Two Bucket Process
There’s car washing and then there’s car care. The difference is process, patience, and products that don’t cut corners. Here’s how we at Ripclean recommend you pull off a safe, swirl-free exterior wash that will leave your vehicle looking like it just rolled off the showroom floor. Although there are multiple methods of car washing using either one-bucket or two, this article is referring to a two-bucket wash system as part of this 7-Step Safe, Spotless Exterior Car Wash process.
Step Zero: Prep Stage
Start with a cool surface. Direct sunlight will turn soap into streaks and water into pesky, hard to remove hard-water spots.
What’s the best time to wash your car? Early morning or late afternoon on hot days.
We recommend, if the day’s warm, to work one side of your vehicle at a time. You’ll save your paint and your sanity.
What You’ll Need
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2 buckets: ideally the Ripclean Clear Phantom 5-Gallon Bucket with a dirt guard, one for Soap and one for Rinse.
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3–4 gallons of clean water for each bucket
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1- Ripclean Snow Foam Cannon 3.0 if using Blizzard as Pre-Rinse. You’ll need 2 - Ripclean Snow Foam Cannons if you’re using Slick-X Quick Detailer & Rinseless Wash as your Pre-Rinse,
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Wash medium: like the Red Microfiber Noodle Car Wash Mitt
Pro tip: Always use products designed for car washing. Dish soap is for dishes, not your clear coat.
Set Up
Fill your Ripclean Clear Phantom “Wash” Bucket with 3–4 gallons of water and 1 oz. of Blizzard Extreme Foam Soap, insert your grit guard and use it to mix your Blizzard soap thoroughly with your water. Toss in your Big Red Microfiber Noodle Car Wash Mitt into your Wash bucket to soak.
Fill your Second Ripclean Clear Phantom “Rinse” Bucket with 3-4 gallons of water, insert your grit guard, and set both buckets aside.
Step 1: Pre-Rinse
We recommend not immediately rinsing your car off with water as done in a traditional car wash process. Doing so, blasts harmful dirt across a non-lubricated car surface unnecessarily. Instead, we recommend pre-rinsing with a rinse agent, which can be a car shampoo or proper rinseless car wash solution to provide an emulsified, lubricated the panel surfaces for the harmful dirt to ride on while rinsing.
Think of pre-foaming/pre-rinsing as loosening the armor or road grime. You can do this step effectively with Blizzard Extreme Foaming Car Soap or using Slick-X Quick Detailer & Rinseless Wash solution (diluted 256:1).
Remember, If it is considerably warm outside, complete this step one side of the car at a time to keep the soap from drying on your car panels.
If using Blizzard as your Pre-Rinse: Give your Blizzard bottle a couple of gentle shakes, then load up your Ripclean Foam Cannon 3.0 with about 28 oz. of water, then add 2 to 3 oz. of Blizzard Extreme Foam Soap. Twist on your foam cannon head, give your Foam Cannon a gentle swirl,attach your pressure washer hose to your foam cannon, adjust your top adjustment knob of your foam cannon top adjustment knob to max foam and begin to coat your vehicle evenly with foam. The dense foam quickly emulsifies, lubricates and safely lifts away dirt before you even touch the paint.
Let Blizzard dwell for 15–30 seconds. Resist the urge to start scrubbing, you want to let the chemistry of Blizzard do the heavy lifting. Do not allow Blizzard to dry on the car panels.
If using Slick-X as your Pre-Rinse: Give your Slick-X bottle a couple of gentle shakes, then load up your Ripclean Foam Cannon 3.0 with about 28 oz. of water, then add 1 cap full of Slick-X Quick Detailer & Rinseless Wash solution, twist on your foam cannon head, give your Foam Cannon a gentle swirl, attach your pressure washer hose to your foam cannon, then spray Slick-X over all panels evenly to allow it to quickly emulsifies, lubricate and lift away dirt safely. Do not allow Slick-X to dry on the car panels.
Step 2: Rinse
Now, thoroughly rinse off all Blizzard or Slick-X from every panel. Do this for both sides, plus the roof, hood, and trunk. If you see any suds remaining, rinse again. Soap residue is the enemy of shine.
Step 3: Foam Again
Reapply Blizzard Extreme Foaming Car Soap to one side of your vehicle. In this critical step, you’re setting up a slick, lubricated surface for your contact wash. This step drastically reduces the risk of micro-scratches and swirl marks. Remember, if it's considerably warm outside, work one side of the car at a time.
Step 4: Contact Wash
Rollover your tow buckets, your Ripclean Clear Phantom “Wash” Bucket sitting in a Ripclean Glide Dolly with 3–4 gallons of water and 1 oz. of Blizzard Extreme Foam Soap, and your Ripclean Clear Phantom “Rinse” Bucket sitting in a Ripclean Glide Dolly.
Grab your Big Red Microfiber Noodle Car Wash Mitt in the bucket and begin washing. Be sure to leverage gravity when washing. So, start washing from the top of the car to the bottom.
Does it matter if you use horizontal or circular motion when contact washing? If you wash in the way we’re describing here, the quick answer is no. Why? Because you have already removed the damaging dirt particles and grime from the paint surface in the pre-rinse step.
What’s important is to use a smooth motion, whether using a horizontal or circular motion. Between panels, be sure to dunk your mitt in your Rinse bucket and scrub your mitt against the dirt guard in an up and down method in the bucket to remove any dirt particles you may have picked up on your Red Hot Noodle Wash Mitt while washing.
If you followed these steps properly, as mentioned previously, by now, the heavy grit is gone from your pre-rinse step, so what you’re lifting off now is the finer film.
Step 5: Rinse Again
Once one side is clean, rinse it thoroughly. Don’t let soap dry.
Then repeat Steps 3–5 on sides. Yes, it’s a little extra work, but your paint job is worth more than your impatience.
Step 6: Panel Protection
Super Shine and Protect Step: Once all surfaces are properly rinsed, rinse a panel, and then apply 1 to 2 sprays of BEAD Instant Ceramic Protection, to each panel, and immediately rinse BEAD off. Make sure to use a bottom up spray pattern on the panel when rinsing off BEAD (See BEAD Instructions for more detail). Repeat this step with all panels and windows until the entire body of vehicle and windows have been treated and rinsed to achieve that off the protective Showroom Shine!
Step 7: Towel Dry
Now for your finale. Grab your Ripclean Hercules 1400 GSM Ultra Absorbent double-twisted loop Drying Towel, the monster of microfiber.
Start by placing it on a flat panel (roof, hood, or trunk) to slightly dampen it. A slightly damp Hercules towel absorbs better and glides smoother.
One side gray, one side red, flip between them as you go. Its double-twisted microfiber loops can dry an entire SUV without a single wring-out. Drag, flip, repeat until completely dry. Now sit back and admire that streak-free, lint-free shine.
You Did It the Ripclean Way
Congratulations! You’ve just completed a professional-grade exterior wash, safely, efficiently, and without a single swirl.
Your car looks incredible, and your neighbors hate you a little. That’s the price of excellence.