I normally hand wash & wax my cars in my driveway. Lately I've been sick, and work is piling up and I just don't feel like taking an hour to do this. Plus, my van's paint is peeling anyways. So today it will get a coin op wash. I noticed when doing this with my highlander yesterday, that they have a wax setting on the dial. I would like to try this with the sienna. Now is this the last thing you do before you drive out of the bay? Or do you use the wand setting to rinse the wax off, before leaving?
How to use wax setting at coin-op car washes
- Thread starter paulri
- Start date
Rinse before leaving. The wax doesn’t do much except make the water bead off.
OK I guess today is stupid question day for me.... after using the spot free rinse, do I use mf towels to dry it off, or would that rub off more of the wax? I'm fine with the "let it dry while driving" method... that's what i used to do before I discovered mf towels.
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
2nd to last B4 spot free … I mainly do the front/hood hoping to mitigate water spots/bugs sticking
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
I drive 5 to 10 minutes and catch up on radio news
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
I use it frequently. After soaping I switch straight to wax. Here it is called Rain-X clear coat protectant. It smells nice and makes the Spot Free rinse I use afterwards bead nicely. The truck looked nice afterwards. Did it a few days ago. Here are the results 4 days later. FYI, no hand scrubbing involved, and the truck was dirty from driving on wet gravel roads. I did do a quickie spray wax when I got home with Protect-All.
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You mean you don't even rinse the soap off? Or you soap, rinse, then wax?
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
I skip the rinse part. I can't tell the difference. When I used the spray wax later, the towel showed very little dirt film. The amount used at the car wash paying with credit card was $4.69 My guess is the spray wax is 98% water so it's getting rinsed good enough IMO. YMMV. This is not a full clean. This was to get rid of the recent winter blast.
I go straight from soap to wax, to spot free, and drive off...
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2020
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- 522
I washed my frontier just yesterday at the coin op. First time this year, so was pretty dirty. Usually I use the soap setting then just rinse, and if I have any time left, use some wax. This time I did under the fenders, tires and wheels, and the body with soap, then used the wax setting to rinse it off. Took it out for a short highway run (3 miles) and went home. Was as nice as I ever had a coin op job.
Tip from an owner of these establishments told me the wax product also neutralizes soap so use it to rinse your vehicle rather than using the "rinse" setting. It'll save me a couple of quarters.
same here
Thanks. Just got back. Looks cleaner than it has in months. I spent extra time on the wax part, and skipped the rinse as advised.
I think next time I'll use the mf towel right there, and skip the drive at the end. In case anyone knows, would I be better off skipping the spot free rinse part, and just doing the soap and then wax? If I'm going to dry off right in that bay, would there be any use for the spot free rinse setting?
I think next time I'll use the mf towel right there, and skip the drive at the end. In case anyone knows, would I be better off skipping the spot free rinse part, and just doing the soap and then wax? If I'm going to dry off right in that bay, would there be any use for the spot free rinse setting?
I wouldn't trust a coin op pressure washer to remove fine dirt from the paint, and therefore rubbing a microfiber on the paint after one would be an invitation for swirls and scratches. I can only trust a bucket wash with a microfiber mitt to leave the paint clean enough to be touched with a microfiber cloth.
Just my .02
Just my .02
