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

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

I'm with Picus on this one... #2 shouldn't even be an option, and #3 will strip off the wax/sealant, which does protect against rain, sun, etc. to an extent... in Cali, this would be very bad as I imagine (yes I can only imagine being from Chicago) that it's 90 and sunny regularly and that sun beaming down on unprotected clean paint can start becoming an issue... in Chicago however, #3 is a very good option for me for 7-8 months of the year because it's mostly overcast, weak sunlight, AND I found a car wash that doesn't use acid as the soap for their washes haha, so my LSP stays on longer (especially since it's KSG layered 5 times)



In short, as was mentioned before, touching the paint in any way means slowly swirling it, so #1 would be the ideal solution for Cali imo...

 

[backwoods_lex]

Another good question is what type of care the interior will receive. 1 year without care (depending on the driver) can put some pretty serious wear on a vehicles interior.

 

[bcwang]

Interestingly my friend just went through a touchless wash yesterday. The problem was it didn't get clean at all, a layer of dirt was still on it afterwards. So either this car wash used very mild detergents that won't strip your LSP, or the fact that the car was too dirty and had not been waxed in over 5 years makes dirt not release from a touchless wash.



I wonder what the spray on clear coat protectant does when it's sprayed over a layer of dirt.

 

[Accumulator]

Interestingly my friend just went through a touchless wash yesterday. The problem was it didn't get clean at all, a layer of dirt was still on it afterwards. So either this car wash used very mild detergents that won't strip your LSP, or the fact that the car was too dirty and had not been waxed in over 5 years makes dirt not release from a touchless wash...

Yeah, IME touchless washes only *clean* well-LSPed, not-too-dirty vehicles. Otherwise they merely do more of a "potent rinse job" that's merely better than nothing.

I wonder what the spray on clear coat protectant does when it's sprayed over a layer of dirt.

Heh heh, not much IMO.

 

[Byk]

I vote for #3 during the Winter months especially as leaving all that salt on the car for long periods of time cannot be good.



In months that I can wash it myself, definitely option #4.



Oh, and even though option #1 may make sense in non-winter months, I like having my cars shiny and couldn't stand that option.

 

[efnfast]

Yeah, IME touchless washes only *clean* well-LSPed, not-too-dirty vehicles. Otherwise they merely do more of a "potent rinse job" that's merely better than nothing.

[/COLOR]

Agreed there!



I usually only use them for the first wash after winter to get the really heavy duty crap off the car.



I can't help but cringe though seeing people drive into them with a filthy car, pull out and then take some towels and start buffing their cars, regardless of the layers of dirty still on it. *shudder*!

 

[Lowprofile]

Copied/Pasted this article from DB site. Good read on 'touchless car wash'...

'Touch less’ carwash

Most so called ‘Touch less’ car washes today use Hydrofluoric acid as a first step, an alkaline to neutralize the acid and then high pressure water to wash cars. Hand washing is MUCH preferred, don’t use an automated car wash period, touch less or not, there are a variety of reasons: You should never, under any circumstances use a car wash that requires you to let another person drive your vehicle onto the ramps or into the wash, notice the disclaimer “No responsibility for damage to customer’s vehicle.�



Local by-laws require car washes to re-claim or recycle water. This means they have two choices.

a) They can collect the water in tanks and pay to truck it away to a recycling centre.



b) They can filter and then recycle the water (dependant on how often the filters are cleaned/changed) will affect how much dirt content there is. Recycled meaning re-use the same water, which may include any road dirt/grit that is not filtered out is used to high-pressure (1,000PSI) wash your vehicle (somewhat similar to sandblasting) the final rinse is usually twice-filtered re-cycled water, this is to give the appearance of a clean surface on the vehicle.



c) To help clean the recycled water they use a chemical like Presidium Orthophosphate (TSP) and have the chemical formula Na3PO4. It is a highly water-soluble ionic salt. Solutions of it dissolved in water have an alkaline pH; this does a great job stripping your wax / sealant. TSP is generally not good for cleaning vehicles because it can corrode metal.

•To remove snow/sand/road dirt and grit without agitation (brushes etc) requires the use of very strong chemical cleaners.

•Probably the most important is that this type of automatic car wash use high-pressure water and strong alkaline detergent to clean vehicles that will strip the wax/polish

•You will also need to renew the vehicles sealant / wax to ensure the paint surface protection on a regular basis to counteract the effects of the harsh detergents.

•Also be aware of those that use ‘wheel guides’ as they will cause scratches / etching to the wheel surfaces, as many wash facilities will not accommodate either the tyre width or the clearance, thus causing sidewall damage

•Vehicle with lower than ‘standard’ suspension (Corvette C6 and other sports cars) should also be aware the wheel guides could cause body damage

•As an alternative especially in colder winter months I would suggest using a waterless vehicle cleaning product Optimum No Rinse (ONR)



If you get a chance, attend a car wash / wax vendors symposiums where they give demonstrations of the different soap products that these type of facilities use, as a Chemical Engineer they scare me. You'll come away a convert to never using them again, on any vehicle.



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1.Automotive Detailing Inside & Out; a Knowledge Base for the Perfectionist, by Jon Miller

2.TOGWTâ„¢ Series of Detailing Articles, by Jon Miller



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[PhatboyC]

Good read. But over here, there so much salt in winter I prefer the touchless as it also cleans the underbody of the car. I can't imagine myself doing that with ONR.

 

[imported_Picus]

I just wanted to bump this thread since I finally washed my car this year. It's the first wash since last year, sometime in October/November. Process wash CG CWG in foam gun, rinse off, more CWG in bucket, wash as normal. The car is mint except for a couple light water spots on the trunk and hood and a little contamination behind the wheels. I stand by my no washing = best paint condition statement. Of course it makes for a dirty car, so obviously there needs to be a happy medium.

 

[bcwang]

How much lsp protection did you have left, leaving the car dirty for so long? I notice if my car gets dirty for extended periods of time from some rain, the sides that get all the splash soil has the LSP completely knocked out after 4-6 months, while the top surfaces are still strongly beading.

 

[imported_Picus]

I didn't see much evidence of protection. There might have been a linger bit on a few panels, but for the most part I'd say I was waxless. I shouldn't have let it go this long, but what can you do. The 476S I had on there did last a good long time, though.