[GF]

I live in a condo and can't wash my car myself.I'm wondering what is the best option to use; the local hand wash where 4 guys clean the car in 10 mins or the touchless rollover wash at the Esso station.

thanks

[KL2DC]

None of those options are entirely 100% safe:

A hand wash is only as good as the attendants diligence in drying the car.

A touchless wash depends on stronger detergents that can strip the wax off the paint.

I've done the handwash and I still get microscratches Our paint really is soft.

Best practice if you have to depend on carwash places is to treat your car with sealants like zaino or klasse. They provide a layer of protection.

I have zaino on my car now and do follow up monthly washes with the detailer (Shimshimhada). Fortunate enough to have him located nearby.

[txusa03]

None of which are my choice. But if I had to pick, something tells me to use the touchless carwash over the 4 dudes. Machines are not known to be bias so that help a little on the psychological schema of thing.

[KL2DC]

Originally Posted by txusa03

None of which are my choice. But if I had to pick, something tells me to use the touchless carwash over the 4 dudes. Machines are not known to be bias so that help a little on the psychological schema of thing.

yeah but they still have to rely on the same 4 dudes to dry which is the critical stage...

[txusa03]

we have true touchless where I live, there are massive blowers that blow water right off the car's surface and no need for human assistance. There are still some water in the joints but it does it job over all.

[JOYRIIDE1113]

A good layer of Collinite once in a while will last through many and all touchless washes, despite their harsh detergents.

[lcrain]

If I were you I would do the handwash and keep some micro-fiber towels in the trunk. When they start to dry it, stop them and give them the micro-fiber towels. That way you will avoid their scratching crapping towels.

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by lcrain

If I were you I would do the handwash and keep some micro-fiber towels in the trunk. When they start to dry it, stop them and give them the micro-fiber towels. That way you will avoid their scratching crapping towels.

hahaha, if you do that, they will be offended and are more likely to cause more swirls. A microfiber cloth is not gona stop me from scratching your paint. Wanna test me out, I have some finger nails taht cannot wait to scratch the paint?

[pander5]

I had a customer who tried this exact approach in that he had his own MF drying towels that he would ask the hand wash attendants to use. It is a practical approach and can be effective if you approach them the right way. If your only two options are a drive through type "touchless" or the handwash I'd vote for the hand wash and very amicably ask them if they wouldn't mind using my towels.

[bimmernotbeamer]

Originally Posted by GF

I live in a condo and can't wash my car myself.I'm wondering what is the best option to use; the local hand wash where 4 guys clean the car in 10 mins or the touchless rollover wash at the Esso station.

thanks

Ah, that's the type of hand wash place you were telling me about before. I get it now. I thought is was one of those DIY wash bay places. If that is the case, I vote for the touchless wash during the winter months. For the warmer months, try finding a DIY wash bay type of place. They must have one in Montreal. Bring your own soap and wash mitts as I suggested before.

[calvino]

I use the touchfree carwash went I don't have the time to hand wash my car. I don't let any other person to clean my bimmer sometimes went I really want the car to look good but don't spend too much time I use Meguiar's NXT Spray Wax but if I don't have the time, sometimes I get the turtle wax easy spay wax and spay it all over the car and Turtle Wax F21 wheel cleaner and enter the touchfree carwash, it works great

[mapujece]

Hello all. I've only had my obw for about a month and a half so I've only needed one car wash since my road trip from chicago to nyc and back. That was at the dealership (they'll wash the car anytime for free) which is about 20 miles from me (Don't want to drive 20 miles just for the car detailing alexandria va). Right next to my house is a hand car wash i've used on my jeep wrangler a bunch of times. My question is it okay to go through one of those types of washes or is a touchless wash recommended since the dealership did the "ceramic coating" to the obw? Thanks for the input!