I bought my Mr. Clean kit mainly to wash my truck because of its size but I am so impressed with the results, I think I'm going to try it on my Cobra. No bucket, no drying...no waterspots. Just stand there and watch it dry or go inside and take a nap while your car dries. Of course, the same rule of thumb applies and that is not to wash it in the sun. Late afternoon or in the shade is best.
Mr. Clean car wash
- Thread starter sonicx219
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Personally I don't like the "no bucket" idea. I would at the very least use a bucket of fresh water to rinse foreign objects from your wash mitt frequently. Using one wash mitt to wash the entire car without rinsing it frequently is just asking for swirl marks at the least and possibly scratches.
I've never been a big fan of wash mitts and/or sponges because they seem to have more of a tendency to pick up debris when washing the vehicle...at least for me. Plus, I've never found one that is 100% cotton. The ones in the stores are always listed as just "chenille" which doens't necessarily guarantee 100% cotton content. Then there's those wool mitts, that looks suspeciously like it may have some polyester fiber in it. For that reason I don't really like to use anything with a thick nap because "junk" can get down into mitt/sponge and the uncertainty of the material used.
Personally, I only use the softest 100% cotton T-shirts I can find...I don't even use the cotton clothes you'll find in the auto departments of most stores because I've heard not to use cotton from Bangladesh or Pakistan due to it not necessarily being 100% cotton as indicated.
When I used the Mr. Clean, I just would rinse the cloth out frequently with a strong jet of water, however using a plain bucket of water might would be a good idea just to drop the cloth into ever so often to make sure the cloth is washed off thoroughly. Washing from top to bottom helps cut down on swirls since the dirtiest part of the vehicle is often the lower parts. Bringing that dirty rag back up to the hood, trunk or roof is almost a guarantee for swirl marks in the long run no matter what cleaning products used.
Personally, I only use the softest 100% cotton T-shirts I can find...I don't even use the cotton clothes you'll find in the auto departments of most stores because I've heard not to use cotton from Bangladesh or Pakistan due to it not necessarily being 100% cotton as indicated.
When I used the Mr. Clean, I just would rinse the cloth out frequently with a strong jet of water, however using a plain bucket of water might would be a good idea just to drop the cloth into ever so often to make sure the cloth is washed off thoroughly. Washing from top to bottom helps cut down on swirls since the dirtiest part of the vehicle is often the lower parts. Bringing that dirty rag back up to the hood, trunk or roof is almost a guarantee for swirl marks in the long run no matter what cleaning products used.
Actually cotton rarely touches my paint these days. I use real sheepskin washmitts to wash, microfiber for everything else. For washing you want something with a very deep nap to catch and pull debris away from your paint especially if you are not going to be using a rinse bucket.
What you heard about cotton is absolutely correct. You cannot be sure that something is 100% cotton unless it says made in the US and even then you cannot be 100% sure.
Washing from the top down is standard practice but, it is no guarantee that you are not going to run into crap on your paint on your roof or hood or somewhere else. This is why you want something with a nap to pull debris away from your paint. All it takes is to get one tiny grain of sand between your cotton tshirt and your paint and you will scratch because there is no place for it to go.
I don't want to debate technique here, it is your car and if your technique works for you than that is all that matters. You might though want to check by taking your car to a gas station at night and looking closely at the paint under those bright halogen lights. They are very unforgiving and will show you paint defects that you just simply can't see in normal daylight.
What you heard about cotton is absolutely correct. You cannot be sure that something is 100% cotton unless it says made in the US and even then you cannot be 100% sure.
Washing from the top down is standard practice but, it is no guarantee that you are not going to run into crap on your paint on your roof or hood or somewhere else. This is why you want something with a nap to pull debris away from your paint. All it takes is to get one tiny grain of sand between your cotton tshirt and your paint and you will scratch because there is no place for it to go.
I don't want to debate technique here, it is your car and if your technique works for you than that is all that matters. You might though want to check by taking your car to a gas station at night and looking closely at the paint under those bright halogen lights. They are very unforgiving and will show you paint defects that you just simply can't see in normal daylight.
Yeah, I agree. Whatever technique works best, works best plain and simple and everybody has their own but my posts were not meant to be taken as being argumentative...just sharing my experiences from washing my cars or family cars for the past 16 years and it seems as if I've tried everything. The chenille wrapped sponges, those sheep wool mitts with the green elastic band they sell in the department stores and after several years of simply using cotton clothes, I'm much more pleased with the results. When I was using a wash mitt on my old black 95 Cobra, I had more swirls than I cared for. After washing with those mitts for 4 years, I dumped them back in 99, and started using 1 cotton cloth per vehicle and then just throwing them away after each use. I've even used the same thing on my folks' car since it was new 5 years ago and today it looks almost like a brand new car with very little scratches.
You have to be careful about buying washmits in department stores like WalMart or even auto parts stores. Same goes for sheepskin that goes for cotton. Just because it says sheepskin doen't mean that is what it is 
The ones you typically find at WalMart and the like are typically synthetic. I get mine directly from Meguiars and they are 100% authentic sheepskin. One way you can tell is to look inside, you should see raw leather. Don't even get me started on sponges Although I do like to watch Spongebob with the kids!
Just for giggles here are a couple pics of my 01 GT
The ones you typically find at WalMart and the like are typically synthetic. I get mine directly from Meguiars and they are 100% authentic sheepskin. One way you can tell is to look inside, you should see raw leather. Don't even get me started on sponges Although I do like to watch Spongebob with the kids!Just for giggles here are a couple pics of my 01 GT
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