Auto car washes?

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imported_Indy YZF

New member
Dont shoot me. But, I live in a hirise condo in the NY Metro county of Westchester, and as such, I dont have the facilities to handwash my car, although I am a complete fanatic about it, as Ive spent a small fortune on it. Its a white '99 bmw m3 with many Dinan components including a supercharger. In spring, summer, and fall, I can use a self srvc place in the next town. But in the dead of winter, when the salt splashes on the car, and I need to get it cleaned off, I have no choice but to use the lesser of all the evil carwashes I can find. And i have one I use. Maybe 3 times the whole winter if I can avoid driving in the bad weather. But even they have managed to scratch the clearcoat on the hood.



My hunch is that its the towels the guys use to dry it off, as the scratches are very light, and in a kind of swirl pattern, as might occur when they are rubbing the surface dry.



Has anybody ever found a carwash that has treated their surface decently? And if so, what are some of its characteristics we should be looking for? Im thinking of whenever I have to use this place, to tell the drying guys to just leave it as it comes out of the forced air treatment, and then drive it at speed to get it dry.



Does this sound like a reasonable solution? They'll probably look at me like Im nuts, but, Hey, if thats what it takes, then thats what I'll have to do. Either that, or, just hand them each one of my cotton fluffy towels and/or microfiber cloths. Either way theyre going to think Im crazy, but I dont care really, if it keeps the scratches off the clearcoat.
 
This is what worked for me.



One of our local drive-thru car washes converted from "brushless" (yeah, right, looked like strips of carpet beating the car) to high-pressure sprayers - absolutely no touch. I get the minimum wash (no wax to contaminate the Zaino) and dry it myself. With a California Waterblade and a towel, I can stand the cold for the 5 minutes it takes to dry.



Will this work for you?





:up
 
>>Will this work for you? <<



Yea, I think so. Unlike yours though, mines not touchless. Its using those big strips to beat on teh car, but Ive yet to see any marks from them. I think its the towel guys. So Ill just tell them no drying. Theyll be pissed cause no drying, no tipping!
 
Paul E,



Do a search for QEW, that could help you do it yourself and not worry about the scratches. You can easily apply polishes and waxes by hand. If you do some touchups with a QD in between washes it will extend the amount of washes you need to do.
 
>>Do a search for QEW<<



What on earth is 'QEW'? I did an internet search but nothing came back with any relevance to the subject. Please advise...Thanks.
 
Search the message board, not the web:p . It's some wash where you just need add water and dont need a hose I'm pretty sure.
 
Prowler

I wouldn't suggest using the CWB for drying your car after you get it washed at the touchless. Your car may look clean but the power sprayers only get the surface dirt. The embedded grime is still on your surface and using the CWB would just be too harsh on the paint.



Paul E.

QEW is "Quick and Easy Wash" From what I remember, all you do is pour the bottle into a bucket, follow directions and wipe the stuff on your car. It takes everything off and does not scratch. Many of the professional detailers swear by it. You should check it out!
 
My advice would be to definitely find a touchless place. Why wait until those strips do scratch? The same strips and the same towels get used on every car that goes through there. And carwashes are usually bad about cleaning the rears of cars and other spots, so those towel guys just wipe that all around/into their towels.



Since your car won't come out completely clean from any drive-through wash, I would advise against drying at all. Just air-dry the car. You don't want to rub the dirt that's left behind into the paint, even if you do it with nice MF's or a CWB. If you need your car completely clean, you're just going to have to hand-wash it. You really can't get around that. If you have a garage, Protect-All's Quick and Easy Wash will be a lifesaver. You can use the touchless drive-through to get the big crud off your car, go home, and QEW it. Then your car will really be clean and you can polish or wax or whatever you want.



That's just what I'd suggest, though.
 
Paul where in Westchester do you live. I grew up there. If you are not too far from Yonkers there are 2 places that you can use in the winter to just give your car a once over. One is on McClean Ave and the other is over by the shoprite on Tuckahoe Rd. I go there with a bucket stuff then pull off to the side to dry and wax ( although I don't wax so often in the winter). This winter has been really bad so I suggest you get some of those elbow length black gloves from Home Depot. They will keep your hands from turning blue. Hope this helps. Let me know if you need directions.
 
bizzy928 said:
Prowler

. . . . the power sprayers only get the surface dirt. The embedded grime is still on your surface and using the CWB would just be too harsh on the paint.
Click to expand...



Don't believe that's true in this situation. With a claying each Spring and 3 or 4 coats of Zaino by Fall, I believe the surface is slick and protected enought that there is no embedded crud. I will, however, test your theory this Spring - I'll powerspray off the (surface) dirt and compare a clayed vs. unclayed section. Don't believe there will be a major difference.
 
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