Dear Detailing Gurus,

Thank your time reading the following and replying.

My winters in Montreal are too cold to do any washing of the car myself. I also admittedly will never give the time necessary to detail my car like most of you may.

I have limited alternatives to keeping the car clean and would like some input as to which method would be the least damaging. I will realistically wash my car every two weeks. It will be filthy with salt, sand and road dirt.

1.) Hand Car Wash: they pressure wash to remove dirt, then slop on soap and agitate with furry hand mits, pressure wash to remove soap and dry with chamois.

2.) Non-touch auto car wash: they pressure wash with a wand that travels around the car and may be within 1' of the body when spraying, apply a foam soap, pressure rinse with water apply a rinsing agent, pressure wash again and then drive through a hot air blower. I can select a waxing agent but have never tried it for fear of putting something I don't want on the car.

Which would be the best for my situation?

Having used both, the hand car wash seems to do a better job. However, I fear that when the Hand wash applies soap and scrubs they may do more damage than good. The auto wash does not fully remove the dirt from the windshield. You can see the line of dirt/grime where the windshield wipers do not reach in the extreme areas.

Any comments or suggestions will be appreciated.

 

I am not guru, but I love washing my car, I usually you a car wash, spay it off yourself, (I like in a apartment complex, so this is the easiest and fastest way) and then do a quick detail spray and wipe it down (this is after a bi-yearly polish job), takes like 45 min (could be dont in like 15) and as long as it is above freezing it doesnt get too bad.

 

I would suggest touchless for the most part because your car is going to be dirty a lot in the winter. However, once in a while you should hand wash it because the touchless wash does not remove all the dirt. A fine layer of dirt stays on and the longer you let that layer build up, the harder you will have to work when you hand wash the car.

 

Hey TSriX, I live in Edmonton so you know I get a bit of winter too. It's -24C here now. Anyway, I use the touchless type most of the time during the winter. Normally once a week I do a fuel fillup and exterior wash. Perhaps a few visits over the winter to a hand wash place to get the inside done as well. The touchless I use seems to do a pretty good job. Not perfect, but good enough.

 

-24C???

Dayum thats cold!

 

Sure, but it's going all the way up to -15C tomorrow afternoon.

 

Unless it is ever above freezing, I woud suggest the touchless. Although most of the people have said do the hand washing place every-now-and-then... I would stay away. You can't be certain their mits are clean... that's why I call places like that "dirt movers" because they're just moving dirt from someone else's car to yours (although I don't know the place, just lite-hearted remark).

A high pressure wash will get enough of the salt off, but really you need to make sure wheel wells, trunk lids and door jams get washed well too. Those areas trap water and salt very nicely.

Finally, the BEST care you can do to your car is put a final coat of wax on before the first freeze. This will last the winter for you and provide a great barrier to resist salt and damage.

 

Watch out with car wash spray guns... I had a friend of mine create a scratch because he held the spray nozzel too close to the finish. The high pressure water scratched the paint because of the amount of dirt that was on the car. The dirt just scratched the paint as the water propelled it off the car. When I have to use a spray gun... the closest I get to my car is 3ft. At that distance, it's not so harsh. If you don't think a spray gun can hurt your car... I recommend try putting your hand near the nozzle and spray. You won't do it again, I can assure you that.

 

Devo,
Do you think the Touchless autowash can do damage this way or is the constant movement of the jets stopping any damage?

Moda_way,
I just took delivery of the car in early November so provided the dealer prepped the car properly it has a new coat of wax.

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What about the automatic washes that give you an option to apply wax? Any experience or comment on that?

 

Yes... a touchless autowash could cause damage because the spray nozzles get really close in some areas. So... if you really have to get your car clean... i suggest you "pre-clean" it... just use the spray yourself at 3 ft distance.... then get most of the dirt off... then go into the auto wash. This way, you get the bigger stuff off.

I'm not big on keeping my car clean (like i do the rest of the year) in the winter but I do strive for getting all the dirt and salt off my car... just using a spray gun (with soap option) then rinse.

You are going to find that you can't get everything off using the above method so unless it's real bad... live with it. Otherwise just bring a nice soft bristle (oxo makes some nice brushes) brush and use that to clean the car. Yes it's a brush and no it will not scratch your car (i've used these brushes on all my cars... no problem).

 

What effect does a touchless wash have on wax or something like a Zaino finish? Does the spray strip it off?

 

yes, I would be interested in knowing if the touchless car wash removes wax?

Also, make sure you use a synthetic wax over the winter months - it lasts longer than those containing natural waxes like carnauba.

 

good questions... if you are carefull and spray by hand from a distance, I have noticed that my car still beads as if it were just waxed. I don't really want to wash my car up close with a spray gun because I fear that I will damage the finish. So if it can damage the finish I am sure that it will stip off "wax (zaino not being a wax too)"