I've been using the 25 cent car wash but was considering bringing it to the local car wash joint, the one where it runs it through the machine.

Is it that safe? Or would I expect to come out with a few scratches every so often?

Your thoughts?

 

swirls galore!

 

If your car is black - i wouldn't recommend it unless you want some massive swirling.

I would highly recommend against any car wash place that physically touches the car. Touchless is OK, but even places that hand wash it, they're probably going to induce swirls.

Personally, I wash my car by hand, very carefully. But I'm also crazy.

 

I've always heard that touchless car washes clean without touching by using pretty strong chemicals in the wash water, coupled with high pressure. I don't want either of these used on my car. I don't know this for a fact, but it's plausible--you certainly couldn't clean your car at home without touching it. I don't trust any commercial car wash technology of any kind.

 

how about the drive-thru ones? are those safe?

 

no.

 

I ussually take my car to the car wash and use a mit and a bucket and hand was my car. Or I was it at home. I NEVER bring my car through a car was with brushes and the touchless ones imo just don't do the job!

 

Only if it is a touchless unit, do not use the brush systems.

 

My TL is still scratch & swirl free after nearly 2 years. I don't let the dealership's lowest paid employee take it thru their wash, and I don't take it thru any other kind of wash other than my own driveway and a very careful effort by my own hands. I know with 100% certainty that the first time I would let someone do it in their machine (of any kind) I will get scratches that I will just piss me off to no end. And because I live in Texas where it never rains anymore, I don't need to wash it that much as before. I just blow off all the wildfire ash (not really). But 70 days over 100 degrees in the last 2+ months is getting old already.

 

Being in Boston, it's hard to wash in your driveway in the winter at which point you have to use those touchless systems, which are not great but it is better than salt on the car.

 

For the first six months I owned the car, I hand washed. After that honeymoon period, I take it to the local $5 automatic car wash. It's not a touchless or anything fancy but I can't see any swirls, maybe it's not as noticeable on my PM color.

 

ha ha that's exactly what happened to my first car. Now I just don't care. If I have time, hand wash, if not, dealer or automatic car wash.

 

Do you guys see that its not as nice as it once was?

 

to answer your question, simply no.

im a strong believer that no one can wash your car better than you can (except a professional detailer)

if you take your time and pace yourself, your car will look 10 times better if it was to be washed by machine or people that just want to get the job done in 5 mins.

 

sounds to me like you dont really care about the look of your car, so yea, its safe...

 

Your car is not going to break down and burst into flames if you take it through the carwash. Its impractical to hand wash my car during the winter, so through the swirl-o-matic it goes. Can't ever see the swirls though due to the light colored paint. Aim for touch-less if you can.

 

I don't have the time, or if I do have the time I lack the inclination, to hand wash a big car. My car has always been through car washes since I got it in November 2009, and I don't see anything like swirls in the PM paint.

My biggest problem with the local car wash is that it's not going to remove the road bugs from the grille 100% of the time. Much of my time is on the highway, and I drive about 3 hours/day, so I have a little issue with mashed bugs and unidentifiable squishes on the nose of the car.

If I cared that much about what a car looked like, I don't think I'd have got a 4G TL in the first place!

 

Try to use a spray on bug and tar remover thats ok for the paint, then go to a brushless/touchless(or hand car wash with high pressure water hoses) car wash such as the one some Hess gas stations have. This type of car wash wont get all the dirt off but you can go over it with a detailer spray and microfiber towel.

 

Lol - did I mention above how my neighbors thought I was crazy.

Here's my car after a wash on Feb 2010 - note the small piles of snow around (not much) But it was probably 40f outside. Not sure what that is in temps.

I will take the car to one of those places with the high pressure hose - and spray off all the salt and road gunk.
Then:
Optimum No Rinse - 1 ounce in a 5gal bucket. Rinsing the microfiber wash mitt after each time it touches my car.
Then:
Light drying with a cloth and time for sealant and wax.

Brilliant Shine!

 

One of the many reasons I don't use car washes is that they recycle the water. In the Northeast, this means that salt laden water (in the winter) is being sprayed with high pressure on the car.

 

I personally use the 2 bucket method(when I wash the car), with grit guards(http://www.gritguard.com/the-grit-guard-insert.html), foam cannon and then flood the paint and microfiber towel at the end, it's a lengthy process but worth it!