Exterior washing - rags, chamois? - BMW Forum

Cavalier2123 · 12-26-2003, 12:43 PM

Hello, I am an owner of an '04 325i and a new poster to these forums. I clean the inside of my car religiously, but the outside is where I am weary. I know that washing your car with towels, rags, or brushes leaves tiny circular scratches in the paint which is not what I am going for. So far, I have only used soap and pressure washers, but this doesn't give me a complete clean. So I would ask the forumites what impliments do you use to clean the exterior?

-Josh

morph · 12-26-2003, 02:37 PM

you can use terry towels, but you need to rise the car off well first...then use lost of soap and water and change it our frequently. also, consistently and constantly change out towels. sponges work well too. i also use different towels for different parts of the car. hope that helps.....

roloson · 12-27-2003, 11:02 AM

I am not sure of this but I understand that professional car care people use brushes. I have seen the really soft specialty car wash brushes. I know it does not necessarily sound right. I guess if you use a sponge and dont keep it clean clean you would be pushing the dirt against the finish. I don't think that would happen with a brush. The dirt would more be able to work up into the bristles and not be directy as hard against the finish. I agree the main thing is to rinse often, keep everything clean, change the water and you will not have a problem. I use a sponge. I have alway wondered about this brush thing though. Just washed picture.

Fangs · 12-28-2003, 04:57 PM

I would NEVER use anything with bristles on your paint!!!!!

I use the natural fibered 'wooly mitt'. I have seen several places HIGHLY reccommend this, since this really WILL get the dirt away from the finish.

In fact, I use two. One is only for the dirt that flies up because of the lack of mudflaps. Once I get that dirt off, I use another for the rest of the car.

ONLY use natural fibers on your car, unless it is a microfiber cloth.

Cavalier2123 · 12-29-2003, 02:37 AM

After researching and finding this great site http://www.carcareonline.com/howto.aspx I finally got to wash and polish my car with some degree of confindence. Fresh, clean BMW = sexy...

roloson · 12-29-2003, 07:09 AM

Thats a nice site, thanks for researching and sharing the info.