Kagen - I really do wish you some California heat. Thats gotta be a tough move but honestly what we went through back in February..........40+ gazzilion inches of snow etc. cold, power outages. Well we stole all the warm weather from the west coast. So if it in the 50's in Oakland its probably in the low 60's in Livermore where my brother lives? Its 95 here! Ha ha ha! Too bad ! ( my brother had to tell how nice it was out there when we were snow bound here)
Back to your question about washing your car in sections? I've never heard this. I wash my wheels/tires first (seperate bucket) and then I do the hood, front end, roof, side and rear then rinse. Then I finish the remaining side. I guess this is what you would call in "sections" and after 5 years my car is still in one piece and it still shines a bit. Who told you that?
Far as I know there's no other way to wash a car but in sections. If its a really hot day I may soap up fewer sections before I rinse but for the most part I do as stated above. My neighbors all think I'm crazy but then they always want to know why my car looks new compared to their new cars that look old. (One of my neighbors washes his new Chevy with a push broom) No one else in my neighborhood has Crossfire OCD like I do.