I work 12 hours a day- 6 days a week.

I'd love to spend my Saturdays in the driveway detailing my TL- but I haven't got the time.

Recently I've been taking my car through the Automatic Car Wash about 3 times a week. Sometimes it's a "Touchless" carwash (which doesn't seem to do anything) and other times I drive through a wash with spinning brushes.

I got to thinking yesterday; I wonder if this is just stripping the wax right off my car?

I wonder what the wash to wax ratio should be? Maybe a wax for every 20 washes? More?

Any thoughts?

 

automatic car washes are very bad for your car, all the dirt on the brushes scratches your car all the time causing swirls. Here is an easy way to wash and wax your car at home in less than 30 mins:

1. Buy a foam gun ( I paid around 50 dollars for my foam gun)
2. Pour in some of your favorite car soap (I put in Z-7, makes the car look good)
3. Attach to hose and spray down car
4. Lightly agitate with MF towel or wash-mitt
5. Rinse car down
6. Take it for a drive to get rid of water

I do this to the MDX and TL whenever I have a chance to, I know the boat your in, esp. managing working nearly 80hrs. a week sometimes.

 

Another thing to note is that, depending on the design of the car wash, the rails that route your car through the machine may scratch your wheels.

 

Yes.

 

One of the hardest things I have to remove from cars is the marks left in the paint from the spinning brushes ... seems to bruse ( sp ) the paint and they are a dog to remove .. also the soap is very hard on the wax/sealant.


Wash to wax ratio is dependent on the wash used and the wax used.

Cheap OTC wax and a harsh car wash = 3 washes

Good practice home hand wash and a good sealant maybe 20+

 

Those automatic cars washes suck for BLACK cars even more! I try to stay away from them and wax my car every 2-3 months

 

We have like mainly automated touchless car washes here..
I generally just use them to give a good wash-down of the car ... then I go off to a car-wash station and do the rest myself.

 

take a look at your car in the sun....swirls galore
nbp ftl....seriously

 

dam straight they are bad; even the "Hand" Car washes are bad for your car. They use the same sponges from bottom to top...so its like swirling all that sand and dirt all over.
I only bring it to the car washes if my car is covered in salt; better swirls then salt. I usually wax my car everytime i wash it and i glaze it every 3 washes.

 

yeah it sux BUT you can't beat the BLACK when it's waxed, shiny, and looking GOOD! the best color for showing off your car! not hating on any other color

 

i live off of dirt roads so washing at home is pointless, so i go to a place where i can either wash it myself, or they have the no-touch area where nothing touches your car, just shooting water, shooting soap, and fans blowing off the excess at the end. not the best, but no swirls

 

Your Car looks DAMN GOOD for living off dirt roads.

Thanks for the advice all. I've gotta find some time to wash the TL on my own.

Thanks again, all.

 

How about the ones where you just pull in on your own (no rails), park, and the machine goes around you w/ nothing but a stream of water touching the car? Rinse, wash, wax/sealer, spot free rinse. While it doesn't beat a hand wash at home, its not as bad as what you guys are describing. I would never let any kind of brush from a car wash touch my vehicle.

 

 

i juss go to the car wash at the acura dealer. ive done it 3 time already and i dont see any swirls. im pretty sure they kno that acura owners dont want swirls in there cars, so they prolly perfected there car wash system. im not lazy, its juss snowing down here.

 

That is the funniest thing I have ever heard.

 

i would rather have 5 year olds wash my car with sandpaper.

 

i goto to my dealer for my free lifetime carwash,sometimes if im in chicago area i goto hand carwash for $27.00 these includes underbody,car interior and exterior then dry it plus tire... i dont goto automatic carwash coz i had a bad experience on it!!!

My dealer wash my car with preasurize water first (manually) then automatic brush (just one also) then they wipe it and dry manually.


On summer time i always wash my car myself..

 

I'm lost.

 

+1

 

this thread wins the english fail award.

 

Ouch!

Do you really need to bestow that award on the ENTIRE Thread?

We were doing pretty well until Post #15 came along and f'ed us all up.

I still don't know what he's saying.

 

He's saying that he trusts the Acura dealerships to properly wash a car without swirls or using grit-filled clothes -- they have perfected the technique.
He has more faith in the $8/hr 17year old lot attendants/wash "techs" than I do.

 

If you just use the rinse it will remove the salt and 95% of the grit .. then just leave it..

The glazes are great .. they fill and hide the swirls the car wash makes but eventually they won't even keep up and dull sets in.

 

Your car is prolly silver or white ... The dealer washes are great .. my best source of business .. correcting thier swirling.

 

Thanks for the explanation.

I was reading his post with a hint of sarcasm- but after re-reading it- I don't think he was being sarcastic at all. I think you're right- he's got confidence in the Acura techs.

I see.

Thanks.

I'll end up taking the advice of many- and washing my own damn car.

 

guys, do not drive your car around to dry it off, it will leave water marks as well as pick up plenty of dust and debris when on the road.

take some time and dry it off with a good microfiber towel or waffle weave, or if you have a leaf blower, use that.

any commercial car washes are not good for your paint since they use the same mitts for all the cars they wash.

take some time and spend an hour on your car wash, you will be more satisfied and everything will be much cleaner and swirl free.

 

also, honda/acura paints have one of the softest clear coats and will swirl, scratch and hologram with ease.

 

very helpful.

leaf blower? makes sense. I'll do that.

I agree that the "drive to dry" just leaves spots, and picks up dust.

thanks.

 

another option would be to find a mobile detailer and setup a monthly fee to have him come by your home/work to clean your car. there should be many in Florida.

 

LOL the acura "car wash" SUCKS, when i picked my tl up they did a HORRIBLE wax job...yeah it looked good but when i put it on a lift with amazing lighting i realized how shitty it was when you really look at it...shamWOW for the win...actually any chamois will work better than microfiber towels for drying, i think.

 

Sorry partener ... your wrong .... drastically wrong ..

 

nobody will EVER wash my car... besides me....

i have different sponges and towels for ...wheels, and lower body panels / upper panels... i use different products all over, and i actually WASH my burshes and sponges before i wash the car (to remove any possible rock/sand thats stuck in there....

i actually "blow" dry my car most of the time. i gotta 10hp shop vac... i switch it to revesrse, and blow most of the water off... then hand dry it with a micro-fiber towel



even if i wanted to go to a car wash, i couldnt.... cars too low... so in the winter, my car is always dirty

 

No automatic car wash for me. I handwash, blow it off with an ELECTRIC leaf blower (not 2 cycle) then get what's left with a soft cotton towel.

 

yea my TL is white, so are u trying to tell me that there are swirls that I juss dont see? I pretty sure this acura car wash is good, I have yet to see a swirl mark. And i see all these acuras going in for a car wash, so "everyone's doing it" McGrath Acura gives free unlimited car washes if u purchase a car from them, so Im juss using the perks. Its Acura! why would they put swirls in a customers car? When it rain or snows they prolly use that same car wash to wash all there cars that are on display in the lot. i dont kno that for sure, but it seems logical.

 

i dont mean to be captain obvious, but u realli did join the right forum, Acurazine, cuz ur truly are a TL enthusiast by the way u wash ur car, all the steps ur take to wash ur car shows how much u love ur car.

see i dont wanna wash my car as well as u do cuz if ppl see me washing my car that well in my driveway, they may try to dmg my car juss cuz they see how much i take care of my car. like to spite me. a realli clean car sticks out like a sorethumb in a parking lot and that can be a good or bad thing. there are a lot of jealous ppl out there

so my point is...i dont kno, juss getting my thoughts out i guess

 

what? did i say a run-on/fragment sentence? My bad! I am bi-lingual so english is my second language.

 

you have a point. i thought you lived in jersey until i saw your location.

 

Holy shit what's the point of even being alive if you spend that much time working?

 

Are Automatic Car Washes "bad" for your car?

Yes!

I agree with csmeance. The brushes used in the carwashes
are horrible for your paint. I would say stay away from anything
that is automated. Use your own hands to clean your car.

Take pride in your ride