Cleaning questions ?

maddie

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I’ve never cleaned cars and haven’t owned one for a decade, since I moved to NYC. So I feel I have a lot of anxiety regarding it - more than ev charging! So sorry for the barrage of Q’s but I see a lot of enthusiasts here who go the extra miles to maintain their cars. The people i know either go through drive through - auto wash or just don’t mind water spots.

White carrera white with mission e : It has full PPF & Ceramic coating (Xpel Fusion)

1- My car has a bit of dirt on it, since I brought it back form the PPF service. There’s snow here - so you can imagine. Ceramic was done on friday and I brought the car on Tuesday. Do I hand wash (full wash on sunday), or should I try to atleast rinse to get the mud off ?

I was told it’s better to leave it dirty and do a full hand wash than just rinse as it would leave water spots.

2- Pressure washer or 2 buckets ? what does everyone suggest. what is better for the car ? for rinse and for shampoo ?

3- I won’t take it to an automatic car wash. My choices, hand wash myself at a friend’s place using the 2 bucket system or pressure washer, sonax soap and mitt and drying cloth from (chemical guys). then put the xpel spray over. Or get it hand washed from one of the detailing places ? Ask them to use my supplies ?

4- The company that did the PPF suggested not to use the rinseless stuff, which many on this forum suggested, if living in urban areas.

Many thanks !

this is the current state :

Porsche Taycan Cleaning questions ? F6A10B84-EE9F-4227-930B-F5E1CBED9BBA
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Dslev

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I’ve never cleaned cars and haven’t owned one for a decade, since I moved to NYC. So I feel I have a lot of anxiety regarding it - more than ev charging! So sorry for the barrage of Q’s but I see a lot of enthusiasts here who go the extra miles to maintain their cars. The people i know either go through drive through - auto wash or just don’t mind water spots.

White carrera white with mission e : It has full PPF & Ceramic coating (Xpel Fusion)

1- My car has a bit of dirt on it, since I brought it back form the PPF service. There’s snow here - so you can imagine. Ceramic was done on friday and I brought the car on Tuesday. Do I hand wash (full wash on sunday), or should I try to atleast rinse to get the mud off ?

I was told it’s better to leave it dirty and do a full hand wash than just rinse as it would leave water spots.

2- Pressure washer or 2 buckets ? what does everyone suggest. what is better for the car ? for rinse and for shampoo ?

3- I won’t take it to an automatic car wash. My choices, hand wash myself at a friend’s place using the 2 bucket system or pressure washer, sonax soap and mitt and drying cloth from (chemical guys). then put the xpel spray over. Or get it hand washed from one of the detailing places ? Ask them to use my supplies ?

4- The company that did the PPF suggested not to use the rinseless stuff, which many on this forum suggested, if living in urban areas.

Many thanks !

this is the current state :

F6A10B84-EE9F-4227-930B-F5E1CBED9BBA.jpeg
My car is also full ceramic. Unless there are bird droppings, leave the dirt and do a two bucket wash or a foam application of soap and single additional bucket. Any car soap will do, you can check out www.griotsgarage.com they have an excellent lineup. If the Ceramic manufacturer has soap, you may want to use it, I have Feynlab ceramic, so I use their soap, works great.

If you have bird dropping, buy some Speed Shine and use a bit to just get off the bird dropping in between washes, so it doesn't etch the ceramic or paint.

Beautiful car, use it well.
 

raharris

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I drove my car from Chicago to Ohio after PFP/Ceramic (and the weather here is horrendous right now) - and so I took it to a self-serve bay and used the spot-less rinse option to take the worst of the dirt/salt off. I didn't use any soap products etc - with the ceramic etc most just came away anyway.

I tend to use a self-serve bay due to lack of water options at my apartment - I keep the wand a sensible distance from the car and avoid blasting any edges - I do this for my Cayman and Taycan.

For my Macan, that has only a front wrap and full ceramic I use an in-bay automatic regularly and have no issues.

I always avoid a tunnel wash and I use a leaf blower to dry the car (although I sometimes revert to a cloth dry combined with using G2 spray)

Most of the cost is in the wrap, not the ceramic, I figure if it starts to lose its dirt repelling qualities, I'll just have a fresh ceramic coat applied for about $300-500.
 

RingoDingo

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I drove my car from Chicago to Ohio after PFP/Ceramic (and the weather here is horrendous right now) - and so I took it to a self-serve bay and used the spot-less rinse option to take the worst of the dirt/salt off. I didn't use any soap products etc - with the ceramic etc most just came away anyway.

I tend to use a self-serve bay due to lack of water options at my apartment - I keep the wand a sensible distance from the car and avoid blasting any edges - I do this for my Cayman and Taycan.

For my Macan, that has only a front wrap and full ceramic I use an in-bay automatic regularly and have no issues.

I always avoid a tunnel wash and I use a leaf blower to dry the car (although I sometimes revert to a cloth dry combined with using G2 spray)

Most of the cost is in the wrap, not the ceramic, I figure if it starts to lose its dirt repelling qualities, I'll just have a fresh ceramic coat applied for about $300-500.
Most of the cost of ceramic is in the labor for the pre-application paint correct, I've always thought... which seems mitigated with the PPF still underneath.
 

raharris

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Most of the cost of ceramic is in the labor for the pre-application paint correct, I've always thought... which seems mitigated with the PPF still underneath.
Yes; the paint correction before ceramic or PPF. So it would need a clean, iron removal etc and then a fresh coat of ceramic applied - and therefore a small fraction of the cost of paint correction + PPF + Ceramic that was done the first time.
 
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Bigben

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I’ve never cleaned cars and haven’t owned one for a decade, since I moved to NYC. So I feel I have a lot of anxiety regarding it - more than ev charging! So sorry for the barrage of Q’s but I see a lot of enthusiasts here who go the extra miles to maintain their cars. The people i know either go through drive through - auto wash or just don’t mind water spots.

White carrera white with mission e : It has full PPF & Ceramic coating (Xpel Fusion)

1- My car has a bit of dirt on it, since I brought it back form the PPF service. There’s snow here - so you can imagine. Ceramic was done on friday and I brought the car on Tuesday. Do I hand wash (full wash on sunday), or should I try to atleast rinse to get the mud off ?

I was told it’s better to leave it dirty and do a full hand wash than just rinse as it would leave water spots.

2- Pressure washer or 2 buckets ? what does everyone suggest. what is better for the car ? for rinse and for shampoo ?

3- I won’t take it to an automatic car wash. My choices, hand wash myself at a friend’s place using the 2 bucket system or pressure washer, sonax soap and mitt and drying cloth from (chemical guys). then put the xpel spray over. Or get it hand washed from one of the detailing places ? Ask them to use my supplies ?

4- The company that did the PPF suggested not to use the rinseless stuff, which many on this forum suggested, if living in urban areas.

Many thanks !

this is the current state :

F6A10B84-EE9F-4227-930B-F5E1CBED9BBA.jpeg
That’s it - you’ve triggered the detailing enthusiast inside me!

Here’s a video I did a couple of years back when guys asked me about the benefits of a car dryer. Key steps are here - I would only change a couple of products to care for your ceramic coating (I applied Gtechniq to my other car and use the refs below)



1. Pre-wash with pressure washer (just to remove salt / dirt etc)
2. Foam lance - I use either Gyeon or Gtechniq (needs to be pH neutral for your coating)
3. 2 buckets with NXT or Gtechniq shampoo and microfiber mitt - one with soapy warm (loosen up / dissolves dirt better) water and other with clean warm water to rinse the mitt off between panels
4. Rinse with pressure washer (don’t need full power if 120+ Bar)
5. I now use spray on wax to boost protection - Autoglym or any other is fine, very diluted in foam lance)
6. Final rinse
7. Drying - I’m using a blaster to avoid swirls but 2-3 large fluffy towels work too (I have a Water Magnet but found it a bit harsh so only using for roof / glass)

Given your level of dirt I would wait for full wash
I only rinse when I have lots of corrosive salt in winter and only at a petrol station where they have “finishing” rinse with deionised water to avoid spots.
 

bah1590

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I use a lower psi pressure washer with the foam wash gun. First I rinse it with only water than I attach the gun and "foam" the car car and then use a mitt to wipe it down. Then I use the pressure sprayer to rinse again. Then dry with a chamois cloth and microfiber towel. Since you have the XPEL the dirt comes off easy and the whole process is pretty quick.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072JNQQY...&pd_rd_r=6b53c15c-a79c-4bc8-b258-f43b1031174c

https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys-CWS_110-Honeydew-Cleanser/dp/B009OTW646?th=1
 

RallyG

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I use a lower psi pressure washer with the foam wash gun. First I rinse it with only water than I attach the gun and "foam" the car car and then use a mitt to wipe it down. Then I use the pressure sprayer to rinse again. Then dry with a chamois cloth and microfiber towel. Since you have the XPEL the dirt comes off easy and the whole process is pretty quick.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072JNQQY...&pd_rd_r=6b53c15c-a79c-4bc8-b258-f43b1031174c

https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys-CWS_110-Honeydew-Cleanser/dp/B009OTW646?th=1
I use the same set-up and soap with a SunJoe pressure washer. Chemical guys has excellent products.

https://snowjoe.com/products/sun-joe-spx3000-xt1-xtream-clean-electric-pressure-washer

(I don't use the foam cannon that came with the SunJoe. Didn't work well at all).
 


Rainforest

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If the car is wrapped, I try to just use the two bucket method. I just use a regular garden hose to rinse off the car first, though a pressure washer would be better. But you need to be careful about lifting the edges of the PPF, so careful where you spray. Rinseless washes are fine, but that is only when the car is lightly soiled. You can't use it for heavy dirt.
 
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maddie

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That’s it - you’ve triggered the detailing enthusiast inside me!

Here’s a video I did a couple of years back when guys asked me about the benefits of a car dryer. Key steps are here - I would only change a couple of products to care for your ceramic coating (I applied Gtechniq to my other car and use the refs below)



1. Pre-wash with pressure washer (just to remove salt / dirt etc)
2. Foam lance - I use either Gyeon or Gtechniq (needs to be pH neutral for your coating)
3. 2 buckets with NXT or Gtechniq shampoo and microfiber mitt - one with soapy warm (loosen up / dissolves dirt better) water and other with clean warm water to rinse the mitt off between panels
4. Rinse with pressure washer (don’t need full power if 120+ Bar)
5. I now use spray on wax to boost protection - Autoglym or any other is fine, very diluted in foam lance)
6. Final rinse
7. Drying - I’m using a blaster to avoid swirls but 2-3 large fluffy towels work too (I have a Water Magnet but found it a bit harsh so only using for roof / glass)

Given your level of dirt I would wait for full wash
I only rinse when I have lots of corrosive salt in winter and only at a petrol station where they have “finishing” rinse with deionised water to avoid spots.
Hi, thanks for this !!! how well does the blower work. I’m thinking to get the same. I feel the more expensive version is pounder, maybe too much for PPF edges and will be hard to move around
 

scav

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Don’t you guys use degreasers during winter wash over there? How do you get rid of asphalt and oil etc just by foaming and hand wash?

Degreaser, iron remover and some salt neutralizer (we have Salty here in Norway). For drying, but a proper car dryer with heat. You spent all this money on a car, don’t cheap out.

Regarding when to wash, a new coat of ceramics should get some time to harden. Let it be dirty, don’t wash for a couple of weeks. What you do for the rest of the cars lifetime is more important than these two couple of weeks.
 

Wakesurfer

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I’ve never cleaned cars and haven’t owned one for a decade, since I moved to NYC. So I feel I have a lot of anxiety regarding it - more than ev charging! So sorry for the barrage of Q’s but I see a lot of enthusiasts here who go the extra miles to maintain their cars. The people i know either go through drive through - auto wash or just don’t mind water spots.

White carrera white with mission e : It has full PPF & Ceramic coating (Xpel Fusion)

1- My car has a bit of dirt on it, since I brought it back form the PPF service. There’s snow here - so you can imagine. Ceramic was done on friday and I brought the car on Tuesday. Do I hand wash (full wash on sunday), or should I try to atleast rinse to get the mud off ?

I was told it’s better to leave it dirty and do a full hand wash than just rinse as it would leave water spots.

2- Pressure washer or 2 buckets ? what does everyone suggest. what is better for the car ? for rinse and for shampoo ?

3- I won’t take it to an automatic car wash. My choices, hand wash myself at a friend’s place using the 2 bucket system or pressure washer, sonax soap and mitt and drying cloth from (chemical guys). then put the xpel spray over. Or get it hand washed from one of the detailing places ? Ask them to use my supplies ?

4- The company that did the PPF suggested not to use the rinseless stuff, which many on this forum suggested, if living in urban areas.

Many thanks !

this is the current state :

F6A10B84-EE9F-4227-930B-F5E1CBED9BBA.jpeg
So I have kept my cars clean in the past but did not really pay attention to cleaning methods. Just used a hose and bucket and regular towels. And that includes two previous Porsches. I don't know what possessed me to change with the Taycan but I found this video Pro car washing FROM HOME! | Step by step tutorial! - Bing video and pretty much bought the the power washer, foam cannon, two buckets, towels, etc that are in the video and now use this method to wash all of our vehicles. It may be because I am now retired and have the time to complete a wash that takes a little more time - a little more than an hour to get the stuff out, set-up, wash the car and then put everything away. I will say that the power washer does an awesome job or removing a lot of dirt and grime that accumulates on my cars. None have PPF, ceramic, etc. Just plain factory paint.
 
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maddie

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Thank you so much everyone. I’m very tempted to get these tools. 1 questions though, which power washer do you recommend with PPF and ceramic ? SunJoe 3000 XT1 ? My detailer said keep below 1200 PSI but i only see bad reviews about the very weak washers ?
 

_Brian_

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Thank you so much everyone. I’m very tempted to get these tools. 1 questions though, which power washer do you recommend with PPF and ceramic ? SunJoe 3000 XT1 ? My detailer said keep below 1200 PSI but i only see bad reviews about the very weak washers ?
This is the model that I purchased after several reviews & videos: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Active+V...+pressure+washer,lawngarden,75&ref=nb_sb_noss . Aside from excellent ratings, I wanted a washer that could deliver a higher flow rate (2 GPM for this unit) since I use an undercarriage washer that has 4 nozzles. There are many high quality washers available. Consider searching Youtube for videos of reviews.

The rated pressure is 1800 PSI but that is static pressure (no flow). As soon as the trigger is pulled, the pressure drops to around 1100 PSI. Use a 40 degree angle nozzle tip and keep the tip of the gun ~24" away from the surface and you should be fine.

Good luck.
 

Wakesurfer

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Thank you so much everyone. I’m very tempted to get these tools. 1 questions though, which power washer do you recommend with PPF and ceramic ? SunJoe 3000 XT1 ? My detailer said keep below 1200 PSI but i only see bad reviews about the very weak washers ?
I bought the Karcher K1700 Cube and it works just fine. I will say though that I have a semi-commercial pressure washer that I use around the house. The hose and wand are pretty high quality and I use them with the Karcher. You might find that any of the less expense pressure washers have less expensive hoses/wands as well...............but you can always go to Lowes or Home Depot to 'upgrade' the hose and wand and they will work fine with the Karcher or any other low pressure washer.
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