So firstly touching the car as little as possible, this means different things and is dependent on how well maintained is the paint on the car you are about to wash. If you have a car where the paintwork is well maintained, is highly waxed or has a ceramic coating (well applied). The absolute best way you could wash this car is by using a foam gun with the correct product (detailers love calling this snow foam) when you are washing. Washing off with a pressure cleaner and drying the car using an appropriate blower (and no, using your garden blower is not recommended!). There is of course a bit more to this process and is reliant on the car being fairly clean to start with and as stated the paintwork being ideally ceramic coated, as this makes cleaning easier and drying.

The above method as is what you can do if you keep your car consistently cleaned. So if you are like most people your car isn’t quite like that, but you do wash it every 4–6 weeks (okay it might be a bit longer), and in general terms keep it pretty well looked after.

This is where many people sit, the least invasive way possible can be a bit subjective. You can of course start with the above method, but often you won’t remove all the contamination on the paintwork. If you have a pressure cleaner great, if not you can still do it with your hose. First up, clean the rims, but never do this with what you are using to wash the car. Spray the car down to remove any loose debris. Fill a bucket with wash shampoo, either use a bucket with a grate in the bottom or a second bucket with clean water to rinse your wash mitt periodically. Wash your car methodically, start on the roof and work your way around. Rinse off. Use a drying towel or chamois (by the way, I have only ever found 1 chamois made in Korea that I rate as a chamois). Wipe-over windows (there are specific micro fibre cloth for windows as well). Wipe out the door jambs (some people call them door shuts). Do a final wipe over of the rims (tip: move the car a fraction to make sure you don’t miss anywhere).

It is important to note, if you have major paint contamination, you should consider a detailer or at the very least do a bit of research. This might mean as little as bugs on the front that haven’t been cleaned off in a timely manner. Right through to tar, cement, paint overspray, industry fallout, hard water staining issues just to name a few. Of course, washing isn’t going to anything about scratches either.