I live in a condo and I park my car in a typical 5 level parking garage. I've been taking my car to the local hand wash where the guys take care of me and grab new towels, mits, etc. when I stop by. Even though they take special care I still don't get the results I'm looking for.

My parking garage has no where to hook up a hose and wash a car the normal way. I'm thinking about picking up a large pump sprayer - probably a 2 gallon or so and using this as my water source. I figure each time before I wash my car I can fill it up in my kitchen and then carry it out to the garage to wash my car. At least my garage is always shaded so i never have to worry about the sun. In theory it sounds like it'll work. Am I crazy?

 

That should work as long as your garage is warm. I suggest picking up some 'ONR' which is basically a no rinse car wash product.

It's great for washing your car in the winter time inside your garage when you don't want the corner guys or worse yet an automatic car wash cleaning your vehicle.

 

do you think you'll get better results w a pump spray wash? what's wrong w the car wash you've been going to? maybe a detailer spray would touch up any issue you have w the car wash.

 

My first problem is the car is black so it shows everything. The car has 12k miles on it and has plenty of swirls marks and little "spots" throughout the paint. I'm going to take my car to Phil @ Detailers Domain and have him give it the "all star" treatment - clay, polish, wax, etc. Once I get the car back I figured I'd have better luck maintaining the results if I washed the car myself.

 

Sounds like a decent idea to me.

 

I would say have it professionally detailed and brought back to new! Then, wash with ONR and 2 gallons of water. Wax it every two months, once with a sealant, once with a carnuba (with proper cure time between depending on wax). Polish every 6, wax every two...Here is what I suggest for my clients:

A good regimen to keeping a car looking its best all year long is something along these lines:
• Month 1 – Reconditioning Detail inside and out – this gives the car a fresh clean start to maintain without having to “cover-up” or “mask” defects. It is easier to maintain a clean car rather than a dirty one!
• Month 3 – Waxing for protection – washing will be easier on a freshly waxed car, fallout will not stick to the paint easily, and will maintain that smooth/slick feel.
• Month 5 – Complete Detail inside and out – exterior wash and wax with interior protection added to prevent fading
• Month 7 – One step or two step machine polishing to remove defects/swirl marks
• Month 9 – Complete Detail inside and out
• Month 11 – Waxing for protection

Couple of notes on maintaining a car:
• A car needs to be washed once a week, or when heavily soiled, in order to help prevent airborne contaminants from bonding to the paint, maintain a clean appearance, and keep interiors vacuumed and clean as possible
• There is no miracle wax that will last forever; don’t be fooled by advertisements!
• Waxes and sealants have their place. Generally stated, sealants will last longer, but carnauba waxes will look better.
• The longer stains/dirt sits, the tougher they are to remove/reduce. Act immediately as 3 year old grime will not come out!

 

You could also look into a Nomad 18V Portable Power Cleaner. I have one and take it with me on road trips so that I can wash our black car in parking lots too. And if you do have access to a hose, it is nice to fill up with deionized water (either bought from the store or from something like a CRSpotless) and use for a final spot free rinse!

It's a great product!

 

Now you're talking. I just bought one. Thanks for the info! That's exactly what I was looking for.

 

Happy to help!

D!

 

Watched the video on this...looks pretty cool. Does it have enough pressure and volume to wash cars efficiently? I guess if you don't have access to water, this would be a great assett.

 

Well, it holds 3.5 gallons. It's about as much pressure as a good garden hose with a nozzle on it. So it's no pressure washer, but it does the trick when access to a hose is limited. I bought one and liked it so much I decided to carry them in my store. Everyone I know who has bought them love them. My favorite use has to be for distilled water final rinses on mobile details. I have a customer who uses his to rinses off his mountain bike before he puts it in the car. Cool stuff!

Well, I also really like it for washing off the kids before they get in the car!


D!

 

I should have it next week. I will put together a short review after I use it.

The machine hold over 3 gallons of water. You can go through 3 tanks on one charge which is almost 10 gallons of water. Pretty cool.

Bye bye automatic car wash.

 

The other thing that's cool about it is that if your battery does run out, you can plug it in to your power outlet(Cig lighter) in your car and run it that way!

D!

 

what do you guys think of this one??
http://www.amazon.com/Nomad%C2%AE-Po...7499576&sr=1-1
Iam really interested it this too....its kinda hard finding a good place to watch my car around here

 

Looks ok if you have access to power. I don't have anywhere to "plug in" in my garage. I like the battery on the other one. Although $39 is a heck of a lot better than $250.