Many drivers use sponges to wash their vehicles, which puts the paintwork in great danger. A sponge is absolutely not suitable to clean a car, as it will scratch the paint and damage the car. Today’s article is about how to wash a car without a sponge.
And here is how you should wash a car without a sponge safely:
What Equipment is required?
Washing a car without a sponge is not too difficult. There are actually many different ways to wash a car without a sponge. These include a complete touchless car wash or a proper car wash with the correct equipment.
In the following I will focus on a proper hand wash with the right equipment.
Here is the equipment you need to wash a car without a sponge:
Pre-wash
The preparation and pre-wash phase is probably the most important part of a car wash. The pre-wash phase dissolves the dirt on the car and removes most of it without you touching the car at all and scratching the car in the progress.
Moreover it minimizes the risk of scratching the car during the contact wash phase.
Make sure to rinse your car thoroughly with water to wash away any loose debris on top of the car. If you have a pressure washer available, make sure to use it. Otherwise, you can also rinse your car with buckets of water.
Afterward, use a foam cannon or a foam gun and some car shampoo to cover your car in snow foam. This step loosens the debris on the car that the water rinse has not washed away.
Rinse your car again to remove the snow foam after a few minutes. After this step, the pre-wash phase is done and the contact wash is the next step.
Contact Wash
During the contact wash, you need some sort of medium to take the dirt on the car off the car without scratching it. Many people use sponges for this, but you don’t have a sponge available and moreover, a sponge is not safe to wash a car.
If you really want to wash your car safely, make sure to get some high-quality microfiber wash mitts. They are not expensive and will avoid scratches on the car.
For the contact wash it is best to use the two-bucket method. This means that you have one bucket with soapy water (make sure to use car shampoo instead of anything else. Here is a great article that explains why you should not use an alternative!) and one bucket with clean water to rinse the wash mitts.
As for the rinse bucket, it would be ideal to have it grit-guarded. This way the sand washed off the car will settle and then it won’t get back on the sponge. If you want to know how grit guards work, make sure to read a detailed explanation here.
For handwashing, you can choose any car shampoo that your budget allows. Dilute the shampoo with water in the proportions listed in the instructions of the type you choose. After the preparation of the soapy car shampoo water, you have a bucket of thick enough foam, which can be used to wash the car.
Use a microfiber wash mitt to treat the vehicle’s surface. It’s better to use a pair of such mitts. One for the upper part of the body and the other will wash the sills and the bottom of the doors. Buy them in different colors, so there is no confusion.
The technique of mitt washing the car is very simple. You take the foam together with water on the mitt and slightly squeeze the mitt to make one vertical movement on the body from top to bottom. After that, the mitt must be rinsed in clean water. When washing, don’t press down hard with the washing mitt. Let the foam do its job, let it soak in the dirt.
Rinsing & Drying
After thoroughly and gently washing all parts, the shampoo residue must be rinsed off. Hose or a high-pressure machine are the best tools to do so. But if you don’t have any — not a problem. Use an old-school bucket method. Pour a lot of water on the car, until it seems fairly clean.
Having washed off the rest of the shampoo, you have one more important step of washing the car. Namely — drying the body. Usually, detailers use artificial chamois or microfiber cloth for this purpose. Both materials are very good at absorbing moisture and at the same time they are safe for the coating.
It is convenient to use 2 microfiber cloths. They can be quite large or medium-sized. This is basically your choice. It’s more convenient to use the large ones, though. The first microfiber will remove large droplets, removing the main moisture. And with the second one, you will finish drying the body.
Tip: Microfiber with a density of 400 – 440 g/m2 is perfect. Density around 200 also works.
What Can I Use To Wash My Car If I Do Not Have A Sponge?
Depending on your goals, there are several alternatives to sponges. You can use gentle materials like microfiber, artificial chamois, some kinds of brushes, or a wash mitt. Let’s discuss each of them briefly.
Rags
The most popular materials are microfiber and chamois. Both of them are suitable to dry a car after a wash. You can wipe a car with a chamois leather, it absorbs water well, and does not leave fibers on the body (indicated lint-free on the label)
Rags that are not designed for washing cars are best not used because they leave scratches. The cloth can not absorb as much liquid like a sponge, and in addition, the surface of the rags can leave abrasive particles that are harmful to the paint coating of the car.
Wash Mitts
Plush synthetic car wash mitts are handy for washing cars. These mitts are made of long, fibrous materials that can hold water just as well as a sponge, but they trap any loose dirt particles at a safe distance from the paint surface of the coatings.
The materials used to make the mitts are much softer than sponge materials. At the same time, the mitts fit perfectly on the hand like a glove, which gives you more control while washing the car, eliminating the risk of falling on the floor, which usually happens with sponges.
Wash mitts are generally considered one of the best options to wash your car safely.
Brushes
A car wash brush is a tool consisting of a substrate and assembled thin, long bristles. Depending on the task assigned to a brush, the pile material, shape, and hardness of the bristles may vary. They can have different shapes, sizes, types of material or additionally equipped with a channel for water supply. Based on these characteristics the area of application is determined.
Most often, brushes are best used when washing mirrors, rims, windows, radiator grills. However, if you haven’t washed your car in a while and need to remove a thick layer of dirt, consider a rotary automatic brush. Some brushes are great for winter cleaning. The sweeper brushes have split bristles at the tips, which is why these brushes are very gentle on the surface.
You can also use a brush with a telescopic handle. You can find a variety of models in car stores: with a built-in block made of highly porous material (combination of sponge and brush), variants with long strands woven from microfiber, etc. All these models are designed for cleaning car bodies and windows.
The bristles of these brushes are made of soft material, and the tips are specially fluffed up. The handle is usually equipped with a soft pad that allows you to securely hold the tool in your hand. Brushes with telescopic handles can be connected to a hose and wash the car, adjusting the pressure.
Never rub your car with a harsh brush. If the brush has a stiff pile, you can use it to wash rims and wheels. It’s an excellent way to remove dirt, tar, and bitumen residue. As well as salts, and reagents that are sprinkled on the roads in winter. Use only the softest brushes to treat old-layered grime & dirt within the surface if your target is paint protection.
I have written a very informative article about washing a car with a brush and why you should generally avoid it. Check it out here!
Can I Use A Kitchen Sponge To Wash My Car?
Washing a car with a kitchen sponge will results in major scratches and other damages, that need to be repaired. Kitchen sponges are designed to work with a lot of force and scrub stuck food from plates or other surfaces. They are not designed to clean delicate clear coat without scratching it.
Almost every kitchen has a pair of sponges for washing dishes or other surfaces. However, such sponges are not suitable for washing cars. Because most sponges are made of foam rubber. This material is highly porous, but even worse, it leaves lint on the machine after washing.
An alternative to an ordinary sponge is a special car wash sponge, which can be made of sheep’s wool or microfiber. Car sponges differ from ordinary sponges in that it is the large pores that can trap sand and other abrasive particles, thus leaving no trace or scratching the car’s finish.
Most car wash sponges are made of foam rubber with large pores that have an excellent absorbing effect, washing away dirt quickly and effectively. AVOID WASHING A CAR WITH A FOAM RUBBER!
Here is why you shouldn’t use sponges.
Will A Sponge Scratch My Car?
In general, sponges are not suitable for washing a car and are guaranteed to leave scratches in the clear coat. The surface of a sponge is rough and will certainly damage the delicate clear coat. Microfiber wash mitts are the only safe option for a contact wash without scratching the car.
The answer is yes if you are using a regular kitchen sponge or a sponge you know nothing about. But if your sponge is made of microfiber or another material specialized for washing cars, you can use it. However, unless your washing technique is nearly perfect, that’s probably the risk you aren’t willing to take.
So, if you don’t want to find a shed load of scratches up your bonnet, trunk, or roof, it’s recommended to avoid washing with any kind of sponge. Even those made of microfiber require tons of practice and a near-perfect knack. Just a little too much pressure or a swift movement is enough… and the scratches will permanently house on the surface of your paint. Therefore, it is better to use other ways to wash the car. For example, washing mitt.
