Do it your self drive thru car wash HORROR!!

[david11g35]

So this morning I went to the local do it your self drive thru car wash to use their vaccum since my shop vac broke last week. I won't get a new one till tomorrow. When I got there my heart broke. This lady was drying her black Ford Escape with blue shop towels. Even though the paint looked okay from far away you could see its days were numbered.I really wanted to say something but I stayed quite didn't want to offend her.

Have you guys been in a similiar situation when you wanted to give the person some tips? If you did how did they react?

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[snowking724]

Happens quite often. I've seen peeps QDing, as we call it, with those and glass cleaner or some random liquid in spray form. Also, my favorite was the individual I saw cleaning his glass AND rims with the gas station squeegee, horrifying. But to each their own. I'm sure in my pre AG days I did some not so gentle things to the paint on my cars, always thought I doing something good for my cars.

[Jennytay]

My step dad has washed his car with dawn dish soap and called it a day. I tried to explain to him what it can do to his clear coat and why he should use wax after washing. He let me know he worked in a body shop and that what he used and his paint will be fine. I don't know if its because I'm 20 or a woman but he thinks he knows way more than I do when it comes to detailing. I hate what he puts his car through to where I bought him tons of products to use on it. All of my friends go through automatic car washes or dry it with bathroom towels if they don't just leave it in the sun after they wash it. No aftercare for the paint at all. People don't know the slightest things they do are hurting their paint.

[Klasse Act]

Its just my nature to say something, its all you can do and if they seem to blow you off, well, you've done your good deed for the day. On the other hand you could actuallyb educate them or even better, get a side job out of it too, its all in how you carry yourself!

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[ShinyRex]

Before I moved I used to bring all my stuff to a DIY car wash early in the morning. Almost every week there was a guy there with a brand new black cherry Z and he would dry the whole car with one small rag that he kept running through the wringer. I'm sure I saw him use it on his wheels atleast once.

I never said anything, I'll educate my friends if they will listen but with random strangers you never know the reaction you'll get so I let them be.

[DaC]

Most of my neighbors already know me for such a long time I spend taking care of my car on the garage of the building I live....
A couple of weeks ago there was this nice old guy neighbor taking care of his car too, I must have inspired him.... anyway... he was dragging an old dirty floor type towel with water only all over his car, with much love to tell the truth... but it wasn't even cleaning all the dirty from the paint, most likely just moving most of it around....
I usually don't say anything but as he had already came by to chat with me many times about how great I took care from my car I though... "well I'll just go there and educate him a little"

So I get there show him my blue rolled edges MF towel (Super Soft Deluxe Blue Microfiber Towels, microfiber detailing towels, buffing towels, micro fiber towel, detail cloth (http://www.autogeek.net/super-soft-microfiber-towels.html)) , show my Ultima Waterless Wash+ spray bottle diluted to QD (Ultima Waterless Wash Plus+, Ultima waterless car wash, waterless auto wash, spray wash (http://www.autogeek.net/ultima-waterless-wash-plus.html)), talk about it and then I said... "Let me show you have safe it's and how well it will clean your car"
When I was ready to spray it he was like: "Nooooooooo, don't do that! I'm already finishing cleaning it, it's already great"....

Needless to say I'll never lose my time again trying to help him with his car, which is pretty sad because I know he takes pride on it, but he isn't willing to learn something new.

[invested_detailing]

On youtube I saw someone cleaning their car, whole thing, with the gas station squeegee.

[Texsox]

My buddy shudders when he sees someone using a string trimmer for their hardscape. Just terrible. People are ruining their lawns and don't even know it. You really need a very sharp edger.

The guy that cuts my hair thinks people are crazy for using cheap shampoo.

It's what you care about.


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[StephenK]

I have same issue at car shows. I dont wanna come off sounding like an a-hole but when i see a black car pull in and first thing the driver doesis spraya QD/spray wax on the hot hood i am thinking to myself " you moron now you gonna have a haze from the heat drying it"

[Klasse Act]

I have same issue at car shows. I dont wanna come off sounding like an a-hole but when i see a black car pull in and first thing the driver doesis spraya QD/spray wax on the hot hood i am thinking to myself " you moron now you gonna have a haze from the heat drying it"

Tthat is soooooo spot on but when you look at the rest of that very same car its probably swirled to hell too! For cars that spend a lot of time sitting you'd think those guys would take a little more pride in their rides and sacfice a weekend and cherry it out!

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[mwoolfso]

I think most people will wind up dismissing feedback because of how "personal" a car is to them and secondly, how much they really care about "cleaning" their car. To the vast majority of folks, "detailing" is a fancy word for "clean", and of course everyone knows how to clean. lol

[david11g35]

I sometimes do give tips depending if the person looks friendly and they won't take it the wrong way...

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[Blackthorn One]

My step dad has washed his car with dawn dish soap and called it a day. I tried to explain to him what it can do to his clear coat and why he should use wax after washing. He let me know he worked in a body shop and that what he used and his paint will be fine. I don't know if its because I'm 20 or a woman but he thinks he knows way more than I do when it comes to detailing. I hate what he puts his car through to where I bought him tons of products to use on it. All of my friends go through automatic car washes or dry it with bathroom towels if they don't just leave it in the sun after they wash it. No aftercare for the paint at all. People don't know the slightest things they do are hurting their paint.
I must say that there is no point to buying such a man a ton of products. This seems like a man who likes things simple. A lot of old timers just washed cars with water, without soap. This was before clear coat, though. They believe just because they have so much experience that they know better. Not necessarily.


The best thing to do with him is to buy him only a FEW basic, quality products and show him how to use them, and how they are better.
Something like a grit guard bucket, hose nozzle, car wash soap, drying towels, vinyl rubber protectant and foam applicators for same, perhaps a boar's hair wheel brush (Because they make wheel cleaning so much faster and easier) wheel cleaner, and perhaps some interior cleaner. I doubt he would even use the two bucket method.


Teach him to rinse the mitt with the hose before putting it back into the wash bucket. I have been doing it that way for over 20 years, and the proof of the effectiveness of this method is that the wash water is almosyt as clean as when I stsrted, with about a third of a dime sized amount of grit at the bottom when I am done. The wash water itself is clear. In conjunction witha grit guard bucket, the rinse the pad between panels before putting it back in the wash bucket method should prevent any major damage.

I would not expect him to clay, and I doubt he likes to wax, either. If he was willing to wax, get him a sealant , perhaps like Opti Seal, or maybe you should Opti Coat it for him. I suspect you would end up doing the waxing if it is to be done right.

[psnt1ol]

I witnessed this today even though it was not drive thru Car wash related.

I was at a client's house doing some maintenance work on his 911 today. His neighbor across the street pulled up to her driveway in a BMW and motioned her gardener to come over. A few words were exchanged and the next thing I know.... the gardener emptied out his bucket of dirt and filled it with water. The gardener then proceeded to wipe down the car. This was out in the open and in the hot sun with no lube of any sort.

My client and I looked at each other in disbelieve. I made the comment " Wow!!! A gardener who is also a detailer. God Bless America". We chuckled a bit after but at least the gardener used a clean towel.

[Blackthorn One]

I think most people will wind up dismissing feedback because of how "personal" a car is to them and secondly, how much they really care about "cleaning" their car. To the vast majority of folks, "detailing" is a fancy word for "clean", and of course everyone knows how to clean. lol
It's true. Almost everyone can clean a a car, except for those people who miss huge spots because they are too lazy to overlap their strokes, and then when it is time to dry, they don't rewash those areas, they just wipe the dirt off at the same time they dry the car.
I saw my parent's daughter do that once. I told her she missed a spot and to rewash it. She was too lazy. It didn't matter to her. Of course, dish soap was used, or maybe laundry detergent. At least she used soap.

Almost anyone can clean a car, but can they clean it SAFELY, while preserving the finish and the value of the car? Are they thorough enough to clean all the crevices? That is what a detailing wash is.

Sure, you can clean a car with a brillo pad, and it's really easy to do, the FIRST time. The second time and every time after, it gets more and more difficult, because the dirt and grime are getting trapped in the scratches that they put in the finish by using the brillo pad, which only gets worse every time they clean it. It is more difficult to wash because they don't wax enough. They think the time to wax is after the car looks dull.

This is why people's clear coat fails, because it take a LONG time for a clear coated car to get dull, so by the time they get around to waxing then, it is too late.
Because people are used to waxing after they wait too long, it's very difficult to do , they loather it, so it only puts off waxing even longer.

There are other people who have the opposite problem. They wax their cars 4 or 5 times a year with cleaner waxes that contain polish, so after a few years, they have worn the paint down to the primer on the fenders.

At least the person at the car wash didn't use the widow squeegee on their paint....