So many theories on what deteriorates your paint, what's good and bad, etc. Where do you guys get your car washed?

dishsoap? Not that I would do that, but how bad is that for the paint, if diluted? I hear that the Mr. Clean Auto Dry is based on dish soap.

Handwashed with this.....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/dwestxb/soap.gif

dishsoap? Not that I would do that, but how bad is that for the paint, if diluted? I hear that the Mr. Clean Auto Dry is based on dish soap.

Dishwashing soap will strip any wax and is good to use before you apply the wax for the first time or want to remove a coat of wax.

High pressure carwashs are hard on the paint. Most of these places RECYCLE the water. So who knows what checmicals are in there and how abrasive the water might be from lack of filtering.

Best to do it by hand if possible using low pressure and clean sponges and dry cloths.

The people who dry your car at the carwash usually use dirty towels to dry the car. I have seen them wipe dirty wheels and then use the same rag to do the interior....

If you want it done right, do it yourself

Best to do it by hand if possible using low pressure and clean sponges and dry cloths.

The people who dry your car at the carwash usually use dirty towels to dry the car. I have seen them wipe dirty wheels and then use the same rag to do the interior....

If you want it done right, do it yourself

WORD! I would never trust my ride in someone elses hands!

Hand wash and wax for me all day. The products don't really matter as much as the time and energy you put into it. I've spent litterallly one WHOLE day washing/waxing/polishing my car. But in the end it looked better than it did on the showroom floor!

-THE DON

Handwashed with this.....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/dwestxb/soap.gif

I use a different brand, but same idea, soap made for cars.

In the winter I just spray off the road salt when it gets over freezing. :tap:

Handwash definately.
My pinstriper said that most carwash places (drive-thru and manual) got tired of people _____ing about thier cars not getting clean so they switched to very acidic soaps. They will literally eat your clear coat over time.

The manual wash I go to claims to have clearcoat safe stuff. When its nice enough out, I do prefer to wash my car myself.

I have a pressure washer for blowing the day to day dirt off. Then when I have time I hand wash.

I work a a LARGE car wash. They do not recycle the water and we also do not use the same towels. We use different towels on windows and interior and body. We also wipe down door jams down with a different towel.

Here is the site. http://www.cloistercarwash.com/

i wash it by hand. my brother works in an Audi dealership and he brought home some of the soap that they use. he help me wash the car and he always get rash of using that only kind of soap because its powerful.

dishsoap? Not that I would do that, but how bad is that for the paint, if diluted? I hear that the Mr. Clean Auto Dry is based on dish soap.


If you want it done right, do it yourself
what he said...

i wash it by hand, but OMG im never using a wash brush again/ yesternite i saw the UGLIEST fine scratches on the sides... whats the best way to remove fine scratches..? claying?

~tesh

I work a a LARGE car wash. They do not recycle the water and we also do not use the same towels. We use different towels on windows and interior and body. We also wipe down door jams down with a different towel.

Here is the site. http://www.cloistercarwash.com/

We have a large car wash chain here called autobell. It is a full service carwash and handles LOTS of cars all the time.
There is a sign in the place that says they recycle 80% of the water used to wash the cars. I would think that would be typical in todays society/economy. I have also seen first hand at how they use rags to wipe the direst parts of the car and then use them on the interior or other painted surfaces...
scary stuff for those who care about their cars finish

:bow: i found this stuff, from stuf.... works awsome.......thanks Dean .. but seriously no soap spots, and really eats through the diry and built up grim......i use their clay bar and quick spray after a wash once and a while and the wax is awsome..............a set up i could never go without............
http://www.stufproducts.com/store/media/clean_stuf_prod.jpg
http://www.stufproducts.com/
^^^^ check um out ^^^

I only hand wash, but during the colder weather/dark early I take my bucket to the carwash. I think most places that recycle water do filter it, it's not just pumped back up. But I'm sure some places are different or shady...

Please don't ever use a brush to clean paint. Get a synthetic washmitt and only use it on the paint. Use a towel or other rag on your wheels.

Keep it waxed and claybar it every few months.

Claybar won't help with scratches. I like Meguiars stuff. I'd suggest trying the cleaner wax if the scratches are really fine, maybe the scratch-x stuff if they are worse...

What kind of wax do you guys reccomend? I see people wax their veh's in the sun all the time but always read how it's bad for the paint. :no:

:yawn:

You probably won't believe this but I had a friend and he waxed in the sun and the wax ignited and burned off the car.
He hosed it down quick.

:clap:

This thread makes me cringe.

First off, I'm not quite as anal as some about my vehicle's finish. Clean, shiny and reasonably proected is OK for me - I don't need the ultra, ultra mirror gloss to feel good about my ride.

For the past 14 years I've had the same detail shop take care of my vehicles for me - and that includes a 1990 Ford that still looks factory fresh - really!

An occasional really serious detailing with full hand wash and wax, but in between times they simply run it through their brushless automated wash/wax machine and blow dry it (no towels on the exterior body panels).

My vehicles may not be concourse winners, but they look better than 90 percent of the others out there... :)

What kind of wax do you guys reccomend? I see people wax their veh's in the sun all the time but always read how it's bad for the paint. :no: check out stufproducts wax... seriously it is the best wax that i have used at a competitive price, but check it out, if u want i can get u a sample so u can try it and join me in the excitment of their stuff............

What kind of wax do you guys reccomend? I see people wax their veh's in the sun all the time but always read how it's bad for the paint. :no:
Thats a no brainer.

Zaino two step. I have tried (and own) every wax known to man. W/o a doubt Zaino has been the best performing over all my other traditional carnuba waxes (Zaino is a polymer wax). Others have the same shine, but not the longevity or ease of application. http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

That meguires car wash is great, but note that for the first wax application of Zaino you want to strip off any previous wax and meguires is designed specifically to NOT do that. Normal dishwashing soap is fine.

Also very important is what you use to wash your car and how you apply your wax. Most people go with little rags, or sponges, or cotton covered sponges/gloves. This is ok... but definitely not ideal if you want a mirror finish that doesn't show any hairline scratches even under flourecent light. Bigger is better. You can go with fullsize white bath towels (the softer the better... yes the same stuff you would wash yourself with), but make sure they don't have any "ribs" in them (portions where its not fluffy). The best though is to get an artificial microfiber towel. I believe walmart has one that looks like its intended for drying, but it is excellent for washing too.

When washing, applying, and removing the wax, remember to only go ONE DIRECTION. Wax on and Wax off Karate Kid style is SOO bad. Any micro-scratches you create are circular, which means they are visible from any and every angle. Instead use horizontal back and forth motions for the horizontal surfaces and up and down motions for the vertical ones. The slightest scratches you put into your surface over time will only be visible at a very narrow viewing angle (especially on an xB with all those right angles). And pressure should never need to be applied in the washing, waxing, or wax removal.

Drying should be performed with a combination of using a California Water blade, and one of those fullsize microfiber towels. Just be careful of the towels because some are harsh and small.

Its some effort, but when done you should be able to look into the paint and see your nose hairs: :love:
http://ducman69.rchomepage.com/Vettefront.jpg
http://ducman69.rchomepage.com/Vetteside.jpg