The I spray and rinse the entire wheel, tire, fender well:
Washing the General Car:
My favorite soap to use is Duargloss #901. Has a great cherry scent and is EXTREMELY suddsy. The ratio is about one ouce of #901 to a gallon of water. I mix this in a 5 gal. bucket. The wash mitt I love to use is called a SchMitt made by Edge pads. It is made of a very soft and densely packed foam. One side is white designed for general cleaning; whereas the flip side is a much coarser yellow pad that works well for removing bug splatters.
Tip: Always wash the shaded part of the vehicle first and the sunny side last. This way water spots are far less likely to form. Be sure to also dry the sunny side first.
Duragloss #901 and the SchMitt in action:
Drying:
My drying towels are Cobra Waffle Weave Guzzlers. I have 3 distinct sizes all of which are used for different areas.
Rinsing:
ALWAYS dry your car! Be sure to dry the sunny side first to help prevent water spotting.
Make sure to also always dry your wheels!:
Tire Dressing:
One of my favorite things of a detailed vehicle are shiny tires.
After I dry the vehicle, I spray the tires
AND fender wells with Armor All Tire Foam.
(If you haven't been able to tell, I love this tire foam):
After foaming all 4 tires/fender wells, I let the product sit for about 2-3 min. I then take an OLD bath towel and generously wipe off the foam. The foam acts as a TERRIFIC tire cleaner:
Right half of the tire wiped:
