Don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer in handwashing a car. Nothing else can get it as clean and nothing else will get every inch. But as much as I want to keep washing the xB myself, my wife is getting a little upset with the time I am spending keeping it clean, as it is supposed to be a replacement for the Wrangler which was bought to replace the CJ which was bought to keep the Impala out of the rain and snow so I wouldn't be washing the Impala every other day as was my habit. Now I'm washing the xB every other day and I'm catching heck for it.

So... How does the xB come out of the brushless car washes? Are there any significant areas where it doesn't come clean and you have to clean it yourself anyway? Most cars have some areas that never get touched in a car wash it seems. I would think that the xB is flat enough all the way around that it might even get cleaner that most vehicles in a car wash.

What has been your experience?

Thanks,

Tim

 

it's a tiny car, so everything is cleaned.

 

some dont clean the hatch very well.

 

The car wash at the dealership I take my car to does a good job, but ALWAYS misses an area in the middle of the hatch around the license plate and wiper.

How could you wash the car every other day?? lol... WAY too time consuming for me.

 

Well, I don't really wash 'em. I go over the whole thing with Meguires Quik Detailer and some clean rags (100% cotton, washed in powdered Tide and dried with NO fabric softener) Takes me about half an hour for the Impala and it seems I can do the xB in about 20 minutes or so. I haven't used a hose on the SS in about 2 years. Keep it clean and it is easier to clean. That's what I do.

 

Your only safe bet would ba a Touch-Free wash. Those soft cloth ones still scratch, imo.
It seems like you'd be better of washing it by hand 2 times a week, rather than wiping it down daily with cotton rags and detail spray. So what if it has some dust on it. You may be scratching the crap out of the paint by doing this so much. Try dragging a water soaked towel over it then drying it with a damp microfiber. This is my secret for fresh washed look after driving to a show.

 

I respectfully beg to differ with you slightly on this, Jethro. I've been using detail spray (I buy it by the gallon from the Griot's Garage catalog (clicky))
On the black SS for over 10 years now and there are no swirl marks or scratches anywhere. I would say that the water soaked towel (especially those hard fiber motel towels <G>) might do more harm than good unless you are CONSTANTLY soaking the towel. Reason? The detail stuff has a kind of solution that lets the dust slide safely off without scratching.

The only thing I haven't tried yet is the microfiber cloth for drying. I have one for my Plasma TV screen and I know they are the thing for not scratching. But 100% cotton towels, washed and dried as I described, have never let me down.

Yesterday, at 88 degrees outside, I wiped off the xB with Speed Shine and took my folks to watch the Pirates lose to the Twins at PNC Park. When I got home, there was a 2" x 2" gob of bird poop (I didn't actually measure it!) dried right in the middle of the hood! I use a very liberal amount of speed shine to get it off, but you could still see where it was on the hood - a dull area - like someone fried an egg there or something. So I rubbed some wax on it and it still wouldn't go away. So I got out some car polish and rubbed it in and that took care of it. Since the polish also takes off the wax, I rewaxed the area and it looks fine now.

I wasn't even parked around any trees! It must've hit me on the fly. <G>

Tim[/url]

 

Glad that bird crap came off for sure

When I drag, I use a dripping wet microfiber towel in long strokes and let the weight of the towel do the work. It pulls all the dirt off without scratching, then finish up with a dryer one.

I meant rather than daily wipe downs, let it be dusty once and a while. It just seems too labor intensive to keep it showroom clean 24/7. But if that's what you want go for it.

Mine sits in the shop 95% of the time and I keep it covered with an indoor cotton cover. It still gets dust covered. It seems like a never ending nightmare to keep that BCP sucker clean

 

dont lower yourself to a car wash. something will always go wrong. just do as cartman does...."b*tch get back in the kitchen and make me some pie!!!"

lol, but seriuosly..just deal with the nag and keep hand washing! what is 20 minutes every few days?

 

Ummmm He is doing it daily!

 

I will never take my RS3 through a drive thru car wash if my life depended on it... Dont trust those brushes...

 

True--especially the top of the bumper by the hatch. Once in awhile I go through the touchless carwash. At least we don't have to worry about our antennas being ripped off............

 

Just as advise, dont take your xB to a car wash that uses brushes to remove the dirt. I took mine in to have it done and it literally rubbed the paint off the xB. It came off right where the drivers side rear wheel well meets the rear bumper. There was no dent just missing paint as if someone had used sand paper. The only bad thing was I didnt catch it till the next morning so I couldnt prove it to the manager. Hand washing your car is best but brushless is the next best thing.

 

Well, I just got in from wiping it down again.
It rained yesterday and I "might" have time to drop in on the Pittsburgh area owners that are meeting for pizza tonight t see some other xBs. Now, I can't go with a dirty box, can I?

In all seriousness, I don't expect to be doing this all the time. I only washed the Jeep that I traded in onthe xB about 4 times a year (each season?). I'll probably do the Scion a little more often,maybe once a month or so, but it's still new and the metalflake in the Shadow Mica paint just brings me back again, and again, and again.

IT'S EVIL I TELL YA'! SOMEBODY STOP ME BEFORE I WASH AGAIN!

 

The only parts that don't get completely clean are near the rear license plate area and right in the middle of the front end, above the lower grille area.

 

My xB gets cleaned after every rain (dang Florida it rains daily).

My trick is the following:
1. Take it into one of those bay cleaners and use the soap at high pressure to rinse our the brush thourghly, I then soap down the xB w/ the pressue and use the brush only where needed (which is the areas that rain has dried and left dirty spots, bottoms of doors and where there may be hard water spots from sprinklers)
2. Take it directly while still soapy to the touchfree wash and let it do its thing
3. Drive home w/ a squeeky clean xB

I'm extremely **** about my xBs cleanliness and I don't even take her on long road trips to avoid chips/cracks and etc. Ask anyone in the central florida area, my xB gets me to and from work - thats it.

I hope Hip2bSqr sees this post. You can litterly eat off his dang xB, he keeps it that clean.

 

Mr Clean Auto Dry. At least it makes the time you spend washing quite a bit shorter . . . .

SWEET! I ride a 2001 R1100S and my wife rides a 2002 R1200C . . . neither of them hacked, though . . . .

 

Mr Clean is very good and quick. Keep your eyes open.

They appear to have dropped in price quite a bit too.

I got my Mr CLean Car Wash gun thing for 7 bucks!

 

I have to agree that you don't really want to use a car wash just to quiet the nagging, maybe just do your cleaning a couple of days a week instead of 3 or 4. I too have used quick detailers on all my cars with no scratches or scrapes. Water hardly ever touches my car, maybe once a month to do the wheel wells. I also buy detailers by the gallon..LOL. Detailking.com has very good products and decent prices, been using them for several years.

 

The Mr. Clean is a great option. I was pleased with it on my truck but since I got my Box it has been great. It really does cut the cleaning time down.

Also, when those mysterious drops of water appear from behind door handles and such they do not leave marks.

I only use microfiber cloths. They also work great for a quick dusting of the interior. I keep on in my glove box just for that.