Car washing - "Lift" soap

A lot of the car detailing videos I watch include an extra step for "lifting". They will rinse the car off, then they will cover the car using a Foam Cannon and a product like this:
Amazon.com: CARPRO Lift - Liter - Pre-Treat Foam Wash, Dissolves and Lifts Away a Large Amount of Dirt and Grime in a Completely Touchless Manner : Automotive

Then let it sit for a few minutes and rinse it off.

Then they swap to the regular Car Wash soap and wash the car as normal.

Apparently, the purpose of the "pre-washing" step is to loosen/lift/rinse away dirt before you use any kind of mitt/brush on the car. It is supposed to prevent swirl marks caused from rubbing dirt that is sitting on the car or wheels. That particular soap lifts it, then you rinse it off, then wash the car as normal.

Do any of you include that extra step for "lifting"?

 

I let the rain wash my cars.

 

In on page 1

 

I love washing the car. It gets washed after every time it rains, or every 4th day, whichever comes first. After 3 days, even in perfect weather, it will start to get dust/pollen and shit on it. So it gets a bath.

I have the foam cannon and all the different detailing brushes, and I get in no hurry. I might spend 2-3hrs detailing the car. I am looking forward to the TGT getting dirty so i can wash it.

Hell I even get satisfaction watching car detailing videos on youtube.

I have thought about having my own car detailing business. But seeing the shitty conditions people let their vehicles get in all the time would probably piss me off.

 

Doing something that makes you happy is one thing...involve the public and there's the recipe for a serial killer.

 

If it was a show car maybe. A daily driver? Hell no. Ceramic coating and normal wash practices prevent most swirls.

 

Valid point.

 

All Im getting out of this is GG parks his cars outside. Try a garage, they stay clean for months that way.

 

Nope, never parked my vehicles outside. They stay in the garage.

And we obviously have different interpretations of the word "clean".

If you can go months without washing your car, then your "clean" is my "it's so fucking dirty that I might as well burn it".

 

The more steps a detailing product manufacturer can come up with, the more $ they make.

Literally rinse, repeat.

 

Rinse, repeat? You don't even wash it?

Just rinsing, even with the HP wash/rinse jet guns at the drive-in car washes, does nothing IMO. You have to rub/wipe that shit off. The only time I will "just rinse" is if there has been salt or mud on the roads and I want to rinse it off immediately.

One thing I have always done is use two buckets when washing. I have one bucket full of just water. I dip the mitt into the soap and wash a section. Before I get more soap on the mitt, I put it in the bucket of water and squeeze it out. Then I go back to the soap bucket.

I have this fear of getting dirt on the mitt, then putting the dirt in the soap bucket, then grabbing dirt every time I get more soap, and scratching the car with the dirt in the soap.

I also use one of those "dirt trap" things in the soap bucket. It is basically a filter sort of thing that just sits in the bottom of the bucket and sticks up about 2" from the bottom. In theory, if there is dirt in the soapy water, it will fall to the bottom and get trapped.

 

How the fuck do you survive in the oilfield industry?

 

Guarandamntee you that I have the cleanest and most organized office and workshop in the entire oilfield.

Anytime there are VIP visitors (VP's, Board of Directors, etc) when they go for their "walkaround" to see the rig, they are always brought through my area because everyone knows it will look fucking awesome.

 

Chris, have you ever considered just driving the fucking thing and enjoying it for a few minutes?

 

Rinse, repeat on how marketing convinces customers

i power wash, foam, rinse, blow dry. Wheels get scrubbed. Ceramic coating does the rest. Every now and then i take the wheels off, clean everything separately and apply coating to calipers and wheels

 

Yep. But that is only half the fun. The other half is washing it.

 

Ahhh im with you now.