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Car Wash
- Thread starter Jitm
- Start date
I took my Audi S1 there after a big European road trip and the front was still covered in bugs when I left
You also have to pay for the parking since they're situated in a private parking garage so it gets expensive. I would never go back.
The problem with commercial hand car washes is you don't know how good they are. The ones you find in car parks and supermarkets will likely use the same bucket of soapy suds for many different cars and all that dirt will be dragged across your paintwork and ceramic or not, you will get scratches.
You don't need special products for cleaning a car with ceramic (vendors may say otherwise) any half decent car shampoo will be fine. Just don't use fairy liquid
Billbrown1982
TM3 LR 2021 | Red | FSD
The problem with commercial hand car washes is you don't know how good they are. The ones you find in car parks and supermarkets will likely use the same bucket of soapy suds for many different cars and all that dirt will be dragged across your paintwork and ceramic or not, you will get scratches.
You don't need special products for cleaning a car with ceramic (vendors may say otherwise) any half decent car shampoo will be fine. Just don't use fairy liquid
Your dead right there! There used to be a hand car wash in the local B&Q car park and ALL the local "boy racers" took their cars there. I don't mean the clapped out Corsa's with 10ft wide exhausts but the ones that had spent fortunes on their cars with custom body kits and paint jobs, so it was generally considered as a top notch & safe car wash.
Then they dissapeared and I don't know if they moved to a new location or what. I keep thinking about going hunting for one of these racer meets and asking around, but I wouldn't exactly "fit in" lol
I've had my Model 3 professionally ceramic coated and wouldn't let some blokes with a sponge loose on it! Some are probably great, but it's tough to know unless the place is well-reviewed by "car enthusiasts". I'd trust detailers such as the ones who applied the ceramic coat to do a good job, but I prefer just doing it myself. I will say that whilst a ceramic coating does offer some protection against poor washing practices, it can only do so much. If I had the car fully PPFed I'd be less worried about that kind of thing.
And *gasp* I don't use the traditional washing method on it. Instead I use a rinseless procedure with a spray mix of CarPro Ech2O and deionised water. And a good number of large microfibre clothes. If the car is heavily soiled I'd 'pre-spray' with this and carefully remove the larger pieces of crud first. Or sometimes use a hosepipe, depending on my mood. I work from top to bottom - the areas of the car I know will be dirtiest and most likely to have picked up small stones etc. I leave until the end. The paintwork is still in excellent condition >1 year after it was coated and it recently went in for some repair work on the coat (unrelated to the cleaning regime) where they complimented its condition.
Nick77
Deep Blue Model 3 LR (2021 MIC)
I use Auto Finesse Dynamite Traffic Film Remover. Very similar to their Citrus Power except you can dilute yourself depending on how dirty the car is. Works great on the alloys too.
Dynamite traffic film remover by Auto Finesse®
A concentrated, safe, citrus pre-wash solution developed to breakdown dirt and road grime from all vehicle exterior surfaces. Supplied in large 1-Litre bottles. Europe's favourite detailing products provider.
www.autofinesse.com
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A good ceramic coating will give good chemical resistance, but it doesn't prevent mechanical damage (e.g. from poor wash technique). Crud doesn't stick as readily to ceramic coated cars, either, making them easier to clean and stay looking a bit cleaner for longer. It also ends up looking very shiny just after regular washing, as if you've freshly applied wax or sealant (even though you haven't).
Yes, that was my thinking. I use a home applied ceramic coat on the M3 as an alternative to the wax on my other car. Conscious that the automatic car wash will scratch the clearcoat, but I am willing to accept this with the white M3.
I feel a home coating or wax and regular washing should suffice. How bad will the car look after 4 years, realistically. It's an every day item, not a 250GTO. I pampered my last car, just to sell it after 4 years. The dealer could not care less whether I had hand washed it or not. It looked clean and had no serious scratches, that was all they were interested in. I did not make a penny more for handwashing it for years!
I have not seen one word about the wand I use to wash our S. It simply attaches to the end of a garden hose and has a rigid 4 foot metal pipe extension with a 10" wide soft (IMO) brush. I run a good flow of warm water through it constantly, get the car wet before using the brush and just let the brush ride over the surface without applying much additional pressure. I do like to have a clean car but I am not motivated to spend the time or money to create a show quality appearance. Power to those who choose that path.
In NW Ohio, as well as many other places that aren't sunny California, keeping a car pristine is a thankless task. Wednesday I did a decent job of removing all of the dirt and thought it looked pretty good. Thursday my wife put less than 20 miles on it running errands and it was well on its' way to looking just as it did pre wash!
But my question is, is the wand going to cause any damage or am I pretty safe? I feel that the constant flow of clean water should be a good thing, keeping everything lubricated and the dirt moved away. I also use a leather chamois kept slightly damp and clean to dry the car. Any problem with that?
Another reason I use the methods that I do is to avoid the use of a lot of chemicals. Just trying to do my part.
In NW Ohio, as well as many other places that aren't sunny California, keeping a car pristine is a thankless task. Wednesday I did a decent job of removing all of the dirt and thought it looked pretty good. Thursday my wife put less than 20 miles on it running errands and it was well on its' way to looking just as it did pre wash!
But my question is, is the wand going to cause any damage or am I pretty safe? I feel that the constant flow of clean water should be a good thing, keeping everything lubricated and the dirt moved away. I also use a leather chamois kept slightly damp and clean to dry the car. Any problem with that?
Another reason I use the methods that I do is to avoid the use of a lot of chemicals. Just trying to do my part.
Any time you touch the car you are risking damage to the paint. Often micro-scratches that just make it look less shiny over time, but also the risk of picking up a larger piece of grit that cn cause deeper scratches. Plenty of water is a good thing, but it's not the best of lubricants. If you can get some car shampoo into the mix then that's better. Make sure your brush is super clean before rubbing your paint with it. Same advice applies to the chamois. Needs to be spotless and also you need to make sure you've cleaned all the dirt to the car before dragging it over the paint.
Pink Duck
Active Member
Without PPF over time hail events will impart plenty of random microscratches upon top-most surfaces, despite optimal car cleaning techniques. It's inevitable that hand or machine polishing will be required to restore the clear-coat smoothness, though synthetic wax/fillers can assist in improving appearance for a few months. Personally I've never taken mine to a car wash or third party through its 4-years, with interior abrasion caused entirely by stays with body shops or service centres.
Gatsojon
Member
There are filters you can get that will treat the water (DI IIRC). Also some shampoos and drying aids can help. Finally a quick detailer will usually remove any water spots that remain. I live in a super soft water area so not had a lot of experience with the really hard stuff.
You can get a water softener fitted to your house supply, I had one when I lived in Essex. It was basically a square bucket with water softening tablets that had to be replenished cost around 300 or so but made a hell of a difference to the water. Wife always said it cost her about a quarter of her normal shampoo / conditioner bill after we had it installed because it actually lathered up when the water was soft. It certainly quenched the thirst a lot better than that limescale water down there.
Very recent new Model S owner here. Any recommended hand wash services in the Pasadena area? From googling, JN's in Eagle Rock seems the most experienced. I called and they claim to regularly wash EV's.
I planned to home-wash and then read the Tesla Model S manual which says don't wash the car in sunlight, which is a little limiting.
Thanks
I planned to home-wash and then read the Tesla Model S manual which says don't wash the car in sunlight, which is a little limiting.
Thanks
