My wife regularly takes the Monty thru a drive thru car wash at the Chevron station. No brushes of any kind, just a hi pressure wash with some mysterious "soap" and a blow dry. Will this stuff strip the carnuba off the paint? If not, are there any problems with using this type of touchless car wash occassionally to clean off the dirt between "real" washings?
Drive Thru Car Wash?
- Thread starter mszzpea
- Start date
I went through one today, and I was thinking the same thing.
My guess is that their soap is VERY harsh and will damage, but not strip the carnuba layer.
I have come to the conclusion (for unique situation) that this winter I have to sacrifice a waxed car that is layered in dirt and salt for frequent touchless washes. Even if it means between washes I have little or no wax.
My guess is that their soap is VERY harsh and will damage, but not strip the carnuba layer.
I have come to the conclusion (for unique situation) that this winter I have to sacrifice a waxed car that is layered in dirt and salt for frequent touchless washes. Even if it means between washes I have little or no wax.
Detailing NY
New member
Just remember sometimes its not the washing but the drying that causes the damage. I dont know when you are done with the wash or if you let it air dry, but if they have people outside drying the car with the wrong towels then that could cause swirls & scratches on the paint.
I love to wash the local car wash dry the wheels on someones car then use the same rag to clean the windows or hood.
NYD
I love to wash the local car wash dry the wheels on someones car then use the same rag to clean the windows or hood.
NYD
In the winter it is a necessecity at times when the dirt content is high and the temperature is loowww!! I think you are doing the best with a touchless wash and dry with your own mf towel if possible (even after air drying with their blower). I would also that day at home QD the car afterwards to help preserve the wax look as long as possible. Try using a synthetic sealant like klasse, zaino (they would hold up longer than carnauba wax using these high pressure washes).
Since we just moved up here to Chicago, I went through the closest car wash that had underbody wash to try it out. The same thoughts came into my head. I've got a layer of #20 on, so unless they're adding alcohol to the water, I should be okay, right? Just a dumb thought, but they DON'T add alcohol for its lower freezing point, do they?
I agree about the towels thought, I'd rather use my 240HP engine to dry the car and fight a few water spots come spring time. I'm sure the PC time for the water spots is a lot less than what it would take to get out what those goofballs put in with those towels! It's kind of like a community wash cloth in the shower, just dirty!
I agree about the towels thought, I'd rather use my 240HP engine to dry the car and fight a few water spots come spring time. I'm sure the PC time for the water spots is a lot less than what it would take to get out what those goofballs put in with those towels! It's kind of like a community wash cloth in the shower, just dirty!Let me share my touchless car wash experiences with you.
Last year I applied 1 coat of AIO and SG to my car. This was in Novenber. I then proceded to go thru the touchless wash on avg 2x a month up until may. When I started hand washing my car again I noticed that my klasse was still sheating quite well. Now either the soap was not very harsh, or klasse is exceptionally durable.
Another gentleman made a comment about drying the car off with a MF after exiting the wash. I would STRONGLY recco AGAINST doing this. My rationale is as follows. A touchless was will not remove all the dirt. Look closely at your paint after exiting and you will notice a very thin film of dirt still present. If you dry your car with this thin film present, you will undoubtedly create micro-swirls and scratches in your clear by rubbing the dirt around your paint. You should just leave the car as is and let it air dry on it's own.
Air drying will not create water spots on your finish. Water spots are not the result of the actual water drying on your car. They are the result of minerals and other goodies in the water that etch into your clear after the water has evaporated. With that said, most touchless washes use recycled water (read: soft water). Soft water does not have any of the goodies that hard water does. Letting soft water dry on it's own will not produce any spots on your finish. It didn't for me.
Last year I applied 1 coat of AIO and SG to my car. This was in Novenber. I then proceded to go thru the touchless wash on avg 2x a month up until may. When I started hand washing my car again I noticed that my klasse was still sheating quite well. Now either the soap was not very harsh, or klasse is exceptionally durable.
Another gentleman made a comment about drying the car off with a MF after exiting the wash. I would STRONGLY recco AGAINST doing this. My rationale is as follows. A touchless was will not remove all the dirt. Look closely at your paint after exiting and you will notice a very thin film of dirt still present. If you dry your car with this thin film present, you will undoubtedly create micro-swirls and scratches in your clear by rubbing the dirt around your paint. You should just leave the car as is and let it air dry on it's own.
Air drying will not create water spots on your finish. Water spots are not the result of the actual water drying on your car. They are the result of minerals and other goodies in the water that etch into your clear after the water has evaporated. With that said, most touchless washes use recycled water (read: soft water). Soft water does not have any of the goodies that hard water does. Letting soft water dry on it's own will not produce any spots on your finish. It didn't for me.
I agree with Bill. I've noticed that the touchless wash does leave a thin film of dirt on the car after a wash. I've never hand dried the car after a touchless wash; we always just drive away and let it blow dry. I was concerned about the harshness of the soap that they use, but it sounds like it might be gentle enough to leave the carnuba unharmed. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks again everyone.
John
John
There's always some dirt left behind. I tell the rag boys to either skip it or do windows and wheels ONLY! The touchless washes in Syracuse do not seem too harsh, my vehicles still bead in the spring and you won't find an area that puts dowd more salt and ice melters than central NY.
) learn new things all the time. I will stay away from drying after the car wash and let blow dry/air drying do the job. NY detailer said:
I was the unfortunate victim of this a few weeks ago from my local car wash. I've been going to them for a number of years (when I couldn't wash it myself) and never had a problem. Normally they do a great job, even with the drying towels, but my luck ran out I guess. I left there a month ago and when I parked it in the sun a few minutes later and looked at it... micro-swirls all over the verticle surfaces.
Oh well... time to break out the swirl remover!
The search for paint perfection continues.