If you dabble in auto detailing for any amount of time, you’ve no doubt heard of washing a car with the two bucket method. All this means is that you use two buckets of water to wash a car. One bucket holds the mixed soap water and the other holds plain rinse water. The idea is that after you’ve scrubbed the car with a sponge or whatever from the soap bucket, you first work it out in the rinse bucket before reintroducing it back into the soap bucket. This removes the contaminants that the sponge picked up from scrubbing the car and doesn’t introduce them into the soap bucket, which will reduce your chance of scrubbing the car with the previously removed contaminants.
The ideology behind this method is sound in principle but in practice, it’s the best of a worst-case scenario. In reality, there’s always some amount of contaminant that will transfer from the rinse bucket to the wash bucket. To eliminate this problem, you’re going to need a bunch of rinse buckets to further minimize the cross-contamination with every bucket. That’ll work better in reducing scratches, but it’s completely not practical. Many of us are used to using 5-gallon buckets for a car wash. Just imagine the amount of water used as you fill up bucket after bucket just to transfer fewer contaminants. It’s a complete waste. So, what can we do that’s better. How about taking away the rinse bucket altogether?
Now, this may seem completely counterproductive considering what I just laid out with the two or more bucket method but stick with me. What we can do, is reduce the number of buckets but increase the amount of wash media. We can have just one bucket but use multiple sponges, clothes, or whatever. The idea is that we only use the wash media once. After each use as the media picks up those contaminants, we put it aside and just move on to the next one. This way, we for sure are not cross-contaminating and bringing dirt and debris into our clean soap bucket.
So then the question becomes, how many sponges do I need? Well, that’s going to be dependent on the vehicle and the user. Larger vehicles are naturally going to need more sponges than smaller vehicles. You can’t expect to be able to wash an F450 with the same number of sponges as a Smart car. Well, you can but then that would be counterproductive and you’ll end up unnecessarily dragging a dirty sponge around the surface of your vehicle. With this method, the more the better. I understand that it can be expensive so buy a bunch of sponges but it is what it is. If you’re serious about reducing those car wash-induced scratches, you got to put your money where your mouth is, at least with this method.
That being said this is what I do with my Supra. I break the entire car up into 5 sponges. The roof, front windshield, and rear windshield get one. The hood and front bumper get another. Then each side of the car from door to fender gets one. Then the rear end gets the final sponge. Now 5 sponges may not seem like a lot for all this area, but remember, the sponges have two large flat areas and some usable side space. It’s all about managing what you have.
Aside from reducing possible scratches, there are other benefits to the one bucket method. An easy one to see is the reduction of wasted water. Right off the bat, we’re saving one bucket and potentially 5 gallons of water. This helps the environment and helps with the water bill. The next benefit would be that this saves us some time. Without needing to rinse the sponge after ever use, we can just clean one panel after another without wasting time in between. This leads to another benefit and that is the reduction of time spent playing in the water. If you wash cars during cold climates then I’m sure you can understand my want of spending as little time in the bucket with the cold water as possible. Detailing outdoors in the winter sucks enough already, no need in getting physical damage from long exposure to cold water.
Overall, I really think that the one bucket method is a better approach than the two bucket method. It’s a bit more costly upfront with the cost of all the sponges but in the long run, it’s a worthwhile endeavor.
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Griot's Ultimate Wash Bucket https://amzn.to/3ncuj6k
The Rag Company (2-Pack Premium Cyclone Korean Microfiber Wash Mitt and 6" x 8" Cyclone Wash Pad Combo Kit https://amzn.to/36lcHiO
Griot's Car Wash Shampoo https://amzn.to/2IKd5gV
All the Auto Detailing Equipment I Use: https://www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.account.AF43XRPGVOUH2E5CJXQY4FIOGVAQ/3AI3XVAQEMORX?type=explore&ref=idea_cp_vl_ov_d
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