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Do you use touch-less automatic washes?
- Thread starter acarney
- Start date
TomT
Technical Maven
I've been using the touchless near us for some time. No track and it is laser guided around the car. It even does drying the same way. I'm happy with the results and have never had any issues.
Wyomingtim
Member
joebruin77
Active Member
Thought this was a helpful article on how you can ruin your car's paint without realizing it:
Automatic car washes (even touchless ones) are NOT safe for your car
And here is what the article says about touchless car washes:
"2. Using a self serve or touchless wash
Contrary to popular belief, using a self serve or touchless wash (basically the same thing, just ones automated) can still scratch your car. If your car is exceptionally dirty, the high pressure water can actually skid ice and other debris across your paint causing dreaded swirl marks. Even if your car goes in relatively clean it isn’t safe. Many of these car washes actually use recycled water which doesn’t effectively remove all contaminants What does this mean? To save a few bucks on the overpriced wash you bought, the car wash is sandblasting your car when you wash it. Touchless car washes also use higher concentrations of soap which can strip your cars wax off more quickly.
Adding insult to injury, touchless washes don’t even remove all the dirt off your car. The best these types of washes can do is remove big clumps of dirt (to be broken down and recycled against your car as projectiles later) and leave a hazy film on the paint.
If you must use a touchless/self-serve car wash, keep in mind that engine cleaner and regular wash water all go through the same wand. Make sure to always start the wash on high-pressure rinse and spray it against the wall for at least 20 seconds before aiming it at your vehicle. This will clear out the hose of any harsh chemicals left in the lines."
Automatic car washes (even touchless ones) are NOT safe for your car
And here is what the article says about touchless car washes:
"2. Using a self serve or touchless wash
Contrary to popular belief, using a self serve or touchless wash (basically the same thing, just ones automated) can still scratch your car. If your car is exceptionally dirty, the high pressure water can actually skid ice and other debris across your paint causing dreaded swirl marks. Even if your car goes in relatively clean it isn’t safe. Many of these car washes actually use recycled water which doesn’t effectively remove all contaminants What does this mean? To save a few bucks on the overpriced wash you bought, the car wash is sandblasting your car when you wash it. Touchless car washes also use higher concentrations of soap which can strip your cars wax off more quickly.
Adding insult to injury, touchless washes don’t even remove all the dirt off your car. The best these types of washes can do is remove big clumps of dirt (to be broken down and recycled against your car as projectiles later) and leave a hazy film on the paint.
If you must use a touchless/self-serve car wash, keep in mind that engine cleaner and regular wash water all go through the same wand. Make sure to always start the wash on high-pressure rinse and spray it against the wall for at least 20 seconds before aiming it at your vehicle. This will clear out the hose of any harsh chemicals left in the lines."
ElectricEel
Member
I regularly use my local touchless car wash, and I have a black paint job...but when it's done it doesn't get everything off the car, and I can feel the car paint is void of wax.
After the wash I grab my microfiber and use THIS all over the car, it's almost like a second body wash, and it leaves a beautiful wax on the car, you can feel the slickness. I have yet to get a single scratch from cleaning my car this way. Only downside I have scratches from everything else lol.
After the wash I grab my microfiber and use THIS all over the car, it's almost like a second body wash, and it leaves a beautiful wax on the car, you can feel the slickness. I have yet to get a single scratch from cleaning my car this way. Only downside I have scratches from everything else lol.
eustachio
Member
I use that stuff too, so far it's all I do, ie no water wash. Working like a charm.
I thought I would be the guy to hand wash but turns out I’m too lazy and am not that guy at all. I tried the touchless and it worked well when there was minor dirt on the car, but wouldn’t get it clean in the winter. I gave up and went through a regular car wash and have had no problems. Yes, I’m sure others can notice swirls and marks from the car wash, but I don’t notice and it doesn’t bother me even if there are marks.
joebruin77
Active Member
Dan203
Active Member
Just don't use the brush at these places. A lot of people, at least around here, use them to wash their big trucks after they go 4x4ing and so the brushes always have rocks and dirt in them that can scratch your paint. Had this happen once, luckily they were superficial and were able to be buffed out with some McCormick scratch remover.
of course! I’m just making a snarky side statement about how unavoidable recycled water is ... and that it’s not a cost saving move, but a government mandate, at least here (and in CA too, from what I read ...)
sorry if I offended you - surely wasn’t meant that way!
ibGeek
Member
OK so I've had my Model 3 since April and I've been afraid to take it to a car wash because I'm not sure exactly how to get the car to run through it. The wash near me is a touch-less with a wheel track but you do not stay in the car. I live in a condo so it's either that or a pay self wash which ends up being about twice as expensive to do because they charge $1.00 per minute.
I read the manual and didn't see anything about how to do this.
Any assistance would be much appreciated.
I read the manual and didn't see anything about how to do this.
Any assistance would be much appreciated.
joebruin77
Active Member
Lol....I love snarkiness. No offense at all.
You r correct, the article is a few years old.
Well, went to two last night because the first one with it’s “spotless rinse” left a billion spots all over the car, so after a movie I hit a different one (near the freeway) and it either didn’t leave spots or the 70mph drive home dried the car off.
I was pretty impressed. It got 80% clean. All surface dirt and dust was removed, it applied some BS liquid wax or something that actually did make it shin a little, and some instant detailer at home in five minutes made it look great. Of course the bugs on the front remain, but going into winter those basically aren’t an issue since everything dies off, plus with PPF I feel like I can be a little more aggressive with some waterless wash and a microfiber to remove those. This should be a decent once a month solution until about April.
I was pretty impressed. It got 80% clean. All surface dirt and dust was removed, it applied some BS liquid wax or something that actually did make it shin a little, and some instant detailer at home in five minutes made it look great. Of course the bugs on the front remain, but going into winter those basically aren’t an issue since everything dies off, plus with PPF I feel like I can be a little more aggressive with some waterless wash and a microfiber to remove those. This should be a decent once a month solution until about April.
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