the situation:

well, i already stay away from the drive through car washes that "touch" the car because they scratch the car

BUT, for the last year i have been using a laser wash (touchless car wash)

its a car wash that just has a giant arm that shoot outs high pressure water and soap and wax and **** onto the car and does a very good job for what it is.

recently ive noticed that my stock rims had all the clear coat peeling off

the question:

so is it that the laser washes ruin rims? or maybe more abrasive or powerful cleaning chemicals used?

im not sure if it is the car wash that has ruined my wheels, but cant think of any other reason, other than when they mount my tires on, maybe if the tool scrapes the lip and cause the clear coat to chip and then the high pressure water pulls it off from the car wash.

what is everyone's take on the TOUCHLESS car washes?

im really getting annoyed with having to hand wash my car lately when im pretty busy

i have volk rims now and i want to be sure the car wash wont reck them before i take it there.

i never tought high pressure water could do it

 

i love touching my car... i hand wash whenever i get a chance... speaking of which, time to go finish the 3rd step of meguire's process.

IMO, i don't do auto car washes.

 

well i hand wash it like once a month and wax

but in between i usually do the touchless car washes

any more comments?

 

i have recently noticed the coating on my TYPE R stickers on the rocker panels are peeling from the high pressure washer at the local car wash.

 

You wash and wax your car once a month? And wash between washes?? That's a little overboard. I wash mine maybe every quarter and wax 1 - 2 times a year. I do try to rinse any salt off, if I've been driving in the snow, though.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by deeksmooth &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i love touching my car.... </TD></TR></TABLE>

ME TOO!!

 

You wash your car???

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by P Nut &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That's a little overboard. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Then you don't want to know my wash schedule...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by deeksmooth &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">IMO, i don't do auto car washes. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I steer clear of them too

 

My Wash Cycle:

Hand wash car once a week. Wash rims, exhuast muffler, and full car itself
Vacumn and clean inside of car every two weeks.
Clean engine bay till I can practically eat off of it every month.
And wax car 2 times a year
Change oil every 2,000 miles

My belief is that with all the money you spend on a car, why not hand wash it and take care of it? I work 30-40 hours and go to school 12hrs a semester, but its still easy to find time to wash the car.

 

You lazy ****!!!!!!!! I have to wash my car 3 to 4 times a week, not because i want to but because our weather is so crap that the car gets covered in **** every other day. But no matter how dirty it gets i woul dnever ever use a drive thru wash (touch or non touch) as they destroy paint work, IMO the chemicals in the soap is severe on paint and designed to clean the car quickly and i dont think they were designed for regular car washing....I'd rather have the car covered in crap than use those things. If you keep the paint work well polished/waxed then hosing it off every now and then will remove any road grime easily!

 

i wash 1-2 times a week. depends on weather and such. car gets waxed once a month minimum

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kendall &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You wash your car???</TD></TR></TABLE>

I thought integra's were afraid of water.

 

My integra has NEVER seen an automated car wash, thats why it looks like a f'in mirror even after 80k miles

Dry with a leafblower so the only time you could "scratch" your car is if you used a dirty rag

&lt;- a bit crazy

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nishant &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i wash 1-2 times a week. depends on weather and such. car gets waxed once a month minimum</TD></TR></TABLE>

You know thats bad for the car right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Alexander &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My integra has NEVER seen an automated car wash, thats why it looks like a f'in mirror even after 80k miles

Dry with a leafblower so the only time you could "scratch" your car is if you used a dirty rag

&lt;- a bit crazy</TD></TR></TABLE>

"The Absorber" works miracles!!! Best product I have evaR bought for my car washing duties. No scratches

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bbasso &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Then you don't want to know my wash schedule...
</TD></TR></TABLE>


same here...whenever its dirty, quick detailer when its not too bad, wax every couple months. I love my car, I wouldn't want to see 4 months of dirt on it

 

The chemicals used in touchless car washes are stronger than those used in regular car washes. If the chemicals aren't strong enough, they wouldn't be able to sufficiently wash the car without touching it. As a result, wax may be stripped.

The only automated car wash I ever use are the hand washes where soap gets sprayed on the car and the workers physically wash the car with a sponge.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chris93Si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I steer clear of them too </TD></TR></TABLE>

Me too.

Auto car washes even the touchless car wash is BAD for the car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EricUSC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
The only automated car wash I ever use are the hand washes where soap gets sprayed on the car and the workers physically wash the car with a sponge.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The sponge will scratch the paint surfaces too. Because dirt can be trap in the little holes on the sponge. Best thing to uses to wash a car is Plush Wash Mitt like the one by Meguiars.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1-UP &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> You know thats bad for the car right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

what's bad for the car? washing it twice a week? or applying wax at least once a month?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1-UP &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">"The Absorber" works miracles!!! Best product I have evaR bought for my car washing duties. No scratches </TD></TR></TABLE>

try using a waffle weave microfiber towel... they work a lot better than The Absorber

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EricUSC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The only automated car wash I ever use are the hand washes where soap gets sprayed on the car and the workers physically wash the car with a sponge.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Even then, I wouldn't trust them... how do you know that the worker didn't drop the sponge on the ground? Or wash a dirty *** truck that had mud all over it right before your car? The grit/dirt embedded in the sponge could scratch the hell out of your paint

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B U N M A N G O &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

what's bad for the car? washing it twice a week? or applying wax at least once a month?</TD></TR></TABLE>

If ya read my wash schedule for the car, I said I wash my car once a week, so I was talking about the wax.

When you wax your car it takes off a thin layer of clear coat to remove light scratches, dirt residue, etc. So if you wax once a month, eventually your clear coat will be no more and the paint will fade. This could happen within a few years if a minimum of once a month wax is done, as stated. Thats overkill

 

Gotta find car wash like northeast.
Hand car wash around $10.00 complete.
Many mexicans wash, rinse, dry, vaccum and windex windows!
These days feel so lazy so I just buy easy armor-all spray wax which
is simple spray and wipe.


Modified by machgo5go at 8:10 PM 6/5/2005