Yea, my preference is a as follows: Hand wash when really dirty, QEW when moderately dirty, and Spray & Wipe when lightly dirty.
Now, if your area doesn't allow hand washing in the driveway, you are up against a double edged sword, as most car washes frown upon you "hand washing" in there bays. I do it back here, but I always do it late at night, or early in the morning when I'm not going to be holding anybody up in line.
In your case, I would see if you can find the QEW, or similar, as you could use it in your driveway without issues.
OK, I did find one of the articles I wrote. Although, because of your situation, I don't know if it will help you much, but here goes anyway............ (sit back and grab a cold one for this article
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One of the most overlooked areas of paint care is washing. Improper washing is probably the biggest cause of swirls/spider webs marks. (the enemy of that sought after "perfect finish")
Keep in mind that these are only my recommendations, and work well for me. There are slight variations of the tools/products and process that also work well.
Tools & products:
Car wash shampoo
2 Car wash mitts (or more) (Trim off any labels before using - they can scratch)
2 - 5 gallon wash buckets
Wheel brush if you wish/need
Tire Brush
1 or 2 Waffle Weave drying towels (Trim off any labels before using)
Buy the best car wash you can get................
NO, they are not all the same. Some have more lubrication, clean safer, contain water softeners, and add gloss instead of removing it............. etc. Same thing goes for the towels....... some will scratch, and some won't. Don't scrimp on the quality of
ANYTHING that touches your vehicle........... period!!!!!!!!!!
Get yourself several (not just one) high quality wash mitts. 100% cotton is great, as are high quality lambs wool/sheepskin mitts. Don't "overuse" your mitts either. Once they have been used several times on the paint, relegate/dedicate them to a dirtier chore like the wheels, and never use on the paint that is used for the wheels, or other grungy areas. Don't forget to trim any "labels" off them before using.
Process:
Now, rinse the vehicle well, to remove as much loose dirt as possible. I like to angle my spray, so as not to drive the dirt into the paint. Rinse off the loose dirt from the top of the vehicle, and work your way down.
Next, mix the "proper" mix of car wash in a clean and rinsed bucket.
PROPER is a key word here. Follow the manufacturer's mix ratio. Don't just dump in a big "glob" of car wash in the bucket. Using too much car wash can strip the existing protective wax from the finish, and can leave soap residue on the paint even after a thorough rinsing. If you have to "buff" off that residue, you can induce more spider web marks. Using to little car wash might lessen the lubrication and other benefits of the car wash product.
When washing the vehicle's paint, starting from the top of the vehicle, and working your way down is the preferred method. This helps to float the dirt and suds down/off the paint.
Use the
"two bucket" method to wash............. one bucket with the suds, and one bucket to rinse the mitt thoroughly after
EVERY panel. This keeps much of the dirt in the bottom of the rinse bucket, and not on the mitt, or in the suds bucket. An optional "Grit Guard" insert in the rinse bucket is a nice addition, as it keeps the mitt away from the dirt that was rinsed off. I also use the two-bucket method on the wheels, wheel wells, tires, and "grungy" areas. If you still see dirt on the mitt when you pull the mitt out of the rinse bucket, take your hose, hold the mitt by the elastic cuff (or one end) and spray the mitt at an angle to force the remaining dirt "off" the mitt, and not "into" the mitt.
Use a "light touch" with all your washing/drying process. Dip you mitt down into the bucket and get plenty of water on the mitt. The water will help flush the dirt off the surface, and the water will contain the lubrication from the car wash soap. Don't scrub, or use too much pressure with the mitt or towels. However, sure you are very thorough when washing.......... get
ALL the dirt off. If you don't, when you dry the vehicle, you may be "rubbing" dirt as you are drying. If you are using the right car wash, and mitt, the mitt should "glide" over the surface and remove the dirt. Also, only wash one panel (or half panel – depending on size, or how dirty the mitt looks) at a time. Don’t be “fooled” by a mitt that holds a lot of suds. The mitt may have accumulated a lot of dirt, and there still may be a lot of suds/water in the mitt…………… rinse it out. Don’t try and wash half the vehicle with one dip into the suds bucket.
Start by washing, and rinsing your tires, wheels, wheel wells, and "grungy" dirty areas with a separate mitt(s) and proper brushes. Never use the same mitt that you use on those areas........... on the paint. If you do, you will "guarantee" yourself some very nice swirl marks and scratches. Use a high quality tire brush to scrub the tires with your favorite tire cleaner.
Occasionally, when the vehicle is very dirty (often the lower half of the bottom panels), you will want to dump out the suds, and rinse bucket, refill with a fresh bucket of suds, and fresh rinse water, and grab a clean mitt to finish washing.
Keep the paint wet, until you've washed all panels to minimize water spots. Then, remove the nozzle from the hose, and use a steady stream of water to rinse the entire vehicle. This will minimize the standing water, and allow for easier drying, and less water spotting. This is a very important step. The less wiping of the paint you need to do, the better off you are, as the less you touch the paint, the less likely you are to create swirls/spider web marks.
Use high quality towels to dry your vehicle. The new Waffle Weave towels are great for this.
Blot most of the water up, and then "lightly" and “slowly” wipe any remaining water. I like to use two WW towels…… one to blot, and one to wipe any excess after blotting. Again, the less you “rub” something against the paint, the less you touch the paint, and the lighter you touch it, the less likely you are to induce swirls in the paint.
A great variation of the above drying technique is this………… flood rinse as above. Then, take a good QD, and mist it on the vehicle where you are going to blot, and lightly wipe dry. The QD will provide added lubrication, and will also help clean up any remaining dirt that you missed in the washing process……………. helping to minimize swirls! Plus, if the QD is one that adds some “POP”, you’ve already added that benefit.
When done washing and drying the vehicle, thoroughly wash, rinse, and air-dry, your wash mitts and towels after using. Using dirty mitt's and towels the next time you wash, defeats the whole purpose of even trying to do it right!
Anyhow, if you follow these steps, you'll spend a lot more time admiring that near "perfect finish", instead of polishing out swirls to get the finish back.
Happy washing!
) Follow Detail Guy's write up as he pretty much hit the nail on the head with his process. It may seem a little extreme but trust me it will pay off in the long run as far as your finish goes. Once you get a system down things will flow much easier for you.
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