Guide: How to Wash Your Tesla Using the Two-Bucket Method

Washing your car takes quite a few steps, but it’s not a hard task. Let’s walk through the process for the two-bucket method – technically it’s three buckets if you wash your tires too! 

What you need:

• 3 buckets for: wash, rinse, & wheels
• Boar brush 
• Wheel brush 
• Bucket insert + guard 
• Microfiber cloth for drying 
• Microfiber mitts 
• Car shampoo 
• Water hose or pressure washer 

Tires First:

You’ll use a completely different bucket and cleaning tools for the tires before moving on to the body of the car. Grab your wheel bucket filled with water and shampoo, lug nut brush, wheel wooly, and microfiber mitt dedicated for your wheels. 

1. Walk around and assess the dirt level on the car 
2. Fill the wheel bucket with water and shampoo 
3. Knock off all the dirt on the wheels around the wheel well 
4. Use a wheel cleaner on the wheels 
5. Use wheel wooly starting with 12 o’clock and work your way around
6. Use the lug nut brush for tight areas
7. Wipe the tire 
8. Use the wheel wash mitt 
9. Use the wheel wooly and wipe the inner wheel wells between the spokes  
10. Rinse off. Then move on to the next wheel.

Then the Car Body:

You want to wash your car in the order of least dirty to most dirty. This keeps your mitt from collecting too much dirt and grime and spreading it to other parts of the car. The order should look like this: 

1. Top 
2. Side Glass
3. RINSE
4. Front Glass
5. Hood 
6. Fender
7. Rear Quarter Panel & Trunk 
8. RINSE
9. Doors 
10. RINSE
11. Rear Bumper 
12. Front Bumper 
13. Rockers 
14. RINSE 

Two-Bucket System:

1. Pre-rinse the car from top to bottom with your hose or pressure washer. Focus on the crevices to loosen up dirt in problem areas. 
2. Dip your mitt in your wash bucket and ring out the soap onto the area of the car you’re washing first. Use the order above. 
3. Use long strokes with your mitt to clean.
4. Once that side of the mitt is dirty, flip it over and use the other side.
5. Once that side is also dirty, dip it in the rinse bucket with the grit guard. The grit guard will allow the grime and dirt to sink to the bottom below the guard. If needed, run the mitt over the guard (and washboard if you have one) to get as much dirt as possible off of the mitt. 
6. Dip the mitt in the wash bucket and keep going in the order of washing mentioned above, repeating the wash/rinse method. 

Drying:

Dry your Tesla with a microfiber towel. If you let it dry in the sun or on its own, it can create water spots instead of that clean shine you’re looking for. Saturate the microfiber towel with hose water or pat the towel on your car until it soaks up moisture and becomes damp. Then, dry with the towel using long strokes, not by wiping in a circular motion. Each time the towel fills up with water, ring it out and keep going.