Car wash preferences

[kenny_r]

Like others have said 2 bucket wash.....I use 3, 1 for wheels/tires. PPF if you can afford it. Get ur paint coated, much easier to wash and take care of afterwards. I have a wall mounted pressure washer in my garage which I love, makes cleaning much easier. Can use a pre-foam if you like, use a good ph neutral soap for the wash. I use gtechnic c2v3 after the wash as a drying aid.

[mistergmc]

Years back, after seeing the swirls left on the paint from using the car grinder wash, I started washing my own ride. Start with Meguires Gold car wash and the "two bucket" method for washing. Their other products are amazing and have been using them for 20+ years. 

 

If you're not as precision as myself, use the touch-free ones as mentioned above. Keep in mind though, touch-free can't remove the "haze" dirt from your ride. You'll need to put some elbow grease in at some point or take it to the wire-brush washes. 

[KARNUT]

I love these kind of threads. You can usually sort out the younger ones from the older ones. Its like having kids. The first ones made of glass, by the time the third one comes around their made of rock and concrete. With exception of my toys the daily gets the car wash. Just like every thing else they’ve gotten much better. The vehicle stays wet. The cloth stays wet and rinsed.


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[RyanbabZ71]

Get ceramic coating, it’s pricey (~$800) but will make your truck look like new for 2-3 years. When washing, use the two bucket method (google it) - about twice a month. Then repeat the ceramic coating every 2-3 years and your truck will look like new for a very, very long time.

Do it yourself for $150 or less. Adams has a nice DIY kit


Ryan B.

[eppieguy]

I take mine through the automatic car wash at minimum 2 times a week, I’ve been known to go twice in one day as I have an unlimited wash account. It’s the kind of car wash that has the blue spinners going down the sides and over the top and at 10k miles and 9 months over ownership I do not have any swirls and have no fine scratches. I think it’s the quality of the car wash that you use. My Audi in which I used to use a different car wash had fine scratches all over it. When I tell people that I use yeh auto car washes they never believe me after inspecting my paint and I’m ok with that as I’m happy that I’ve got a good car wash so close to me. Now my Corvette only gets hand washed because it’s great therapy for me and I enjoy the heck out of doing it but the truck is just too big and at 5’8 and it being lifted I can’t even reach across the hood!

 

[metalsman]

Do you folks know the ph of a touchless car wash? about  the same as lye, 12-13. Basic is opposite of acid but think of Drano and what it does to your sink, and then what it does to your car, not so much the paint but all the metal trim(especially aluminum) It's sometimes good to be a metallurgist.

[OnTheReel]

Allegations of touchless washes stripping wax and harming metals are greatly exaggerated in my experience. I go through the basic high pressure wash (just soap, no wax or other fancy things applied by the wash) all of the time, and my Meguiar’s Ultimate wax from this spring is still beading up very nicely. Anyway, most aluminum, like the polished wheels, are clear coated. 

 

Pick your poison here in the winter. Leaving the salt on it isn’t an option either way.

[Brandon Adams]

I'm interested in the ceramic coating, but I don't know anyone in my are that does it.

[dgstarr63]

I never used commercial car washes until a friend talked me into trying the Cady Car Washes in Portland, Oregon.  I don't know how many states that they cover, but they are brushless and never have scratched my black Sierra. Hand washing a truck in the winter when you are 70 years old is not fun. I hand wash my 1962 Impala SS with Meguires Car Wash.

[mookdoc6]

Ever wonder why kids 3yrs and under go into the biggest Meltdown ever when going through a Auto Car Wash or so called Touchless?  Yeah...that's what is happening to the outside of your pearly Truck!

 

Two bucket chump here always have and will be........

[dw91]

-20c/-4f and your aren’t bucket washing anything.

 

I use the wash bays and start with the pre-soak followed by the hot water high pressure wash then wax and a final rinse. If it gets half decently warm I’ll bring my buckets and mitts there in the winter.

[killramos]

Car has PPF and Ceramic. All I do is wand wash every week or 2.

 

Step 1 Spray the car with presoak foam if the wash has it. Imo this is the only thing that actually cleans the clear.

 

Step 2 pressure wash with soap

 

Step 3 pressure wash no soap to rinse.

 

Step 4 once over to check for stuck bugs or sap etc. 
 

Step 5 if I feel rich is a spot free rinse of distilled water.

 

10 minutes at the wash. And works wonders whether it’s mud, snow and salt, dust, bugs and tar from a rod trip. Whatever.
 

Same wash I do for my AMG and 3 years of ownership it looks like it came off the showroom floor. 

Edited September 1, 2019 by killramos

[Lunar68]

Watch out using a car wash with the spinning brushes...I used one in a pinch a while back and it lifted the red part circled on my picture. Its only held on with clips apparently...Glad it didn't fully pop off in the wash. I only hand wash or go touch less now. I started using the Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic and it seems to keep it clean for a while. 

[cvanlierop]

Just got my 2020 Denali a Leer Canopy.  Gets cold here during the winter so can't hand wash.  Anyone had good luck with this or experienced issues running it through the automatic wash during winter months?

[KARNUT]

I’ve have a monthly pass with my local car wash for ten years. First with blue wave then a closer quick quack. Starting with a black car, white car, a Genesis for the ten years a gold car and my 20 year old red truck. It cloth slow spinning wash always water and soap wet. About once a month I do a quick detail. My truck being red goes through up to 3x a week. Now I don’t look at it with a 100x magnifying lens. Otherwise to the natural eye with glasses. It looks very nice. These horror stories from car washes I never seen. I don’t know anyone in 100 degree heat here who hand washes anymore. Maybe like most things car washes are better in Texas. [emoji106]


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