car washes

[Bolt on 5.0]

Do any of you guys bring your car to a regular car wash. Its too cold to wash mine myself anymore. this will be the first car wash any one else has done on my car.

I know there are brushless washes, BUT I want to know if anyone uses the old school washes with the brushes and rollers. Do they scratch the paint, I have a black GT.

 

[bluecar]

I would go brushless. Black cars show every little swirl. Imagine going in behind an F150 caked with mud in a carwash with brushes and rollers.

 

[FFR snakeman]

All brushless will do, is wash off dust not dirt.

 

[1965coupe]

Do any of you guys bring your car to a regular car wash. Its too cold to wash mine myself anymore. this will be the first car wash any one else has done on my car.

I know there are brushless washes, BUT I want to know if anyone uses the old school washes with the brushes and rollers. Do they scratch the paint, I have a black GT.

If you go to a full-service "touchless" car wash, they probably won't have the old-school brushes..

However, the 3 or so times that my parents have ever taken either of their black cars to car washes, I have noticed that they cause swirl marks.. BADLY!

The wash starts with a high pressure rinse (no harm), then the illegals (whoops, , umm car wash attendants), use wash mitts to wash the bottom to top.. yes, BOTTOM to TOP.. dragging all that crap from your rockers onto the rest of the car..

Then, after using the mitts they have rinsed in a bucket once or twice to wash the entire car, they grab their "soft" brushes to wash the rims.. whoops.. they also use them to wash the spots they missed.. on the car..

By now, they've managed to add quite a few swirls to your car..

When it comes to drying, they drive the car under a high-powered blower which removes most of the water.. Then comes the towels.. I'm sure they are not 100% terry cloth, let alone scratch-free...

So.. in conclusion.. I would rather have a dirty car than let someone scratch it at a car wash.. Plus the fact that they cost over $10..

 

[Jrodd]

Im not sure if this what the others were talking about but you might want to look into the "touchless" car washes. These are the ones that just use jets of water to clean and then its just an air dry. No rags or towels. They do a great job of getting excess salt and sand off the car but aren't the best things for getting all of the dirt off. Then again what car wash is

 

[Bolt on 5.0]

Ill have to check out this touchless car wash thing. Just paid $12 plus tip so $15 to have it washed brushless. Came out pretty nice but I had to walk away when I saw them using the powerwasher nozzle.

 

[STLShelby]

I never use any car wash, especially with a black car. When it's real cold, i have been known to go outside with a bucket of hot water and sponge to get salt off daily drivers. My neighbors think i'm nuts, maybe i am.

 

[nycstang37]

same here, bucket of hot soapy water in the winter. just washed the car yesterday(about 45 degrees, black gt) will never and has never seen a car wash. car is over a year old in NY winter, so you just have to be dedicated, or crazy whichever. i work at enterprise rent-a-car and all the people iw ork with say to just use the brushes we use to wash my car on my break, i tell them i rather freeze my hands with my mit which i know wont scratch. sorry, if you have balck, your gonna have to deal with it, or find a friend with a garage and a drain, or make friends with someone at a a bodyshop, then you can wash it in there, lol.

 

[kooldawg6]

I will never take this car to an automatic/attendant carwash! Just a few days ago I took my '06 to a do it yourself car wash for the first time. I only used the sprayer to spray on the soap and to rinse it off(that wil never do as good a job as handwashing). I didn't use any of the other available cleaners or the brush. In the past(previous cars), I've taken my bucket with all my wash stuff to the car wash. If not busy, I use their water and hand wash the car. Otherwise, I do as some others here do...hot water and washing it in the driveway on dry days in the 40s...yes, it's crazy, but we love our cars

 

[bluecar]

How about hooking the hose up to the laundry wash basin and using water hot enough to melt the snow? But then, what do us Californians know.

btw, I trust the washing of my car to no one but myself.

 

[69mach1-409]

If I have to I'll use the 'touchless' self wash. That's only in the dead of winter when I cannot wash her without the water freezing on contact.

 

[kooldawg6]

I trust the washing of my car to no one but myself.

That is my theory on my '06...except for a bodyshop.

 

[Mark25]

I've used Prolong Waterless Wash and Shine for years...you will have to bring the car into a garage if the temp is less than 42 degrees outside...but believe me this stuff is fabulous...no water, no bucket, no scratches (even in black)...just dirty towels which can easily be thrown into your washing machine. Great for your wheels, too. I buy the 64oz jugs of this stuff and I keep a small bottle of it in each car. You can even use it on your windows...but I don't waste this stuff on them...I buy Invisible Glass Spray for them.

Try it...you won't believe how well this stuff works...you'll never need a bucket of water, car wash, and hose again.

http://www.carcaresuperstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=199&currency=USD

Here's the 64 oz refill...I go through about 2 of these a year for 4 cars...

http://www.prolongsales.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=17

Of course, if you have salt on your undercarriage...then you will need to rinse that off on occasion at a self wash hand held spray place...but the rest of your Stang will be fine with Prolong Waterless Wash and Shine....

 

[ApexStang]

Why not just do what I do. Go out and purchase some think rubber gloves, fill your bucket with HOT water. Bundle up nice and warm with a hat and a couple of sweatshirts and you are good to go.

 

[slow07pony]

I take mine through the wash at least once a week -- the place rinses their flaps off a few times a day (or so they've told me) but I have it easy with a white car. I don't let them dry it though, who wants glass cleaner used on their leather?! 40 degrees is my cutoff even with hot water and gloves.

 

[kooldawg6]

As long as it's in the mid to upper 30s and dry, I'll be out there cleaning my baby! It needs it bad now as I was out of town from Tuesday-Friday and have worked from before sunup to after sundown yesterday, today and again tomorrow. Tuesday I will be out in the driveway with the bucket and mitt in hand

 

[xtweakerx]

Florida for the Win.

 

[gashog]

If you've got those coin-op car washes out there, they work great for a weekly basis car wash, it takes about 10 min. I don't use the brushes there, just spray it off with the soap and rinse it. I've seen some coinop places with dryers too.

 

[undrcovr]

The sprayers at the car wash can be pretty powerful so i always hit my car at an angle so the paint doesnt get hit so hard. if i am going to use the car wash's brush then i hit the brush head with the soapy water blast from the sprayer for half a minute.
what do you guys think of the waterblade to dry? i fear it would scratch the paint with any thing thats left on the surface when swiping.

 

[kooldawg6]

I've used the waterblade on mine a few times. To me it does something with the wax Even after just a few washes after waxing, it doesn't bead up like it should. Since the last time I waxed it I haven't used the waterblade and it still beads up. It never scratched or harmed the paint however.