How To Wash Your Car Without Scratching

Washing is the most important part of your detailing process to get right because it's the step you take the most often. Proper washing is critical to minimizing the risk of scratching your finish, and it's also surprisingly easy to do with very little risk of scratching.
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[@still-DJ]

How often is it when the owner/CEO comes and does a video on his own products and How-To's? Adam is the only one that I know of, and he does a lot of these helpful videos. And then on top of that, if you're ever unhappy with an Adam's Polishes product(s) he will make it right. I've made the call one time, and it was fixed within 2 minutes! Their products are awesome (when you 'FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS') and I've used many of them along with their polishers. I love testing new products to see how they perform in the extreme AZ heat. Great video. Thank you.

[@NaymitMayne]

Is this Adam

[@still-DJ]

@@NaymitMayne Yes. Adam Pitale

[@thomasroseman575]

I heard he doesn't own company anymore is that right?

[@xlitre13]

When checking the spray nozzle is connected properly, I also like to spray away from the car just to make sure

[@paulmarentette5346]

Way to cover the basics Adam! After all these years, after all these videos, still something fresh and always something to learn from you. Let's face it, no matter how well coated, how well protected, etc. a car is, if it's enjoyed it's going to get dirty, and proper washing - with tips for the least amount of damage, time and effort (in that order) is so well appreciated. Thanks again!

[@jonathanstrickland9858]

Adam is awesome, and extremely knowledgeable. I have bought and used his products for years, none better. Even just some months back, a gallon was busted in the shipping box, I emailed for him to send me an empty replacement jug; Hard head, he replaced the entire jug, it's contents and shipping on his dime. What a stand-up outfit. Well done sir.

[@Iamtheoverlander]

Awesome tips. Really appreciate it. I was doing a couple things wrong. Now I’m the right path to the cleanest rig.

[@Ownuout]

The number one trick (detailers secret) I use to keep my paint looking fresh with no scratches or fine swirl marks is to NOT to use a rag or sponge when first rinsing/washing a dirty car. Instead, spray the whole car first then, while still spraying the area your working, use your bare hand as a rag (circular motion) to gently loosen and knock of the dirt while you're spraying at the same time. The dirt will not get trapped in your hand like it does in a rag and will not get scraped all over your paint like sandpaper. Instead, the dirt will come right off with the running water over your hand and the spot. This way is a little more work during rinsing but such a simple trick that works flawless for me. Do one full pass with just your hand and water doing tops, hoods, trunk, sides, bumpers, lower rocker panels, wheel wells (be careful not to cut your hands) and wheels in that order without going backwards. Then fill the bucket with soap and water and wash the car using a microfiber sponge. Wash the tops, sides, bumpers, underpinnings, wheel wells and wheels in that order and do not go back to main body paint once you start on lower rocker panels. Then rinse, dry and then detail with spray detailer like Mcquire's California Gold detailer, Surf City blackout or your choice.

[@edubb2491]

Really..your hands? Damn..seems risky to me

[@Ownuout]

@@edubb2491 yup hands, been doing it for 3-4 years. It's a little sketchy if cold outside and be careful around sharp edges but works like a charm. Dirt won't stick to hands just make sure you have the water hose running over your hand and the spot and move along with your hand as you're doing it. Basically, I put the hose water on the car and my hand right under it and circle motion around the car moving the hose with the hand. Oh and just use the standard hose pressure, no hard spray. This is the best and easiest way I found to avoid getting swirl marks on your finish. I have used it on a challenger and jeep both with graphite gray and never see a swirl mark.

[@ChaireS4366]

And do a quick pshh pshh pshh pshh on the door jams hahaha nice videos adam ! I was a chemical guys fan but i am loving your products more! Keep it up!

[@user-in8xx1xu5b]

Chemical guys sucks, their customer service is ass also.

[@smartdetails]

Yea honestly I’m done with chemical guys, it’s a good starter brand but once you start getting more skills you realize it’s to over priced

[@user-in8xx1xu5b]

@@smartdetails the detail supply store I go to has their own brand chemicals and it works 1000000 times better than CG products ANNDD i get a 5gallon for the same price I would get 1 gallon at CG

[@jesselent7894]

Adams is a real detailers brand. Chemical guys is a gimmick. Everything adams has works

[@Timsautosolutions]

Love how didnt hide the issues you encountered. I was waiting on those spots to start occuring! Thanks for your work!

[@marcg1964]

Never thought about using a drying aid BEFORE using a blower.

[@SoCal780]

Great video, Adam, thanks! I’ve learned SO much from you over the years, thanks brother!

[@P4SDetails]

I use a ton of your products and good products for sure make a world of difference!

[@sonnysangemino9362]

Lol. Been the guy dinging his 911 with pressure washer nozzle not fully seated. Good tip!

[@KIckAssPinball]

Love your products and videos!!

[@BeastlyBroski]

Always love to see Adam

[@Jaredius]

Best one yet. Thank you.

[@jorgenvonstrangle000]

It’s always nice to see Adam do a video cleaning vehicle 👍🏽 gotta love soapy suds

[@autopeakdetailing]

Very thoughtful ideas!

[@cardo1111]

Always an honest, informative vid 👍🏽

[@AdamsPolishes]

Thanks for watching and for your support cardo! We appreciate it!

[@holybusiness9624]

Great advice and gorgeous SUV🔥✊🏽💯

[@GiveMeYoSammich]

The one thing different I'd do is keep a spare wash mitt to do the bottom quarter of the panels where a lot of the dirt and road grime sit

[@edubb2491]

Why does he say to rinse the shade side first??? Thats where you wont get the water spots!! No sun on that side!🤦

[@matthewlai9892]

I love that NSX

[@nitrokyosho]

I bought the foam cannon pro works great ,very good quality unit.

[@joevanseeters2873]

Nice presentation. That Mega Foam and Adams Car Wash Soap combination is probably one of the best combinations of soap ever made. Very thick soap which gives that extra margin of "safety" along with those great pads for the contact wash. The only thing Adams needs to upgrade is their version of the grit guard to one that is more like those Dirt Lock ones or similar. Even the Chemical Guys one is pretty good with those "cones" that do tend to keep more of the dirt underneath of the cones. The original version of the grit guards were good 20 years ago but they are way too outdated.

[@still-DJ]

Hello Joe, The best Grit-Guard to use is not using one at all. I've been using the 1-bucket method now for years with many multiple 2-sided wash mitts. It's the only way to go. The soapy wash bucket stays 100% clean throughout every wash, should you require a contact wash. If money is an issue for some starting out, for buying many wash mitts, wash mitts can be gotten at many dollar stores until they can be replaced with mitts of one choosing. Do grit guards work? Not as good as I thought when I checked my washing machines wash water. They do help, but...

[@SuperHooverdam]

Love the NSX..

[@charleyschaubroeck6301]

I watched hundreds of car detailing videos of still learned something from this video like putting soap on the mitt and not in the bucket 🪣 Great stuff!

[@TZ281]

Became a customer and subscriber because Adam is not trying to sell a product for each use. He will tell you that you can use the same product for different parts of the car.

[@obyartist]

Well that saved me forking out for an expensive foam gun I’ll give this little Worx gun a go that came with my hydroshot. Must admit I nearly chucked it out as it did not look the part. Thanks 👍

[@user-zt6bt8dp2c]

Nice pressure washer but for $900 I’ll have to stick to my electric RYOBI.

[@2ndamendment115]

Nice Arizona backdrop

[@calvin0897]

Great video, what size are the wheels?

[@billlink1726]

First time watching your videos. Purchased several of your products. Questions: Can you store the solution in the hose spray container? If so, you still need to add more chemical next time? Do your products expire? Doesn’t the final rinse introduce hard water onto the vehicle? Do you need to do any prep to the windows, after the chemical washing, before you apply a glass coating? Thanks

[@user-dr7uy4kj4y]

Damn that’s a 🔥🔥 ride!!!!

[@SModelMafia]

What about the other electric pressure washer, V2 you sell ? I got that on Black Friday 2020

[@michaelwilson3587]

Can the detail spray be used after every wash or only intermittently (once a month, once every 6 months, once a year, etc)? Would using it too often cause buildup on the exterior paint?

[@barrybij8079]

Good stuff adam.. question do you rinse your wash mitts or machine wash your mitts afterwards?

[@diggersdiecast8879]

i personally do both

[@peter-gz9fj]

With grit guard there will be risk. What about using multuple wash mitts? One use each pannel instead of putting it back to your soap, separate it and use a clean wash smitt. Less risk and save time massaging your grit guard and then rinsing

[@AdamsPolishes]

Hi Peter, if you are washing a very dirty vehicle, we do recommend having two wash pads or wash mitts - one for the upper half of the vehicle, and then a second mitt for the bumpers and lower portions since these areas will have the most grime; however, all of our customers may not have the option to have a different wash mitt for each panel of the vehicle. By having two buckets, one with just clean water and a grit guard that you scrub your wash mitt in first, this will keep nearly all dirt contamination at the bottom of this bucket, before you reload it with more soap from your second soap bucket. If budget is not a concern, you can certainly use more wash mitts for an even safer wash process!

[@tam340r5]

Sorry for my bad English , it seems that you do not rinse the car after the foam canon ? You wash the car with an other shampoo over the foam canon foam ?thanks from Europe

[@MichaelSchneiderTexas]

Detail spray vs guard and gloss? I have both products.

[@eddie1v]

Can the grapheme CS3 be used as a drying aid.

[@kevinbobal5209]

Spoken like a guy who's washed his fair share of cars!! Nice work Adam!

[@mpharr2]

Why not another video about how to care for a car after going thru a car wash? Using the Detail spray - Drying towel then commercial vacuum and interior surfaces care.

[@jonfrench7133]

one thing i’d like clarification on, i don’t normally put the pw into the shampoo bucket in order to keep the shampoo in solution improving the lubrication when applied to the paint. I also have been using SF differently, applying, standing then rinsing before using the mitts on the paint. Rationale being to pull off max amount of dirt before touching the surface. Perhaps this is overkill? Be interested in views

[@yamas5]

No matter how good the chemicals are, if use them incorrectly, the result is the worst. Adam teach us how to use them correctly. (fm JP)

[@vidarsjursen3896]

I feel that black are looks clean already

[@micheltran7115]

Amazing video! Not only it is very thorough but also has my all-time favorite car from my childhood, the Pulp Fiction car (NSX). Can't wait to start using my Adam's car wash kit that i bought from Canadian Tire!

[@79blustone]

Not sure if I would clean my car that way- snowfoam on a dry car and let it dwel for a few minutes, then pressure wash- more dust and dirt will come off as you are just diluting the snow foam on a wet panel making that process less effective. I'd work from the top down reducing the amount of dirt in both buckets reducing chances of swirls further. Once you've dried the vehicle with a blower I'd definitely not use a drying towel as the car is dry, if there's water spots, then use detail spray or a water spot specific product in that area. Use an LSP if required with a clean microfiber (still contacting on the panel- less contact the better). The greater enemy here are paint swirls, water spots can easily be delt with and are less of a concern, damage to paint is high priority.

[@79blustone]

@Lenser nobody does it that way round. Like I said before- it's dumb and it just dilutes the snowfoam. Nobody has done that since the 1990s

[@paskyy9527]

4:26 I nearly killed my father with that mistake with the attachment the other day 🤣🤣🤣

[@phat_gunpla_etc]

look so warm there! can't wash here...so cold!

[@petesimmons6893]

Car wash 101, Take you watch off before you start. Other than that good vid.

[@MNpicker]

Nice

[@stevej4326]

How do you clean the wash mitts and drying towel when finished?

[@AdamsPolishes]

Hi Steve, for the wash mitts, we recommend scrubbing them out on the grit guard in your bucket. Alternatively, you can remove the grit guard, and take it into your laundry room sink and scrub the wash mitts out that way, or you could place the grit guard on the ground, hold the wash mitt with one hand, and blast it out with the hose or pressure washer - just make sure that you do not let the wash mitt fall onto the ground! For the drying towels, we recommend washing them in your washing machine using our Towel & Pad Revitalizer as the detergent 👍

[@AnthonyFarrer_TPG]

What’s the soup ratio on that cannon? I bought the mega foam product.

[@AdamsPolishes]

Hi Anthony, you will want to fill the foam cannon about 3/4 with water first, then pour in 1-2oz of Mega Foam and shake the canister a bit to mix it evenly. You don't want it foaming up inside of the canister itself - the pressure washer and foam cannon barrel will do the mixing. If you want super thick foam, mix in 2-3oz instead of 1-2oz 👍

[@Scotford_Maconochie]

I quickly saw this video was posted 7 days ago. I went to double-check it was not 7 years ago.

[@mikea5205]

You can demonstrate on something smaller next time, like that NA2 NSX.

[@lukenukem1164]

I've always rinsed the foam off before contact washing. I'm guessing that's not the best way?

[@charlesmaynorjr1593]

You got it right! Rinse then wash with mitt.

[@shirazally6193]

Amazing that the CEO is literally "hands-on!"

[@dtna]

Do you use (2) grit guards per bucket?

[@brian2359]

No need to.

[@juanperez-ds6kk]

One grit gaurd per bucket

[@MegaCartman100]

Gives me Nicolas cage vibes lol

[@thegadgetemporiumaustralia8509]

I'm not a car detailer, I'm a window and solar panel cleaner. Here's the pain points I reckon my equipment can solve... So drying is a pain right..mucking around with towels, lack of time, water spots, blower etc. Go and get a pure water system like am RO-DI or just a DI and that way you don't have to dry the vehicle at all. It's pure water. It has 0 minerals and you can leave it wet. That way it doesn't even matter if it's hot outside. No blowers, no towels, no detail sprays and leaves it crystal clear. Now tell me I'm not onto something there.

[@vidarsjursen3896]

To bad i cant buy this in Norway

[@thegrimmer]

5:45 ALL of the dirt comes out of the pad? All?

[@khangbanger]

Will the detailed spray ruin our micro fiber towels?

[@edubb2491]

Your washing from all levels of the car..suppose to wash top first..dunk..then wash bottom

[@vancesmith4743]

i don’t have that air cannon so leaf blower to the rescue.

[@nicholas440]

Everytime you touch your car during the wash you're always leaving micro scratches

[@aag6499]

I just order mine today on 10/20/2022 yikes!

[@bobbyjones2112]

You could’ve done that a lot more foamy. I got the exact same foam cannon but I get a ton of foam..lol😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️🚗

[@AdamsPolishes]

Yep, Adam didn't go with a very heavy mix in this case, about 1oz. It still provides plenty of foam to loosen and lift dirt, with not as much time rinsing afterward on the vehicle and driveway :)

[@bobbyjones2112]

@@AdamsPolishes you’re right about the driveway because there’s so much foam that comes off of my car that it looks like it snowed 3 inches…lol

[@NarwahlGaming]

I picture you out in your driveway washing your car, dancing to music with a foam mohawk. Then, cut to your neighbor watching you out their window who can't hear the music and you're just splashing the water all over. 😂

[@XBOW83]

Simple, wash with Rinseless 😁

[@antonyv8171]

Surely you’d blow off the car first and then spray your detail spray/buff down the car.. not apply the detail spray first. :/

[@kobaltseven]

He's washing a black SUV in direct sunlight, the Detail Spray is applied to neutralize water spotting prior to drying.

[@re6153]

Can i use any kind of liquid soap in my foam cannon? Like Dawn dishwashing liquid?

[@pullingthestrings5233]

I always look forward for my car to get dirty so i can wash it 😊

[@skyhawk21]

Long crazy advertisement video and 10 seconds of car wash hahaha

[@judydrone_nikefoams1424]

I need him to wash my suv

[@matthewderidder286]

Being the owner of a company and someone who is trying to show amateurs how to wash SAFELY you would think you would do a proper pre soak and thorough rinse. There shouldn't be dirt etc on the vehicle before any contact whatsoever. That rinse without shampoo didn't cut it. You literally showed dirt on the pad.

[@chipdiamond2628]

Bro he is getting old.

[@igniteexport1463]

Why not just got through an automatic car wash? Your roll through it will scrub and wash the car and then the one near me anyway then will do the filtered water over it after it’s rinsed it off so they don’t get any rain spots and then it dries it for you. Five minutes and you’re through the wash

[@AdamsPolishes]

Hi there, great question! Automatic car washes are convenient, but the ones with scrubbers can and will scratch and introduce swirl marks into the paint, especially when you don't know what type of vehicle has gone through before yours, such as a vehicle that has just been off-roading with mud, rocks, grit, etc now in the scrub brushes. Touchless automatic car washes would be a safer option than ones with scrub brushes.

[@igniteexport1463]

@@AdamsPolishes never thought about that. And I had always heard negative things about touchless car washes so I have never gone to one. So many people said that they didn’t actually get the car clean. But it might be an option for when I just need a quick clean. And then I can give it a thorough cleaning when it needs it by hand.

[@sebastienparent3396]

Ton truck est même pas sale ...... prends en un tout beurré de bouette on va voir si tout est clean !

[@Turtti781]

WTF i am watching :D

[@ABXPONCE]

What the hell! To much time lost

[@j-on-osrs-2k7]

3 minutes in and cant stand to watch anymore sorry... not that i think your content is bad, aimed at the right people its useful, but as someone who deals with car valeting myself, no car is ever this clean to start with, so in my opinion, making a video on not scratching, you need to first use the example with a car thats rotten, not just surface dust and has been machine polished/waxed before hand, which is highly obvious from the way it shines and light reflects off of the vehicle... disliked the video for this reason... again, no hard feelings though as i say, for some people this is the exact video they want, but just not for me, and as entitled to my own opinion, i would rather voice it and let you know for constructive criticism if thats ok

[@Danny-xj5ts]

You’re a pro🤔 You should know better 1st thing you do is foam skip the pre rinse

[@augaureliusserious]

Car's already clean......