All my life I'd mix a bucket of warm water and detergent to wash my cars, then end up with spent dregs when I got to the really dirty stuff like wheels/tires. Recently I've simply filled a spray bottle with a 25%solution of auto-wash and filtered water. I just hose down the car and mitt, LIGHTLY spray the mitt from the bottle, and wash the car. Sudses beatuifully, and two shots with rinse in between does the whole S2K in about the same time it used to take to mix up the bucket. For the dirty stuff I spray considerably more of the solution onto an ordinary 4" paint brush(like you would use to paint a house) and use that to gently but effectively scrub the pre-wetted wheels/tires/wheelwells. NO scratches and it really gets down into the nooks and crannies like around the lug-nuts, brake calipers, etc.

 

great idea!
i think i will still use the bucket for the car, but will try the idea for the wheels... i am always trying to figure out how to wash the wheels and the car with the same bucket (you have to wash the car first, but then it starts drying while you are doing the wheels). with your idea, it sounds like maybe i can do the wheels first without messing up the water in the bucket!
thanks for the idea!

 

Doesn't anyone use the "two bucket" method anymore?