Youtube vid on how to wash/detail your car - My critique
05-24-2012, 11:10 PM
#1
Youtube vid on how to wash/detail your car - My critique This video has gotten a lot of attention and shows well some very good methods for working on your car. However it misses the mark in numerous areas, so I thought I would highlight them to help you guys improve your own washing/detailing of your rides.
Mistakes/bad ideas/inadvisable stuff in the video. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaliW...eature=mh_lolz)
1. @ 35-40 seconds: Its late morning and the car is already in the sun. The paint is warm or is starting to warm up. Perfect circumstances for waterspots. Solution: wash in the early morning or in the evening when the sun is off the car if possible.
2. @ 45 seconds: The absorber.... its good at pulling water off, BUT if there is ANY ANY ANY dirt on it or on the car that you missed, it has nowhere to go since there is no nap to it like a microfiber and it will scratch your paint. Solution: A quality thick microfiber by Cobra....like their Gold Waffle Weave drying towel will do better and be safer. And they only cost a couple bucks more.
3. @ 54 seconds: OTC (over the counter) wheel cleaners are strongly acidic and can etch certain wheels. Long term they will help alleviate your wheels of their gloss. Also if you wax your wheels (generally a good thing) these acidic cleaners will remove that too. Solution: a pH balanced cleaner like Sonax Full Effect (best out there), P21S Wheel Gell.
4. @ 1:05 - OTC white towels to dry the wheels. These towels will marr the finish on any wheel with a clearcoat or a bare aluminum finish. Not severely, but over time they will have swirls from it. The only wheels that are ok for this are plasti-dipped or flat painted wheels. Not even powdercoated wheels are safe from these bad towels. Solution: Electric leaf blower. 30 seconds and the entire wheel is dry without touching it. Make sure the ground is wet though first!
5. @1:12 - "Aerosol Tire Wet Spray" ..... LOADS of silicone. Great for shine, but long term is not actually good for your tires themselves. Not to mention you will get it all over the wheels and body. Spray one tire and end up wiping down 1/2 the car. Solution: A wet sponge to apply your favorite tire dressing more precisely.
6. @ 3:00 - again you see the car in the sun and he's going to spend a few minutes on the bumper. You better be wetting the car down every 30 second or so if you're gonna do it that way....doesn't take long to get spots that can take a while to remove. Also, nearly all bug/tar removers will remove the layer of wax where they come in contact. Solution: Wash when it makes sense and just be aware of what these products do.
7. @ 3:22 - the netted sponge..... will get the job done and likely leave scratches/swirls behind. Solution: Use a good wash mitt and work in SMALL sections, constantly going back to the bucket and scrubbing it on the Grit Guard to release the dirt/bugs it picked up. Wring out and repeat.
8. @ 4:03 - top down! Always wash top down. Do not go to the bottom of the panel and come back to the top. The lower you go, the more crap you'll get on the wash media. Solution: Wash the top of the bumper, then the middle of it, then the bottom of it in that order.
We are now coming to 9 mistakes/bad choices in 4 minutes. He's on a roll.... How many more will there be?
9. @ 5:05 - again washing top down. Now, he did clean the bumper, no worries there. But that fender is dirty and he goes all the way to the bottom of it. Bad idea. Also big, lazy, long wipes.....great way to miss big swaths of dirt. Two bucket method = good. Solution: Adding in 2 Grit Guards = Much better. Scrub the mitt on the Grit Guard in the clean water bucket to release dirt and go back to the soapy water after wringing it out. Wash smaller areas 3' square rougly, and make sure to overlap your wipes.
10. @ 6:04 - he cleans behind the tire then right up the side to the top of the bumper, carrying all that nasty dirt up the side of the car, causing surface marring. Great way to get deep RIDS (Random Isolated Deep Scratches). Solution: Dont do it! Top down!
11: @ 6:52 - he starts claying in the sun. Never ever do this. Solution: do this inside with the paint cool to the touch. Dry the car first to prevent water spots from the standing water.
12. @ 7:20 - he spays the whole car to clay. Not advisable. Also the spray is not a "liquid wax" as he keeps calling it. Do not "rub" it in. Solution: do one panel at a time. Again, top down method as well. There will be more contaminants at the bottom thant at the top....nasty stuff...tar, rocks, etc. A separate bar just for these sections is a good idea. Gently glide the clay over the surface, do not rub it in or you will marr the paint.
13. @ 10:22 - too much glass cleaner, about 5 times too much product. Solution: less product. Use with a microfiber waffle weave glass microfiber with cleaner for dirty glass. For fairly clean glass, just the MF and Deionoized water or distilled water.
14. @ 10:51 - sprays protectant right on the dash, not advisable. Some will splatter onto the freshly cleaned glass and this stuff streaks like crazy. IMO, I do not advise using anything other than a gentle cleaner on your dash.
So, 11 minutes of video and 14 mistakes/bad ideas. There is some good info, but it has something to be desired... Onto video # 2........(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_SSc...feature=relmfu)
15. @ 3:00 - The brush he's using is fine for his spokes as they are a matte/flat paint. Use this same brush on your painted/cleared/polished wheels and you'll have scratches. Solution: A good boar's hair brush is a great purchase. I love the Swissvax Wheel Brush for doing wheels and it is safe to use.
16. @ 3:54 - Air-driven impact wrench..... You'd NEVER catch me using one on custom wheels like that. Always torque by hand with a torque wrench. Now, maybe they did after that clip and it just ended up on the cutting room floor, but this is an instructional video and they're missing an important part.
17. @ 4:50 - he uses the feel of the product to determine that the "compound" is NOT harsh or very abrasive. It IS. Don't trust the feel of it.
18: @ 5:03 - he basically shows how to get compound in the cracks and crevices of your vehicle. Sloppy work. Don't rub across edges and body seams.
19. @ 5:28 - polishing the car by hand shouldn't take more than 10 min tops. Well doing it his way sure. But take your time. Easily 30min-1hr to do it by hand.
20. @ 5:59 - he introduces Moe from Glistening Perfection (who by their website charges $125/hr for polishing). Look at the pad on his machine. ALL yellow. Now watch him use the machine....going right over the edges where there is minimal paint buildup....... Skip to 7:21.... THERE IS RED PAINT ON THE PAD. Moe just burned through the paint on that edge. Note: He claims a rotary will get results a DA (like the porter cable) can not achieve. This simply isn't true anymore. Also the Flex DA is not as safe as a PC, you can burn edges with it (like he did) and it builds heat almost as fast as a rotary. It is a good tool, but his claims and use of it are not quite right.
21. @ 9:42 - tag still on the MF towel. Solution: Always remove the tags before using on the car.
22. @11:17 - This is from the first vid when he buys this product: ""Aerosol Tire Wet Spray" ..... LOADS of silicone. Great for shine, but long term is not actually good for your tires themselves. Not to mention you will get it all over the wheels and body. Spray one tire and end up wiping down 1/2 the car. Solution: A wet sponge to apply your favorite tire dressing more precisely." His accuracy (which he says is the benefit of the aerosol can) has a LOT to be desired! Its all over the place. He gets it all over the rim and says not to worry about it. Well, some wheels don't respond well to this stuff. I wouldn't advise doing it the way he's doing it.
23. @ 11:23 - gets tire shine on the ground....this will often stain concrete driveways. Your wife/parents/roommates/etc may not like that and if your working on someone else's car at their home, THEY may not like that either! Solution: don't be lazy. Do 3/4 of the tire then roll the car 2ft and do the last 1/4 of the tire.
Anyway, these are my thoughts and I hope that you guys can improve your own methods from them to keep your car looking its best!
Mistakes/bad ideas/inadvisable stuff in the video. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaliW...eature=mh_lolz)
1. @ 35-40 seconds: Its late morning and the car is already in the sun. The paint is warm or is starting to warm up. Perfect circumstances for waterspots. Solution: wash in the early morning or in the evening when the sun is off the car if possible.
2. @ 45 seconds: The absorber.... its good at pulling water off, BUT if there is ANY ANY ANY dirt on it or on the car that you missed, it has nowhere to go since there is no nap to it like a microfiber and it will scratch your paint. Solution: A quality thick microfiber by Cobra....like their Gold Waffle Weave drying towel will do better and be safer. And they only cost a couple bucks more.
3. @ 54 seconds: OTC (over the counter) wheel cleaners are strongly acidic and can etch certain wheels. Long term they will help alleviate your wheels of their gloss. Also if you wax your wheels (generally a good thing) these acidic cleaners will remove that too. Solution: a pH balanced cleaner like Sonax Full Effect (best out there), P21S Wheel Gell.
4. @ 1:05 - OTC white towels to dry the wheels. These towels will marr the finish on any wheel with a clearcoat or a bare aluminum finish. Not severely, but over time they will have swirls from it. The only wheels that are ok for this are plasti-dipped or flat painted wheels. Not even powdercoated wheels are safe from these bad towels. Solution: Electric leaf blower. 30 seconds and the entire wheel is dry without touching it. Make sure the ground is wet though first!
5. @1:12 - "Aerosol Tire Wet Spray" ..... LOADS of silicone. Great for shine, but long term is not actually good for your tires themselves. Not to mention you will get it all over the wheels and body. Spray one tire and end up wiping down 1/2 the car. Solution: A wet sponge to apply your favorite tire dressing more precisely.
6. @ 3:00 - again you see the car in the sun and he's going to spend a few minutes on the bumper. You better be wetting the car down every 30 second or so if you're gonna do it that way....doesn't take long to get spots that can take a while to remove. Also, nearly all bug/tar removers will remove the layer of wax where they come in contact. Solution: Wash when it makes sense and just be aware of what these products do.
7. @ 3:22 - the netted sponge..... will get the job done and likely leave scratches/swirls behind. Solution: Use a good wash mitt and work in SMALL sections, constantly going back to the bucket and scrubbing it on the Grit Guard to release the dirt/bugs it picked up. Wring out and repeat.
8. @ 4:03 - top down! Always wash top down. Do not go to the bottom of the panel and come back to the top. The lower you go, the more crap you'll get on the wash media. Solution: Wash the top of the bumper, then the middle of it, then the bottom of it in that order.
We are now coming to 9 mistakes/bad choices in 4 minutes. He's on a roll.... How many more will there be?
9. @ 5:05 - again washing top down. Now, he did clean the bumper, no worries there. But that fender is dirty and he goes all the way to the bottom of it. Bad idea. Also big, lazy, long wipes.....great way to miss big swaths of dirt. Two bucket method = good. Solution: Adding in 2 Grit Guards = Much better. Scrub the mitt on the Grit Guard in the clean water bucket to release dirt and go back to the soapy water after wringing it out. Wash smaller areas 3' square rougly, and make sure to overlap your wipes.
10. @ 6:04 - he cleans behind the tire then right up the side to the top of the bumper, carrying all that nasty dirt up the side of the car, causing surface marring. Great way to get deep RIDS (Random Isolated Deep Scratches). Solution: Dont do it! Top down!
11: @ 6:52 - he starts claying in the sun. Never ever do this. Solution: do this inside with the paint cool to the touch. Dry the car first to prevent water spots from the standing water.
12. @ 7:20 - he spays the whole car to clay. Not advisable. Also the spray is not a "liquid wax" as he keeps calling it. Do not "rub" it in. Solution: do one panel at a time. Again, top down method as well. There will be more contaminants at the bottom thant at the top....nasty stuff...tar, rocks, etc. A separate bar just for these sections is a good idea. Gently glide the clay over the surface, do not rub it in or you will marr the paint.
13. @ 10:22 - too much glass cleaner, about 5 times too much product. Solution: less product. Use with a microfiber waffle weave glass microfiber with cleaner for dirty glass. For fairly clean glass, just the MF and Deionoized water or distilled water.
14. @ 10:51 - sprays protectant right on the dash, not advisable. Some will splatter onto the freshly cleaned glass and this stuff streaks like crazy. IMO, I do not advise using anything other than a gentle cleaner on your dash.
So, 11 minutes of video and 14 mistakes/bad ideas. There is some good info, but it has something to be desired... Onto video # 2........(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_SSc...feature=relmfu)
15. @ 3:00 - The brush he's using is fine for his spokes as they are a matte/flat paint. Use this same brush on your painted/cleared/polished wheels and you'll have scratches. Solution: A good boar's hair brush is a great purchase. I love the Swissvax Wheel Brush for doing wheels and it is safe to use.
16. @ 3:54 - Air-driven impact wrench..... You'd NEVER catch me using one on custom wheels like that. Always torque by hand with a torque wrench. Now, maybe they did after that clip and it just ended up on the cutting room floor, but this is an instructional video and they're missing an important part.
17. @ 4:50 - he uses the feel of the product to determine that the "compound" is NOT harsh or very abrasive. It IS. Don't trust the feel of it.
18: @ 5:03 - he basically shows how to get compound in the cracks and crevices of your vehicle. Sloppy work. Don't rub across edges and body seams.
19. @ 5:28 - polishing the car by hand shouldn't take more than 10 min tops. Well doing it his way sure. But take your time. Easily 30min-1hr to do it by hand.
20. @ 5:59 - he introduces Moe from Glistening Perfection (who by their website charges $125/hr for polishing). Look at the pad on his machine. ALL yellow. Now watch him use the machine....going right over the edges where there is minimal paint buildup....... Skip to 7:21.... THERE IS RED PAINT ON THE PAD. Moe just burned through the paint on that edge. Note: He claims a rotary will get results a DA (like the porter cable) can not achieve. This simply isn't true anymore. Also the Flex DA is not as safe as a PC, you can burn edges with it (like he did) and it builds heat almost as fast as a rotary. It is a good tool, but his claims and use of it are not quite right.
21. @ 9:42 - tag still on the MF towel. Solution: Always remove the tags before using on the car.
22. @11:17 - This is from the first vid when he buys this product: ""Aerosol Tire Wet Spray" ..... LOADS of silicone. Great for shine, but long term is not actually good for your tires themselves. Not to mention you will get it all over the wheels and body. Spray one tire and end up wiping down 1/2 the car. Solution: A wet sponge to apply your favorite tire dressing more precisely." His accuracy (which he says is the benefit of the aerosol can) has a LOT to be desired! Its all over the place. He gets it all over the rim and says not to worry about it. Well, some wheels don't respond well to this stuff. I wouldn't advise doing it the way he's doing it.
23. @ 11:23 - gets tire shine on the ground....this will often stain concrete driveways. Your wife/parents/roommates/etc may not like that and if your working on someone else's car at their home, THEY may not like that either! Solution: don't be lazy. Do 3/4 of the tire then roll the car 2ft and do the last 1/4 of the tire.
Anyway, these are my thoughts and I hope that you guys can improve your own methods from them to keep your car looking its best!
05-25-2012, 06:59 AM
#3
Great info as always! You're the man!
05-25-2012, 07:02 AM
#4
You need to make a YouTube tutorial and show how it's done the right way
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05-25-2012, 07:14 AM
#8
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http://www.amazon.com/Optimum-Tire-S.../dp/B004S7SV7U
i have also heard a lot of good things about Adams Polishes VRT, very versitile product that can be used from tires to trim
http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-512-a...-dressing.aspx
05-25-2012, 09:59 AM
#9
i buy this stuff by the gallon, it doesnt leave the tires gleaming and wet looking, it gives them a nice sheen, (like a new tire)
http://www.amazon.com/Optimum-Tire-S.../dp/B004S7SV7U
i have also heard a lot of good things about Adams Polishes VRT, very versitile product that can be used from tires to trim
http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-512-a...-dressing.aspx
http://www.amazon.com/Optimum-Tire-S.../dp/B004S7SV7U
i have also heard a lot of good things about Adams Polishes VRT, very versitile product that can be used from tires to trim
http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-512-a...-dressing.aspx
My personal favorite is Zaino Z16. Super easy to use, no fling, looks great, shine dependent on how many coats.
05-25-2012, 01:33 PM
#13
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Those are all good points you listed, you could also nit pick and find more things though. I can't tell because of the terrible video quality but it looks to me that when he washes with the mitt there is no foam or suds at all going on to the paint= no lubrication=swirls.
05-26-2012, 01:27 AM
#16
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This one is still one of my favorites!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu5ViLEwD3Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu5ViLEwD3Q
How many times should you hit the paint with that brass hose end to achieve maximum shine from your paint job?
05-26-2012, 02:34 PM
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This one is still one of my favorites!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu5ViLEwD3Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu5ViLEwD3Q
