Q5 Bob

These days I nearly exclusively use a drive-thru touchless car wash for both cars. I wash the cars as needed, every week to 10 days, drive home to blow off most of the water and then finish drying and apply a quick wax or detailing spray in the garage - Done.

need2buyaudi

I will likely do hand wash for the first year.
thanks

rob40wilson03

My SQ5 has only been hand-washed with the 2-bucket method. Frequency depends on weather and, obviously, how dirty it is.

I washed her last night to celebrate our 1 year anniversary together.

smooth 1

LOL!! you spend more time going to the car wash and coming back then I spend total cleaning my car...and it always looks great. Trust me when I say I actually save time by doing it this way because each time is so fast. I actually use wiping my car down as a pre stretch warm up before jumping into my workouts in the garage..Stretches my back, legs and arms...I've made it part of my routine and I get a clean car for the effort!

need2buyaudi

can you do a write up or provide a link to the kind of washing you are doing?

NorthValley

Detailer spray is ok for bodywork but underneath, wheels etc? what about after a rainfall? with muddy roads? A detailer spray is just to maintain a car between washes, not replace washes.

smooth 1

It's not just about the detailer/carwash spray...it's about the long fiber towels being able to lift the dirt away and not scratch the paint. They cost a few bucks...but they work great...and save so much time..I rarely use any water for a car wash.

I usually just let the car dry after it rains. I don't get water spots and so on because I always have a fresh protective layer on the car. In fact most of the water rolls off the car before I come to complete stop in the garage! Dirt and mud just fall off the car. Then I lightly spray two of these towels down and go around the car once. Using one towel only for the dirtier areas and the other for all the broad open painted surfaces. Looks like a fresh detail...takes me about 10-15 minutes total.

NorthValley

It doesn't matter how careful you are, the more contact between towel and paint surface WILL result in scratches. Its unavoidable. You can help by spraying directly onto the paint first, leave for a couple seconds then gently, gently lift of the dust with the towel. This is better than spraying onto towel and then wiping. Use side to side motion, never circular. On the bonnet go from back to front in straight lines and on the side panels go from top to bottom, again in straight lines. This will help minimize tiny scratches from showing up in sunlight. By the way, how do you do the wheels?