Poll: Which of these regimens will leave your paint in the best condition?

[bcwang]

Here's an interesting scenario I thought up, based on how I see many people care for cars. Which one of these options do you think would be the best for the car. Imagine the car is fully prepped by a professional, polished and finished with a durable LSP. Let's say the car lives outdoors in nice California weather, which means no real seasons, so no salted roads, no freezing temps. Let's also say bird bombs or those random type of finish deadly things don't occur. So the only thing to worry about making the car dirty is dust collection, dew forming on the car to make the dust stick, and occasional (non-acid) rain that will mix with any dust, and the water spray from driving in the rain.



So....if a user had to pick only one of only these 3 choices of car care, which one would have the best finish still at the end of the year when the professional detailer washes it and looks at the result.



1) No wash at all for 1 year - that means the next wash is 12 months later.



2) Regular automatic car wash every week - the kind without attendants, so no one to dry the car with a towel, just the air dry thing



3) Touchless automatic car wash every week - again the kind without attendants, so air dried

 

[SuperBee364]

Number 3. Besides the occasional ONR wash and pre-waxing wash, that's all my cars see is touchless washes. I'll also get a few client cars that come back to me after a year of nothing but touchless automatics that are completely mar free.



If I didn't have the touchless option, I'd vote for something not on your list: weekly (or more frequent) ONR washes.

 

[citizen arcane]

I pick option #4 - a car that's carefully hand washed (traditional or ONR) by it's Autopian owner.



Option 1 would give the best results to your question (if you're careful not to lean against it/touch it etc.); no Autopian could go a year with a dirty car!



Option 2 (tunnel wash I think you mean?) is swirl city!



Option 3 is of little use - it just gets the grit off (if even then) and you still have a dirty car.

 

[bcwang]

Of course people are going to make up option 4 as the best. But Option 4 is also like the standard Autopian behavior anyway. Here I'm trying to weigh what an Autopian would not put their car through, but the average Joe might. So basically if a user doesn't care how his car looks while they own it now, but just cares a few years down the road when they need to resell it. These 3 are the common ways a lazy person could take care of their car in hopes that they want their finish to maintain as best as their lazy self could get it.

 

[citizen arcane]

Average Joe runs his car through the tunnel wash, pays for the "hot wax", is blind towards swirls and has no cares at resell (ever seen the swirl-a-matics bought and delivered when new?)

 

[bcwang]

Or Autopian father has nice finished and prepped car for average Joe son and gives it to him for using in college throughout the year. Knowing he cannot tell him to waste time hand washing it every week when he has a hard enough time trying to do well in school, the best he can do is tell him strict directions, 1, 2, or 3.



After 4 years of college, Autopian father hopes the car is still in good shape with only LSP protection added once a year when son comes home to visit.

 

[citizen arcane]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to to challenge you . Being a Devil's Advocate I'll give these scenarios:



If the car's a dark color, I stick w/ option 1 but only if no one writes "wash me" repeatedly on the dirt encrusted paint. Dark paint paint being what it is it may induce the owner to use a towel after option 3 which is no better.



If the car's a light color then option 1 but only if no one writes "wash me" repeatedly on the dirt encrusted paint. Light colors being what they are, they may not induce one to wipe it down after a wash. So option 3 may be a viable alternative, but only if the owner can't help touching the paint while dirty:grinno:.

 

[imported_MBenz]

Not to get off topic, but i was under the impression that 1 run through the touchless would annilate any lps on the paint. Other than that, i would go touchless.

 

[imported_Picus]

I have to respectfully disagree with the option #3 folks. I only have anecdotal evidence, but I have a lot of it. I have a myriad of customers, I wash a number of their cars regularly. A very large percentage, however, do touchless washes only (quite regularly), and some (like me) wash their car very, very infrequently. While I definitely agree that the touchless folk tend to fair better overall than the regular hand wash guys, I have seen first hand that no washing (or very infrequent washing) leaves a superior paint finish overall (and again, not in all cases, but enough for me to come to that conclusion).



My car is a perfect example. I *may* wash it 6 times a year if I am lucky, more like 2-3. The paint is almost literally perfect after 30 months and 51k km. Washing it is hilariously easy too. I've clayed it twice, seal/wax whenever I wash, but for the most part it's dirty, but it makes me happy to know the paint under the dirt is as close to perfect as possible for a daily driver.



The guys who go through touchless seem to suffer from window water spotting more, and a generally rougher finish (probably due to lack of LSP after a few washes?).



So ya, it's close, but I'm going with no washing ever = better overall finish.



Oh, and in case you're wondering, the cars I hand wash regularly tend to fair very well, but even so the overall paint condition (in terms of light swirls) is worse than not washing at all, since no matter how careful I am I *am* touching the paint on a weekly or even bi-weekly basis.

 

[wannafbody]

#1 for the win. Using a touchless spray could induce marring from the hose hitting the vehicle. Also the force of the spray could slide dirt particles against the paint-granted it would probably be microscopic marring.

 

[DetailnByDustn]

From actually owning a Laserwash M5 touch free car wash system, I would go with that. The best way to clean your car is wash it by hand and dry it every time, along with proper wax and sealants and claying. Rain-x is the bomb with helping prevent water spots it wont get rid of them it will help water bead of your cars surface which leads to less water on your cars surface to evaporate and leave water marks and water etching.



PS. don't use the brushes at your local car wash, bring a bucket and wash mitt, you should see the things people scrub with those brushes. We try to keep them as clean as possible but people love to scrub there wheels, tires with them trapping dirt in the brushes leading to scratching your cars surface when you use them.

 

[snowskate]

Great poll. I've been thinking about asking the same thing this whole winter as I watch my car get coated in salt and grime and sit outside coated in the driveway.

I so wanted to get after it, but realized I couldn't do the proper wash, so I left it.

 

[Accumulator]

I voted #3, and if for some reason I were unable to wash properly or have a pro do it I'd go that route.



While I understand the "no washing = nothing bad happening during a wash" I'd worry about etching from long-bonded contamination, the moisture-retaining effect of built-up dirt, and from marring when the built-up dirt gets rubbed against (this is a primary cause of the marring I get on the S8- I take a long trip, the car gets very dirty, and somebody brushes against it while it's parked).



Yeah, many touchless washes are hard on LSPs, but not always and IMO it doesn't have to be a *weekly* thing.



Picus- I see your point and kinda see myself in your post too, still, well, I dunno...I don't wash the garage-queens very often, and they can get mighty dusty..(dunno if I'd say "dirty" ) in between washes, but it's not the kind of soiling a vehicle would get if it were used for daily commuting.



Eh...if I couldn't wash my way (health issue perhaps), I doubt I'd be able to drive either. But then there *would* be my wife's car to consider, but I'd have her wash it sorta-properly herself. Otherwise I'd find a pro.

 

[imported_Picus]

For whatever reason, despite the almost sinfully long periods of time I'll go without a wash my car doesn't get *that* dirty. It's garaged at night, but driven in all kinds of conditions every day. Sure, it's dirty, but it isn't like caked in horrible road salt or mud, just a thin layer of grime really. I do agree when someone brushes against it that is a problem, but often times it's a problem even when the car is spotless.



I'm not promoting not washing cars at all (hah!), I am just saying for me, on my car with hard-ish paint it seems to stand up very well despite my lack of washing.

 

[PerroneFord]

I chose option 1 for my car. Dirt won't swirl the paint, or scratch it. Occasionally, I have to go long periods where I just can't do anything to my car. It is in desperate need of an interior detail right now, but I washed it last weekend for the first time in probably 5 months. (I know, I know...)



Honestly, doing a careful rise, pre-soak, rince, foam, wash, blot dry, I was STUNNED at how it looked. There is nothing on the paint that wasn't there this time last year. The wheels came up nicely, the reflections were marvelous for not having anything on it.



I am going to do a sealant on it next weekend and probably spend a few nights this weekend cleaning up the interior.



The touchless option might be good as well, but I am somewhat afraid of the chemicals.

 

[bcwang]

I wonder how much protection the touchless car wash available protecting chemicals can provide even if the main wash strips LSP. I mean these clear coat sealant, triple foam polishes, and rain-x complete packages that you see offered.



Even if it only lasts a month, if you're doing this every week or two, you may have limitless protection at your disposal. This is interesting now. Does anyone here have experience with car wash after wash spray on protection? Probably unlikely given the crowd but maybe something worth observing.

 

[Accumulator]

bcwang- I bet it varies from wash-to-wash, but the spray-on stuff I've tried (mainly on service loaners) never seemed to do *anything* that you'd really notice. At least it didn't smear up the windshield either It *might* help the water blow off a little better.



I'd apply some durable LSP that'll resist their detergent a little when you do your last "real" detail (e.g., Collinite 476S or FK1000P), and figure that the spray-on stuff at least doesn't hurt any (sometimes you gotta buy it to get other wash features you want anyhow). Dunno if it's *worth* what they charge, but hey...peace of mind can be worth something (even if, in this case, it's probably a bit illusionary).

 

[citizen arcane]

bcwang maybe D Fermani can jump in to answer your questions as he seems knowledgable about coin-op car washes.



What I can tell you is that from my (very) limited experiences w/ touchless car washes is that they are not worth the hassles on a dark car, as mine don't get clean with 'em. They maybe remove the grit but my black cars appear to be no cleaner (and perhaps due to the hot water/caustic chemicals, stripped of their LSP) at the end of the cycle.

 

[David Fermani]

I chose option 1 for my car. Dirt won't swirl the paint, or scratch it.

Who ever said God made dirt & dirt don't hurt?



Any time you touch your car, it's being scratched so as far as "marring" goes, #1 & #3 won't induce marring. Personally, I'd say if you didn't wash your car for a year, you're getting a severe case of bonded contaminants. If you're frequently washing it, you're atleast cleansing the paint and drastically reducing the harmful film that bonds to your your finish causing acid rain and particle damage. I still don't buy into the whole "carwash chemicals are bad for your finish" claim. Take a clean car with no protection(one that has zero beading) and run it through the touchless wash and give it the full werks package. Then spray some water on it and take note of the new found beading that is created. That's just enough protection to get you through a few light rain storms until the next week's wash. That's gotta be worth something more that just leaving it to rot.

 

[bcwang]

I was just reading a post by superbee364 saying his 1000p protected charger went through a touchless wash about once a week for almost 6 months through the winter season too and at the end when he hand washed it the protection was still there and the finish was still flawless with no contaminants bonded.



So maybe these touchless washes aren't so bad these days. Hopefully his observations weren't the result of one of these spray on protection packages.