In Atlanta I cannot believe how many "detailers" I see that when I ask them what "two bucket" wash means they don't even have a clue as to what I am talking about.

All these drive in wash places where people pay good money to get their car "hand washed", I have never seen it used...

High School / Church group type car washes that you see all over the place in the Summertime, like for fundraising - ditto

I don't do it now (at least on cars or trucks), but I have been into detailing since I was a teenager, and always thought it was "SOP" or should be...

I just can't imagine anyone allowing their reasonably nice vehicle to be washed without it!

 

I just can't imagine letting anyone else was my truck period

 

... but a lot of people do, or they see kids waving signs, ot the mobile detailer you see in a parking lot with a pressure washer on a trailer...

I have a 1997, still has a nice shine, that is happy whenever anyone washes it.

Out on the road for extended periods like we sometimes are, one might not have all the stuff they keep at home.

 

I have never used a two-bucket wash method. All of my vehicles still looked good when I sold them. It's the fact that they are washed, not how they are washed. If you keep your car washed on a weekly basis, with a regular waxing and/or detailing a few times a year your vehicle will continue to look good.

I hand washed my truck last weekend, first time since last summer. There is a car wash in town that will wash my truck for $10. For that I get the wheels & tires cleaned with tire shine applied at the end. I can get Rain-x applied to the whole truck if I wish (I don't) for $2. After I go through the wash I vaccuum out my own truck at my own pace. It's a nice wash, all 100% cotton, no nylon "brushes". I usually spend 15 mins. at the wash. It is well worth my time.

 

I guess it is all in what your definition of looking good is.
I understand that people have different levels of interest when talking about care of their car/truck, or have different circumstances that sometimes prevent them from taking correct care of the finish on their vehicle, or they just don't know, or don't understand all that is involved. I sure don't expect everyone to be as AC as I am about it .. but that said.. there is a correct way do to things ..

If you do not wash, dry, polish and wax your vehicle correctly, it will eventually end up looking like this at some point. How long it takes it to get there is directly related to how manys things are being done incorrectly.




If you do everything correctly, then your paint will look like this...



some people aren't concerned with having their vehicle look like picture # 2, or they would like it to, but do not have the time/knowledge/money/etc to make it happen. there is nothing wrong with that ..

just remember .. everytime you touch your paint, with anything, you are doing one of three things:

1. Damaging it
2. Repairing it
3. Protecting it


sorry .. I get long winded when I get bored at home..

 

I see your point but if you were prepared to let somebody else wash your truck, then you probably don't care how many buckets they use or what the procedure is.

 

My point wasn't who washes MY truck, or even whether or not it ever gets washed.

Point is that MOST people don't even know what "2 bucket" is or means. How can so many people who claim to be professional, work as professional "detailers" for which they charge you $$ for services not know something that should be BASIC to what they do for a living.

Point is that at least in this area, where one can pay a lot of money for someone to wash your car professionally they may be causing damage to the finish on your vehicle in the process.

Point is that just because someone claims to be a professional detailer, does not mean that they actually know what the flip they are doing...

It also seems that many here on this forum don't even know what it is. Many people who DO wash their own vehicle may be doing damage to their finish in the wash process. I thought it should be a basic part of doing a nice job of detailing a vehicle.

Granted, some people love to wash, wax and detail their vehicle, and you may be one of those - good for you!

(My same point could have been made for maintenance and oil changes - would I have been disagreed with if I had said that just because someone cleims to be a mechanic and works at a dealership does not mean they know what they are doing?

Someone would say "I prefer to service my own transmission - but if you were prepared to let somebody else service your transmission, then you probably don't care how they do it or what the procedure is...")

But there might also be those who want a clean vehicle, and might not have the ability, or the time, or the place, or the logistics to be able to do it for or by themselves.

I don't even see any agreement that it is an important step, so maybe it isn't, and I have been totally wrong abut it all this time...

GEESH!

 

You are not wrong .. the two bucket method is absolutely the most correct way to wash a vehicle.

You are also correct in that lots of people claim to be a professional detailer, and have absolutely no idea what they are doing.

People assume that if the sign on the door says Car Wash, or Detailing, then the people inside know what they are doing, which we all know is not always the case with a business. (and not just involving car care)

People assume that because they pay $25 for a hand wash, that their car is being taken care of .. they don't know that MOST of those places are horrible for your paint ..

anytime you see multiple cars being washed and dried with the same wash mitts, and holiday inn towels .. run away.

A single incorrect wash will cause micro marring.. the more that happens, the duller the paint becomes.

Another example of the lack of information, or the misinformation that is out there is washing a car with Dawn. There are lots of enthusiasts that know an awful lot about taking care of their paint, yet still use Dawn to wash their vehicle (in a few cases, it might be justified, but there is almost always another way.)

anyway .. Patrick .. you are correct .. what you see those people doing is wrong .. running a car through an automated car wash is almost always bad (never ever one that touches .. a touch free can be justified in emergencies) ..

 

At least someone else sees the point of the post - thanks GIPRAW!

I was just trying to educate some who might not know about this, and pointing out that those who should know, often do not.

Also, many detergents like Dawn, that are not designed to be used to wash a car will take a coat of wax right off.

Many people like to see water beading on a waxed finish. That beading can also cause water spots on a finish, maybe even cause minute pitting.

Water beads up due to very small imperfections in the finish, and from something known as surface tension.

Even better than beading, try to use something that will achieve a finish where water will just sheet right off the surface.

 

I also think that unless you're retired and have nothing else to do, you kind of have to "pick-and-choose" which vehicles in your stable get the highest level of care.

When it was just my daily driver and the wife's daily driver, it was relatively easy for me to keep them both up to a "very nice" (not necessarily perfect) standard of care for an everyday vehicle. As I started purchasing more vehicles, it became increasing difficult to keep them all maintained at a high level of exterior detail.

As such, I have begun to have one level of care (the highest) for Blue (as will be the case with my Mustang "Belle" when I get her), another level of care (reasonable) for my wife's '05 Escape daily driver, and yet another level of care for my daily driver '97 Ranger. While I'd like to keep them all in impeccable condition, reality says that as the number of vehicles you own increases, you have to start making compromises on their exterior care.

 

Well... there are definitely two sides to this fence and I see both of them... look at it from this adverse perspective.........

A 'Professional Detailer' should have the know how to wash a vehicle and be able to remove any hairline or micromarring that is introduced as a part of any 'decontamination' steps that preceed it. Additionally, the finish could already be in horrible shape and is going to take some serious rotary work to get it back to par... just a little different perspective.

I'll be the first to admit that I've washed client vehicles with one bucket -- of course, they weren't in ultra-dirty shape when they arrived but, don't discount every detailer on the planet because they don't know the two-bucket method...

 

Point taken, I'm just surprised that so few of them even seem to know what it is...

I know that there might times where doing it is a moot point, but at least to know enough about it to choose whether to do it or not.

Not even knowing what it is, or saying that it is not necessary sounds funny when coming from a "professional" detailer.

 

agreed .. but I also believe there is a difference between not knowing about it, and saying it is not necessary .. I use the one bucket method a lot .. but when I do, I use 2 or 3 wash mitts, and I never use a single bucket on a dirty vehicle.

We all learn new things everyday.. so there is not inherently anything wrong with not knowing about the two bucket method .. but along the same lines .. a true professional should understand the effects generated by all of the processes they use (like how drying off 10 cars with the same towel is probably bad, as is using the same was water for several vehicles )..

like you mentioned .. if you are going to have to work on the finish anyway, then in the grand scheme of things, there is not a need to do a two bucket, one hour wash .. in my opinion, of course (as is every thing that comes out of my mouth .. stupid or otherwise)

 

I agree with you guys completely but still fall short of thouroughly ripping a 'pro' detailer for not knowing about the multi-bucket system (hell, I've used a three-bucket system SEVERAL times -- with upwards of 5 bucket dumps/fills on a single FULL-SIZED car -- this, of course, is an exception to the rule.

Some guys are set in their ways and, just because they don't utilize it or haven't heard of it doesn't mean that they're lacking in ability...

I've worked around detailers that were TOP TIER guys but, when it came to modifying their 'technique', they were pretty reluctant because they adhere to the old addage -- 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it...'. That's not to say that they shouldn't adapt to better techniques but, it also doesn't indicate that they're poor or do poor work...

 

So I was sright then

Patrick, I'm not argueing with you. Yes, a "pro" detailer should use the ultimate technique but not all pro's are professional.
I've seen "pro's" put hydraulics together with dirty hands and I've seen people try and paint in a dusty shop.
I wouldn't do either of those but that's just me.
I never said that you were wrong. I just said I wouldn't let anyone else clean my truck. I'd rather it sat there dirty than trust it to someone else whatever their technique.