hey i have a black car and it can show small scratches very easily. What kind of equipment would anyone recommend me for soaping and drying the car?

 

Black is a great color especially on a Benz, however it is a hard color to care for. I would recommend a very foamy car soap, McGuier's in the Pink Bottle makes a lot of foam. Also a lambs wool washing glove or micro fiber wash glove, also rinse the car well before you start to wash. Star from the top down foam the the applicator well, do the top. glass wood and trunk lid. Then dump your washing water and refill with clean soap and water and change to a differnet applicator and do the sides and fender, lights, bumpers,etc. Make sure you keep the applicator foamed up well. When you rinse don't use a hard stream of water. Drying is also important, either Micro figer towels or PURE cotton towels, i.e. www.griot'sgarage.com has PURE cotton, most cotton towels sold in stores have poly stitching around the edges, they will scratch. Again dry back and forth, no circular motions. You will still get some small scratches but not as many. IMHO newer Mercedes has terible paint, I had the hood and tops of each front fender on my 99 repainted already due to chipping. Most cars use water based paints due to EPA regs and it's not as hard as car paints once were and this contributes to these scratches. My car is Silver and I wash it as above and still get those scratches. They can be removed by a GOOD detailing shop, unless you know how to use a buffer really well, I would have a pro do it. One other thing if you drop one of the clean or drying cloths on the ground, don't rinse it out and use it. Throw it into the washing machine. if you rinse it in the car wash all the junk picked up off the ground is left in the bucket. Finally if your car is really dirty around the belt line, change soap and water several times and rinse your apllicator well.

 

for soaping do you recommend sheepskin or wash mitt?

 

Lambs wool or a MICRO FIBER MITT, available in any good auto parts store. if you really want a great washing tool invest in a Boar's Hair Car Wash Brush from Griotgarage.com. I have used one of these for 15 years on many different makes and models. One thing I forgot to mention stay away from real Chaimos, for wahing or drying I don't thin they work as well as the new artificial ones. Get a quality artificial one, they also absorb. If want to clean your ride correctly invest in quality products. and remember back and forth when washing, polishing or waxing, none of this circular motion stuff, that's was causing the swirl marks or light scratching your referring to. I wrote an article on washing and detailing cars for handicapped people like me a few years back. It was published on a website, it got around 5K hits the year is was on the net, not bad for a specialized artilce.

 

I ordered the Mercedes's sheepskin washmitt. Would this one pick a lot of dirt,dust and scratch the paint? It says that it is %100 Merino wool. And also what do you think about touchless washing? Does it reduce the scratches or increase them?

 

I don't know what the MB's "sheepskin" looks like. A lot of sellers use sheepskin and lambs wool interchangeable and they are two different things. If the glove is like a Chamois, then I wouldn't use it. If it looks like a lambs coat, long natural fiber, that's what I use and the Boar's Hair Brush I mentioned. One think I forget to mention. I learned a pro's trick this past summer. Use two buckets one for the soapy water and one to rinse your washing appliance off, this way if your car is really dirty your won't get any bad stuff in the soap. Change the rinse water frequently also.

 

What do you think about touchless car washing? Does it reduce the scratches or increase them?

 

try here....

 

Kaan: The only type of automatic car wash I use is the do it yourself type and that is only in the winter and when it is absoutley necessary. The self service I mean are the kind with the spray wands. They are no great either, I still bring a Boar's hair brush with me, Also, most of them us warm water which is the worse type for a car, cold water, but after driving in salt and sand for a while it's a good way to get rid of it. exceldetail merthod oulined in his post is what I would go with.

 

I agree C280, the hi pressure systems are good in a pinch, it beats the alternative of salt corrosion. Just be careful with that hi pressure though, it can remove emblems and increase water penetration under paint chips. Make sure you keep a safe distance..and never use their washing brushes.