Who uses what, when washing their babies! I started using the sea sponge after using the cotton wash mitts at the local autopart stores. The sea spong is great but only lasts for a couple of months. Has anyone used the Microfiber washmitt B4? What are your thoughts?

http://www.properautocare.com/micwasmit.html

CMA also has this one too.

http://www.properautocare.com/blusmalmicwa.html

 

No one washes their cars???

 

I'm not a fan of the sea sponge. I like good, old-fashioned cotton chenille wash mitts. I have 2 - one for each hand.

 

Many people on this board are following the recommendations of Brad.

Look at the top of this page at the Brad4rdHat Detailin Sessions thread. Print the steps out, contact Proper Auto Care to buy what you need, and then follow his instructions.

 

Wool wash mitts and proper washing solution for me.

 

I was under the impression that mitts actually damages the paint surface, as they tend to hold dirt and debris therein.

My dealer recommended that I use a cleaning broom with a very fines brush.

 

Broms a very bad idea. A cotton mitt is best.

 

Could you please elaborate why a cotton mitt would be preferable? I live in Canada where the roads are covered with salt and dirt during the winter months. A lot of that crap gets attached to the car.

I was under the impression that using a mitt to clean a dirty car damages the paint since the mitt traps dirt particles and causes the paint to get scrathces and swirls. In contrast, a broom does not tend to attract/hold the dirt therein, which incidentaly comes off quite easily if the broom is dipped in water periodically when washing the car.

Is this correct?

 

In reading Brad's thread, he recommends keeping your wash bucket water clean, and rinse the mitt often.

Logic tells me that if you wash a car with anything dirty you will end up with scratches. However you can minimize scratches by using something soft, like cotton.

 

I agree with HouZton... but use 2 buckets. one with soap and the other with clean water for rinsing the. I use 2 cotton mitts, one for each hand. Just quicker. When I wash my baby, I have to wash the wife's Infiniti.

 

Here is what I would suggest.

But two cotton wash mits, and this is hard enough as the white chennlle mits sold under the Viking brand name at WalMart and AutoZone that USED to be 100% cotton are not any more, Viking has changed these to man made materials, do the burn test, burn a strand of the mit with a lighter, if the strand burns with brown smoke and leaves nothing but an ash it is all cotton threads, if it burns with a black smoke and rolls into a plastic ball, then that is polyester or something like acralyn.

NAPA is the only source I have found recently for cotton wash mits and that means ALL cotton strands.

The reason you want TWO wash mits is to use one on the top surfaces of the car and use one on the lower where more road grime is found.

The way not to sratch the paint no matter what kind of washing item you are using is to do a lot of pre rinsing first, this will knock off the large dirt particles and/or any small rocks that may be stuck to the paint.

I would also advise everyone buying a fender well brush, AutoZone sells one with a two foot handle that is perfect for running up and around the tires into the fender wells. To me a car is just not clean with dirty fenderwells.