Touchless car washes

[imported_kuba]

I know it`s a sin to even mention this, BUT, I have a couple of things with my car.



Living in Toronto Canada, we just got pummeled with snow (like a good chunk of the rest of North America), so we have a ton of salt and dirt and what not on the car. There are some heavy smudges of dirt on the car as well, probably the residue of the rustproofing I did to my car.



While it`s still kinda cold (18F to 30F, -8C to -1C) to hand wash my car, I was considering going to a touchless car wash. Or would you all recommend I go see a professional local detailer.



The stuff has been sitting on my car for about 3 months now, so, I`m assuming



Thanks in advance guys.

[imported_DetailDan]

Touchless washes are ok as long as theres no one on the other end drying the car with rags. You will probably be left with water spots however.

[imported_ZimRandy]

The soaps can be a little on the harsh side and may discolor trim over time, but getting the salt off to prevent rust is a bigger priority to me.



Randy

[apoirier594]

I live in SC so it isn`t as cold, but I wash my truck in 40F sometimes..I find it helps a lot if you fill your bucket(s) up with warm water from your house. Cause spraying the car with the hose never really gets me wet, I get cold when I am using cold water and wind blows on my hands. So if you use warm water by the time you keep taking your mitt to the bucket your hands stay warm.

[Street5927]

I just go to the self serve car wash, rinse very well...no soap to get a bulk of it off, and then drive home and do an ONR wash in the garage, this way I keep the salt off and keep it looking pretty good during winter months. I will agree with a previous poster, in that as long as there is not someone at the other end with a dirty "rag" drying it off....you should be ok. Sometimes it is not feasible to ONR wash all the time afterwards, but just getting the salt and stuff off, plus I pressure wash the under carriage the best I can to get salt off from underneath is better than nothing.

[imported_kuba]

I live in SC so it isn`t as cold, but I wash my truck in 40F sometimes..I find it helps a lot if you fill your bucket(s) up with warm water from your house. Cause spraying the car with the hose never really gets me wet, I get cold when I am using cold water and wind blows on my hands. So if you use warm water by the time you keep taking your mitt to the bucket your hands stay warm.



So you bring your own warm buckets of water to the wash, hose your car down, take your mitt and buckets out, wash the car and rinse with their hoses? They allow that?



Because all the places around me do not want you bringing your own soap and want you to use their brushes and soap. lol @ that.

[imported_kuba]

I`d also like to ask, how would you guys go about tackling heavy build up of gunk on paint?

Meaning, rustproofing staining, dirt, mud, salt, etc...

I`ll post a picture later to this, but it`s thick black staining on the paint itself. I`m a little hesitant about taking a warm soapy mitt to it to avoid scratching and dragging the dirt around.

Any suggestions?

[Accumulator]

I`d also like to ask, how would you guys go about tackling heavy build up of gunk on paint?

Meaning, rustproofing staining, dirt, mud, salt, etc...

I`ll post a picture later to this, but it`s thick black staining on the paint itself. I`m a little hesitant about taking a warm soapy mitt to it to avoid scratching and dragging the dirt around.

Any suggestions?



Stuff like that is way beyond what a touchless will clean off. You`ll need to do a full detail..and you`ll have to do it right; if you rub a "warem soapy mitt" against that [stuff] and then move that (immediately contaminated) mitt across the paint you`re gonna get marring.



[Insert after-the-fact lecture about not leaving any rustproofing residue on places where you don`t want it and not letting things do for months at a time ;) ]



You might oughta take it to a *GOOD* pro and shell out whatever it costs.



I myself would wash it down with something like Optimum Power Clean, use solvents to cut off the rustproofing (which I assume is too nasty for clay), plan on needing to do a light polishing, and finally...redo the LSP. I bet I`d mar it up a bit, hence the polishing, and if I think that *I* would mar it....well... :sosad



Since you`d need a climate-controlled shop for all that, I`d look for a pro who knows what he`s doing.

[apoirier594]

So you bring your own warm buckets of water to the wash, hose your car down, take your mitt and buckets out, wash the car and rinse with their hoses? They allow that?



Because all the places around me do not want you bringing your own soap and want you to use their brushes and soap. lol @ that.



Sorry, I meant I use the buckets of warm water so I can wash it at my house. Like since they are warm I won`t have to got to a touch-less.



But when I do go to a touch-less I do bring my mitt and a shammy, but thats about it.