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      02-01-2015, 03:11 PM   #1
Jacky Treehorn
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Taking your car to any "car wash" is a huge mistake

Taking your car to any "car wash" is a huge mistake.

First of all, they likely don't use a proper washing system to prevent micro scratches within your already thin clear coat and paint. In fact, you don't know what the hell they do.

Taking your car to a "car wash" is a sure fire way to get marred paint.

I recommend only washing yourself using a two bucket method and a CLEAN high quality microfiber washing mit.

Taking your car to a "car wash" is like going to a jiffy lube and then complaining when the tech uses the wrong oil filter.

The idiot at the car wash most likely pulled on your door lever too hard.
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      02-01-2015, 03:23 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jacky Treehorn View Post
Taking your car to any "car wash" is a huge mistake.

First of all, they likely don't use a proper washing system to prevent micro scratches within your already thin clear coat and paint. In fact, you don't know what the hell they do.

Taking your car to a "car wash" is a sure fire way to get marred paint.

I recommend only washing yourself using a two bucket method and a CLEAN high quality microfiber washing mit.

Taking your car to a "car wash" is like going to a jiffy lube and then complaining when the tech uses the wrong oil filter.

The idiot at the car wash most likely pulled on your door lever too hard.
Not everyone has the time or the means to hand wash their car all the time. Of course if you're in full control of every aspect of cleaning your car at all times there is less chance of paint damage (provided you are careful), but there are plenty of legitimate hand wash businesses out there with owners and staff who are paid well and care about their jobs and their customer base, so I think your post is a little bit overly paranoid and unfair.

At the end of the day its about how much time you have and risk vs reward. . . Plenty of people don't eat in restaurants because they are paranoid about hygiene and food additives etc, and if you want to live your life in a complete bubble world then thats your choice.

In the winter months I generally visit a local hands free high pressure wash bay style carwash and give my car a quick spray down with the soap and then an additional spray down with the pure water. I don't bother going out of control drying it perfectly and I end up with a few water spots, but quite honestly the car is covered with enough salt to hide them by the time I get home or to my next destination anyway so its fairly mitigated. My current schedule is like 2 1/2 times a week doing this and I can get the whole car done within the 4 minute allocated spray time. So I wash my car 5 times every 2 weeks, give or take, and it costs me less then 20 bucks to do this (10 bucks a week, $3.75 per wash). I think its a MUCH more cost effective and not to mention quick way to keep your car "mostly clean" on a consistent basis instead of "really really clean" for like 10 minutes before the salt catches up again. Not everyone lives in the northeast and if you live in the land of clean cars in Cali then this probably isn't as important of a consideration. . . But it works for me and on average my car isn't salty for more then a day or two at a time, and most importantly even though it gets washed quite frequently it stays swirl mark free!
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      02-01-2015, 03:43 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brianeck View Post
Not everyone has the time or the means to hand wash their car all the time. Of course if you're in full control of every aspect of cleaning your car at all times there is less chance of paint damage (provided you are careful), but there are plenty of legitimate hand wash businesses out there with owners and staff who are paid well and care about their jobs and their customer base, so I think your post is a little bit overly paranoid and unfair.

At the end of the day its about how much time you have and risk vs reward. . . Plenty of people don't eat in restaurants because they are paranoid about hygiene and food additives etc, and if you want to live your life in a complete bubble world then thats your choice.

In the winter months I generally visit a local hands free high pressure wash bay style carwash and give my car a quick spray down with the soap and then an additional spray down with the pure water. I don't bother going out of control drying it perfectly and I end up with a few water spots, but quite honestly the car is covered with enough salt to hide them by the time I get home or to my next destination anyway so its fairly mitigated. My current schedule is like 2 1/2 times a week doing this and I can get the whole car done within the 4 minute allocated spray time. So I wash my car 5 times every 2 weeks, give or take, and it costs me less then 20 bucks to do this (10 bucks a week, $3.75 per wash). I think its a MUCH more cost effective and not to mention quick way to keep your car "mostly clean" on a consistent basis instead of "really really clean" for like 10 minutes before the salt catches up again. Not everyone lives in the northeast and if you live in the land of clean cars in Cali then this probably isn't as important of a consideration. . . But it works for me and on average my car isn't salty for more then a day or two at a time, and most importantly even though it gets washed quite frequently it stays swirl mark free!
I do the same now. In the summer when is not raining every fckin day i dry it. For now just a quick spray to get most of the dirt off
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      02-01-2015, 03:45 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brianeck View Post
Not everyone has the time or the means to hand wash their car all the time. Of course if you're in full control of every aspect of cleaning your car at all times there is less chance of paint damage (provided you are careful), but there are plenty of legitimate hand wash businesses out there with owners and staff who are paid well and care about their jobs and their customer base, so I think your post is a little bit overly paranoid and unfair.

At the end of the day its about how much time you have and risk vs reward. . . Plenty of people don't eat in restaurants because they are paranoid about hygiene and food additives etc, and if you want to live your life in a complete bubble world then thats your choice.

In the winter months I generally visit a local hands free high pressure wash bay style carwash and give my car a quick spray down with the soap and then an additional spray down with the pure water. I don't bother going out of control drying it perfectly and I end up with a few water spots, but quite honestly the car is covered with enough salt to hide them by the time I get home or to my next destination anyway so its fairly mitigated. My current schedule is like 2 1/2 times a week doing this and I can get the whole car done within the 4 minute allocated spray time. So I wash my car 5 times every 2 weeks, give or take, and it costs me less then 20 bucks to do this (10 bucks a week, $3.75 per wash). I think its a MUCH more cost effective and not to mention quick way to keep your car "mostly clean" on a consistent basis instead of "really really clean" for like 10 minutes before the salt catches up again. Not everyone lives in the northeast and if you live in the land of clean cars in Cali then this probably isn't as important of a consideration. . . But it works for me and on average my car isn't salty for more then a day or two at a time, and most importantly even though it gets washed quite frequently it stays swirl mark free!
I agree with your statement. Some people are restricted by time or resources to hand wash their car themselves.

In my situation, I grew up hand washing my parents' cars but I eventually moved into a condo in Chicago where I park in an underground parking garage where our bylaws restrict using running water or washing your car. Thus, I use reputable hand-wash establishments every 2 weeks since I don't daily drive my car. Of course, if I lived in a single family home with a nice drive way and wasn't working crazy consulting hours or travelling I would love to wash my car myself.

Jacky Treehorn , calling someone else's actions a huge mistake without understanding their full situation is a bit moronic.
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      02-01-2015, 03:57 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jacky Treehorn View Post
Taking your car to any "car wash" is a huge mistake.

First of all, they likely don't use a proper washing system to prevent micro scratches within your already thin clear coat and paint. In fact, you don't know what the hell they do.

Taking your car to a "car wash" is a sure fire way to get marred paint.

I recommend only washing yourself using a two bucket method and a CLEAN high quality microfiber washing mit.

Taking your car to a "car wash" is like going to a jiffy lube and then complaining when the tech uses the wrong oil filter.

The idiot at the car wash most likely pulled on your door lever too hard.
Its just a car man don't worry about this shit. Driving it down the road will cause more damage then your basic car wash. When I have time I will wash it by hand but when I don't have time the touchless car wash works fine.
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      02-01-2015, 08:20 PM   #6
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If you can't get it hand washed leave it dirty.
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      02-01-2015, 08:31 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by BEMR View Post
If you can't get it hand washed leave it dirty.
I remember hand washing my car in 20 degree philly parking garage with a bucket of warm bath water I carried from my apartment, once during the winter season. Before that, I spent half a day prepping and using a high quality sealant/wax during the fall. I won't use a machine wash, literally destroys paint after one wash
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      02-02-2015, 10:53 AM   #8
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I go to the car wash and hand wash myself and use the pressure washer for rinse and for soap, then microfibre towel to wash and dry.
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      02-02-2015, 11:32 AM   #9
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Wink

My AW paint looks perfect after six years of nothing but automated car washes.
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      02-02-2015, 11:45 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by jeff4598 View Post
My AW paint looks perfect after six years of nothing but automated car washes.

Pulled the handle TOO HARD- really, how hard is that? I believe handle is designed to be pulled by a winch after a collision to open the door.

$10 tip!!! What are you trying to prove?!
I'd wager to say that your paint probably is far from perfect. The way your paint looks is subjective, if you think it looks perfect - great....if it's good enough for you. You might not be able to see the hundreds/thousands of swirl marks that automatic car washes leave under fluorescent light.
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      02-02-2015, 11:55 AM   #11
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Well, I see it looking perfect as being perfect since it's about how it looks!

And in NJ there are no more than six months a year where it would be reasonable to wash in one's driveway and no self service hand washes I can find anywhere near home so really no choice.
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      02-02-2015, 03:48 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jacky Treehorn View Post
I'd wager to say that your paint probably is far from perfect. The way your paint looks is subjective, if you think it looks perfect - great....if it's good enough for you. You might not be able to see the hundreds/thousands of swirl marks that automatic car washes leave under fluorescent light.
You should see my car with a black light!
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      02-02-2015, 05:29 PM   #13
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Hmm good points. I prefer to hand wash - it's a matter of pride. With that to say- I have to always be sure to tell my BMW dealer "DO NOT DETAIL MY CAR" because they do it as a service perk and it's run through their automated system that really scares me.
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      02-02-2015, 06:16 PM   #14
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Not sure how this thread happened.....

The opening post was a reply to a thread that talks about a guy who screwed up his car in a car wash when someone damaged his door handle....I have no idea how it ended up being a brand new thread. Maybe I offended some people, and the mods decided to make an example of me? Maybe I hit the wrong button?

Either way, parts of my post were deleted....hmm...
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      02-03-2015, 12:20 PM   #15
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I've seen cars that have gone through automated washes 1x week for 5 years and, as an amateur detailer, I was blown away by how FEW swirls there were in the paint. Granted, some automated car washes use products that very nicely fill in swirls so it's hard to see...

I've also seen cars that after a few automated washes really start to show some paint wear.

I can tell you that we just took my wife's car through a cheapo car wash that made me cringe when we were going through it. The car was getting slapped by dry heavy rubber pads that dragged across the paint ON THE WAY IN....so every dirty car was being dragged by those same dry rubber pads beforehand. Ugh.

I'm sure the cars paint will have some additional swirls in it. But ya know what? So what? It's already getting swirled up during the winter. In the spring, I'm already going to polish it. As long as there's no deep scratches, it's nothing I can't fix to a good result.
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      02-03-2015, 04:17 PM   #16
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I take very good care of my leased automobiles. I strongly prefer to wash my M3's (past and present) myself. However, you reach a point when you just have to get the damn car clean, and correct the paint when the weather permits.

IMO, there is nothing wrong with these new-fangled laser car washes that don't even come into contact with your vehicle. Sure, they don't do a great job, but for me they'll do just fine getting the chunks of salt and sand off the car without swirling the paint.

I'll spend the first sunny, 60+ degree day doing a full detail on my M3. For now, I'm happy running it through the laser wash once every couple of weeks.

(I do spray the sand off the car on the side next to where my Wife parks. She and the kidsters have a nasty habit of leaning against the car which will scratch the heck out of it if there is sand or grit on the paint)
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      02-03-2015, 04:19 PM   #17
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Oops, PS - i never let the dealer touch my car.
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      02-03-2015, 05:45 PM   #18
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I don't know, this song is making me feel like a car wash isn't as bad of a place as you make it out to be
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      02-03-2015, 06:24 PM   #19
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I remember seeing that movie with Richard Pryor and George Carlin in the theater. I'm old.
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      02-03-2015, 06:49 PM   #20
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I don't know, this song is making me feel like a car wash isn't as bad of a place as you make it out to be
hey now
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      02-13-2015, 05:18 PM   #21
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For me hand washes only but I feel each situation is different and thus requires a different approach.

I just had it coated and this will now be shown every time I have to go to the dealer.
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      02-20-2015, 12:27 PM   #22
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car washes have screwed up my paint so many times. In my opinion it's best to wash it yourself .... Or find a good detailer. But if you're on a budget and need your car freshened up... I like those $10 hand wash places. down here in SoCal they are everywhere
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