Don't think the high pressure will get your car clean every time...

[OCDetails]

I spent some time on my car this last weekend and put a fresh coat of wax on it. I'm out of wolfgang (I think I was robbed or something) so I decided to try a few of my favorite waxes to see how they look. Anyway, it rained on Monday and Tuesday, but the rest of the week is supposed to look pretty good. So I figure I should get the car clean tonight so it isn't dirty all day on Wednesday.

I didn't drive in the rain since it only rained while the car was parked, but still... I got tons of waterspots from it raining on my dusty car. I kind of thought that just taking it to the coin op tonight after work I could spray it down and that should take care of the spots. After all, I just waxed it on Saturday and the surface should be pretty slick. Normally I would just bucket wash it and not worry, but I've been in an experimental mood lately and I decided to give it a shot.

The results were not what I expected. I sprayed that car with high pressure for over 3 minutes between the soap and rinse cycles and I thought it would get clean. I didn't dry it with a towel because I didn't want to wipe off any dirt that was missed by the wand. The results were that the car looked nearly as dirty after the water dried as it did before I washed it. It isn't windy out and there is no dust flying about. The waterspots that are left are the same waterspots that were there before I washed it.

I tried taking pictures, but it is dark out and it didn't work very well. It should be nice the rest of the week and my car should get nice and dusty before it rains on it. I'll do the experiment again and take before/after pictures so you can see how little use high pressure alone does on your car.

The bottom line is to not expect the high pressure alone to clean your car. What I ended up doing was just using some Poorboy's Spray & Wipe and cleaned off the waterspots that the wash missed. The car looks good as new now, but it certianly didn't get that way from my poorly spent $2 at the coin-op. It was faster than doing a bucket wash, but it required more than just spraying it off. I had to use the Spray & Wipe afterwards to get it really clean.

Here are my poor 'after' shots of what it looked like after the water dried. Those aren't the waterspots from rinsing the car. I was seeing these spots while I was rinsing the car even. They just required a little more than high pressure to come off.





That doesn't look very clean at all now, does it? It had to be basically washed again after I washed it. If you have different experiences with the sprayer at a coin op car wash without drying the car, then it just goes to show that results may vary. This isn't the first time I've had this happen though. Washing at the coin op is rarely a good way of getting the car actually clean. Typically you have to use that crusty greasy brush to get the job done and that just makes things worse.

[ScottB]

A friend of mine insists that a pressure or "no touch" car wash is acceptable to clean cars. So I did what any detailing obsessed junkie would do, and I went to the local pressure wash with him. We ran his Malibu thru a gas station spray type and then ran a white microfiber mitt over the finish, needless to say he was wrong. The following day we drove to the do-it-yourself high pressure spray and did the same. Nada ... some agitation is needed, its just a matter of what to use that doesnt strip wax/sealant, is safe from marring, and can easily be done quickly. Even the waterless washes work better ....

[OCDetails]

I've got some white microfibers that I considered doing that with, but I felt that showing the pictures of the waterspots worked. When I write up the real deal for this experiment I'm going to do that. I just need to get a new white microfiber so I'm not using one of my grubby ones.