Best Drive Through Car Wash

R

Robb

New member
I know, these are not the ideal way to wash a car, but w/ sub 30 temps i am not going to go outside and take 1-2 hrs washing my car. Ive done some researching and i think ive found the best option. Over the winter i will qew and use nxt on a monthly basis and use the car washes once a week.

What i am wondering is, is there a type of automatic car wash that is best? The ones i have in town include

-A wash that blasts high pressure water and chems by going around the car several time

-One that has a foaming, rotating washer-this one is a definate no-no





The best one iive found is one that was just built and it has a dryer feature that includes a high speed wind tunnel so that nothing touches the car. This is awesome, ive yet to use it but i ran the g/f's car thru and it worked pretty well, i think almost all the water wouldve come off w/ the dryer if you had a nice coat of wax on it, her car didnt.



Thanks for any sugg's
 
It probably is fine, but i have to say i love my car to much to ever take it through the car wash. As long as the water won't freeze on my car i would rather go out there and wash my own car rather then take a chance and hope my car comes out of a car wash ok?! Thats my opinion! I have just never been a car wash fan... ;)
 
Yup. I wash my car myself in the garage. Last winter my record was 3 degrees F.

I use NXT car soap and warm water...basically the same method as QEW.
 
White95Max said:
Yup. I wash my car myself in the garage. Last winter my record was 3 degrees F.

I use NXT car soap and warm water...basically the same method as QEW.
Click to expand...





No rinse? Was there any residue left from the NXT soap. The big thing with QEW is that there is no need to rinse. The QEW wipes off residue free.
 
I have several rinse buckets as well. If the car is really dirty and requires a lot of soap, then I go over the area again with straight water as a rinsing step.
 
Autowash or leave it dirty, I don't know which is better. Nobody touches my car but me, auto washes are asking for trouble. Ever think what happens if some debree gets in that wind tunnel? I can't tell you how heart broken one of my last clients was. Brand new car, arrived with all the wrapping still on it, dealer washed it and it was ok, but one week later she took it to a raintree car wash (where they even do it by hand), and there were spider webs everywhere, and it's black.

I hate washing cars but that's why I offer those services, so my clients don't ruin their paint. But it does cost twice what raintree charges, afterall I'm a specialist, lol.

Anyhow, just make sure you have a good carnuba on top of that NXT. You know you never mentioned what type of car you had, if it's just a decent commuter you might want to try this product called Glare. It isn't the best sealer by anymeans, but it goes on really thick and stays on thick. I'm used to recommend it a lot but I've been going a different route for selfish purposes, I like using different sealants more. If you had a porche I would recommend something else, but if you want raw protection w/o thrills for a commuter, I don't think this stuff can be beat. This stuff would be perfect during snow season, than use AIO to get it off and put fancy stuff (NXT) in the summer. You can read the cons on this link if you like. Either way good luck with that.



http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47608
 
ill just autowash and take it home and qew in the garage i guess. The car is a 95 mercury cougar, its just a decent commuter from home to school, its been a great car and i like to keep her looking nice. Its going into hibernation for a month this winter-dec 17- jan 18th, so hopefully it will miss the worst of the winter weather
 
I 've been using QEW for a month now (following the guides posted here) and love it.



That being said, we just now got our first snow of the season and up here they salt before, during and after the snow fall. To make matters worse, some mix in gravel with the rock salt.



I just don't want to find QEW's limit on my less than 6 month old Brillant Black Audi A4.



So I used a Laser Wash last week. The one's with no brushes in it whatsoever. They have under carriage cleaning but I usually pull into a bay first to do the wheels/wheel wells and give the car a pre-soaking with the pressure wand.



Afterwards I dry using MF or waffle weave then QD to remove any residue for the wash.



The results are as good as by hand I guess, although my pocket is $10.00 lighter afterwards. They put out alot of water at a decent pressure so all the nooks and crannies get hit.



In the end, I'm no fan of automatic car washes. They all have to re-cycle their water so even if there aren't any brushes involved, spotting can occur.



But hey I live in an apartment so have no garage.
 
MorBid said:
In the end, I'm no fan of automatic car washes. They all have to re-cycle their water so even if there aren't any brushes involved, spotting can occur.
Click to expand...



More than spotting can occur. I have seen some of this recycled water that is used at automatic car washes and it is far from clean. I wouldn't want dirty water blasting my paint.
 
I used the laserwashes last year and it worked out okay for me. Only problem is the closest one is 13 miles up 270...



A little tip though, don't dry the car afterwards without QD, QEW, S&W or whatever because the car doesn't come totally clean. You said you dried then QD'd, I would at least QD and then dry.
 
I use my buddy's touchless car wash at least once a week in the winter, no problems here at all. I would much rather have the car salt free instead of a crap load of salt sitting on it all winter. His also has the underbody spray which I love.
 
2001civicex said:
I use my buddy's touchless car wash at least once a week in the winter, no problems here at all. I would much rather have the car salt free instead of a crap load of salt sitting on it all winter. His also has the underbody spray which I love.
Click to expand...

We went South of Atlanta Friday for my wife's family Christmas gathering. Coming home yesterday we hit snow in Northern TN and Southern KY and I passed at least 4 salt trucks on I-75 so my van was a mess.



The only local touchless wash I know of was closed today so I ran by a quarter car wash tonight and sprayed off the salt film, I just couldn't stand it anymore. My EX-P and Meg's #16 seem to be holding up pretty well so far. Hopefully it will get a bit warmer soon and I can do a proper wash and throw on a layer of Collinite.



You guy's in the sun belt don't know what you're missing: white layers of salt film on your cars, going to a quarter car wash and walking around on a layer of ice, seeing the water freeze on your car while you feed in more quarters, fun, fun, fun ;) .
 
For me, the Best Drive Through Car Wash is the "Drive By Car Wash". Can't subject myself to the auto wash.



My plan this winter is to pressure wash the surface and underneath at the DIY bay.Then, a quick QEW after bringing it home should get her done until more crap finds it's way to the paint. It's an ugly cycle. Right now the salt film is brutal on most daily drivers.
 
My plan this winter is to pressure wash the surface and underneath at the DIY bay.Then, a quick QEW after bringing it home should get her done until more crap finds it's way to the paint. It's an ugly cycle. Right now the salt film is brutal on most daily drivers.
Click to expand...



That's exactly what I do. The down side is, it gets pretty cold in those wash bays but I'm a super happy camper now, I found a indoor heated wash bay and the guys will even let me use my QEW. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top