Touchless Car washes..swirl city?

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dmxsoulja3

New member
So I've of course searched and read what topics I could find, I'm talking about the un-manned pull up let this robotic arm go around the car a few times, and then huge blowers that could probably knock you off your feet then dry off the car... I used these quite often with my other cars inbetween hand washings maybe because of a road trip or whatever the case may be..



Well I got a new 07 Honda that is blue and came with some *sweet* dealer installed swirls, and I have hand washed, somewhat carefully meaning only one bucket but a microfiber sponge kept the car wet and took my time, MF towels and Absorber to dry, like I always do and never had problems with my other cars of different colors, One time since owning the honda the past month I hand washed, now I've been through the touchless system about 3-4 times and either I didn't notice after hand washing or the touchless has added some swirls..I'm hoping it was my own error, of which I have ordered the correct products(foam gun, SS mitts, two buckets grit gard etc ) and read the correct methodology, and not the touchless that introduced more swirls. Now I know these things don't get the car perfectly clean therefore I NEVER dry it or run anything over it just drive it home. Any insight?
 
Could be the touchless, high pressure water grinding debris into your paint. They use recycled water, which can contain VERY fine grit, from time to time. More likely though, your wash technique is to blame. It's almost impossible to get a perfectly swirl-free wash, I've been at this for a couple years and I use a foam gun/quality mitts/quality MF WW's, and I still get a little bit of swirling over time.



VM and RMG are your friends in this case, just glaze over the swirls every 2 weeks or so, and polish them out semi-annually. Honda paint is super soft, and keeping it perfect without some sort of filling would require the patience of Job and the talents of Accumulator. Hell, the last CR-V I detailed wouldn't even look right after FPII, and required VM/RMG/heavy carnuba to look decent.
 
I'm going to do a full polish then try the swirlbuster polish as need be down the road since its light and works over time and has acrylic fillers it should mask some of the swirls and after using it a few times during the year it should clean up the swirls from everyday abuses and hide them during the process and save my clearcoat, and then top it with collinite since it doesn't have cleaners and its durable..well thats my game plan atleast :)
 
I use a touchless all winter long with no problems. This one does not used recycled water though.
 
Yeah, the recycled water thing could be a major factor. But I've never had marring from touchless washes either :nixweiss
 
Are there any specific store/gas chains that are know to use/not use recycled water?



How do you guys find out if they are using RW or not?



Thanks.
 
I consider those washes a joke and a waste of money. Is like soap and water coming through you showerhead and not scrubbing it. The water and soap can take some dirt out, but will not take it all out at all! That's why we need to look for the softest towel or scrubby(sp) so it doesn't hurt us.



i.e. I took my Corolla down one of those, the car was washed less than a week ago, but it had some dust on it and I was sick. What it did was to put some nice watersopts even when I requested the soft water option (it's supposed to help dry the car faster) I will not use those anymore...



My couple of cents...
 
bigfoot said:
I consider those washes a joke and a waste of money. ...
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Well, I suppose it depends on what you're expecting, the condition of the car, and the wash facility itself.



I ran my mechanic's loaner through the local touchless a few weeks after detailing it properly (476S for the LSP). It came out OK and it took less time/effort than just getting out some supplies. Everything washed off the 476S quite nicely, even some stuff I'd expected to stay put. No significant spotting from the water that the dryer missed either. Was it good enough for one of *my* (current) cars? Well, no; not even close. But my washes take me hours to do. Back when I still had the Volvo I ran it through the touchless from time to time, it was better than nothing when I didn't feel like doing a proper job of it.



My wife runs her A8 through a touchless down in TN when she's traveling, and it makes it a *lot* easier for me to clean up when she gets back. Less chance of marring during the trip too, as the touchless gets a lot of dirt off that might otherwise cause problems if somebody were to brush against the car. That must be a good facility, the car gets quite clean and yet it doesn't strip the LSP.



Note that a fresh LSP can make all the difference when it comes to how effectively the touchless will clean [stuff] off. Not much sticks to a fresh coat of 476S or #16.



The water and soap can take some dirt out, but will not take it all out at all! That's why we need to look for the softest towel or scrubby(sp) so it doesn't hurt us..
Click to expand...



That's why I'd *NEVER* dry it, only use their blow-dryer things and then not touch it. Touchless has to mean literally touchless or you'll probably get marring.
 
Accumulator said:
Well, I suppose it depends on what you're expecting, the condition of the car, and the wash facility itself.



I ran my mechanic's loaner through the local touchless a few weeks after detailing it properly (476S for the LSP). It came out OK and it took less time/effort than just getting out some supplies. Everything washed off the 476S quite nicely, even some stuff I'd expected to stay put. No significant spotting from the water that the dryer missed either. Was it good enough for one of *my* (current) cars? Well, no; not even close. But my washes take me hours to do. Back when I still had the Volvo I ran it through the touchless from time to time, it was better than nothing when I didn't feel like doing a proper job of it.



My wife runs her A8 through a touchless down in TN when she's traveling, and it makes it a *lot* easier for me to clean up when she gets back. Less chance of marring during the trip too, as the touchless gets a lot of dirt off that might otherwise cause problems if somebody were to brush against the car. That must be a good facility, the car gets quite clean and yet it doesn't strip the LSP.



Note that a fresh LSP can make all the difference when it comes to how effectively the touchless will clean [stuff] off. Not much sticks to a fresh coat of 476S or #16.







That's why I'd *NEVER* dry it, only use their blow-dryer things and then not touch it. Touchless has to mean literally touchless or you'll probably get marring.
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The condition of the car at the time of the wash was just waxed. I didn't made it the best (I'll admit that) I just put a coat of Mothers Phase 3 on it, so I think it would be easier for the car to clean.



Now, on the drying part, I apologize for not explaining myself right (sorry, Me inglish still not very good looking...) I didn't touch it at all! I'm probably one of those that grew up old style in matter of car washing, and TBH, I still don't beleive in it :nixweiss



But thanks for all the info Accumulator! :2thumbs:
 
In the winter, I often use a touchless to get the salt of my Excursion. It is surely not anywhere near as good as a real hand wash...but it does get the big chunks off.



That said, I wash my vehicles weekly (at least) and my dark blue Excursion shows no swirling. I do use a CR Spotless system, so I do not have to dry them either, which may be why I do not have the swirling problems that some do.



And...according to some...I probably do not use the most Autopian friendly version. I use a chenille mit, one for body and an older one for wheels...one bucket with Zaino wash soap. I wash a panel and rinse the mit...move on. I do apply Z8 after almost every wash.
 
bigfoot said:
The condition of the car at the time of the wash was just waxed. I didn't made it the best (I'll admit that) I just put a coat of Mothers Phase 3 on it, so I think it would be easier for the car to clean...
Click to expand...



That might explain some of it. The 476S and #16 are unusual in that they can be somewhat "self-cleaning", stuff just doesn't stick to them.



Now, on the drying part, I apologize for not explaining myself right (sorry, Me inglish still not very good looking...) I didn't touch it at all! I'm probably one of those that grew up old style in matter of car washing, and TBH, I still don't beleive in it..
Click to expand...



Heh heh, IMO your English is just fine :xyxthumbs



I sure won't argue with the "do it right or don't do it", but sometimes I have to be flexible. When my wife did *not* run her car through the touchless, by the time she got back from her trips it was just awful. Sort of a "lesser of two evils" situation. No way she's gonna take time out to have ebpcivicsi wash it when she's in TN (which would be *my* course of action) so this is better than nothing.
 
I used to work at one of those places. Your more likely to get swirls or scratches from the towels some places use after you come out of the bay (even with the blower) if they arent cleaned often.

More than anything, the soap is very harsh, so your wax/sealant wont last too long if you go through them regularly.
 
As stated in my post its UN-MANNED not like a Simoniz place with people running around with towels of death at the end of the tunnel.
 
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