Best products for new cars that go through automatic car washes frequently?

[Mike Phillips]

I have pretty bad arthritis and a right knee that needs a total replacement, I'm not lazy by no means but I am looking for simple and effective to make it easier on my body while trying to take care of my cars.

Go with

BLACKFIRE One Step

Top horizontal surfaces with BLACKFIRE BlackIce

Super easy and effective.

[Ochnob]

I would look into Duragloss 111/601 or Colinite 845. Both are fairly dummy proof. There is a sealant comparison thread on here by Rippy D where some other gentleman did a automatic car wash test of multiple products. I will search for sealant comparison. It’s a really long thread. But somewhere in there are some good tests of a car wash.


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[Larry A]

I would second the dg 111 and also 105 101 and 501 Yoyu can also use any collinite wax. On my own car which gets automatic washes twice a week because it sits outside 24/7 and I cant stand a dirty car .I clay and use a cleaner-wax once a year, the rest of the time I use a spray wax. Lately I been useing Turtle Wax Seal and Shine or there Ice spray wax. The ice spray wax once a month , the seal and shine every 2 months. I also like DG Aqua wax and Eagle One Nano spray wax. I will try the new ceramic waxes from Turtle wax. To me spray waxes are a God sent, 10 -15 minutes and your done, and you car always looks great,

[AV8R]

From its ad copy:
”Meguiar's Paint Protect provides 365 days
worth of durability, delivering tenacious
protection with easy application. No rubbing.
No buffing.

Even after a year's worth of weekly washes,
it still beads water so you know its protecting!”


If you’re using modern-day Tunnel Wash
facilities that use high quality equipment
(that have proper preventative maintenance
controls in place); and, where their chemicals
undergo daily QC’ing; then, IMO: incidents of
Car-wash damage(s) are rare; extremely rare.


Sometimes you got to do, what you have to do.


Bob

I used Nu Finish (GASP!) on a 2014 silver Kia Forte I bought new as a daily. I went through a local, new tunnel wash at least 3 times a week for 4 years (touch style, cloth strips) and that car still beaded up on the horizontal surfaces when I traded it. I had to buff the vertical panels once in all that time to clean up the swirls in the clear. I have a 70 quart plastic bin packed full of products I've tried on our small fleet of cars and nothing has worked any better that that stuff. No idea what's in it.

[Eldorado2k]

I used Nu Finish (GASP!) on a 2014 silver Kia Forte I bought new as a daily. I went through a local, new tunnel wash at least 3 times a week for 4 years (touch style, cloth strips) and that car still beaded up on the horizontal surfaces when I traded it. I had to buff the vertical panels once in all that time to clean up the swirls in the clear. I have a 70 quart plastic bin packed full of products I've tried on our small fleet of cars and nothing has worked any better that that stuff. No idea what's in it.

Beading is so subjective... What some people call “still beading” some others would call the fine line before failure... I think it’d be a far stretch to call certain parts of a vehicle [especially my own] legit beading if some panels were completely flat.

Yea I know there’s times when a vehicle sits directly under tree during a rainstorm and that can cause a horizontal panel to temporarily lose its beading [usually brought back once it’s washed] but for the entire horizontal side to truly fail naturally over the course of time while the vertical panels miraculously survive virtually intact? That’s when I can’t help but wonder what said beading actually looks like...

I personally consider the top half of this panel to be nearing the end of what I call legit beading.. Compared to the bottom half.



Zoomed in view shows the clear difference in “beading”



The fact is all beading will gradually diminish, and as beads go from tight to oblong, so does an lsp’s ability to do what’s even more important than repel water.. It loses its ability to repel contaminants from bonding to the surface.

Beading is subjective, the true mark of protection is in a simple baggie test. Can it pass a baggie test?

[AutowerxDetailing]

I have a newer silver colored Mercedes that goes through one of the automated soft rag type car washes about once a week. What wax product would you recommend to use and how frequently should it be applied? The car is on the road about 40,000 miles a year and I know that the automatic car washes are not the best idea but I travel so much and don't have time to hand wash. I am looking for the best protection I can get with the easiest application. Thanks

If you are going to be primarily using friction tunnel washes to maintain your vehicle honestly there is almost no reason to do anything else to try to protect the paint since the paint is literally getting destroyed during each wash. Those types of tunnel washes are so abrasive they will quickly remove any sort of polymer sealant, and even ceramic coatings, in a matter of a couple washes (at least on the sides up to about the height of your wheels and tires... the roof and hood might last a bit longer).

Your best bet would be to use some sort of drying aid or spray sealant after each trip through the car wash to keep the vehicle protected. It almost doesn't matter what product you use because the protection will likely be severely degraded or totally removed after your next tunnel car wash anyway. Probably your best bet would be to use something like Nanoskin Shock with an Autoscrub mitt whenever you find some free time in your schedule. This way you'll be able to add some protection and simultaneously decontaminate the finish whenever it needs it, which will likely be a couple times a year due to your high-mileage itinerary. You can also use Shock as a drying aid with a couple of microfiber towels after each wash or as needed.