Car washes and black 4Runners

[TForceRunner]

So I gave my son a 2016 black 4Runner for high school graduation.

He's taking it to Oklahoma State in the fall, and I suspect we will be getting body work done on it every summer thereafter for nicks and dings to the sides. They cram those cars in pretty tight at the dorms. :dancin:

He's going to have to use drive thru car washes though, as he will live in a dorm and not have any place to put car washing towels and stuff.

I've heard mixed stories on auto car washes. The spray-only ones, I know good and well don't remove everything from a dirty car. Plus, that water is very high pressure and I would assume that it strips the wax right away.

The brush ones I feel better about I suppose. I know it's not ideal, but I'm figuring its the lesser of the two evils.

I've also advised him to wash it in the cool of the day - right before dark - as the black paint gets so hot, it actually softens and is much easier to swirl from brushes and from towel drying.

We did have the thing detailed with a good wax job two weeks ago.

Am I on the right track here?

 

[e60ral]

the brush ones will be worse than touchless, you will see all the spider webbing. you're right though that the touchless aren't great and won't remove everything though.

if he is actually interested in keeping the car clean in the best way, he should be able to find enough space for a no rinse 2 bucket clean.

he won't be able to keep it clean though, a black car is a losing battle even when you have a driveway and loads of free time

 

[bigbadpoppa]

do it yourself bays...use only soap and water sprays as weekly or bi weekly upkeep to take off most of surface dirt and water. bring a nice mit with u.

quarterly bring it to a detailer to do hand wash and quick wax. cost wise in the long run isnt going to be huge.

 

[honda250xtitan]

do it yourself bays...use only soap and water sprays as weekly or bi weekly upkeep to take off most of surface dirt and water. bring a nice mit with u.

quarterly bring it to a detailer to do hand wash and quick wax. cost wise in the long run isnt going to be huge.

This. Just make sure he doesn't use the brush at the DIY bay lololololol. bring his own brush and the two bucket method. Quality drying towels from whomever online. (shinesupply.com) has everything

 

[1996_Valencia_Owen]

The brush at the DIY works fine. Trust me I have 2 mirror-finish-level cars.

The trick, though, is to first use the high-pressure water sprayer to spray the ever-living shit out of the brush bristles. This knocks away any tiny rocks embedded in the bristles - as those are what causes all the scratches in any car wash.

Then proceed to spray the car a little to soften the dust and dirt, and the turn on the brush and bubbles and wash away.

 

[JayceeP]

Surely there is water in his dorm? I’ll make this very easy for you. Purchase:
1) 5 gallon bucket from Home Depot or similar
2) a grit guard
3) Optimum No Rinse
4) Optimim Spray Wax
5) opti-gel if you want your tires to shine a bit.
6) big red sponge


ALL he needs to do is put the grit guard in the bucket and add 4 gallons of water along with 2oz of Optimum No rinse. Soak the big red sponge in this solution for several minutes. Then, all you do is wipe a couple of panels at a time, rinse the sponge in the bucket and dry the panels you just cleaned with a microfibre towel. I also clay and wax (Optimum Spray wax) every spring and summer and sometimes an extra wax mid-summer. I have done this exclusively on my 4Runner for the last 5 years. I live in Nova Scotia where the use of salt is huge because our winter temps/conditions fluctuate so much. Here is what mine looks like 5 years later. No bad eh? Ps- if you want to tarnish your paint, then ignore my post and go to the car wash.

 

[Ghostrider]

I think the bigger issue is going to be all the nicks and stuff from other students. You almost have to accept that it's going to happen and probably happen often.

 

[4RN4FUN]

I’d have a paint correction done then apply some ceramic coating to avoid future swirls. Then you can wash and dry with just water. I’d also recommend a rinseless wash, a bucket with a grit guard and a nice drying towel.

I really like my Wolfgang products - rinseless wash and spray detailing mist and spray on sealant.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[taylorbeach]

Can I be your son? lol

 

[Riders of Lohan]

+1 for optimum

Not a fan of car washes But find a good one or a touchless (with undercarriage spray) will be better in my opinion than not washing the salt off

Paint can easily be corrected and protected. Rust, however

 

[BLACK-FL4RUNNER]

Leave it dirty, it's not a car. :thumb:

 

[Nick B]

To help avoid the nicks and door dings I'd put some protective molding down the side . It's self sticking and some brands even come pre painted .

 

[FamousAv8er]

GO POKES!

Just for some extra info, unfortunately there isn't a great selection of car washes in Stillwater. With all the door dings and love taps that happened to me up there, I would definitely look into ceramic coating.

 

[MossJenks]

Can I be your son? lol

Not all it's cracked up to be. When the rivets on the ass of some girl's jeans scratch the hood you gotta stress about dad's paint job.

 

[MossJenks]

I’d have a paint correction done then apply some ceramic coating to avoid future swirls. Then you can wash and dry with just water. I’d also recommend a rinseless wash, a bucket with a grit guard and a nice drying towel.

Good lord. The kid's going to college, not the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. :der:

Instead of making the kid stress about every nick and swirl, why not let him have fun at college (you're only a college freshman once) then just plan on a concourse quality paint job when he's done?

 

[oljedi11950]

My son took his 05 & just tried to save interior ! Brutal door dings ,one really bad one thru clear coat . So .... get a good set of nfabs ! Made sure he hosed off underneath is all .

 

[Michael-Dallas]

Meguiars Ultimate Waterless Wash and Wax, and plenty of clean microfiber towels. I have it on auto-order from Amazon.

If the dirt is caked on, then first hose it down at the coin op carwash stall.

Then, when he comes home, give it a nice detail.

 

[phillyd2]

For the 4R I use a touchlesss because of the rack, lights, ladder, etc. but for every other vehicles I just use the normal brush car washes. I know everyone says not to but I haven’t washed a car since the earlier 80’s and never plan to again.

And all vehicles I’ve had are / were black. Never had an negative issue or result. Ever.

 

[KaiLoRunner]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVRli2in0JI <-- car washes amiright

It's better to leave a black car dirty then run it through brushes at an automatic car wash, they run them all day, are abrasive, and I don't think they clean them often. Black is a hard color to keep nice especially for someone running around at college.

As for the dings. I think a nice pair of like RSG sliders will take care of other students parking next to him and accidentally causing dents when the kids open their doors

 

[RainCityShecks]

Consider not washing the car at all while at college - and hope and pray he doesn't aspire for a doctorate degree.......................



or




Use the car wash. It's a car.