Touch less car wash?

[marco_diesel]

Any thoughts about touch less car washes? Are they ok for quick washes or would damage occur using them?

[wifpd4]

Re: Touch less car wash?

Neccessary evil, guilty pleasure, time saver, I'm sure the opinions will be all over the range of answers. You're out of town, you're not dressed properly, it's freezing cold and you don't have a heated garage. I think I've used every excuse to run through a car wash. Some washes are better than others, do they truly get the car clean? Sometimes doing something is better than doing nothing. Particularly if the car is covered with salt.

Do they do damage? In my limited experience, I haven't seen any visible damage. Will they extend the life of my coat of wax, unlikely.

[new2detailing]

Re: Touch less car wash?

"Wifpd4" said it perfectly. Generally, touchless washes rely on some rather harsh chemicals and water pressure to quickly clean your car. Is it a perfect solution? Not a chance from a detailing standpoint. But for a necessity (like the reasons stated in wifpd4's response) it is much better than taking your car through a swirl-o matic. I would rather take my car through a touchless wash in the wintertime than to have it covered in salt/grime that could potentially damage my paint.

[BillE]

Re: Touch less car wash?

Add me to the mix above. Do I like it...nope. There are times when ya just have to shut your eyes and do it.

Bill

[timefourfood]

Re: Touch less car wash?

form my experience at touchless car wash, if the car is dirty it will clean somewhat but you still can see a layer of dirt afterwards. So I take quick detailer and go at it afterwards. But my preference of car wash: Hand>touchless>traditional gas station car wash (brushes that cause swirls)>no wash. Hand wash is the best, unfortunately I can't at my apt.

[tcope1]

Re: Touch less car wash?

How clean can you get your car without touching it?

As mentioned above, they use harsh chemicals which, IMHO, will probably remove much of the protection (wax, etc) from the vehicle.

There are several self serve car places here that use warm water in the winter. I use those with water only. I then use ONR to clean the car in my garage (in the winter time). If it's summer I usually wash by hand. I do use self serve but again, only with water and just when the car is dusty. I then usually spray the paint down with a detailer (ONR/water) and dry it off.

I can see why people use no-touch wash but I don't see the need. They really do very little to "clean" the vehicle.

[Garage Troll]

Re: Touch less car wash?

How clean can you get your car without touching it?

As mentioned above, they use harsh chemicals which, IMHO, will probably remove much of the protection (wax, etc) from the vehicle.

There are several self serve car places here that use warm water in the winter. I use those with water only. I then use ONR to clean the car in my garage (in the winter time). If it's summer I usually wash by hand. I do use self serve but again, only with water and just when the car is dusty. I then usually spray the paint down with a detailer (ONR/water) and dry it off.

I can see why people use no-touch wash but I don't see the need. They really do very little to "clean" the vehicle.

Agreed. ONR or CroftGateUSA Wash & Wax are my go to products for the winter. If I'm in a pinch I may blast off my car with the wand at the coin op (fresh water only).

[Agent 99]

Re: Touch less car wash?

Today for the first time in a month and a half, I had the 1.5hrs to hand wash my car properly. After, the results are 650X better than what one of those car washes could do. It made me feel stupid/bad for spraying it off when I should've just done it right. But I understand where you're coming from, especially like the guys said about salt.

[Craddosk]

Re: Touch less car wash?

I like to use touchless washes to remove a large portion of the dirt (or mud) then wash it again at home, with a wax if time permits.