Got a question... I never have time to wash my car, so i was thinking about going to a normal car wash to atleast have a clean car....


Am i going to get flamed??? Just wanted to know if there is something i should look out for. I have always washed my car by hand. Just wanted everyone's opinion.

 

What kind of "normal car wash"?

 

Sorry i should have mentioned, i am thinking of going full service, the tunnel style.

I would go touchless, but they dont really clean the car.

otherwise i could just go three weeks to washing my car.

 

You already know the answer... Don't do it. Unless of course you want your paint to look like crap.

 

Don't do anything other than touchless . Depending on the car wash you may have to watch for scratching on your wheels.

 

overall, i think it'll take you longer to drive to the car wash, get it done, and drive back home than it would take you to ONR the car at home (the whole process can be done in 10 minutes, easily)... if you're not familiar with ONR (optimum no rinse), you can look on autopia.org, it has been discussed to great lengths... and you can watch video demonstrations on youtube... it's just not worth it to go through a car wash (the swirls that will result can take a considerable amount of time/effort to get rid of).... good luck...

 

Investing in a good soap, drying towel, and foam gun would cost less in the long run and not risk swirling your paint to all hell.

 

asking if you're goin to get flamed, is a sure way to get flamed.... FLAME ON

 

If you must go to a car wash, make sure it is touchless. Just be careful, some places advertise "touchless" but they still touch the car, an example would be the driers at the end have rollers that roll on the car, thats not "touchless" imo. Nothing beats a good handwash with proper washing equipment though.

In the winter, I go to a really good touchless wash that gets everything off including dried on salt. It costs $15 for exterior and underbody but they do an excellent job and spend about 15-20 minutes drying the car.

 

Don't do it. It's not worth having the swirl marks on the car you worked hard to pay for. I know this guy who doesn't know much about cars go to one of those fund raiser car washes and after wards he had a bunch of swirls. Don't let anyone touch your car!
It only takes an hour to wash the car yourself. Suds, scrub, wipe dry with big microfiber cloth. Done deal.

 

I would never take my car to one. The ones with brushes for obvious reasons. The touchless use so many chemicals that it strips any protection you have on your car.

dreamcatchr hit the nail on the head...ONR. I have learned to live and die by this stuff. 2 out of 3 of my car washes are with ONR...and it literally only takes 15 minutes to wash and dry the whole car. It provides a better shine than any over the counter shampoo, and best of all you can do it in your garage with no hose.

 

lol i think the OP is better off going to an automatic carwash before he goes to a fund raiser carwash. Man....I cringe when I see those fund raiser car washes and all the cars lined up for a "wash". I know, i know, its for a good cause, blah, blah. Just dont act all suprised when you've got thousands of little scratches all over the car.

 

This is a huge reason IMO. You might save 10 minutes now, but it will cost you 4 hours of polishing semi-annually.

 

what color is your car? I hand wash my G35, but my TL, i have used the local car wash multiple times (almost weekly for 2 years) and I had NO problems with my paint, then again it was a metallic paint, and not black.... I know people will flame, but it's better than not washing at all... I've been through the car wash only 1 time in the G though, The car was way to dirty, and i didn't have time to wash it....

 

The only time I ever go to the car wash is to use the hand sprayer to get the undercarrage.