Gave the car a hand-wash.

[Jocko]

Today I gave my 16-year-old car a hand wash. I used Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Wash & Wax Car Shampoo then when everything was dry I treated the tyres with Garage Therapy Tyre Serum. It is a bit more of a guddle than the spray-on tyre dressings (I used a brush) but it looks good. Now I just need to see how long it lasts.

[Westy36]

Looking good.  That paintwork shines like a car half its age!

I always enjoy washing my cars. A good use of time and I find it very relaxing.

[Kremmen]

Same here, I enjoy getting out there, in warm weather, and giving it a full top to toe.

I don't do the tyre dressing as I find the pressure washer, obviously not too close, does do a nice job leaving clean matt finish rubber.

I've got some of that ceramic stuff for next wash but mine sits in the garage under a sheet most of the time so only requires the occasional waterless wash.

That is an impressive shine though

[hemming]

Looks beaut - especially for it's age
But really,  is it a worthwhile pastime/or entertainment and worth passing it on to even to a somewhat esoteric bandwidth forum?

[peteo48]

Looking great Jocko. I'm a big fan of the Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Wash and Wax as you know. On tyre dressings, I'm still using some spray on stuff but I might try the GT Tyre Serum at some point.

[Marko55]

Very nice shine   

[Kremmen]

Just about to give mine a full wash.

According to the Hybr8d Turtle Wash Wax instructions, do one panel at a time, wash, rinse. Whilst I don't mind taking time that does seem a faff. I think I'll do my normal foam rinse, wash with Hybrid Turtle then rinse off and dry.

[madasafish]

I use Turtle Wax Ceramic: gives a lovely finish. BUT any droplets left undried leave a whiteish deposit.
I don't rinse: just dry.

[Kremmen]

All done, and to be honest I don't think the finish is any better than after my cheapo Turtle Wax Wash n Wax stuff.

Doing the whole car in one hit seemed OK, no residue, as I use a pressure washer, from a safe distance, to rinse off.

Then I finish off with a waterless wash with wax to give the paint that smooth slippery finish. That removes any water spots.

[Jocko]

Then I finish off with a waterless wash with wax to give the paint that smooth slippery finish.

I would have thought that putting anything on top of the Ceramic would undo the benefit of it. The finish is only as good as the final topcoat. It is like painting something with shiny gloss paint and then giving it a finishing coat of matt varnish.

[Kremmen]

You may be right.

What I've always found with all washes is that the final finish isn't perfect. The surface isn't polished.

I used to use normal wax but that left white powder residue in cracks so I switched to the spray bottle stuff when that was available. That worked well, avoided the powder, but only put a layer over any imperfections like water spots.

Then I got a bottle of Mantis waterless wash n wax. During application it removed water spots and the like and when finished gave the paint a surface that when you dropped the microfibre on the bonnet for example it just slid off.

[peteo48]

I think there is a tendency ( I have it in spades) if you are interested in car care, to over egg the pudding a bit. Layering up protection, very often of different brands, is common. I do it.

I used to follow a much more logical regime when I had less time on my hands. I'd wash the car with Zip Wax or the green Autoglym shampoo and, once a month I'd polish a quarter of the car so, over 12 months, it would get polished 3 times. It looked fine.

My neighbour, a nurse, has just washed her Mercedes 180 at Tesco hand wash. First time in 2022 she proudly told me. Depressingly it looks great!

[DanielaMarquez]

Nice work! The Turtle Wax Ceramic Wash & Wax combined with Garage Therapy Tyre Serum sounds like a solid combo. It may take a bit more effort with the brush, but the result should be worth it. Looking forward to hearing how long the tyre treatment lasts!