Did you know that wiping down your car can cause micro-scratches on your car's paint, leaving it dull? As an Autowash customer, you're already familiar with the benefits of our touch-free, non-corrosive approach to cleaning. Our proprietary process allows you to care for your vehicle without fearing scratches, fading, or other damage to your vehicle’s exterior surfaces. But what about after the wash? What about in-between washes in your garage or at the local car show? How about that final wipe-down after washing to address the remaining drops of water that trickle from around mirrors and door handles?
It Isn't Your Towel, It's How You Use it
You might be thinking, "I use a microfiber towel, so I'm safe, right?" While that might be true for the material itself, fine lines and scratches aren’t always caused by the choice of materials but more by the stuff that the towel picks up in the process. Nearly everything that finds its way onto the surface of your paint has the potential to be abrasive. From bird droppings full of seeds to pollen and fine dust, these particles act like sandpaper on your paint when rubbed into the surface with a towel.
Understanding Waterless Washes
Luckily, there's a simple way to add some additional insurance to your wipe-down routine that will allow you to remove moisture, light dust, finger prints and smudges without risking damage to your paint. Waterless washes are specialty chemicals that encapsulate fine particulate and lubricate the surface, providing an additional layer of protection for your paint as you remove them. Products like Autowash Complete Clean, developed in partnership with Adam’s Polishes, contain additives that trap those fine particles, lift them away from your vehicle’s clear coat, and make them easier to wipe away with a towel without introducing damage.
A GUIDE TO WATERLESS WASHING
Complete Clean and other waterless wash products are a layer of insurance, but that doesn’t mean you can be negligent when using them. Here are some tips for various applications to help you get the most out of Complete Clean:
Avoid Excessive Dirt: Never use Complete Clean on excessively dirty or muddy surfaces. There are limits to the encapsulation and lubrication properties. If a surface is extremely dirty, start with a wash.
Cool Surfaces: Use Complete Clean on surfaces that are cool to the touch. If it would burn your hand to touch a surface, it probably isn’t a good time to use Complete Clean. If you must clean, try spraying it onto the towel then wiping instead of spraying onto the surface.
Multiple Towels: Use multiple towels if needed. An average-sized sedan can be effectively wiped down with 2-4 quality microfiber towels. Once a towel is saturated and dirty on both sides, switch to a fresh one.
Tackling Bird Bombs: For big stuff, like bird droppings or bug guts, start by saturating the area with Complete Clean and giving it some time to soften the debris before wiping.
Light Dust and Pollen: For light dust and pollen, spray liberally over a panel and wipe in straight lines, flipping the towel frequently to a fresh side.
Drying Technique: For drying, don’t spray too much! The surface is already wet; Complete Clean will add needed surface lubrication with a light mist. Since the surface should be clean from the wash, you only need a tiny bit of lubrication from the product to help with the drying process.
Safe for All Surfaces
Complete Clean was formulated to meet the demands of a wide variety of customers as well as the car lovers who work at Autowash! It is safe for all surfaces, including paint, glass, and trim. It even works great to wipe down your dash, mirrors, and instrument clusters. For those with paint protection film, ceramic coatings, wraps, and more, Complete Clean is safe for those surfaces as well. It leaves no residues and does not deposit additional protection, ensuring your PPF or coating remains unaffected.
Take it On the Go
The versatility of Complete Clean means you’ll find all manner of uses for it whether you’re at home in your garage, at the local car show, an Autowash location, or just parked out front at work. We recommend keeping a bottle in your car along with a handful of your favorite microfiber towels to address your paint on the go… Because you love your car!