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Thumbs up or thumbs down on car washes?

10K views 48 replies 31 participants last post by  kayakangler 
#1 ·
Who has used a commercial car wash?
Any issues?
Thanks.
 
#9 · (Edited)
After avoiding car washes with my Matte paint finish Veloster- I’ve enjoyed taking the SC in for a wash…
Doesn’t really matter to me, in the winter, it’s more about washing away the salt build up, especially the undercarriage.
Hand washing really doesn’t fly here in the winter… for the winter, I usually buy the washes in bulk at one time…
 
#10 ·
(y) I have a car wash membership, and I go through a modern but old-school tunnel-style car wash all the time -- brushes and jets and dryers and all those things, no issues, really. I notice a little spotting on the plastic in the bed, but might just be from not being dried out, otherwise, really a non-event for me!
 
#11 ·
(n) For the traditional spinning brush and flapping things car washes for me.

(y) For the combination of assembly line and hand wash, with auto rinse and no touch dryers.

💪 Driveway hand wash only if I'm in the mood, weather is nice and have a bikini helper! :cool:

Q: Accidentally clicked on "only show this user" when trying to do an edit. What does that do?
 
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#12 · (Edited)
Absolutely not! Foam cannon, pre-soak, contact wash (if needed), car dryer, & topped a graphene spray detailer to protect and renew the coating.
 
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#13 ·
My driveway is dirt so handwashing means generating a mud puddle under the truck if I wash at home.
I use a touchless robowash with air dryers. It works well to prevent road grime and mag chloride build up during winter months. If I need just a surface clean, I use the hand wand. I wax the cars at home.
 
#18 ·
Yeah, it kinda comes down to this - it takes some friction to remove dirt and grime, whether it's using brushes or sponges or cloths.

And if people think they're not micro-scratching their paint with their microfiber cloths and soapy water, they're wrong. Anything that pushes dirt particles around is making tiny scratches, and you can't remove those particles without pushing them around. Yes, you might be delaying the visible effects of the scratches, but your paint is softer than the dirt particles, and it's happening.

I like that people are proud of their vehicles and want to keep them pristine. But I can't be out there hand-washing my truck every few days, and I personally would rather run it through the whirly-brush car wash than drive around with dirt and pollution and bird poop and tree sap and bug innards etching my paint.

I guess everything is a trade-off, but you ain't gonna win against Mother Nature no matter how much you baby your paint.
 
#25 ·
I take mine through the car wash, even got the unlimited monthly wash package because I get my SC dirty daily (live on dirt roads and currently it's salt season). Sure, others are able to hand wash their vehicles, but I'm not able to do so.

The service I use has people spraying down the vehicle thoroughly before going through the cloth/foam brushes and then the high-powered blowers. As others have posted here and on FB groups, yeah, the blowers get water into my cabin from the sunroof, but it's less than 5 drops. It's hand dried at the end.

I already have scratches from rocks/asphalt hitting my roof rails/hood and plan to get it detailed after the winter season. It's a lease too, so I don't see a need to baby it.
 
#26 ·
I take mine through the car wash, even got the unlimited monthly wash package because I get my SC dirty daily (live on dirt roads and currently it's salt season). Sure, others are able to hand wash their vehicles, but I'm not able to do so.

The service I use has people spraying down the vehicle thoroughly before going through the cloth/foam brushes and then the high-powered blowers. As others have posted here and on FB groups, yeah, the blowers get water into my cabin from the sunroof, but it's less than 5 drops. It's hand dried at the end.

I already have scratches from rocks/asphalt hitting my roof rails/hood and plan to get it detailed after the winter season. It's a lease too, so I don't see a need to baby it.
I probably wouldn't care about a lease either
 
#28 ·
Don't those touchless places use pretty strong chemicals or acids to loosen the dirt? And when you come out the other end, don't wipe the truck down, because they leave a film of ultra-fine dirt particles that will be like sandpaper.

There's no magic way to wash your car. Even with foam cannons and soapy wash mitts, you end up dragging dirt around on the finish. I figure the best thing you can do is to use a good-quality wax or polymer protectant once a year or so. But modern paints and clearcoats are pretty darn good at protecting themselves and don't really need a lot of special care.
 
#31 ·
This is why coatings are so popular now. They help protect the paint finish for a long time. Many of them can be leveled back out and reapplied easily without having to be removed first. Some even have sprays that can be used for maintenance between reapplying. Which fills in the fine scratches and fills low coverage areas.

I get people wanting to keep vehicles as nice as they can. I live in the Chicagoland area and handwashing in winter isn't going to happen. So I use ceramic coatings and touchless car washes when possible. But in winter and salt on our roads, the touchless isn't enough. So soft cloth happens from time to time. I just do maintenance on the ceramic coating once a year and have had great results. This is why I have a "daily driver" and then other cars. The SC is my new daily.

My nice season cars get polished, ceramic coated, two bucket washes, and so on. They occasionally get a touchless was as well. I am a big fan of coatings as dust and debris don't stick to it as easily, they make washes easier, protect the paint, and keep the paint finish looking fantastic longer. All major bonuses.
 
#34 ·
When I got my SC from the dealer I washed it thoroughly, used a synthetic clay bar to decontaminate the body and glass, and finally applied a base layer of Mequiar's Hybrid Ceramic spray on wax to the body and 2 coats of RainX on the windows/sunroof/light lamps. The extreme water beading effect in my experience lasts about 3 months before a new coat of spray on needs to be applied.

I use the automated car washes for weekly maintenance (brushes) and the SC comes out almost completely dry (thanks to the beading effect of the hybrid ceramic coat), water does get trapped in the side mirrors because I turn them in before entering the wash and some other spots so there is minimal hand drying after. I been through 4 times now and will be going again probably tomorrow, last wash was NYE. I haven't had any issues with the SC and the wash at the location I go to and I keep the tonneau closed. YMMV of course.
 
#36 ·
I was wondering about this. My Impreza manual recommended turning the "Eyesight pre collision avoidance" off before entering the automatic car wash (yeah, having the brakes kick in when it senses the brushes, etc., ahead would be just a bit awkward!).

Is there anything like this I need to do for the SC?
 
#37 ·
Last time I washed the SC, I was running the spray rinse across the grill and my right turn signal flashed. I tried to get it to happen again without any luck. Has this happened to any other owners?
 
#40 ·
Mostly hand wash, and dry quickly with silicone blade and microfiber in attempt to prevent hard water spots. That’s tough on even a 40 degree winter day. Then I look underneath and see all the stuff I never get off with a bucket and hose! Most of us have the same attitude about anything this new, expensive, and precious, but after a while we come to the realization that there’s a practical limit to these attempts, and we settle for something that’s “good enough.” We end up just making it look good enough to make us feel like we’re not neglecting, and good enough to impress anyone else admiring our ride. This is one of those areas where our desires and practicality butt heads, and because of busy lives guess which one usually wins.
 
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