ok well, this is all my personal methods, and they work, WELL! To start with washing a vehicle depending on how badly its covered in crap i choose to either pressure wash it off or if that's not available i use a hard stream on the hose and get it wet, let it set a min and spray again, USUALLY that works,
Once the vehicle is uncaked from whatever i start with wheels and tires, ALWAYS! Reason for that is harsh acids and cleaners are used there and if you get over spray on the paint itll get washed off in short order anyway. So starting with wheels/tires, i use a short handled STIFF bristle brush, along with Westleys Bleche-Wite, spray the tire liberally and let it soak for a short time, spray bristles on brush and then scrub entire tire, going over tread shoulder sidewall and up to wheel lip. I generally go around the tire 3-4x, and continue to clean other 3 tires, letting tire cleaner sit on previously cleaned tires. After all 4 tires are cleaned, rinse and rinse WELL. Westleys is a HARSH acid and you don't want to leave over spray more than a min or 2 on wheels or painted surfaces. After tires and surrounding areas and rinsed and clean the wheels and wheel wells. I use Meguiars Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner if im unsure of the condition of the rims, if they are in good condition is generally use Meguiars Detailer Line Wheel Brightener. Spray the wheel liberally and i generally use an old sponge/wash mitt to agitate the wheel and clean it including entire face of wheel, lug nut holes and as MUCH of the back of the wheel as i can, as you can see the clean side from the dirty on most vehicles especially with big open wheels. If i cant get the whole backside and still see dirty spots i go as far as taking wheel off and cleaning whole back side of wheel as well. I never let the wheel cleaner sit on the wheel longer than it takes to clan each one as the acid is harsh on those too, and wheels are less forgiving than tires due to clear coats, raw metals etc. SO i ALWAYS rinse each wheel before moving to the next. As for fender wells i use Meguiars Detailer line All Purpose Cleaner Plus, i spray the wheel well liberally and agitate with a long handled semi stiff brush. Clean all areas in fender well and let it sit as you do the other 4. Rinse all 4 fender wells after you've finished and respray the vehicles paint down as well.
After that i get 2 5 gallon buckets, yes 2 buckets and each one has a "Grit Guard" in it which can be had for approx. 7 dollars a piece from any detailing supply website online. i fill both buckets with approx 3-4 gal of water, and i add 3-4 oz of car wash solution, i use Meguiars Gold Class Car Shampoo and Conditioner or Meguiars Ultimate Wash and Wax. Both solutions recommend 1 oz of wash per gallon of water and i use a kitchen measuring glass to fill 3-4oz of solution. I then put the solution in the pre filled bucket. NEVER just "glug glug" soap into a bucket then BLAST water to make tons of suds. that's wasted product and you never get the right solution mix. After that, rinse vehicle down once more and begin washing using a quality mitt, be it REAL sheep's wool, microfiber or a bone sponge. Always work from top to bottom and half way through the panel turn mitt around as to always keep a clean surface on the paint. Only wash one panel at a time and rinse immediately after, unless your using the Ultimate Wash and Wax, then you let the soap sit on the paint as long as you can WITHOUT letting it dry as to let the dispersed wash work on the paint. After washing entire vehicle panel by panel top to bottom you can start drying the vehicle. DO NOT use old bath towels as they can and will damage the paint. Buy either a microfiber drying towel or a "waffle weave" towel. I like to dry all painted surfaces first and leave the windows for last. If the windows dry you can simply use a glass cleaner or a damp towel to wipe them clean again.
