Automatic car wash & my new car?

[dja4260]

Originally Posted By: BrownBox88
Originally Posted By: Win
I prefer to hand wash cars, but I've used the automatic car washes with no guilt.

They're just cars, and even an expensive car is just a car.




Exactly


I agree however It's my first big purchase ever and I take care of what I've worked for. Why unnecessarily add swirl marks to the paint because I'm to lazy to do it myself. I think I'll just pay the $6-7 bucks for touchless.

6-7 years down the road when the car isn't mint anymore, I can get lazy and do the cheapo brush car wash.

 

[The Critic]

I've found that swirls from tunnel washes occur if there is no prep at the beginning of the wash tunnel. Or, if they just use brushes that are only wet with water to prep the cars.

Otherwise, most swirls come from drying IMO.

 

[SteveSRT8]

I own a clear coated vehicle bought in August 05 washed weekly or more since then.

No scratches, no swirls. NEVER been through a commercial car wash.

Cleaned with hot water pressure washer and dried with a leaf blower.

 

[Garak]

The Critic is quite right. A lot of the newer automatic washes out there, too, are totally different than what we used to see.

While some automatics are certainly a danger, the bigger dangers in my experience are people trying to wash their vehicles with the brush at the bay wash without turning the foam on, drying with whatever dirty beach towel they find at home, or using a hard snow brush in the winter like it's going out of style. The problem is that some people have zero patience when they wash their vehicles, and that leads to sloppiness and errors.

Any day of the week, I'd put a modern automatic up against a cheap, lazy guy in a bay trying to wash an F-150 for $4 in under ten minutes.

 

[rjundi]

My qualm with these Automatics is they recycle the water. Basically they settle the grit and blend back fresh but there is still fine silt in them and salt in my area.

I designed a bunch of car wash site plans in the late 1990's and this is what they all did.

 

[Garak]

Not up here, at least. Some of them have been plumbed to allow recycling when and if it becomes law, but it's not the case up here now.

 

[hooligan24]

carwash = spider web/swirls

 

[whip]

It's a Hyundai. The paint will be ruined in 5 years either way.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Not up here, at least. Some of them have been plumbed to allow recycling when and if it becomes law, but it's not the case up here now.

Reclaimed water seems to be fine since they filter it, but if the dryer does not blow all of it off (or if the attendant does not remove all of it), then it usually results in removable, but nasty looking white colored water spots.

 

[Garak]

If they set it up right, they can use properly recycled, filtered water for the wash and then do a final rinse with RO water, and avoid all the problems.

 

[NYSteve]

Since you're in Chicago, jump on Yelp and find the highest rated places that offer hand washes.

Actually, here is a link:
http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=hand+wash&find_loc=chicago&ns=1#sortby=rating

I used Pierre's (listed #4) and they have $8 hand washes and dry with towels and compressed air. For as little as it is, it doesn't make sense to use any quick car wash that will charge you basically the same amount with "The Works". These places also offer hand waxes as well.