# How did you clean the car before finding out about detailing?



## Dazzawest (Mar 4, 2012)

this is based on a quote in a previous thread that got me wondering.

Personally, I was an occasional car shampoo user sometimes washing up liquid, one bucket, one sponge and chamois to dry off. topped off with some AG SRP.the odd bit off back to black, t-cut and tyre shine. Only started to take care in how I was washing my car when I started reading the detailing section off the golf forum I was on.


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

I recall using a lovely sponge, one bucket and fair liquid on my first car (H reg Fiesta), dried it with a tea-towel and spent two days t-cutting it by hand with my dad as it was oxidised, came back quite a shiny white if I recall. wish I had a few pics of it actually..


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

I think the first time I ever washed a car was with a microfibre mitt, triple wax shampoo and a squeegee. Never ever used a chamois or fairy liquid lol


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## evogeof (Oct 30, 2010)

Fairy liquid. It cuts grease and grime in half the time :thumb:


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## jenks (Apr 20, 2009)

I remember earning my pocket money washing my dads car with Turtle wax shampoo, 1 bucket and a sponge, dried with a chamois leather. 

My first cars received the same attention but with the added benefit of either turtle wax colour magic or turtle wax paste wax.

I remember having a very clean and shiny dark blue Ford Sierra sapphire that had rusted through on the rear wheel arches and bottom of the doors.
Who said you can't :buffer: a turd.


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## sbrocks (Jul 5, 2007)

Probably the same as most folk:
Started using anything my dad had, Turtle wax, sponge and chamois
Then got my first car:
Bought my own sponge and a few Autoglym products as I was into my cars
Then bought my first "decent" car:
Went all out with Meguiars products........
Then got a mate to machine polish my Impreza:
THIS got me into serious cleaning as I realised I couldnt achieve the finish he had without a machine polisher...and the downhill spiral continues today some 10 years later


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## Captain Pugwash (Mar 23, 2011)

Bucket filled with water and if I had some ...a car wash usually something like turtle wax was and wax, or some cheap other type, if not then washing up liquid 

applied with a sponge, though I did the have a another sponge for the wheels only, even had one of those brush things you put on hose and it had a small stick of wash stuff you put in the brush and applied the shampoo as you washed the car. It was dried with a towel or old (unused nappies ...cloth type lol not deposable) never really used alloy wheel cleaner even when I did have alloys ...windows was windolene or what ever was in the house.

used turtle wax polish (came in a green bottle) when I felt it needed done, and thought that was all that was needed to keep the car protected

later on (years later) I started using srp then simonize wax still use it even now, though still using a sponge and drying with a towel and applied polish etc with cut up old nappies (figured soft enough for a babies butt...good enough for car ...pure cotton !!) 

later on when instead of chrome bumpers,plastic starting being the norm it was back to black or something like that ... windolene or what ever was in the house still

was still doing that up to about 8 years ago maybe a bit longer, was when I started going to car shows and seeing all the dedicated car cleaning products starting to appear


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

As I said in the other thread. As a kid, washing cars with whichever member of family was doing their car, it was Turtle Wax, sponge, bucket and chamois. Most likely courtesy of what was then the automotive equivalent of todays pound shops. Remember when we upgraded and got an "as seen on TV" Super Chamois too. 

When I passed my driving test and got my own car. I was all about the Autoglym. Went to Halfords and bought the lot! Shampoo, Paint Renovator, SRP, EGP, Fast Glass and Glass Polish, Vinyl & Rubber, Foaming Interior Shampoo, Autofresh, Bumper Gel, Perfect Polishing Cloth's & AG Chamois and probably more I can't remember! Even bought the Autoglym VHS video (IIRC, it was before the Mark Evans video) to show me how to do it properly :thumb:


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## Junior Bear (Sep 2, 2008)

big glug of triple wax in a mop bucket and a dirty ripped up sponge!


and even back then when i was like 7-8 years old going my parents car i realised how rubbish it was


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## LSpec (Apr 7, 2013)

1 bucket, I sponge, circular moves  occasionally the wheels and never inside or wheel arches, never thought of cleaning door jams or door shuts.

kind of car wash type but a little care... if that exist


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

Local car wash with the broom. I used to pride myself on how quick I could clean it with using the least amount of coins! :lol:

That all changed when I bought my first new car......


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## Paul04 (Jul 26, 2013)

-Raven- said:


> Local car wash with the broom. I used to pride myself on how quick I could clean it with using the least amount of coins! :lol:
> 
> That all changed when I bought my first new car......


:lol:

I was the same, jet wash at the local petrol station using the least amonut of coins


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## Kiashuma (May 4, 2011)

I used turtle wax wash and wax & turtle wax colour magic. One bucket and a funny sponge from Halfords that had a section on black on the back. Good it was too


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## fatboi567 (Oct 27, 2009)

I used to pay the roadside "super hand car wash! No brushes used, no scratching!" What a fool haha


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## Scrooge (Jun 27, 2012)

Bosnians.


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## richard56 (Sep 29, 2013)

Turtle wax and sponges! Now that is OCD.
I went with the No bucket method.
Nylon wash brush connected to the
garden hose. Then drag over the car's roof to do the far side.


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## Jdudley90 (Mar 13, 2011)

Sponge, bucket, turtlewax triplewax shampoo or something and a chamois.
My mum washes her Volvo the same way and I have to say she keeps it very tidy the clear coat must be ceramic because there are very little swirls for a 2 year old car.


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## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

£5 car washes


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## Rayner (Aug 16, 2012)

Used to wash my dads cars with AG products, shampoo and of course where it all started the famous Srp. Then used his old rotary on my first car with a good ole dollop of G3 and finished with Srp, remember someone saying 'how the #### did you manage to get that old skip looking that good'  and since then I've craved the good comments.....


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## Marve (Jul 5, 2013)

Local swirl wash for me. I wonder how many £10's I spent over the years.


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## mike41 (Apr 5, 2011)

Always used Autoglym,nothing wrong with it I know,just because my old man did. 
I had the red bag for ages, replacing like for like whenever something was finished. Thought I was looking after the car properly, but didnt realise the damage I was doing using it with the wifes mop bucket, an old sponge and chamois, chucking the remains of the dirty water over the roof to 'rinse'. I rarely bothered cleaning wheels, arches or door shuts. Also used old t-shirts, tea towels and whatever else came to hand for polishing!
Mike


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

One bucket, sponge. No tar removal or claying. Straight to AG SRP and that was it. That was 10 years ago now when I was 17. My dad did always teach me to wash out the door and boot shuts every time though. He does still give me funny looks when I say it will take me at least and hour to wash. Can't set any records these days having to fill 3 buckets, get the power washer out and the extension cable. Fill the snow foam bottle etc etc


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## Samba1360 (Jun 3, 2012)

I can remember way back in about 1981 when I got my first new company car, Ford Cortina 1.6L estate, and cleaning it 2-3 times a week with no more than a bucket, sponge and hose, don't recall using anything more than Fairy Liquid, as in those days it was that was the done thing.
I did polish/wax it occasionally with I think Turtle Wax, as this was about all there was, as the likes of Auto Glym was trade only and you just could not buy it.
I remember going in a car accessory shop and asking if they had any tyre black and being told "what to you want that for", in those days it was just called keeping your car clean.


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## mlgt (Apr 11, 2008)

As with alot of others. Washing fathers car.
Ice cream tub full of washing up liquid and a sponge. bristle brush to wash the alloys.
Hand towel to dry it. I remember washing my dads ford, then later he had a capri. 
But over the years he bought some wax for the car and ended up applying thick glops f wax over his cars and taking an age to remove it after it baked in the sun 

Fast forward onto my first car a vauxhall corsa, I would just take it to the local petrol station and use the stiff brush, upgraded to an Audi A3 and purchased the sprayonshine thing. Thought it was amazing stuff.

Then found out about detailing world and fast forward 8 years and wash cycle and gear has completley changed. Storage has 2-3 boxes of car detailing items for a quick wash to a high(as much as I can afford) end car detail on my E61 family car


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## MadOnVaux! (Jun 2, 2008)

TBH the only difference i use since finding out about detailing is using a wash mitt instead of a sponge.


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## Hazza (Oct 14, 2013)

I was a chronic fair liquid user. Mind you, not as bad as my mate who tried to shift some baked on dirt with the green side of a washing up sponge! 

In my defence I think it took me a few months of driving to start detailing properly.


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## herbiedacious (Sep 27, 2010)

Marve said:


> Local swirl wash for me. I wonder how many £10's I spent over the years.


 As opposed to the £1000's you're now spending!


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## steviebabe0 (May 14, 2013)

Quicker and easier :lol:


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## R7KY D (Feb 16, 2010)

Fairy liquid , Sponge , bucket , chamois


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## Marve (Jul 5, 2013)

herbiedacious said:


> As opposed to the £1000's you're now spending!


Yeah, that did occur to me as I wrote it actually!


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## slineclean (Dec 23, 2011)

1 bucket , sponge , turtle wax shampoo , hose 

Not to bad , could of been worse


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## DebbieOCD (Jan 25, 2012)

1 Bucket, 2 sponges, one for body, one for wheels, Triplewax car shampoo or some other cheap variety, and a hose!

Then when I joined a couple car forums after getting my own car I started to really look into other products and different methods, since then stuck by the 2 bucket method with lambswool mitt, 3rd bucket with brushes and seperate mitt for wheels


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

I always had half decent shampoo, One bucket, sponge and a synthetic chamois, I used to give the cars a monthly polish with Turtle Wax colour Magic and was pretty chuffed with the finish results.

Ive certainly upped my game with both the wash routine and polishing lol

Ignorance is bliss......


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## Rowe (Jul 4, 2013)

hose, sponge, gold class, and a schaomis.............. with the occasional trip to the immigrants every now and then when i couldn't be arsed


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## Will_G (Jan 23, 2012)

Karcher hose brush and alloy brush, SRP by the bucketload...dust to the max.

Did a few times take it through the ARC machines, quite a few times to the jetwash and couple of times to the shopping centre ones.


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

When I first started driving it used to give it a thorough clean on a Sunday then on Thursday I'd take it to the local IMO (now Arc) and it was always shining


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## Lowiepete (Mar 29, 2009)

I guess that I've been a detailer for most of my life, though I'm still wary of
calling myself that even today. I've always looked after my cars, and always
wanted to turn heads, even if I was driving a foreign mass-produced box.

Before I came to what I might call "modern detailing", where the technology
is now enough to befuddle the best of us, I have to admit I was using a 
product called Proshine, later to be marketed as Showroom Shine. Being 
disabled, with both gammy hands and an unsteady gait, the attraction of no
more suds buckets was terrific!

Despite the fact that the stuff went just about everywhere when sprayed, I 
got good results. People always remarked at how shiny the car was and it
stayed quite clean during the winter. Each subsequent coat was enhancing
the previous one, so it soon became a breeze to clean. I did hate all the
white bits trapped in just about every recess possible, so it wasn't all good
news!

Now of course, we have just about every type of cleaner and protection
product that anyone could dream of. Back in the day, it was Simoniz One
Step hard paste wax that was the best and you could say it with confidence!
Today, it's totally mind-boggling - nothing but nothing can be classed as the
best. You've only one option, which soon spreads to millions, by just trying
the products that suit you and your needs best.

Regards,
Steve


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## VRS James (Nov 23, 2013)

My washes took place in car parks near a burger van. Occasionally I would treat it to a 1 bucket wash with old sponge followed by drive dry.


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## Kriminal (Jan 11, 2007)

In a word - shamefully! :thumb:


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## TheMilko2905 (Sep 22, 2011)

Used 1 bucket filled with water & washing up liquid, any sort of sponge I could get hold of, bath sponge, car sponge, even an old dish cloth at times.

I often used the same bucket & water to do 2-3 cars and just kept topping it up with water from the hose.

I could wash all the family's 5 cars in about 2 hours, now it takes me nearly 3 hours to do one.

Tried drying the car with an old battered chamie leather, but found it easier to just take the car for a drive to blow the water off, until such time as those silicon blades became available and then I used one of them followed by one of those cheap synthetic leathers.

Now I spend more on micro fibre towels than my wife does on bath sheets / bath towels and she only buys Egyptian cotton towels.

My first polish was a bottle of TCut, then I progressed onto turtle wax liquid polish then tried MER and thought that was the ultimate polish, then a mate recommend AutoGlym and I thought that's it, I'm never gonna spend anymore than a tender on polish cus that's expensive. Oh how I was mistaken. Lol.


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## Poohbore (Aug 10, 2013)

One bucket and a sponge for my wife's car and my company car was washed when serviced by the dealer or the rain


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## Ongoing (Sep 3, 2012)

1 bucket, 1 sponge, turtle wax shampoo and the good old garden hose. with the odd polish

oh how times have changed


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## s29nta (Mar 9, 2013)

Bucket and sponge, fairy liquid and that's it, it was a lot cheaper in those days:thumb::lol:


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## Dazzawest (Mar 4, 2012)

mike41 said:


> Always used Autoglym,nothing wrong with it I know,just because my old man did.
> I had the red bag for ages, replacing like for like whenever something was finished. Thought I was looking after the car properly, but didnt realise the damage I was doing using it with the wifes mop bucket, an old sponge and chamois, chucking the remains of the dirty water over the roof to 'rinse'. I rarely bothered cleaning wheels, arches or door shuts. Also used old t-shirts, tea towels and whatever else came to hand for polishing!
> Mike


I was like that, it had to be clean but any old cloth, rag or bits of t shirt would do for polishing.
I rarely ever paid any attention to inner arches and places like that.

I wonder how many people would change their wash habits, based on why we've changed ours. Some of the changes aren't even that big. Maybe a different wash mitt, car shampoo instead of washing up liquid etc.


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## 123HJMS (Mar 13, 2013)

1 bucket, sponge and chamios! Started with fairy liquid then moved onto autoglym shampoo ...


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## Rascal_69 (Sep 20, 2009)

123HJMS said:


> 1 bucket, sponge and chamios! Started with fairy liquid then moved onto autoglym shampoo ...


Same but moved to meguiars after fairy


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## Marve (Jul 5, 2013)

For the sake of fairness, as Fairy are not an official sponsor of DW, I think it is right to point out that alternative washing up liquids were and are available.


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## GarveyVW (Jun 28, 2013)

In a machine car wash about twice a year IIRC.


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## JMorty (Apr 25, 2011)

I remember when I got my first car...I went to halfauds and got a shammy leather one side and microfibre the other side sponge. I got the nicest shampoo I could afford, AG wheel cleaner, a Shammy leather and some cloths for doing windows. I made sure that I pressure washed it before I touched it and i used to squeeze the sponge over the upper parts of the car so the shampoo would run down the car. AND I always changed the water when it was dirty and after doing the wheels.

I think I started well without knowing. I had it almost there.


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## smiler1207 (Oct 9, 2013)

All I am saying is I used to throw my used bucket of water over my car before rinsing!!!


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## Davro (May 17, 2013)

1 bucket, 1 sponge, Auto glym shampoo, rinse off with original bucket (shampoo water emptied out) with clean water in, then dried with a AG "blade". 

Same sponge for wheels and body work....!

Then upgraded to Meguiars when it was on offer in Halfords.....

Then got a black Evo and had it detailed by a pro.....and that got me hooked


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## Kriminal (Jan 11, 2007)

My Dad used to squirt some Fairy Liquid on his car, and then drive over to the car-wash, paying for the cheapest rinse and dry :lol:


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## ardenvxr (May 22, 2013)

mainly used meguiars nxt range,always used a noodle mitt and a small bucket


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## before-i-forget (Jun 8, 2013)

Noodle mitt with a random turtlewax shampoo my dad used to have and then I bought a tub of turtlewaxs wax for like £3 from Halfords. oh and a chamois to dry the car.


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## scratcher (Jul 20, 2010)

I started out on Turtle Wax Nano Tech shampoo and spray wax.
Halford's spec wash mitt, 1 bucket and natural drying.

I worked in Halfords when I was younger building bikes and got a good discount so treated my self when I passed my test


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## The Pan Man (Apr 16, 2010)

I have used Microfiber Cloths since 2000 Autoglym Shampoo open hose and Autoglym synthetic chamois was my previous routine. Then I found this site and well things changed a bit.


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## Guru (Aug 28, 2013)

For regular washes, I used to use water - single bucket, and rags from old T-shirts.

For a weekend wash or so, put some household shampoo in that single bucket, and then use loads of plain water buckets for rinsing.

Take the car to a wash centre for a deep wash after the monsoons. They would use diesel to get rid of tar marks etc., soap for washing and God knows what rags.


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## AlexEvansCapri (Oct 31, 2012)

I used to use the old filthy bucket - a car shampoo of any kind that i could find lying around the garage usually a Turtle Wax Shampoo - a nice big old sponge that practically lived on the floor and a chamois, then stand back and look at all the bits you missed  
then i discovered this forum by accident and now I'm far to OCD about my car and constantly find myself having arguments with fellow club members on how to wash their cars! can i turn back time and save all the pennies iv spent please!


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## martyp (Oct 24, 2006)

Turtle Wax shampoo, sponge, one bucket and a hose. Dried off with a bath towel... Car was silver so didn't matter - until I got on Autopia!

Waxed with Turtle Wax again using old t-shirts.


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## WP-UK (Apr 24, 2011)

What ever could be purchased in the car section at Tesco. The shame


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## gerz1873 (May 15, 2010)

49p sponge £1 bucket and triplewax shampoo all from Asda. Car was really clean afterwards didn't know anything else


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## ashers16 (Mar 25, 2015)

Up until the beginning of this year I still used a sponge, one bucket and cheap car shampoo and wax normally Simoniz. Took the last car through the arc car wash every time it needed a wash mostly as my gf brother works there. Then I bought my new (to me) car and everything changed, found this forum now I'm addicted and the gf says I spend more time with my car than her ha, and everyone thinks I'm crazy when I spend 6 hours cleaning my car. The looks I get of her when I spend all my money on car cleaning stuff.


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

Good thread !

Like many, yellow sponge, a bucket and I was using megauirs Soft Wash Gel followed by a pressure washer rinse and bewilderment at all the water marks ! Someone bought me AG SRP for a present, I had absolutely no idea how to use it, so I quickly wiped it all over the car only to have to practically chisel it off as the sun was out and it was hot ! Ended up rewashing the car to get it off and never touched it again until I came to the forum, haven't been without it since !


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## alfajim (May 4, 2011)

A sponge with baking on one side iirc, whatever car shampoo was on hand and met used with old tshirt or stockinette. When I got the Alfa I read a how to clean your car properly thread, it linked to here and it was down hill from there. I'm not as fussy as when I started out these days.


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## Mike_Wizz (Aug 5, 2013)

Hot water pressure washer and truck wash lol


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

Have used mf noodle mitts for about 10 (?) years after spotting them at Costco. 

Bought them mainly because it seemed less effort than using a sponge - not because I thought it was kinder to the paint LOL. 

Just used them with one bucket and Turtlewax Zipwax. Also sometimes used the cheap foam attachment that came with my Nilfisk pw.


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## Mike V (Apr 7, 2007)

I remember using a car wash brush like this -










In a single bucket with turtle wax shampoo. Then dried off with a chamois. I cringe thinking about it!


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## BadgerJCW (Dec 20, 2013)

1 bucket, fairy liquid, cheapo yellow sponge and a chamois that had to be wrung out every 2 minutes! No waxing or polishing in my very early years.

Haha! How times change!


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## clav604 (Dec 25, 2012)

Then after washing the car and wheels with same old sponge would throw water over car


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

clav604 said:


> Then after washing the car and wheels with same old sponge would throw water over car


I must confess, I used to do that ! Throw all the dirt I've just washed off back over the car.


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## The_Weasel (Nov 23, 2006)

I remember trying to use T-cut on my old blue Avenger in the mid 80s with an old t-shirt and wondered why it wasn't shining, looked as scratched and swirled as before :lol:


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## Chris92VAG (Oct 23, 2013)

A black dirty sponge which was ment to be yellow, one bucket and a big blob of triple wax shampoo, same sponge for body and wheels sometimes I'd do the wheels first. Same bucket of water/shampoo for wheels and body. Throw dirty water over car after washed then a quick rinse down. Never dried unless I was going to use some t cut and a old rag but that was only once or twice a year.


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## Bildeb0rg (Jun 7, 2014)

Looks like we all learnt at our fathers knee, Turtle Wax and Brasso on a Saturday or Sunday morning on a staple diet of Singers, Riley's, Morris's and Fords.
I think the reason why we take such care over our cars in later years has more to do with the value we place on them as we grow older. 
My first cars were generally nails, all I could afford, and I was more interested in going out in them than keeping them clean. Unless there was a girl involved, then out came the fairy liquid and occasionally a Hoover. 
Every now and then a car with a couple of yoofs will pass while I'm carefully decontaminating or patting dry my cars and I'll catch them smirking at my antics, and I wonder how long it will be before they start buying white vinegar to wash their drying towels with??


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## gerz1873 (May 15, 2010)

£1 bucket from Asda 35p sponge from the same place Turtle Wax triple wax shampoo then when finished the wash I threw the remained of the contents of bucket over the top of the car :wave:


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## sonny (Feb 26, 2008)

Same as many others it sounds like, fairy liquid in a bucket with a crappy sponge. No polish, no wax and used the same doing for the wheels to o. 

Never really saw my dad washing the car so perhaps I can blame him for my lack of method. It's all changed now though


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## sonny (Feb 26, 2008)

Oh yes gerz I was also guilty of that... Funny how we probably wondered why it wasn't sparkling after wards.


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## Jinjoh_ninjoh (Feb 2, 2015)

I didn't! 
I used to let the car wash down the road which was situated on a gravel dirt track wash mine for £5.
Then I got a car that I started to take pride in as I bought it myself and found you guys! 
I've never looked back! Even if it has cost me an arm and a leg!


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