[Paul330d]

Getting a black 330d, read all the horror stories about swirl marks, read the mega post on how to spend hours and hours keeping it clean, etc. etc. Thing is, I reckon you just have to accept the car's going to get dirty.

So, my question is: why can't I just take the car to the local high-pressure touchless car-wash & give it a quick spray? OK, so it won't look pristine, but won't this method at least avoid swirl marks & scratches and mean I can wash it more often?

[jcoo085]

Unfortunately in Germany I don't have the option of doing it at home and so I take it to a place where I can wash it myself. These places all have the high pressure hoses, but when standing about 50cm or more away from the car, the pressure is not much higher than a strong garden hose.

I usually give the car a good once over with the hose and the soap that comes out (the water is also warm) to loosen up most of the heavier dirt. Then a good rinse with clear water . For both it takes about 15 mins because I also do the wheel wells and as much of the underbody as I can.

I fill up the bucket (that has a grit guard) with warm water (normal temp in summer) and a good helping of soap. I have a sheep skin mit that I use and try not to wipe more than twice before sticking it back in the bucket (especially on the lower panels). I do the top half of the car first and rinse off when I've finished a side, then I do the same for the lower half. When I'm done, I rinse the car very well to make sure everything is removed and then I dry with a microfibre towel.

Then I jump in the car and very quickly drive the 10mins back home and finish up with a polish and wax in the garage. For those of you recommend against driving home, I found that in the 10mins it takes to get home, there is less dust on the car then if I try to do it at the washing place (and of course I only wash when the roads are completely dry).

I know that this is a long post, but I hope it answers your questions about high pressure hoses.

[Paul330d]

Interesting, thanks, but isn't drying the car off and polishing it just asking for swirl marks? What I'm wondering is if I accept the car will never be super clean, I can keep it say 95% clean just by spraying, and more often because it's less aggessive (no rubbing, wiping, polishing, etc.)

[jcoo085]

Using a touchless system won't remove all of the dirt and contaminants. They will have diminishing returns each time you use them. The first time you may be able to get the car 95% clean, the next time only 90% clean, and so on. After a while, the car may look 'clean', but there are still a lot of contaminants on the cars surface. These will, in time, build up and then start to eat away at the clear coat and eventually the paint itself. In winter it is especially important to clean the car properly because of the salt they use on the roads.

You may not notice anything after a year or so, but I'm almost certain that after 2 or 3 years, you will need to have some major professional work done to restore the paint. Fast forward to between 5 and 8 years and you're probably looking at needing a complete respray.

Personally, I would rather live with a few swirl marks now and have a complete professional detail for €200 when I sell the car in 2.5 years time. This would involve claying, machine polishing, etc, and would be cheaper than paying double or even triple just because I wanted to avoid a few swirl marks.

From what I've read, unless you're willing and proficient enough to do your own machine polishing or spend a great deal of money on these miracle polishes (and I'm not), swirls marks will be a fact of life with any car (especially a black one). I do everything I can to minimise them, but I know some are already there. Luckily they are so fine they can't be seen with sunlight or flourescent lighting. I've only managed to see them at night with a bright torch held a couple of centimetres away from the car.

[UncleWede]

One way to minimize the visuals on the inevitable swirl marks is NOT to swirl the towel you use. Straight lines forward to back on flat surfaces, up and down on the sides.
When you look down the hood or roof, if the swirls are in line with your vision, they are not as noticeable.

[england1987]

It takes me about 1-2 hours to wash my car, depending on how clean I want it, or how dirty it is to start with. I sometimes will wash it twice. I will sometimes you a laserwash if I cant find the time to do a proper wash.