automatic car washes anyone?

I

III

97 bonneville/98 Z71
Granet this is not the autopian way, but does anyone go to these because it saves time, or any other reasons?



If I wash my full size truck, it takes me about 2 hours. This includes washing, drying, going over the vehicle with a QD, and dressing the tires. If I go to a full service car wash I can cut that time in half because all I do is go over the vehicle with a QD and dress the tires when I get home.



With a wife and 3 kids, I'm finding that I just don't have the time I once had.
 
if you go to a touchless wash you will not get swirls. I would suggest that, but only totally touchless no brushes, no hand car wash.
 
Not true, going through touchless car washes will cause swirls if you dry it after the wash. I don't care what people say, a touchless car was will NEVER get a car completely clean and when you go to dry it you will be dragging the leftover grit across the paint therefore causing swirls. But this is my opinion after seeing my dad ruin the paint on his Suburban by using touchless car washes.
 
LQ9SS said:
Not true, going through touchless car washes will cause swirls if you dry it after the wash. I don't care what people say, a touchless car was will NEVER get a car completely clean and when you go to dry it you will be dragging the leftover grit across the paint therefore causing swirls. But this is my opinion after seeing my dad ruin the paint on his Suburban by using touchless car washes.
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True if you dry it, but if you pay for their spotless stuff, its not as good as a real good QD but it will dry without spot, and they also have air blowers that get most of the water off.





IMO going through a touchless, paying a little for their spotless stuff, and not drying is better than going through the swirl-o-matic.
 
Can I suggest that you look at your wash method. Even doing some wash/dry work in the bed a full size truck exterior has never taken me more than 30 minutes. I rnever QD after drying and the tires can't take but five minutes regardless of what MONSTER size they might be.
 
Get rid of the wife and kids and you will have plenty of time! Just kidding! I have a full crew Silverado and sometimes I take it to a self-serv coin-op wash and give it a quick wash when I am pressed for time. Takes about a half hour and QD and dress another half when I get home. I keep my truck's paint in great shape so I don't power wash it at the wash except the wheel wells and tires. At age 50 I am just not as spry as I used to be but my wife of 26 years still thinks I am a superhero!
 
If you are good with waxing your vehicle on a regular basis, a touchless wash can actually do pretty well removing any dirt or dust collected on your vehicle. Just make sure to have a steady coat of wax and you may have to do it more often. Depending on the wash and chemicals used, some will strip the LSP from your paint.



Keep in mind, for a touchless wash to remove dirt they use some very harsh chemicals. If they are not rinsed of completely they will also etch the paint (more common on the wheels with the wash soap stuck in the lugs).



I also agree with the comments about not towel drying your vehicle. I cringe every time I see people exit our touchless wash and head to the vacuums only to pop the trunk, pull out a beach towel, and start drying the rest of their cars.
 
I'm a big fan of my local touchless wash. Works great in the winter time also. A few weeks ago I did some work on my buddies truck (works in construction) I had him take it through a touchless before we worked on it. Then I started with an ONR wash. Works great to get most of the stuff off and only takes about 5 mins.
 
FWIW, I recently got a new company car and was driving it thru what I thought was a very nice car wash. After getting it washed the car always looked good. Then when I set out to detail it and put a 500 watt halogen next to me my new car didn't look so good. Scratches, swirls, marks, you name it I had them. No more drive thru for me. We also use a touchless here but I tell them no drying. I'll see what happens once winter comes
 
Comparing the automatic wash to your routine in not fair. First off, if you use a good wash you can have a very slick surface that won't need a QD. Second the automatic wash won't do anything with your tires, or wheels for that matter. Third, what you are doing should take about 45 minutes, maybe an hour tops if you keep a pretty clean truck. I know some say QEW or ONR is fast but I can wash faster with a pressure washer+bucket+mit.
 
I use a automatic car wash on my wifes van. Its 12 years old and has 135 k miles on it, and sit outside 24/7. To me thats good enough. It gets washed once a week. If you want a very good car wash ,in my area Delta Sonic is the best . I think they are in other parts of the country.
 
My wife has a Yukon XL, i am 6'2" and i still cant reach the full roof from the running boards. So I detail it monthly and in between I will take it to a touchless. I agree with LQ9SS though, don't dry or QD it, just dress the wheels and wells afterwards, touchless leaves too much on the paint that could mar your finish.
 
I'll admit, I've taken mine to the local automatic car wash a few times. However, it is slightly different as they do touch ups and hand dry afterwords. It' s actually not a bad job at all for $20. That's besides the point though...



As for you, although it is not the best idea for your paint, if it comes down to time washing the truck or spending time with the family, I think you are making the right decision anyways....
 
Accumulatorette runs the A8 through a touchless in TN when she's traveling, makes the cleanup easier for me when she finally gets home. Every now and then I run one of the dog-haulers through a touchless if it really needs it and I don't have time for a proper wash (which takes me hours no matter how much I hurry). No problems so far (we use their blow-dry feature) but it doesn't get 'em all *that* clean. Still, better than caked on [stuff] that'll mar the paint if somebody/something brushes against it.



cgage said:
My wife has a Yukon XL, i am 6'2" and i still cant reach the full roof from the running boards..
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I have one of those too, and I'm only 5' 10". You might want a few of these (I find them indispensable): Amazon.com: Bauer Fold-N-Carry Work Platform #20900: Home Improvement . I simply can't do the roof on tall vehicles without standing on something like that, no way to even inspect the paint properly, let alone do any proper correction.
 
In the winter times when its too cold to hand wash the car, I would take it to the touchless car wash places. I use it primarily to get rid of the salt that's sitting on the paint.
 
gohandbz8 said:
In the winter times when its too cold to hand wash the car, I would take it to the touchless car wash places. I use it primarily to get rid of the salt that's sitting on the paint.
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We have a really good touchless wash next door to my office. Cost for the simple wash and rinse is only $2 with a gas fillup. I use it quite a bit in the winter to get the majority of the crud off the car.



These things will not get a car 100% clean, but can really be helpful in the winter when it is too cold to do a hand wash.
 
LQ9SS said:
Not true, going through touchless car washes will cause swirls if you dry it after the wash. I don't care what people say, a touchless car was will NEVER get a car completely clean and when you go to dry it you will be dragging the leftover grit across the paint therefore causing swirls.
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BINGO. I agree 100%. However, what if someone used a QD while drying? Anyway, it doesn't matter because I don't go to a touchless. In fact, I never will after going to one last year. My Z71 looked horrible. The wash didn't get the truck clean at all. I'll confess, for $5.00 I go to a full service car place that dries the vehicle also. I don't like the fact they use cotton towels for drying, but they at least use fresh towels for each vehicle.
 
gohandbz8 said:
In the winter times when its too cold to hand wash the car, I would take it to the touchless car wash places. I use it primarily to get rid of the salt that's sitting on the paint.
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Besides the swirlmachines that is the only other way to wash your vehicle up here in winter (-20 C highs, etc. way too cold to even think about doing anything by hand, washing, drying, etc.), unless of course you have your own heated garage.



Actually when I do my normal 2 bucket method I usually take it to the one local wand wash, they have ozonated water I think? (or something like that, de-ionized?) but our own water at home is very hard, and I don't like using it.
 
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