Never had any issues with my car wash until now. Always did a great job and never had any paint issues from the brushes, etc. I see higher $ vehicles rolling off the line regularly when I am there.

 

I think worrying about the chemicals of the car wash is overboard. I just go for the simplest one... foamy soap gets sprayed on twice, then high pressure water passes once. I don't think that soap can be worse than the car being out in the elements year round, exposed to salt or that other wonderful chemical they spray now, road grime, and anything else that gets picked up. I'll probably do 10 of these washes from around late Nov-December to March-early April.

And to add to that, it's one of those "environmentally friendly" washes, so the soap can't be THAT bad!

Every single DIY car wash I've been to here (there are very few, and most times they are OLD ones) are open bay ones and non-heated. In the winter you get thick sheets of ice on the walls building up from the spray; I'd love to see a heated one around here, then I'd consider it.

 

You THINK it does a good job until you get under a light and look at all the swirls and scratches it leaves.
Go and spray a bunch of chemicals on your car. I'll stick with my proper wash techniques and have buttery smooth paint even in the winter.

 

Better yet, fill up your 5 gallon bucket at home with hot water, then add your soap. Put the lid on and tuck it in the front passenger footwell. That way you're controlling the quantity and quality of your soap. It will stay very warm/hot for a good 20-30 minutes which should be plenty of time to get the the DIY car wash.

If possible, when it's 10-20 degrees, go to one that has at least one door you can close so it will stay warm enough to dry off the car. I use a silicone squeegee to get most of the water off, then a quick microfiber dry. TIP: dry the car near the open end first, or ice will form. The closed end will stay thawed.

Place near me is a minumum of $1.50, so for $3.00 my car gets hand washed in the winter. And you're never too old to keep your car looking good.

 

Nicely said.

 

I'm truly impressed!

When you guys get old, you'll get arthritis from hand washing your cars in the winter and will have to drive auto!

 

^I only have to do it for 3 more years, then im getting the fvck out of the north and moving some place that is nice year round. WITH a palm tree in my front yard.

 

and you lead me into my next question. Best way to dry your car? The cotton drying towels I use suck. I guess I need a squeegie and some microfibers.

 

Squeegie and some microfiber drying towels work the best.

 

I'd stay away from squeegie's if I were you. They'll just drag any dirt particles along your paint. Most of the water should sheet off anyway, if you rinse it properly.

 

Details on proper rinsing. I have alot of residual water after rinse.

 

Well I just hold my hose about 8 inches from my car, and starting from top to bottom, I let the water just free-flow out of the hose. If you rinse it with high pressure, you'll get small drops of water everywhere, whereas if you just let the water flow out, it sheets off the car. Obviously, if your car is waxed, the water will sheet off better.

When I rinse my hood off, there are only a couple big drops of water left, the rest of the hood is completely dry already .

 

^Up here in the cold north, most of these DIY car wash places dont have hoses haha just a high pressure guy.

 

nice, I use high pressure now so that is the culprit. Thx.

 

good points, never going to take my car the wash again after i get it lowered.