Exterior Wash Essentials: Two Bucket Method

The vast majority of swirled and hazy paint that you see on the road is the result of poor washing technique. The best soaps available will do little to prevent a dirty wash mitt from etching into your paint, so it’s important that you utilize at minimum the following equipment and techniques. Rinseless and waterless wash methods are also viable and, in certain situations, preferable; see our blog post on rinseless washing if you’d like to learn more about them. For the sake of simplicity and familiarity, outlined here is the ubiquitous two bucket method.

Starting with the necessary products and tools, including non-affiliated Amazon links to our personal recommendations:

• (2) Buckets, 5 gallon – Recommended
• (1) Grit-guard bucket insert – Recommended
• (2) Wash mitts – Recommended
• (1) Bottle of soap – Recommended
• (1) Drying towel – Recommended
• (1) Drying aid – Recommended
• (1) Additive-free microfiber wash detergent – Recommended

If possible, wash only in a shaded area or on a cloudy day to avoid water spots, rinsing with filtered water if available and drying as soon as possible.

1. Add the manufacturer-recommended amount of soap (see recommended – Chemical Guys Honey Dew Snow Foam) to your wash bucket and place your grit-guard in the rinse bucket, then fill around 80% of each bucket with water and toss your mitts into the wash bucket (one mitt is only to be used on the wheels).
2. Visually separate your car into at least 5 distinct areas (roof, front, back, and both sides). Starting with the roof, drag your wash mitt along the paint with minimal pressure, flipping the mitt between each half of the section.
3. After you’re finished with each section, turn your hose to the “flat” setting and carefully spray the contaminants off your wash mitt in a sweeping motion. Then, dunk the mitt into your rinse bucket, remove and wring out, dunk into wash bucket, and continue with the next panel.
4. After you’ve finished, do the same for each wheel, this time using your wheel wash mitt.
5. To dry, spray your drying aid (see recommended – Optimum Opti-Seal) either onto the panel or the drying towel and drag the towel over the surface with little or no pressure (let gravity do the work if possible).
6. Machine wash your mitts and drying towels on cold between each use with an additive-free detergent (typically the cheapest machine wash detergent you can find) or a microfiber wash detergent (see recommended – P&S Rags 2 Riches), then tumble dry on low or no heat.