Car Washes - Good or Bad ?

[westwind77]

I have a 'touchless' car wash down the street, what are your thoughts on them? I have been through it with my old SUV as I did not care that much, but with the new one I don't want to make a 'mistake'. The high pressure water that comes out is amazing, I was wondering if this can damage the 4R paint in any way? I have always hand washed before but with temps so low that is hard to do right now.

 

[PTY507]

I usually take my ride to the car wash to get it clean outside. there are no problems with high pressure water.

But inside, that's another history. No one is going to take care like me. No one is going to clean it like me.

That's a business and they need to keep the cars coming in & coming out, more cars means more $$$. So they don't spend the necessary time to clean it as you wish.

 

[Jed]

I have a 'touchless' car wash down the street, what are your thoughts on them? I have been through it with my old SUV as I did not care that much, but with the new one I don't want to make a 'mistake'. The high pressure water that comes out is amazing, I was wondering if this can damage the 4R paint in any way? I have always hand washed before but with temps so low that is hard to do right now.

I almost always hand wash my cars. I never go through a regular car wash. Since hand washing isn't practical in the winter around here, I use a touchless car wash once a week when the roads are salty. I've been doing that for years and the paint on my 4Runner is still as flawless as the day I picked it up from the dealership. Since nothing but high pressure water touches the paint, there are no worries of micro-scratching. The only downside is that those touchless car washes don't get the vehicle really clean, but they are really good for getting most of the salt and crap off the body.

 

[Ryan_S]

+1
my favorite are PDQ. But you might not have those in your neck of the woods.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I,like some others,use the touchless just for quick washes in the winter and have been for years and no issues with them otherwise it's hand washes in when possible.

 

[BurghRunner]

I don't think the car wash is nearly as gentle as I am, but I do allow a couple exterior only car washes during the winter at a place I trust.

It has to be better than allowing a salt covered vehicle get exposed to the thawing temps and water on the roads. (Dad always said that's when the salt does it's damage, not when the temps are below freezing.)

 

[audiqtr]

If you enjoy your car and have the time, always hand wash yourself.
use a two bucket system and a sheepskin mit.
If you prefer taking it to a car wash, I'd recommend the "Handwash" places.

 

[jca21]

i usually take my cars/trucks to a touchless car wash once a week in winter. havent had any problems with it but i do give a protective coating of wax before winter arrives.

the think i look forward to most about the touchless car washes in winter is the undercarriage cleaning. removing built up salt from the bottom of my cars/trucks is probably whats most important to me.

 

[fins]

i don't worry about the touchless carwash itself. but i am concerned about the folks drying the car and using material that cause swirlmarks. that's why a few layers of polish helps to protect the finish for those times you have to use a carwash.

 

[Jed]

i don't worry about the touchless carwash itself. but i am concerned about the folks drying the car and using material that cause swirlmarks. that's why a few layers of polish helps to protect the finish for those times you have to use a carwash.

The touchless car washes around here don't have any people at all. You're on your own...you drive in, park, and the mechanism moves around the vehicle spraying it with soap and water. Then the whole thing turns into a big hair dryer and dries the car off. When you drive out, most of the water is gone already.

 

[MikesToy]

I only go to touchless or DIY car washes. But i only go there to knock off the majority of dirt, mud, snow, etc. Then i drive home and handwash it with the good stuff.

 

[fins]

The touchless car washes around here don't have any people at all. You're on your own...you drive in, park, and the mechanism moves around the vehicle spraying it with soap and water. Then the whole thing turns into a big hair dryer and dries the car off. When you drive out, most of the water is gone already.

Yep, those things usually have the harshest chemicals that harm your finish. They never completely rinse the detergents off your vehicle 100%.....

 

[Jed]

Yep, those things usually have the harshest chemicals that harm your finish. They never completely rinse the detergents off your vehicle 100%.....

Harsh chemicals? I think it's just soap and water... But either way, I've been using the same touchless car wash for 6 winters now and my the finish on my 4Runner still looks 100% flawless and as glossy as it did the day I drove it home from the dealership.

Surely it must be better than letting salt sit on the finish all winter long...

 

[Uneek]

Yep, those things usually have the harshest chemicals that harm your finish. They never completely rinse the detergents off your vehicle 100%.....

The Chevron touchless carwash I went through seems ok. Noticed no dimish in water beads afterwards. I'd imagine if it's harsh it'll strip off the wax and the water won't bead. I've got a coat of Klasse All-in-One and Sealant Glaze on it from about three months ago.

 

[PlanetAlaska-]

I always use touchless car washes. No problems so far, however in my area, they are not very effective. They always leave some dirt behind.

 

[charlier180]

I,like some others,use the touchless just for quick washes in the winter and have been for years and no issues with them otherwise it's hand washes in when possible.

:iagree: I have been using a local touchless car wash for a while now.

Nothing beats hand washing a vehicle but in the winter time that is not feasible most of the time. The car wash I use does a fairly decent job. I also get the optional undercarriage wash. I drive in slow on purpose so the high pressure water has a chance to really blow the dirt and salt off of the undercarriage.

Stopped at the car wash last night on the way home from work. After a couple weeks of snowy weather, it was time to get the dirt and road salt off of the 4Runner.

 

[av8or]

unless it rains here in ksan, i wipe down my 2 cars with a damp cloth every night (yes, every night) before i go to bed... i wipe all the glass so that it's free from any smudges, wipe all the rims so that it's dust free and for the finishing touch, a wipe of tire shine on all tires.. i tell my wife " must be nice to drive everyday to work with a clean car" but then she rebuttles with "must be nice to come home every night with a hot meal ready".. so i called it truce.. anyway, i always wash my own cars.. either on my driveway or diy... i can always use that extra $20 on gas.. :bigok:

 

[fins]

Harsh chemicals? I think it's just soap and water... But either way, I've been using the same touchless car wash for 6 winters now and my the finish on my 4Runner still looks 100% flawless and as glossy as it did the day I drove it home from the dealership.

Surely it must be better than letting salt sit on the finish all winter long...

From Autopia, a renowned detailing forum. Of course, there are arguments to support "touchless" but they usually come from its own advocacy groups.

Most so called 'Touch less' car washes today use a low pH acid as a first step, an alkaline to neutralize it and then high pressure water to wash cars. Hand washing is MUCH preferred, do not use an automated car wash period, touch less or not, there are a variety of reasons: Local by-laws require car washes to re-claim or recycle water. This means they have two choices.
They can collect the water in tanks and pay to truck it away to a recycling centre or they can filter and then recycle the water (dependant on how often the filters are cleaned /changed) will affect how much dirt content there is. Recycled meaning re-use the same water, which may include any road dirt/grit that is not filtered out is used to high-pressure (1,000PSI) wash your vehicle (somewhat similar to sandblasting) the final rinse is usually twice-filtered re-cycled water, this is to give the appearance of a clean surface on the vehicle.
To help clean the recycled water they use a chemical like Presidium Orthophosphate (TSP) and have the chemical formula Na3PO4. It is a highly water-soluble ionic salt. Solutions of it dissolved in water have a high alkaline pH; this does a great job stripping your wax / sealant. TSP is generally not good for cleaning vehicles because it can corrode metal.

 

[westwind77]

Warning

I have a 'touchless' car wash down the street, what are your thoughts on them? I have been through it with my old SUV as I did not care that much, but with the new one I don't want to make a 'mistake'. The high pressure water that comes out is amazing, I was wondering if this can damage the 4R paint in any way? I have always hand washed before but with temps so low that is hard to do right now.

Well....BIG mistake!!! I chose the wash that did undercarriage to get the salt off from the past 2 snow storms. Well about half way through I feel the 4R move a bit, suddenly realizing there are physical brushes cleaning the rims! WTF, so much for touchless. My rims are all micro-scratched right now, NOT happy! I spoke to the lady inside, owner was on vacation, will be back Monday, so he will be my 1st stop.

A warning to others, AVOID the washes that try to clean your rims. As far as I am concered they owe me a new set of rims. If they want to pay out of pocket or claim it against their insurance that is up to them. Who knows when the last time they were cleaned or how much sand/dirt was on them when they made contact and spun around.

 

[Ryan_S]

Dude. That sucks. Sometimes I wonder if the people that desinged those things ever cared about their car.

Good luck getting them replaced. If they don't budge, you might get them to have them powder coated, that should be cheaper (def not the same though).