Car Washing

[waynestowels]

I use electric(much lighter, no chance of oil or gas dripping onto the finish, etc)
I do not use a ladder unless I am working on a very tall SUV.

Just start from the top and work down making sure to get the usual places that hold water...

[Pepsi50195]

DO YOU REALLY USE A LEAF BLOWER TO DRY UR CARS? THATS SUCH A PIMP IDEA I DON'T KNOW IF I WHAT HAVE EVER THOUGHT OF THAT!!! THATS WHAT I AM DOING TODAY!!! ANY ONE KNOW WHAT WORKS GOOD ON LITTLE SCRATCHES? I BOUGHT MY CAR USED AND IT HAS SOME ON THE BUMPER THAT I CAN'T SEEM TO MAKE ANY BETTER, NO MATTER WHAT I USE,,,,BUT I HAVE NOT tried VERY HARD!

[Hillyard]

I use the 2nd method, much easier.

I use the mr clean autowash and hand dry it.

For the windows I use newspaper, though. It works better than anything I've ever used before. Just clean the windows with like windex or something like that and a clean towel or whatever, and then wad up some newspaper to make it really soft. Then just wipe over the windows and it leaves no streaks at all. MAKE SURE YOU WAD THE NEWSPAPER UP REALLY WELL, THOUGH! It needs to be soft. Anybody else do this?

[denzillion]

Newspaper method works great. I utilize that method whenever I find unclaimed newspaper infront of my building

(I do not subscribe to any sort of newspaper - internet is better)

Steal them from infront of someone else's house. That's what I do. :P

Or the free papers, or papers someone else brings home, or whatever.

good info ! thanks

[had one]

Wayne what do you think of this info. Two different studys on hand washing vs machine washing at a car wash. One is probably bias other might not be.

http://www.hannacarwash.com/hand_wash_vs.html

[waynestowels]

They are fairly old studies.

If you take notice, the 4 men washing the vehicles obviously were uneducated on how to correctly care for the cars paint.
Think about a halfway knowledgable person in paint care using high quality products, the test would have had different results.

I do agree that most of the damage to a cars paint is caused by people washing their cars with
1- Low quality products
and
2- Not using the correct process.

If you know the correct way to wash AND use quality products, there is not much better care you can take.

With an automatic car wash you actually have a higher rish of scratching and marring.

Think about it..., the Jeep in front of you just came back from mud riding, do you want the same cloths hanging from the car wash to hit your paint with gravel, dirt and debris?

At least at home, with the right tools and procedures,
1- You know you are only using clean cloths
2- You rinse between panels as a minimum
3- You know when they are dirty and can reach for a clean towel.

With quality car wash detergents, they contain polymers and lubes that help slide the wash mitt across the paint and YOU control the speed and pressure.

A drive through wash must use harsh cleaners, acids in some cases to clean your paint (have you ever noticed dull looking paint on fairly new cars, acids do this if not correctly metered...,
Do you KNOW if your local car wash has the correct metering?
Do you KNOW the chemicals they use and are correctly marked and diluted?
Do you KNOW how clean or old their cloths are?
Do you KNOW what was the last thing to touch the cloths?
Do you KNOW what they are made from?
Would YOU normally use that material on your car?

IMO, a professional, enthusiest or knowledgable person that takes pride in their work will do a MUCH better job and no damage to the paint..., sure, give 4 guys mops and cheap detergents with Autozone or Wal-Mart cloths, sponges and brushes and say "have at it" the results will not be good...,

Give a 12 year old girl a tool box with Snap-On tools and ask her to rebuilb your transmission and engine and what will the results "most likely" be?
(not to say there are not young girl mechanics)
But the point is in a word-
EDUCATION!!!
Not only in washing your car, but anything you do in life...

Bottom line-
The "test" was 4 guys with obviously no knowledge of the correct procedurers or tools VS. a new car wash.
Turn the tables, 4 professionals (or enthusiests such as we have on the forum that love their cars VS. an older car wash with worn or dirty cloths, incorrect chemicals and pressures...

The test, IMO, was biased in that they took the worst case scenario (the 4 men) VS. the best case scenario (new inspected and governed car wash)

Sometimes it is just common sense, other times it is looking past the sales pitch:)

Hope this helps...

[had one]

thanks for the reply. Gives one more things to think about.