because its a thing that has some value and I'd like to retain that value. I'm not mental about a huge detailing regime but a half hour every couple of weeks isn't breaking the bank, as it were.

I clean my house, too. And fix stuff when it goes wrong. Hot damn.

YMMV.

Those people saying go for a drive, surely you’ve then just got a car covered in crap waiting to swirl into your paint if you then wax it.

I don't think there's much overlap in that particular Venn diagram.

You and I must have VERY different pressure washers. At 40cm, mine would still cut through plants.

Also, if it’s been waxed you don’t need a pressure washer or even a hose on the jet position. The snowfoam should raise the dirt from the surface, and a quick once over with a mit will remove it. The hose is just to remove the suds.

It's a K4. Just put your hand to gauge the optimal distance.

Snowfoam does very little apart from placebo. (Don't get me wrong I have been snowfoaming for 20 years but mostly for fun). No LSP, however expensive can magically let much dirt slide off. It will certainly help though but sadly unless only a fine dust, it's not enough.

For rinsing, a jet wash is essential for convenience and speed however, for me. (and any pro detailer).

Foam seems to do a reasonable job of getting some dirt to come off, that wouldn't have otherwise come off, before you start wiping it around with the wash mitt. It's also low effort.

Snowfoam does very little apart from placebo.

It seems to soften up a lot of dirt. The Hyundai has been parked under a tree and not washed since I dunno, last summer. The snow foam sat there for 5 mins, it softened up all the bird shit and the tree gunge so it just washed off with the jetwasher immediately. When I jetwashed it, there was still a super fine haze of dirt but most of it had gone. So yeah I think it works, in the same way that dishes are a a lot easier to wash if you let them sit in the bowl for a few mins first.

A lot of the coarser crud would have to be wiped up with a mitt and then scrubbed out to avoid scratches etc, which would be pretty hard work.

Foam seems to do a reasonable job of getting some dirt to come off, that wouldn’t have otherwise come off, before you start wiping it around with the wash mitt. It’s also low effort.

It seems to soften up a lot of dirt. The Hyundai has been parked under a tree and not washed since I dunno, last summer. The snow foam sat there for 5 mins, it softened up all the bird shit and the tree gunge so it just wiped off. When I jetwashed it, there was still a super fine haze of dirt but most of it had gone.

It's not that it doesn't work, it's just I'm not convinced it does any better than putting normal car shampoo in a 5l sprayer for a fraction of the price. And one (well several) less 5l containers and gadgets cluttering up the garage.

Infact the sprayer if you point it directly at the spattered insects, bird poo, yellow spots, will lift them off just with thr weak pressure. So that's one up on snowfoam.

Also anything that means the Jetwash comes out before it's clean, is still blasting gritty water into the paint, which is precisely what you're trying to avoid. I just use it for the wheels, wheel wells, and final rinse and blasting the crap out from behind number plates, badges, seams, seals, gutters etc.

N.b. for Cougar, it's possible to be really geeky about washing the car, but it's like riding a road bike. It looks like hard work but 95% of it is finding ways to be lazy, then 5% effort / showing off at the end with the wax / sprint.

Garden sprayer - zero effort
Rinse with hose - zero effort
Wash with a microfiber noodle sponge - minimal effort as by this point it's basicly already clean by this point.
Rinse with Jetwash and wash the nooks and crannies - zero effort
Dry with microfiber cloth - far less effort than chamois
Wax - use decent quality hard wax, it dries up quicker and takes less effort than endlessly buffing up liquid waxes.

It’s a K4. Just put your hand to gauge the optimal distance.

Isn't that like checking if a gun is loaded by looking down the barrel?

Snowfoam does very little apart from placebo. (Don’t get me wrong I have been snowfoaming for 20 years but mostly for fun). No LSP, however expensive can magically let much dirt slide off. It will certainly help though but sadly unless only a fine dust, it’s not enough.

Snowfoam is a good way of getting a decent amount of shampoo onto the car.  On a waxed car, it makes it MUCH easier to clean quickly and gently.

A pressure washer isn't at all required to get suds from a car, it takes seconds with a hose.  You're not using it to remove dirt.

Pressure washers don't clean cars!  People (with wash mits) do! 🙂  All a wax does is prevent dirt adhering to the bodywork, thus making it easier to clean.  It's a protectant, a sealing coat.  The better the wax, the longer it lasts, or dependent on type, the more it shines, but usually one is inversely related to the other.  I tend to go with protection over additional shine.

My cars are usually grey, so the test is more about colour reflection than about just reflection.   I don't do it as much as I used to as I now cycle everywhere.  If I polished my car once every 6 months these days, it'd be almost equal to the amount of time I spent driving it.

Infact the sprayer if you point it directly at the spattered insects, bird poo, yellow spots, will lift them off just with thr weak pressure. So that’s one up on snowfoam.

This all might depend on how good your snowfoamer and snowfoam shampoo are.  The stuff that came with my pressure washer was rubbish, as was the pressure washer attachement, but a proper snowfoam lance and Maguires Hyper Shampoo turns my cars into something that looks like cotton wool and could be used as shaving foam in a different context.  it then slowly dissolves and you can see where is has removed dirt/dust/marks from the surface. It'll not remove bird poo, but as others have said, it does seem to make it easier to remove without needing continued attention from a washmit.

If you’re going this route, I highly highly recommend the bilt hamber autofoam somebody already mentioned above, it’s excellent.

Reading the (really pretentious) blurb on their website it suggests that it's a prewash, is that right? You use that stuff before you wash it?

I wash mine because its a thing that has some value and I’d like to retain that value. I’m not mental about a huge detailing regime but a half hour every couple of weeks isn’t breaking the bank, as it were.

I clean my house, too. And fix stuff when it goes wrong. Hot damn.

I meant no disrespect, it just seemed overkill. It's all I can do to keep on top of housework which needs doing, like with having three cats in the house shoving the hoover around is a weekly job. The bathroom tiles need washing down, but maybe annually rather than fortnightly.

On the car I'll regularly clean out the interior, a space which I actually use on a fairly daily basis, ahead of the exterior which is there to look nice to everyone else.

N.b. for Cougar, it’s possible to be really geeky about washing the car, but it’s like riding a road bike. It looks like hard work but 95% of it is finding ways to be lazy, then 5% effort / showing off at the end with the wax / sprint.

Garden sprayer – zero effort
Rinse with hose – zero effort
Wash with a microfiber noodle sponge – minimal effort as by this point it’s basicly already clean by this point.
Rinse with Jetwash and wash the nooks and crannies – zero effort
Dry with microfiber cloth – far less effort than chamois
Wax – use decent quality hard wax, it dries up quicker and takes less effort than endlessly buffing up liquid waxes.

We seemingly have different ideas about the definition of "zero." Zero effort is leaving it mucky. 😁

I'm assuming you have a drive? For me, getting a hose / power washer in the same place as the car is a pain in the arse before I've even started. I have a tap in the back yard and on-street parking at the front if I'm lucky. I'd either have to run the hose through the house front-to-back through two windows without risking the cats escaping, or shift twelvety wheelie bins to get access to the back and hope I don't get blocked in (there's only one way in/out).

Haha, yea fair enough, driveway, and outdoor tap, and outdoor sockets are probably making it easy.

There's 2 car's in our house. A 20yr old Fiesta that gets the bare minimum to look presentable, hence I'll do anything that will cut out effort. On Sunday I ran outside at 4:30pm and sprayed it with a garden sprayer with a couple of capfuls of cheap turtlewax wash'n'wax. Just ahead of an epic thunderstorm which rinsed it off nicely.

The others a 50 year old MG, which probably get's washed every 2nd time it gets used, and as a result it barely takes any effort as the wax is nice and thick and it barely gets dirty anyway.

This all might depend on how good your snowfoamer and snowfoam shampoo are. The stuff that came with my pressure washer was rubbish, as was the pressure washer attachement, but a proper snowfoam lance and Maguires Hyper Shampoo turns my cars into something that looks like cotton wool and could be used as shaving foam in a different context. it then slowly dissolves and you can see where is has removed dirt/dust/marks from the surface. It’ll not remove bird poo, but as others have said, it does seem to make it easier to remove without needing continued attention from a washmit.

I'm not disagreeing that it works (to an extent), just that car shampoo in a sprayer seems to do the job just as well, but in a less Instagram-able way.

I'm convinced it's mostly just been a way for Meguiars to sell you not just £35 shampoo, but also a £35 lance and a 2nd £35 bottle of special shampoo.

is still blasting gritty water into the paint, which is precisely what you’re trying to avoid.

No, I'm trying to avoid wiping dirt all.over the paintwork and scratching it.