Ok, I know that you should not use automatic car washes and most of you guys who live in the warmer climates hand wash and wax all your cars - - - because you can! For those of us who live in the colder climates, we just cannot wash our cars every week in 10 degree weather, so we are forced to go to automatic car washes.

For those who do, what has been your experience? Have the soft cloth washes harmed your clearcoat at all? Or do you stick with the no-touch, even though they do not completely clean the car?

For me so far, I've put the X through 3 soft-cloth washes and haven't seen a single scratch. I did get the paint sealant put on by the dealer before we took delivery - I wonder if that helps the scratching at all, or if that's just for protecting from fading?? Over time though, I worry that the soft cloth washes might start wearing on the paint...!

So for the winter months, I'm forced to use the automatic car washes, but definitely once we can turn our faucets back on in the spring, all car washes are hand-done!

What does everyone else do??? Soft-cloth vs No-touch???

 

No touch - always. I would never take my car through a soft-cloth type place after seeing how filthy those brushes/tumblers can get. Its not just that, but if one tiny pebble is left on your car and one of those brushes drags it, thats it. Thats my biggest issue with them.

I hand wash and Zaino my car probably once a week in the Summer. But in the winters when I can I take it through the no touch.

 

I very rarely go through any automatic car washes, but when I do have to I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS go through a touchless car wash! I wouldn't let anything touch my car.....EVER! I also make sure that the touchless car wash doesn't have any automatic rails that can damage your wheels.

 

but then the manual states that some of the no-touches use acids that may harm the grill of the car...

 

You know what else will harm the grill of the car? Breathing on it. It is the cheapest piece of junk, which I find strange considering how nice the interior parts are in this car. I already have several rock chips in the grill, the "chrome" coating on it is so thin it barely exists. I know I will have to get a new grill in the first 2 years

 

true. the grill sucks. Paint it black ? haha who knows. o yeah, and i like to wash myself. i dont trust any car washes or other people that wash cars they just throw a rag around as fast as they can inside and put your wipers on...when you start the car your damn wipers go off and your like **** i hate when this happens! hahaha

 

Touchless car washes do use strong detergents, but I haven't heard of them harming the grill. If you use touchless car washes, you probably should apply an LSP more frequently.

Another option is go to a coin-op and and just spray all the crud off your G.

 

+1 strong detergents and recycled water in many of them..

 

+1000. If the grill is such a piece of crap that a touchless car wash damages it, then it really is a true piece of crap. I've noticed already its a bit delicate when washing my car last weekend.

 

i went through the touchless wash with my G once... and it may be the last time too. Of course those washes have high pressure to wash and high pressure to dry... But the problem i had was that as the water sprayed my roof water came in... and the same when it went to dry, it just blew the air/water onto my head.

Is this a seal problem with the sunroof? Has anyone else experienced this?

 

The brand new Infiniti dealer by me uses the sponge based(touch) car wash. All there new cars are put through this process. They indicate that it will not scratch. I am very concerned about this because they offer the free car was whenever I want which is a time saver! Why would infiniti tell there dealers to use this if it scratches their cars?

 

I say if it can *touch* your car than it can *scratch* your car!

 

Never, ever, ever, EVER go through an auto wash with any sort of friction based cleaning. I don't care if angels are cleaning it with clouds; if it touches an Infiniti clear coat it *WILL* marr it. Ask me how I know. Touchless is ok, but only when required. If possible go to a coin op and use your own bucket, mitts, and towels. Alternatively rinseless washes are a good winter solution.

 

Kevin, if one were to use touchless on a fairly regular basis, how often would you suggest applying an LSP? Monthly? This could be good information to those that use touchless regularly in the winter.

 

Whenever I have to use a car wash, I always come right home and wipe it down with Zaino and put a coat or two back on. I never use the car washes in the winter so its only for a couple months out of the year but this process worked well with my black Z