Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

[AmanO]

1. The chemicals used: will they strip a wax faster than normal?

2. Will it always put swirls in? (we have a wipe down area, too)

3. Do underbody flushes ever work?

[BlackScreaminMachine]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

1. The chemicals used: will they strip a wax faster than normal?

2. Will it always put swirls in? (we have a wipe down area, too)

3. Do underbody flushes ever work?

I am no expert but this is my opinion based on my limited research.

Generally speaking the chemicals are a bit harsher and it may strip what you have to replace it with their chemical. Especially on touchless washes. I noticed on a few cars that I top with Meg's Ultimate Quick wax is that if it rained, it beaded insanely. The they went to the car wash and with in that week, the beading (hydrophobic layer) is essentially gone. My typical car will bead quite well for over a month with out fail and kept outside.

Anytime something touches the surface of the car, it CAN induce swirls. Whats worse are cars that have bad contamination and the machine is retaining that grit and that grit dragged can make swirls happen.

As for flushes I think they do work for cars that have heavy salt or brine during the winter time in the US. Generally speaking you would get better results with spraying it down with a good degreaser, then washing with soap and a good brush and then a complete spray down. Rinse and repeat.

Like said, this is in my own opinion and if you can go to a touchless wash as its just spraying on the stuff, rinsing, and forced air drying. My personal exp seeing a good amount of improvement.

[Murr1525]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

The chemicals at touchless ones will have to be stronger, so even more chance of removing waxes.

And yeah, coarse brushes spinning at high speed covered in dirt could cause some swirls.

Rinsing out the under-body is never a bad idea, esp up north. Not sure if you mean by hose, or some other contraption. But spraying some clean, or soapy then clean water up wont hurt. Some people just park over a sprinkler...

[wifpd4]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

1. The chemicals used: will they strip a wax faster than normal?

2. Will it always put swirls in? (we have a wipe down area, too)

3. Do underbody flushes ever work?

My humble opinion too,

1. Yes
2. Yes, especially with a wipe down area
3. Yes, one of the main reasons I use a touchless wash; especially in the winter

For me, touching washes are taboo unless I'm in a shirt and tie, I have an important appointment, the car already looks like absolute **** and I know full well I'm going to need to buff out the damage being done. But then again, my car is black. Lighter colors may not show the damage.

[JoeDirt]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

Since I was going to post it here, this is an awesome thread to post it into.

This was launched up there by one of the explorerforum members. Ugh...

honestly, if your explorer isnt black there's no reason not to take it to a full service car wash. i work at one, we vacuum, clean your whole inside (windows dash gauges cupholders), the outside gets a great wax, or if you go with a better package you get the single, triple, and full body rain-x wax. everyone says OH PAINT SWIRLS LAIHSDFOIHDO! not true. only black cars get paint swirls over very very long times, so by the time you sell your explorer you wont notice them even starting. no reason not to take it to a full serve IMO if you are planning on doing the works. if you are just buffing your wax on, i congratulate you because i sure a hell can't.

[wifpd4]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

...black cars get paint swirls over very very long times...

Unfortunately, with my black car(s) that very, very, long time is about as long as it would take to wash the car.

[J4o2el7]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

Unfortunately, with my black car(s) that very, very, long time is about as long as it would take to wash the car.

ROFLMAO

[AmanO]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

OK. So if I apply NXT wax on my car and (for the sake of argument) it is garage kept) around how many touching washes without any of OUR waxes can I do before that NXT is gone?

Bottom line is I wonder if working there will make me need to wax more often.


Also I read that as far as salt is concerned (might have even been in these forums) an under body flush is causing more harm than good since the salt needs H2O to oxidize?

[JoeDirt]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

Can't really say, as a lot of it would depend on how dirty your car is when it goes in (contaminants to swirls around by the wash) or how dirty their system is. It really won't take long.

It's not much a matter of wax, as you can still swirls easily through wax. It would be more along the lines of how much you would need to correct, or how many swirls you can deal with before correcting.

I guess put it this way- if you hand wash with a 2-bucket method, you'll still eventually end up with swirls, and if someone with a muddy truck goes through before you at the car wash, you're screwed.

[wifpd4]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

...
Also I read that as far as salt is concerned (might have even been in these forums) an under body flush is causing more harm than good since the salt needs H2O to oxidize?

One of the scientists on the list may need to address this properly, but I believe salt (and road salt* is different than table salt) is considered hydrophilic. I think it loves moisture and it is going to get it from anywhere. That means if you don't try and wash it off (under carriage flush) it is gonna get moisture from somewhere. Somewhere like the ice and snow on the roads. Somewhere like rain, dew or fog. So once it's on your car, get it off.

That's my humble opinion. Anyone with a more factual explanation?

*road salt meaning any product used for winter road safety.

[AmanO]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

I am not that concerned with swirls on my own car. Just asking for the sake of knowing.

But I do want to know how long a hand wax is gonna last washing at least once a week at a touching wash.

I hand washed, air dried, clay bared, hand washed, air dried, waxed. If that actual process makes any difference on the longevity of the wax.

[BillE]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

Under wash:

Think this way (maybe), the DOT puts salt down during the winter to help MELT the snow/ice. You drive thru it and ya getz the slop all over the under carriage (and side panels), if it just sits there, it will just keep working as a corrosive agent every time it get even damp.

Bill

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

First off, you really can't lump all "touching" car washes into one group. Surprising as it may seem, there actually are some pretty decent commercial car washes out there - but unfortunately there isn't any sort of data base that will let you know which ones are good and which are, well, less than good. It's sort of hit and miss, but it's never a bad idea to talk to the owner or manager of the place and ask him about their process. If they aren't willing to discuss it with you or they make wild claims, move on.

For some people (and remember, most MOL members aren't your average "some people"!) a "good" car wash is one that will leave their car free from water spotting, won't sling tire shine all over the paint, and will leave the glass crystal clear. They care far less about swirls than the typical detailing forum member does, or they don't have the time, facilities or inclination to wash their car themselves.

The wash soap used in a "touching" car wash should not strip your wax. Meguiar's supplies soap to many commercial car washes (why do you think our Detailer Line is sold in 55 gallon drums??) and none of our car wash soaps will strip your wax. Now, if the mechanical action of the brushes or cloth strips or whatever is aggressive enough, that alone could remove some wax, but a good car wash facility should have that in check as well.

How long any wax lasts is going to be dependent on exposure - how much heavy rain are you getting? Any road salt? Is the washing process overly aggressive? How well have you prepped the paint before applying the wax? You can wax two identical cars with the same wax; stick one in a climate controlled garage and drive the other on a freshly salted road during a Michigan winter and the lifespan of that wax will likely range from 9 months to maybe a couple of days.

As for salt and undercarriage washes - you want to get the salt off the car as soon as possible. We're more concerned with getting the salt ASAP than worrying about whether or not you've got any wax left. It's a case of the lesser of two evils. Sure, you want to have wax on your paint, but salt is going to eat through it pretty quickly. Get the salt off as soon as you can, and if that means an under body flush, then do so. Yes, when salt picks up moisture it begins to act more quickly, but it will pick up moisture if it's clinging to the underside of the car and you drive through a few small puddles. A true under body flush is not "picking up moisture", it's flushing the salt off the under body. That's what you want.

[AmanO]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

Thanks guys. 1 more Q.

So if it is still ****** out and my car has noticeable salt on it, is it worth the time effort and money to wash it even though it may have the same quantity of salt on it at home just from the drive home?

I get the "I want to get the old salt off before the new salt gets on" comments all the time and was wondering if this makes the customers dumber than they already are?

[wifpd4]

Re: Mechanical touching car wash questions.........

AmanO,

I don't think we are dumb, just under-informed or mis-informed and sometimes even correctly informed.

Not sure there is correct answer to your query, but as Mr. Stoops has indicated get the salt off as soon as possible.

I got stuck behind some brine trucks on interstate last winter and as soon as I got home I went to the car wash and as you indicated I'm sure by the time I finished driving home from the car wash I had driven through some locally spread salt. Actually where I worked at the time we spread salt and I drove through some every day. Did I wash everyday, no. But did I know that stuff was eating something whether the wax off my car or some metal in the understructure of my car, yep I knew.

Old salt, new salt, rock salt, liquid brine, result's the same.