Updated minimalist Car Cleaning tutorial

Heijneker · March 24, 2020

Long post ahead! I'm writing this down to recap for myself, and why not share. This will be a boring post for almost everyone though! Also, I've written this at an u holy hour and haven't checked spelling or anything.

First off; a fair warning, OPT states Power Clean should be rinsed thorougly. Follow their instructions, to avoid staining/damage.

So, after having a lot of thought over my previous cleaning proces, I have now come up with a new (and improved to me) proces. It's getting really close to being dead simple, but still will probably change altogether again, some time in the future. This post will cover a routine cleanse for both ex- and interior. This will not/barely remove salts, fallout, contamination from the exterior, and stains from the interior carpets/surfaces. Wheel wells and the undercarriage will also be avoided. This type of wash would probably be performed at least on a 2-monthly basis on a daily driven car, and once a year, after winter, one would maybe enjoy a deep clean, with MDR, FERREX and Power Clean, and also undercarriage cleaning. Also look at VLM upholstery and Encap Carpet cleaning for a deep clean.

What would we need?

- De-ionized Water

- Bucket with Grit Guard (on a dolly)

- Big Red Sponge

- Open loop low-nap Microfiber towel, 70/30 blend, ~ 350 GSM (Or preferred towel for washing)

- Preferred Drying Towel

- Preferred Glass Towel (Optional)

- TRC Jersey Bug Sponge (Optional)

- Optimum Wheel and Body Brush

- Optimum No Rinse (Wash and Wax) (Optionally in a sprayer for pre-spray)

- Good vacuum (A good shop vac, look for CFM/L/S and vacuum values)

- Compressed air (Tornador or Chuck) (Sort of Optional)

- Optimum Power Clean 3:1/5:1 (Sort of Optional)

- Power Washer (Optional)

- Optimum Opti-Seal (Optional, with applicator pad)

- Optimum Car Wax (Optional)

- Tire Shine with applicater pad of choice (Optional)

So, let's begin. Firstly, inspect the vehicle and asess the level of dirt. According to personal preference, rinse the vehicle with the power washer if you deem it necessary and the car is very dirty. If it's dirty, maybe you would like to ONR pre-spray. This is personal preference. You can also do both, whatever suits you, or the car.

First we are going to tackle the interior. Generally we'll be working from back to front and top to bottom. We'll finish the interior with a vacuum of the carpet. If possible and necessary, start from the rear, and blow the dirt from under the rearmost seats. Blow clean any cupholders (Tornador wet setting is perfect for this) and then blow clean the top of these seats and the backrests. In case of three rows, repeat for the seccond row if possible.

Sitting in the second row, hit the front center console area if possible, next blow into the crevaces on the side of the front seats and follow with blowing out under the front seats. Now hit the door pockets from the rear doors.

Move to the front and also hit the door pockets of these front doors. Next hit the center console again since you're in a better position now. Next up, hit the dash if you like, though I find it unneccesary. Finish it with a hit on the front seats and there backrests.

Now grab your ONR and the wash towel of choice. Dunk it and wring it so you have a damp towel. Start at the front of the car. Hit all surfaces, excluding carpet and cloth seats. Don't forget the A-Pillars, sunvisors and control panel on the headliner. Leather upholstery can be wiped as well, if coated. Work your way to the back of the car, and dunk the towel as you move to the next spot. Don't hit any of the dirty sills just yet and also avoid the headliner to not get any sagging liner in a couple of years.

Now clean all the glass (Sunroofs as wel) on the inside using the ONR dampend (Glass) towel and dry with your drying/glass towel.

Now it's time to move onto vacuuming the car, work from back to front, and also hit the upholstery. Don't use the tornador, u may also use a brush to aid if preferred, but a killer vac is king. After this, your interior is basically finished, you can add leather cleaning/protecting to this step. Avoid anti-fog for windows, like the plague it is.

Now move onto the exterior. Simply just start washing the car, excluding wheels, and work from top to bottom using the Big Red Sponge. Wash with 50% overlapping passes and use light pressure. Dunk frequently. Adjust your sections according to drying time. Sometimes you can wash the whole car, sometimes you'll have to split the roof in 6 sections for example. Use the towel in places the sponge can't go. Dry using the drying towel and preffered optional drying aid. Preferably dry all of the glass first, otherwise use a seperate towel for this. Bird droppings and insects, if present, may need some extra passes. If that doesn't work (Clean more often), use a closed loop low nap towel or the jersey bug scrubber. If this still doesn't work (Really, clean more often), use the Power Clean. Rinse (with Optimum No Rinse) Thoroughly. Clean grill(s) using the optimum wheel and tire brush, dry them using compressed air.

Now clean the sills of the car with either a damp or wet towel, keep an eye on the run off making things dirty again. Dry either way. Clean the painted door parts as well.

Now onto the wheels, the most dreadfull part of any rinseless wash. Except, it shouldn't be, because of Optimum Synergy. Simply use the brush and Onr to clean the rims, tires and visible parts of the wheel whells. For wheel barrels, use a dedicated brush you prefer. If ONR doesn't have enough cleaning power (You need to brake less, or clean more often), apply Power Clean and agitate with the brush again. Wipe with a damp micrifiber towel to get most of the brake dust and power clean off, and rinse thoroughly (with optimum no Rinse). Dry with a damp towel. Apply Tire Shine.

That is basically it, of course you could do alot more than this, but KISS is the motto. Cleaning this way is fun, fast and dead easy, so you can think about other stuff than what you are doing.

I love Optimum Polymer Technologies, they changed the game and I'm curious what the future will bring.