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Zaino Z-7 Show Car Wash in a 3.5 gallon bucket with a Grit Guard. Hand wash with 100% cotton wash towel. Master Blaster followed by hand dry with 100% cotton bath towel cut in half.
The Master Blaster is indispensable for the grille, mirrors, and other areas where water collects.
Hint: No matter what your wife says, the absolute nicest towels in your house should be in the garage, not the master bath.
I wash car with Maguires car soap and dry with Metro Master Blaster, Master Blaster saves me a lot of time drying and saves my back.
I do this with all my vehicles blow dry it off after washing it. I think it is the best the less you rub rags all over your cars the less chance of getting scratches. Plus it gets all the water out of all the cracks.
I have the whole pressure washer / foam gun deal, alongside clay bar, microfiber towel (when needed), leaf blower, and the whole 9 yards. It is time consuming, so I usually fire up a podcast on my phone, and listen to that while I clean. That being said, there's so many techniques, it's fortunate that we have a whole subsidiary forum just for car care. You can peruse that part of Corvette Forum and see what works for you. Side note - my last cleaning before storage usually involves a professional detailer called Motor City Auto Spa. This is due to Michigan being Michigan in regards to colder weather. I don't have time during the fall versus summer, plus they have tools to do jobs that I either can't or don't have time to perform (Ex: Underbody detail).
Originally Posted by Borntorun04/17
I wash car with Maguires car soap and dry with Metro Master Blaster, Master Blaster saves me a lot of time drying and saves my back.
Hey, I might have the wrong person, but weren't you debating about buying a specific C7 a couple of years back? I think you ordered and/or pulled the trigger right after I got mine. How's it working out for you?
- kills two birds with one stone as the name suggests. I use two mircofiber towels with this product. One to spread the product out that will semi dry the car and one to do a final wipe down that will buff out any streaks. No more water spots and a smooth, lightly waxed surface. For added protection I top with Maguires Fast Finish but will switch to Maguires Hybrid Ceramic soon based on reviews.
For washing the standard soapy water in a bucket is normally good enough, but if its really dirty then the electric pressure washer and foam canon come out.
An air blaster would help as there are a few places on the car where water loves to hide like: the door jams, rear hatch glass, tail lights and mirrors.
Another thing. If you live in an area with hard water, even if you have a water softener, or reverse osmosis setup, I can recommend one of these in-line water purification devices. I have tested it and use it. Eliminates water spots. https://www.pinnaclewax.com/waterfilter.html
Last edited by joemessman; Feb 4, 2019 at 10:38 AM.
I have the whole pressure washer / foam gun deal, alongside clay bar, microfiber towel (when needed), leaf blower, and the whole 9 yards. It is time consuming, so I usually fire up a podcast on my phone, and listen to that while I clean. That being said, there's so many techniques, it's fortunate that we have a whole subsidiary forum just for car care. You can peruse that part of Corvette Forum and see what works for you. Side note - my last cleaning before storage usually involves a professional detailer called Motor City Auto Spa. This is due to Michigan being Michigan in regards to colder weather. I don't have time during the fall versus summer, plus they have tools to do jobs that I either can't or don't have time to perform (Ex: Underbody detail).
Hey, I might have the wrong person, but weren't you debating about buying a specific C7 a couple of years back? I think you ordered and/or pulled the trigger right after I got mine. How's it working out for you?
Your correct back when the 18 was coming out the Spice Red package was not going to be available for 18. The 18 was going to have Spice Red interior but not the complete package . I ended up ordering 17 last week you could order one so I could get the Spice Red package I wanted . My GS is working out great and extremely happy with decision. Hope you are just as happy with your car. Dave
Last edited by Borntorun04/17; Feb 9, 2019 at 07:35 PM.
I do this with all my vehicles blow dry it off after washing it. I think it is the best the less you rub rags all over your cars the less chance of getting scratches. Plus it gets all the water out of all the cracks.
I totally agree ! I use it when washing my truck wife's suv or corvette. Saves so much time and bending and as stated above great for getting water out of mirrors ,grill ,door jams. It's not cheap But to me worth it !
Fair weather cars here. Get wiped down following each outing. I use Chadwick's TriplePlay on the glass and wheels, and a mix of Carpro Ech2O, Carpro Reload and distilled water mixed 1-1-14 as a detail spray on the paint.
If it's too dirty for a wipe down, then:
1) Rinse
2) Foam gun, let dwell about 5 minutes
3) Rinse
4) Wash, two bucket method, currently using Gyeon Bathe+ with good wash pad
5) Final rinse sheeting off excess water
6) Blow dry
Lots of good tips posted here. But before you start washing, it's good to decide what you want your car to look like when finished, and what your long term desires are for your car. If you're the guy who just wants to blast off the big stuff and hit the road, then drive on brother and enjoy the ride. That's why they built them. If you want to keep that show room look then it will take a bit more work than that. My method is easy peasy and as quick as anyone else's method with very, very little chance of scratches and swirls..
Like many of you , I've tried lots of products and methods. You'll get good results from most all products out there, some are better than others but much of that is subjective and personal preference. The method I've adopted and can't find fault with is the one wash bucket with many microfiber cloths method. Forget about grit guards, 2 and 3 buckets, and other methods and buy yourself a 10 pack of quality microfiber towels. Not big box store type towels, quality towels sold by car care companies made for car care. Like many products, microfiber towels aren't all made the same. Different type fibers, and even split fibers are used to make towels, some much better than others. Some have safe seams around the edges while others have a scratchy seam, some have no seams at all.
Fill your one wash bucket with a quality car wash soap. Blast as much loose dirt off as you can with a powerful water stream. Take one clean towel, soap it up good, and wash one section. I usually wash the roof and front and back glass with this towel. When done toss that towel aside, into a clean container of your choice (here's a use for your second bucket), and grab another fresh, clean towel to wash the next section. NEVER put a used towel into your soap bucket! Repeat for each section of the car. This will always assure you aren't contaminating your wash water with dirt and you're not trapping grit in your wash cloth or mitt and scratching your car with it in subsequent sections. Only clean wash cloths with clean soap touches your car. This will prevent most, if not all, of the swirl marks that will show up like spider silk on black cars. Some say they don't touch their car during a wash, but it seems I always find something stuck to the paint so a towel on the paint is a necessity. After a wash I blow as much of the excess water off and begin drying with plush microfiber towels. I spray Duragloss 951 Aquawax on the still wet car as I wipe it dry, leaving a beautiful, clean finish.
I've used wash mitts and find fault with them due to the possibility of trapping grit and causing fine scratches as you continue to wash with them. I've tried the 2 bucket method and find fault with it because you're still using one mitt or cloth. Even with a good rinse there's still a possibility of trapping grit in the mitt or cloth. Forget about a grit guard. I don't want to put my wash cloth in a bucket that has grit in it, guard or not. Think about it. How will you feel 3, 4, 5 years down the road if you find tiny swirls and scratches because your method wasn't as good as you thought? You won't necessarily see the tiny scratches until they build up or the light hits the paint just right.
As a check to see if your car is really clean, place your hand inside a clean plastic bag, a grocery shopping bag works well, and gently slide your hand across a clean surface. If it's truly clean you'll feel a smooth glide but if there's stuck on contaminates you'll feel tiny bumps on the paint. Sounds funny, but your hand will feel things while inside the bag that a bare hand will fail to feel. I felt them on my brand new Stingray!
Micro fiber towels need a bit of special care. I wash mine in the washing machine with no softener and no dryer sheets. Anything but laundry detergent will inhibit water absorption. I dry them in the dryer. Then I inspect each one for foreign debris that can get stuck in the fibers. Stuff will get stuck in them no matter how careful you are. It's because they're microfiber. I have yellow towels for general washing, plush blue towels for drying, and black towels for inner wheel wells, exhaust, and places that generally get dirtier.
I pretty much follow the "Glen e" method. Sometimes I do a quick rinseless wash on the Xpel portions of the car if I've gone for a short drive and the car doesn't really even need a wash. I tend not to dry it by hand after the rinseless wash.
- 2 bucket method with grit guards. Also use a foam cannon for extra suds when I do the hand wash
- Master Blaster to dry. If you are going to take anything from this post, USE THIS
The less you can touch the car, the better off you are!
As far as products go, I've found stuff I like from every company. I actually like to change it up from time to time to tinker around
I agree. Their are so many good products out there now. I have tried several and with my various selections they were, and are all about the same. Very good to excellent.
