Are any auto car washes good and safe?

[Desertnate]

Ahh...we have the Scottsdale Car Spa which is where I take my truck during the summer - it is like that...they do use wash mitts by hand when they take it through, but they seem to do a decent job of keeping them clean

I wouldn't go there since you never know what their wash mits an drying towels are like. We have two sites like you describe near me, but their mits and towels are filthy. They go from one car to another; no washing, no rinsing, no swaping out for a clean one.

[ronkh57]

Touchless washes are better than the swirl machines. However the chemicals they use can be very strong and strip the wax or sealant that you use. .

It can do more than that.

Here is a service alert from Honda about car was chems.


http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b395/ronkh/touchless-1.gif



Besides the glass, it can also strip/etch the moldings, strip LSP's etc.

[WillSports3]

Depending on the weather, doing a rinseless/waterless wash isn't going to do the job, period. Not unless in wintertime, you're going to crawl underneath your car raised up with something and wash your undercarriage like this. In the winter months in salty roads, you have to do the touchless for the undercarriage spray for the salt removal. Realistically, even if you got a few swirlshere and there from the touchless wash, it's a choice between that and a rusty undercarriage.

[VISITOR]

Maybe a dumb question but what exactly is a touchless car wash?

if you use a touchless car wash, it won't completely remove all the dirt/contamination. you can use one of these then first, then do a rinseless/waterless wash after...

[Cliffnopus]

I use a touchless wash that's in the next town, all the time. But, I use their high pressure wand with NO soap, just on the RINSE cycle to clear off all (or most) of the loose debris. Then I drive home, for two miles, on the highway (70MPH or so) so the car is 99% dry by the time I get home.

The next step is a 15 minute WW with ONR and I'm left with a shiney clean car. I use this procedure when the car is too dirty for a first step ONR wash.

[CC268]

I wouldn't go there since you never know what their wash mits an drying towels are like. We have two sites like you describe near me, but their mits and towels are filthy. They go from one car to another; no washing, no rinsing, no swaping out for a clean one.

I totally get where your coming from...with that being said I've never seen any damage to my paint from them and it's much better than not touching my paint all summer (which is a solid 5-6 months)...too damn hot to wash my truck here...maybe if I woke up at 4 in the morning

I haven't tried one of these rinsless/waterless washes...seems so counter intuitive to just spray something on your car and then used a microfiber to clean it...seems like you would just be wiping grit and dirt all over your paint, but I guess I should give that a shot for summer cleaning?

[Desertnate]

It can do more than that.

Here is a service alert from Honda about car was chems.




Interesting. I think my local Honda dealership has a touchless wash bay on site! I know the VW dealership I go has one.

[Detailsbydaniel]

I totally get where your coming from...with that being said I've never seen any damage to my paint from them and it's much better than not touching my paint all summer (which is a solid 5-6 months)...too damn hot to wash my truck here...maybe if I woke up at 4 in the morning

I haven't tried one of these rinsless/waterless washes...seems so counter intuitive to just spray something on your car and then used a microfiber to clean it...seems like you would just be wiping grit and dirt all over your paint, but I guess I should give that a shot for summer cleaning?


The rinseless and waterless solutions have a chemical composition as to where it lifts dirt off the surface and encapsulates it making safe to wipe off. You must use high quality microfibers and I use almost no pressure. Flip the towel often and do not reuse what has touched the dirty paint and it's awesome and safe. After 5 months of pure rinseless washing I have 0 marring or swirls present.

[Crispy]

I used a touchless wash at Petro Canada stations near me 2 winters ago. They had a deal for 120 days for $120.00 (limit 1 per day). To easy at $1.00 per day during the winter to resist. Car was adequately coated with Opti-coat 2.0 and Permanon at the time. No issues whatsoever. Sometimes would touch up with detailer after but rarely. In Canada we salt everything during the winter, so this was a good way to combat that. DD by the way is 15 years old and still going strong. Last winter I went to no rinse and not sure if that was better or more gentle.

[Eldorado2k]

I've never tried 1 of these touchless washes, nor do I know of any nearby.. But from people saying they tend to not be able to get your car completely clean sometimes.. Wouldn't it be a great idea to have a pump sprayer filled with Megs D114 and liberaly spray your vehicle just before going into the touchless wash? I bet it would help. What do you think?

[WillSports3]

Coated car and touchless wash, it's pretty much almost mandatory in Canada if you want to keep your car looking good for a long time with the salt we have on the roads during winter time. The city here literally salts if there's a drastic dip in temperature even if there is no snow at all just to prevent ice and what forming.

[glfnaz]

Maybe a dumb question but what exactly is a touchless car wash?

There is one on SHEA Blvd just EAST of the 101 exit. NO side. I've never used it, I use WW.

[Desertnate]

I've never tried 1 of these touchless washes, nor do I know of any nearby.. But from people saying they tend to not be able to get your car completely clean sometimes.. Wouldn't it be a great idea to have a pump sprayer filled with Megs D114 and liberaly spray your vehicle just before going into the touchless wash? I bet it would help. What do you think?

That might work in the right climate.

I only use a touchless washes in the winter when it's too cold to bucket wash. When temps are around freezing, I'm not sure how well your approach would work as I'd think it would need to dwell for a little while to be effective.

I'm fortunate to have a touchless car wash on my way home from work. Whenever the temps get above freezing, the owner of the place has highschool kids out rinsing the cars for tips before they go into the bay. I've found when they power wash off the worst of the salt/grime and then go through the touchless, its a pretty respectable cleaning.

[Cliffnopus]

I've never tried 1 of these touchless washes, nor do I know of any nearby.. But from people saying they tend to not be able to get your car completely clean sometimes.. Wouldn't it be a great idea to have a pump sprayer filled with Megs D114 and liberaly spray your vehicle just before going into the touchless wash? I bet it would help. What do you think?

You can do that, there's nothing stopping you.

[Calendyr]

If you are limited on time, the best thing you can do is get a pressure washer and simply do a pressure rinse of the car. It should take you about 10 minutes and it will remove about 80% of the dirt and dust. The only disadvantage is that you cannot dry the car, the remaining dirt would scratch the finish if you did. So there is a risk of water spots unless you use DI water or very filtered water.

Doing a rinseless wash is faster than a traditional 2 bucket wash, especially if you use the Garry Dean method with 1 bucket and several micro fiber towels. I would estimate it would take you about 20-30 minutes to do the car. So it's about the same amount of time it would take you to drive to the car wash and wash the car that way.

If you still want to go to a car wash, touchless will not damage the paint. The problem with touchless is that it will not get the car completely clean either. It should be a little cleaner than simply using your pressure washer but not by much. The chemicals are strong and will strip your protective layer quickly, so I suggest you choose a touchless that uses wax to finish unless you plan to do traditional washes in between where you can re-apply protection.