i use mguiars detailing spray in between washes..i always use it after a drive to get bugs off the front too..its about $5 at target and lasts a long time..

 

Again, just my opinion, but I would never use a brush or definitely never a squeegee on my car. These are both ways to trap dirt and scratch the finish.

I do use clay on the car, Zaino's, about once a year or if the finish is feeling a little rough, take a tissue and drag it across the paint you will notice if you need to clay.

Dry your car only with a very high quality cotton towel with no detail or border on it or a high quality micro towel from Zaino or Griots.

Again this is what I do to keep the best finish. Read the detailers sites and you will see that brushes and squeegees are a no go. High quality sponges or high quality washing mit and lots of waters, high pressure preferable to keep the car looking good. I had a black tt and a seal grey tt before the artic silver and if you dont do all the steps, you know the rest. Sorry for rambling.
jS

 

The squeegee is only for the windows. If you know how to use it your windows will be spot and streak free.

The brush's head is about 10” x 3". The bristles are about 4" long and are as soft as I have ever found for any brush, sponge or mitt. The head attaches to a 5 1/2 pole to make reaching the car easy on your back. I have had this brush for about 12 years. I had a Dodge Diesel that was Patriot Pearl Blue paint. It went from a light blue to a midnight blue depending on the light; no swirl or scratches. I keep the brush washed and very clean. The brush never touches anything but the car's body. No tires and no wheels. It doesn't even touch the bottom 6" of the car except for the 2nd wash. I wash the tires, wheels and the lower 6" all the way around the car w/ separate brushes before I wash the car's upper body w/ that brush.
<O
You can think what you want; sponges, towels, mitts, and brushes of any kind absorb dirt and grit. Most detailers us a hand mitt to wash w/ not a sponge; regardless of what you use the product will absorb materials, some just less then others.

The key is what you use it for, how you take care of it, as well as the pressure you use when washing. Pre cleaning w/ water and moderate pressure to get all the heavy dirt and grime off the car before you touch it w/ anything is the 1<SUP>st</SUP> thing you do to keep your paint free of swirls and scratches regardless of what you use to wash it w/.
<O
Go check out this brush at many sites, the Montana-original-boars-hair-wash-brush-plus for cleaning your car. Also look at the wheel brush that has a 20” handle, again easy on your back. I also have 1 small hand brush w/ nylon bristles for the wheels and black plastic areas and a parts cleaning brush for the little areas that these brushes won’t get on the wheels, grill, and black plastic. <O</O

 

I got home from a week of skiing and the (otherwise clean) car had a coat of dust on it. I pulled out the air compressor and just blew the dust off. Worked great.