On my recent purchase of a TL, the salesman advised me never bring my car to an automatic car wash that uses even those soft foam brushes. Especially dark colored cars like mine. They leave swirl marks. Other than hand-washing he recommended I bring it to a brushless wash. I'm fortunate to live next to an excellent brushless automatic car wash. The price ranges from $4 to $7 which includes a hot wax, a hot pre-soak sudsy detergent and a hot wax. They all include a rocker panel and undercarriage blast of hot water and finishes it off with a soft-water rinse. The only thing I wish they had was an air dryer. After I finish, I have to drive home and wipe off the water with a soft cloth even though they claim the final rinse is spot-free. One day, I'll see if the claim is legit and let it air dry.

I've also had good luck with Eagle One's Nano Spray-On wax. It is so easy to use, it's clear (no white residue). I use a microfiber cloth. I wax my car everytime I wash it in under 15 minutes. The other product for my leather/vinyl interior is Eagle One's Nano Leather Cleaner/Protector. You can go from your vinyl dash to your leather seats with one rag and one product. It does a great job on the interior and doesn't leave that greasy glossy finish like some products do.

 

Welcome aboard. Love the TL.

Your results will vary with equipment and operator. I have had good results with friction and touchless washes.

I heard the wax is bad on windshield?

I'll repeat some mean things about touchless automatics now.
Ever see them blast the paint off a house with a powerwasher?
They may be using harsh chemicals instead of friction. The cost and quality of the chemicals can vary widely.

 

Welcome to the forum. Yeah, its true that many carwashes can cause swirls, etc., but not always. The touchless carwashes are decent for removing alot of dirt, but will never look as good was a brush wash. I usually hit the touchless washes when I don't have time to wash myself, or the ability (not allowed to wash at my appartment complex), and detail good myself afterwards.

 

Welcome to AZ I prefer to hand wash myself. I don't trust those automatic or dealer washes.

 

I don't have much of a choice when i'm away at school, so i usually take my car to one of those automatic touchless washes that use high pressure water. Never had a problem with em, it gets the job done.

 

That's because you're in FL. Try washing your car by hand when it's 25 degrees outside.

Anyone know of a good non-rim scratching car wash out the Edison, NJ area?

Dave

 

He also should have recommended not letting the dealership staff wash your car when you bring it in for servicing. They use horrible technique, and even worse equipment. They can outswirl any car wash.

 

I used to let them rinse it off in the winter when it was caked with salt, but otherwise I only let the dealer vacuum it out. They washed it once when I took it in like 2 days after I detailed it, and it looked 10 times worse than when I brought it in. Never again!

 

Also, a dealer salesman is the last person I would ever ask for advice on cars. Most salesmen I know only know enough stats about the cars they seel to answer basic questions a client may have, but otherwise don't know jack about cars. This especially goes for detailing. My 13 year old car usually looks better than the new acuras on the lot when I visit the dealer. Every once in a while you may come across a true auto afficianado working at a dealer, but its pretty rare, at least in my own experience.

 

My dealership is doing some lame hand wash while the car is on the lift.

All the dealerships around here have mobil wash gypsies clean the inventory.

Any of you guys have acura dealers that run it through a proper in-bay touchless automatic?

 

inbay, yes touchless, no

 

Recycled water can be as bad as brushes. I understand time constraints make it impossible for some people to avoid auto-washes, in which case touchless is best; but try not to make a habit of it.

 

What do you recommend for those who are not contrained by time so much as location?

For example, my apartment complex does not allow car washing on the premises. In fact, they have even gone as far as to remove any external faucets on the buildings. There are no pay-and-spray type places in the area and I really don't know anyone in the area who is nice enough to let me borrow their drive way for half a day to do a proper wash, polish, wax, and seal. There are also no touchless carwashes in all of the metro area.

So, what should I do?

 

Can you bring a bucket with about 2-3 gallons of water into your parking area? That's all you need if you're using a rinseless wash. I live in a condo too and have communal parking; same deal, no hoses and I won't use pay and prays or touchless (may car marrs way too easily), so I use rinseless wash (in this case, Optimum No Rinse). I know it seems like a strange concept but I've been using this or QEW for years now on my black cars without an issue. They're pretty popular amongst mobile-detailers too.

Basically you just mix a capful of ONR into the water, soak some mitts, wash a panel then dry it; repeat. Switch mitts as they get drity. It'll leave a puddle around your car, but the total water consumed for me is usually less than 2 gallons. For times when it's really dirty you can pre-soak with some onr mixed with water in a spray bottle.

 

Does this generally get the car clean enough to clay and wax as needed? And does this need to be done in the shade?

Also, any recommendations for a place online where I can order the ONR in the US?

 

Sounds like it should be (never used it) but if you really want to be sure the surface is clean for claying, get a spray bottle and fill it with a 50/50 mix of water and Iso alcohol. Spray and wipe with a mf towel and your ready to clay...

You can use the same mix to wipe down the clay lube after you finish claying. Then its polishing time

 

It's just like a regular wash; you can move right to clay or wax. Shade is helpful (as always), but not required.

My favorite two online vendors are exceldetail (hi patrick!) and pakshak. You can get ONR at either place.

http://www.prestostore.com/cgi-bin/s...6688&pd=277629

http://pakshak.com/optimum-no-rinse-...hine-32oz.html

Here is a good "how to use ONR" to wash:

http://forums.offtopic.com/showthread.php?t=2517501 (I dont think you need to be reg'd to see)

Here's a review

http://autopia.org/forum/showthread....&highlight=ONR

Tons more if you search autopia.



http://autopia.org/forum/showthread....&highlight=ONR

 

The only problem I have with this, is that while your driving home with your car wet, you're actually picking up dust and debris that can be a disaster to the finish once you wipe the surface to dry. Try to build up a small "kit". I have one of those vinyl trunk bags that velcro on to the carpet and a small cleaning "arsenal"- California Water Blade, a large MF towel and some small MF cloths (in Ziploc bags), Wax As U Dry or QD Spray and a can of Stoner's IG. Carrying these around in the trunk is no big deal and I can wash my car and do some small detailing after the wash anytime and anywhere, go to a coin-op wash and dry it at the lot. As far as a spot-free rinse, they probably have a water softener that does not leave water spots on the car (Mr. Clean Car wash does this). IMO the best part of caring for your car is drying it after a good wash and inspecting the finish at the same time.

 

Thanks for the info, man. I'll give it a try after the holiday.

 

Thanks. You make a good point. Especially since we've been in a drought here in New Orleans even before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Although I've moved to the suburbs with relatives in the parish (county) that didn't flood, there's a lot of debris pick-up and cleanup work still going on, I'm sure there's a lot of extra dust being stirred up in the air. It's going to take many years for this city to recover. 80% of the city was under water, including my house (eight feet for nearly two weeks). We could really use a mild tropical storm with plenty of rain to clear the air around here. I was fortunate ti kept my job. The negative is, I have to drive to the eastern end of the city to get to work which happens to be on the way to the landfills where all of the debris is being taken. A lot of homes are being torn down. So there are nails along the interstate. Since I had flood insurance, they will pay up to $30,000 for ICC money (Increased Cost of Compliance) to raise my house and demolish it if necessary. The problem is trying to get insurance. I would like to move to an area that did not flood, but my homeowner's insurance said they would drop me if I relocated. But if I demolish/rebuild in the same location, they'll keep me. It's a joke. I paid my flood and homeowner's policies all these years. Yet those without flood insurance can get their homes demolished for free, compliments of the U.S. taxpayer. But I digress.

I've picked up three nails in my TL. Funny, it's always the left rear tire that takes the nails. I wonder how many more plugs that tire can take.

I have another question (maybe I should post in another section). My mother has a Cadillac CTS with heated seats. I have a bad back. (If it had a vibrator, I'd probably be lulled to sleep it feels so good.) Her seats get so much hotter than my Acura TL. Do you think the Acura dealer can adjust the heater on my seat? Even on high it feels like her low setting. I do like the inflatable lumbar feature on my TL though. Nice touch.

 

I'm about to put a Y splitter on my washing machine valve and run a house out my balcony door. Ghetto, but hey, you gotta wash your car.

 

Another vote for ONR!

I'm not constrained by time, location or water but I just started using ONR and love it. I'm using it with a 2 gallon pesticide sprayer and a bucket full of rinse water (with a grit guard). Highly recommend it, especially for people with constraints.