Help with my wash method

Tesla Tacket

Tesla Tacket

New member
Howdy Folks!

Been a busy summer with gigs/sessions/teaching (I'm a freelance drummer by trade) and I haven't had the time to really spend a couple hours washing my car (a black Tesla Model S). I've recently discovered Waterless Wash and have fallen in love with it. So my method lately has been to drive to the $6 touchless wash joint, drive home and hit the car with the waterless wash to touch up any missed spots, water spots, etc. I purchased a lot of the Eco Care WW on clearance from Target and find it leaves a great finish after use (I also have UWW+ once I run out of the Eco Touch). I still do the 2BM once a month or so.

The car is coated with Opti Coat Pro and usually I do Prima Wax as You Dry after the 2BM. So a couple questions:

1. Would a pressure washer get me the same results as the touchless wash places? Saves me $6-$8 per wash.

2. There seems to be a blurry line between WW/QD/Spray Waxes as far as the protection they leave. I've liked the look of just the WW. Would it be overkill to then go over the car with something like Prima Hydro Wax as you Dry?

3. Any faults in my method thus far? I was really nervous about doing WW with a black car as I try to touch the paint as little as possible, but I figure maybe I'm safe since the car is coated?

Thanks!!
 
If you don't mind spending the extra cash you can buy a pressure washer, foam cannon, and a CR Spotless system and wash your car by foaming with a strong shampoo like Reset and then rinsing and patting dry with the CR spotless system. Since your car is coated you really dont need to use a product that leaves behind any protective layers unless your using something like Reload or using Meguiars D114.
 
I've used DGAW with DGRW a couple times. After washing the panel, spray DGAW on the wet panel like you would as a drying aid with a 2BM, then dry with a WW towel.
 
To answer your initial Q's
1) yes, but obviously it would be a longer ROI, I would also add that some of the touchless washes might be using chemicals that are improperly diluted, thus potentially doing more harm than good.

2)You can find countless people to discuss the answer to this question. For instance... want to get technical? My scientific mind did:

http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/waxes-sealants-lsps/44342-wax-top-coating-whats-your-take.html

^has a great technical explanation by our beloved Todd

With what you have on the car I would be looking into Reset or Reload and if you want to do the 2BM at times, look into a good Rinseless wash that leaves nothing behind...Wolf's Mean Green comes to mind (even though it's closed out here) but it is what I use as far as RW on my coated truck.

3)See above.

Got any pics?
 
1. Would a pressure washer get me the same results as the touchless wash places? Saves me $6-$8 per wash.

Like 512detail mentioned, you don't know the chemicals car washes are using. So you run the risk of using detergents at unsafe levels for your car, especially for the sensitive stuff like trim or rubber. If you're considering using a pressure washer at home, I would only use it with a foam cannon to foam the car for maintenance washes. So I would use a regular hose to rinse the car, followed by using the pressure washer w/ foam cannon to foam it, then a regular hose to rinse off the foam. Water at high pressure is an abrasive (see Grand Canyon) and I've never been a fan of blasting the surface of a coated car with a pressure washer. The thick foam from a foam cannon along with a pH neutral shampoo would be a great way of adding tons of safe lubricity to your wash, especially for black paint. Other opinions may say it's safe to use the pressure washer to rinse the car, but if it was my coated black Tesla I would be as safe as possible. I can see a pressure washer with a foam cannon fitting well with your current setup. In money and time savings (time spent driving to and from the car wash).

Since it sounds like your trying to save time, have you considered a rinseless wash? Optimum No Rinse would be a perfect choice if you don't have the time for a two bucket wash. Just be sure to use plenty of soft plush MF towels.

2. There seems to be a blurry line between WW/QD/Spray Waxes as far as the protection they leave. I've liked the look of just the WW. Would it be overkill to then go over the car with something like Prima Hydro Wax as you Dry?


The line is getting blurrier and blurrier. It would not be overkill to use Prima Hydro Wax as you dry. You're just adding lubricity for drying. I think everyone here would rather you use Prima Hydro Wax as you dry, then nothing at all while drying. As far as protection they add to an Opti-Coated car, it's going to be very little unless you use something specifically designed to bond with coatings (Reload, PBL Booster, GTechniq Silo Seal, etc).

3. Any faults in my method thus far? I was really nervous about doing WW with a black car as I try to touch the paint as little as possible, but I figure maybe I'm safe since the car is coated?

I don't think there's anything wrong with your current method, it sounds like your doing a great job but maybe there's room for improvement. I would want to touch the car as little as possible too, so I would consider a blower to dry your Tesla. I pull out the mac daddy MasterBlaster when I want to dry a coated vehicle as safely as possible.

IMG_4055.JPG


+1 for pics plz :)
 
Thanks for the responses folks! I will reply more in depth once I'm on a device with a keyboard, but here is the picture request:

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