Does anyone else just use a hand car wash for the winter?

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Egoolps

New member
I'm not lazy or not thorough, as I wash my car 1-2x/week the way most people do on this forum (two bucket system, four different wash mitts(two for the top of the car, two for the bottom), waffle weave dry, etc.).



But I live in Chicago. And honestly, it's just too darn cold. Once it drops below 20 degrees (with the windchill almost always less than that), there aren't many options for me. I don't have a heated garage (actually I have a 1 car garage that barely fits one car). Bringing it to a self-wash still would require me to be out of the car for 30 mins...and my windows would probably freeze half the time.



Point blank, does anyone just bite the bullet and use a hand car wash in the winter? And do you have any in your area that you actually "trust?"
 
It's healthier for your paint to just leave it as is rather than use a hand car wash. The other option is to use ONR in your garage. Put some heat in if you have to. You don't need a tropical climate, just enough that you don't freeze while you're doing it.
 
Holden_C04 said:
It's healthier for your paint to just leave it as is rather than use a hand car wash. The other option is to use ONR in your garage. Put some heat in if you have to. You don't need a tropical climate, just enough that you don't freeze while you're doing it.
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I agree, ONR is your best bet.
 
Well in the winter up here in Michigan, I usually go to the local coin up (as I hate using my power wash in the shop and just blast off the majority of stuff and then take it back to the shop and wash it like normal (heated shop). But just do the ONR in your garage, maybe get a small heater like others have said!
 
wagonproject said:
Well in the winter up here in Michigan, I usually go to the local coin up (as I hate using my power wash in the shop and just blast off the majority of stuff and then take it back to the shop and wash it like normal (heated shop). But just do the ONR in your garage, maybe get a small heater like others have said!
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Yeah, but be careful. I did that recently with the temperature above freezing and by the time I got back from the wash (about 2-3 drive, seriously), the water was beginning to freeze. I could not dry the car in time before a significant portion of the water froze and I had to cancel the detail in progress.
 
As the guy said, he doesn't have a garage big enough to do it in. Yes a hands free will be fine for an occasional wash. People, our cars can take a LOT of harshness, like it or not thats a fact. They won't melt if God forbid we can't 2 bucket method it every time.
 
never gone said:
As the guy said, he doesn't have a garage big enough to do it in. Yes a hands free will be fine for an occasional wash. People, our cars can take a LOT of harshness, like it or not thats a fact. They won't melt if God forbid we can't 2 bucket method it every time.
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This information is incorrect. Paint is exceptionally sensitive and with every point of contact there is the potential to induce swirls or worse. If Autopia can teach you anything, it's the value of proper handwashing.



To illustrate my point, I'm going to crib Picus just because he tackled this very topic so well on a different forum.



(I hope you don't mind :o)



picus said:
So I got to talking with Derek and George about this and it reminded me of something I wanted to post. This is my first full summer in Toronto and I'm getting to a lot of client cars the second time now, it's interesting to me to see the difference hand washing versus touchless/auto washing makes; I knew there would be some, but it's quite obvious seeing the cars after 6-8 months. Here are some examples.



Here is a car I did last fall: GTA In Detail (sept 1/06)

I had it 99% perfect, as you can see:



b.jpg




Here it is 9 months later after improper hand washing.



a.jpg




The owner was using an old mitt and old cotton towels to dry.



Here's a 550 Maranello, again; did it last year and it was swirl free:



h.jpg




GTA In Detail



After 10 months of auto washes...



a.jpg




b.jpg




Now here is an S4 I did last year, it started in bad shape.

a.jpg




and we got it sorted.

b.jpg




6 months of PROPER hand washes...and this is what it looked like:

e.jpg




There was almost no marring. Another example, an E55 amg I did last year. I don't have befores but it was a two step process, got them 95% out (hard paint.. :/), GTA In Detail and 10 months later after the owner learned how to wash.



Dirty....



a.jpg




but no marring:



c.jpg




My point? We all know how important it is to wash properly. Others don't - but if you have customers or friends do them a favor and *show* them. It only takes a few months to notice a difference.
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Sometimes one can only do the best one can do ... I hated to take my car to the loca car wash when we lived up in the Northeast, but given winter conditions and the absence of a garage that was the best I could do. Now I live in Virginia and have a garage. Things will be different this winter.
 
Other have said it in previous posts about using ONR. I use ONR and it saves my cars from swirls and scratches. I will never take my vehicles to a car wash of any sort.



My wife thought I was crazy detailing a clients car while it was snowing outside yesterday.Thank God for ONR and a garage.
 
Egoolps said:
Point blank, does anyone just bite the bullet and use a hand car wash in the winter? And do you have any in your area that you actually "trust?"
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I use the hand car wash located in at my house 52 weeks/yr. I'll agree, 20F is about my limit as icing gets to be too much. I got two washed yesterday and it peaked out around 28F with crazy wind. I did have a litlle icing but it mostly evaporated away within a few hours.



You should probably learn the ONR routine and get comfortable with that.
 
Holden_C04 said:
This information is incorrect. Paint is exceptionally sensitive and with every point of contact there is the potential to induce swirls or worse. If Autopia can teach you anything, it's the value of proper handwashing.



To illustrate my point, I'm going to crib Picus just because he tackled this very topic so well on a different forum.



(I hope you don't mind :o)
Click to expand...



You totally missed my point. Some act like it's the end of the world if you can't do the perfect wash every time. If the guys has to go to a hand car wash one in a while it's NOT the end of the world. Will the car get swirled? Sure that's possible but that's going to happen in winter more that likely just do to the conditions you are driving in. When spring comes you polish her back up.
 
never gone said:
You totally missed my point. Some act like it's the end of the world if you can't do the perfect wash every time. If the guys has to go to a hand car wash one in a while it's NOT the end of the world. Will the car get swirled? Sure that's possible but that's going to happen in winter more that likely just do to the conditions you are driving in. When spring comes you polish her back up.
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Before I take my vehicle, or any other vehicle, to a hand car wash this will have to happen......

























































frozen_hell.jpg
 
I still think it is important to use the coin op car wash for rinsing the underside of the car to remove the salt. What good is shiny paint when the floors are rusting through?



While I never use the automatic washes where someone else touches the car, I do use the touchless drive thru washes in the winter when I don't have time for a good hand wash at the coin op.



Check with your local car wash, too. Many of the car wash systems reclaim the water, filter it and re-use it. While that might remove the sand and grit, I don't see it removing the salt from the water. Spraying salt water at the car kind of defeats the purpose, huh?



My two cents on automatic carwashes.

Randy
 
Holden_C04 said:
I doubt it. Last time we spoke on the issue, Kevin told me he only uses ONR throughout the winter months.
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Would hell have to freeze over before you let him hand wash your vehicle?
 
I also live in the Chicago area. I just QEW'd my car at 6 am this morning in my non-heated, small two car garage. I say small because it is also inhabited by a minivan, numerous bicycles, junk and toys which limit my moveable space to about a 2 foot area around my car. It was between 25 and 29 degrees. The car sat out at the healthclub from 5-6 am so the metal was just as cold as the outside temp. It took me 20-25 minutes to wash the car, rims and tires and dress the tires. I will not attempt ONR/QEWing the car in less than 15 degrees in my garage. When it is that cold, I just let the crap sit on the car until it warms up. That approach worked incredibly well last winter. When spring came, I did a light polish and viola, as perfect as a BLACK car with (then) 75k miles on it can be!



Touchless washes alone don't work in my opinion and I really would rather not let someone else wash my car. If I instill the swirls, I can live with it. If someone else does it, it drives me bonkers.
 
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