Car Wash

K

ka1srs

New member
I took my old VW through a drivethru touchless and a headlamp cracked.



I felt that the pressure, heat, and the fact that the glass was reaaally cold caused this.



I was younger, poorer, and decided to make a run at the gas station to fix it.



In doing so, I learned that most modern carwashes do not reuse water like they used to. The tradeoff for using less water (environmental reasons) is pressure. That pressure is generated by narrow, precise apertures that would be decimated by "swill" water.



This is what I learned, it's not gospel. Just a perspective. Share w/me what you know. I'm interested in first-hand knowledge. Not hearsay, "feels like" impressions, "I heard" kinda stuff...etc.
 
What about the soaps, rinse agents used? Despite good intentions, I cannot force myself to hand wash in 10 degree weather!
 
I was wondering about the soaps too. In the winter i take my car to the wash on the corner. I use my own cotton wash mit but i use their soap and water.
 
When it's this cold, I typically go to the coin-op (can't do drive-thru dropped on coilovers) and do a clean water rinse to get the big stuff.



Then use their low pressure soap and my mit.



-Nice tip here is to hold the water line w/you "free" hand to keep it warm.



Then rinse



Then waterblade (save the gasps girls) the big surfaces and blast home.



Hit the garage heater and go in and warm up. In about 15 min the garage is 70.



I then QD/MFT the whole thing. I did this process this week, then the next morning did another heat-up-and-wait/QD-MFT and then did a coat of AIO-wheels too.



For the time being, it works.
 
There's no way I'd use the soap at the coin operated car wash places. I would just take my own bucket with my premixed warm soapy water. I'd take my own chenille mitt or two and get to work. This way when you're dipping your chenille mitt in the water its in warm water not cold or practically freezing water. Laters
 
How do you bring in this 'premixed soapy water'...does your bucket seal up somehow? I need to come up with a solution for my coin-op place too...
 
I think some stores do sell buckets with lids on them. Or just go to the bulk section of a store and sometimes soap or mayonaise will come in large buckets with lids on them.

I think I am retiring from detailing. Winters take the fun out of detailing. It is too much work in the cold winters of Michigan. It has not been over thirty degrees here in about three weeks. It snows at some point every day. Just enough to wet the ground. Everyday my car gets salt on it. I would need to wash my car everyday to keep a freshly detailed look to my car. 3.00 day to wash the car is just a little ridiculous. Never try to QD a light coat of salt off of a car. Creates a smearing effect. Washing your car at a coin-op with your own mitt is just not feasible when there is a strong wind and it is 20 degrees out. The heated coin-op water freezes faster than you would think. Taking your car to a touchless car wash is useless when your car is coated with salt. Your car comes out of the wash with a light salt haze still left on it. I found taking my black car to a cloth car wash creates major swirling and marring even though it is super clean. I guess I am not the detailing freak I thought I was and realize that with my first black car it is more work than it is worth in the winter.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by jps [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>What about the soaps, rinse agents used? Despite good intentions, I cannot force myself to hand wash in 10 degree weather! [/b]</blockquote>
Do like I do just wear some latex surgical style gloves (these have no insulation of course but do keep your hand from ever getting wet) use warm water and a wash mit and start washing. I have tested this in 5deg temps and not had a problem yet besides "cold brain" type headaches!
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by waxman [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>I think some stores do sell buckets with lids on them. Or just go to the bulk section of a store and sometimes soap or mayonaise will come in large buckets with lids on them.
I think I am retiring from detailing. Winters take the fun out of detailing. It is too much work in the cold winters of Michigan. It has not been over thirty degrees here in about three weeks. It snows at some point every day. Just enough to wet the ground. Everyday my car gets salt on it. I would need to wash my car everyday to keep a freshly detailed look to my car. 3.00 day to wash the car is just a little ridiculous. Never try to QD a light coat of salt off of a car. Creates a smearing effect. Washing your car at a coin-op with your own mitt is just not feasible when there is a strong wind and it is 20 degrees out. The heated coin-op water freezes faster than you would think. Taking your car to a touchless car wash is useless when your car is coated with salt. Your car comes out of the wash with a light salt haze still left on it. I found taking my black car to a cloth car wash creates major swirling and marring even though it is super clean. I guess I am not the detailing freak I thought I was and realize that with my first black car it is more work than it is worth in the winter. [/b]</blockquote>
Waxman, keep your chin up I to live in a cold climate and I'm lucky if I get to wash my Aztek once every 3 weeks. You have to trust in the protection you put on the car before this hell began. However all is not lost read David Byron's article on QDing using a bucket with 2 to 3 gal. of water and a couple of miracle towels followed by a regular QD. In TO. we get a lot of sunny days around 25 but there is so much salt on the road that on the highways you almost get salt blowing around like dirt on a really windy day. The result is a thin coat of salt everywhere, but the daily QD method above keeeps the vehicle sparkling. When it does snow you got to suck it up and at least spray it down at the wash bay and wait for a decent day to wash and then QD in your garage.You are enevitably going to get some swirls during these 5/6 months but thats the whole challenge come the spring,can you bring it back or not??? :eek: Make sure any of those days that do get over 30 you jump allover your car even if after you drive away it gets coated with all the crap on the roads. Keep the faith!
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by Huy [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>How do you bring in this 'premixed soapy water'...does your bucket seal up somehow? I need to come up with a solution for my coin-op place too... [/b]</blockquote>I take warm water in a plastic 5-gallon gas can, and an empty bucket and my own car wash, and mix it all up there. I usually use the wash's clean water rinse to get the major grime off the car and to soften up surface dirt, then mix up my own bucket of wash solution (using my own warm water from the gas can), wash, then rinse/spot-free rinse with the wash's water again.

Tort

P.S. Obviously (I hope), the gas can is dedicated to this purpose, and has never been used to contain gasoline (only good ol' H20).
 
Living in Los Angeles where it hardly rains and having all my cars garaged whenever they are not driven, I find that I don't need to use soap when I take my cars to the coin-op washes. More often than not, my cars are clean enough when it comes time to do their weekly washes to just use the high pressure rinse to get most of the dust off and then spray Eagle1 QD all over the car before drying and my drying cloths aren't dirty when I'm finished.



I use Tortoise's method if there was any rain during the week though.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by waxman [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>I think some stores do sell buckets with lids on them. Or just go to the bulk section of a store and sometimes soap or mayonaise will come in large buckets with lids on them.
I think I am retiring from detailing. Winters take the fun out of detailing. It is too much work in the cold winters of Michigan. It has not been over thirty degrees here in about three weeks. It snows at some point every day. Just enough to wet the ground. Everyday my car gets salt on it. I would need to wash my car everyday to keep a freshly detailed look to my car. 3.00 day to wash the car is just a little ridiculous. Never try to QD a light coat of salt off of a car. Creates a smearing effect. Washing your car at a coin-op with your own mitt is just not feasible when there is a strong wind and it is 20 degrees out. The heated coin-op water freezes faster than you would think. Taking your car to a touchless car wash is useless when your car is coated with salt. Your car comes out of the wash with a light salt haze still left on it. I found taking my black car to a cloth car wash creates major swirling and marring even though it is super clean. I guess I am not the detailing freak I thought I was and realize that with my first black car it is more work than it is worth in the winter. [/b]</blockquote>
Living in Detroit my whole life, <strong class='bbc'>Waxman[/b] , I feel your pain. The best we can do sometimes is to just tough it out until spring, and then breakout the PC, the pads, and other tools of destruction and give our cars the major once-over in April or May.

One friend of mine that restores cars has had several black cars through Detroit winters and he swears by wax them with several coats of Meguiar's No. 20. He insists, illogically, that it keeps the car wash swirls to a minimum. I've had decent luck with the No. 20, but any way you cut it, Michigan winters are hard on your finish. Keep your chin up!!
 
I just can't believe the amount of swirls on my black car after one wash through the cloth car wash.(most of them from the brush they scrub your car down with before you go through it) I will continue to wax it and just not worry about the swirls until spring.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by waxman [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>I just can't believe the amount of swirls on my black car after one wash through the cloth car wash.(most of them from the brush they scrub your car down with before you go through it) I will continue to wax it and just not worry about the swirls until spring. [/b]</blockquote>
<strong class='bbc'>waxman [/b] that's sometimes the best us snow rats in Detroit can hope for!!! :D
 
I went thru two automatic car washes last week. I took the bimmer thru the touchless, and the alero thru the soft cloth. Both washes were equal in their cleaning ability.



The winner was the touchless. The bimmer felt as smooth after the wash as it did b4. The alero on the other hand, lost 90% of it's slickness. The klasse was definately stripped off. For any Canadians on the board, I'd recco using the Sunoco touchless car washes. That's the only practical way to clean your car during the cold Canadian winters.



I'll report back on how further washes affect the klasse. I'll be going thru again on Friday with the bimmer.
 
I'm amazed.

I thought that I had a hard time keeping my car clean, but I've just learned it can get worse.Here in Belgium we've had 1750mm rain per square meter the past year, and for the moment it's freezing -7Centigrade.

My neighbours have allraedy told me I'm crazy,becouse every time the Temp reaches about 0°C I'm washing the car.They keep telling me it's safer to let the dirt where it is 'couse it's a barrier for the next dirt...

Man, do I have work teaching them what detailing should be.



As for car-washes coin-up or every other type, they won't find me there no more,becouse of a bad experience.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by yzf996fxdwg [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Quote: BillNorth
"GO LEAFS GO!!!!!!! "



Go Canucks!!!!!! (Montreal had a taste tonite) [/b]</blockquote>

I like the Canucks! They're a good young team. Too bad they haven't been able to build off of last year's success. They need to get rid of Crawford. What a goof!! Not putting Gretzky in the shootout shows just how stupid he is!!!!!!
 
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