handyman said:
Is there a good guide on the internet for cleaning a car? It sounds stupid perhaps, but I'm not interested in a three hour wash with snow foam and three different cloths etc, just some basic advice and some product recommendations. I wouldn't want to spend more than an hour each weekend on the car.
Rethink your attitude to snow foam. It is for me the key difference both to a long term tidy car and to speed of washing.
Attach snow foam bottle to lance (10secs)
apply a nice thick layer of snow to the car (2min)
Leave it for 5 mins to do its thing. Watch in satisfaction as the foam goes brown as it lifts the bulk of the scratchy filth off the car. While it's working fill 2 buckets - one with water, one with a mild detergent of choice. (5mins)
Jet Wash off the remnants of the snow (2mins)
Wash with a mitt dunking the mitt in the fresh water between plunges in the suds (5 mins)
Jet wash (2mins)
leave for 5 mins to drip dry unless it's hot (5mins)
Rag dry with a big microfibre sheet (4mins)
Done (25mins - plus some wasted time staring at your lovely car in admiration)
I am partial to some extra treatment with clay bar every now and again and give the wheels some extra love too but not every wash. I also wax. Can't tell you how much better a good wax every couple of months is in not only giving the car a great shine but also speeding up the washing between waxes. It just does not get as dirty and what is there nearly all slides off with the snow foam. Take care not to use agressive shampoos that strip it off.
My TT was bought as a bit of a project on the paintwork - about ÂŁ3K below list price but it is was a bit tatty in the paintwork department. Nothing terrible but awful swirls all over and some light scratches on the roof on the drivers side where the previous owner must have put their keys/bag when getting in. The dealer knew it was tatty and was happy to let it go cheap and I knew what I was buying. A couple of days of machine polishing the panels has transformed it to as good as any 3yr old TT and better than some much newer. The car will now go into the main agent with a polite note not to be washed and it will stay good for years without a significant workload. Proper care takes a little more effort but it's not hard or unreasonably time consuming. If you have bought a 2nd hand car owned by an oaf or looked after yours poorly in the past paying a detailer as a one off to improve your car will make the ownership experience some much nicer and make keeping it looking good in the future easier too.