Car wash

[Shemp65]

How many of you guys use Duckys car washes and other half/man half/machine car wash places? I always get a bit weird with them driving my car through the wash...

[dbhg1124]

I go to car wash once a week and get a top notch detail job once a month to undo all the damage and swirls the car wash caused. Mb I'm a moron I jus like my baby clean.

[M3maniac20]

Not that I'm a snob about it, I just prefer either to do it myself, or take it to a place that I know very well and have them hand wash it. I don't care how great the material of those sponge things are in the machine washes, I don't trust them. And personally, I would prefer to do it myself instead of paying lots of money when it's not going to be done to my liking.

[FVM3]

always wash the car yourself

[dbhg1124]

how do you find the time? by the time i get home from work im shot and the weekends forget it

[fuddman]

Originally Posted by dbhg1124

how do you find the time? by the time i get home from work im shot and the weekends forget it

+100

[gthal]

Originally Posted by dbhg1124

I go to car wash once a week and get a top notch detail job once a month to undo all the damage and swirls the car wash caused. Mb I'm a moron I jus like my baby clean.

If you are having a detailer remove swirls (i.e. mechanically polish the car), I would be worried about having clearcoat failure after a couple of years. Every time you remove swirls (if you are getting a polish) removes a thin layer of clearcoat. Normally, it wouldn't matter but if you are doing this every month, 3 years or 36 polishes later, you run the risk of having issues. You might be fine but it would make me VERY nervous.

Anyway, just a comment and a suggestion to reduce it to a polish maybe every 6 months... plus, a good detailer who is polishing a car would be charging $500+ per detail and that would be crazy expensive to do monthly.

[snowboarding101]

Originally Posted by gthal

If you are having a detailer remove swirls (i.e. mechanically polish the car), I would be worried about having clearcoat failure after a couple of years. Every time you remove swirls (if you are getting a polish) removes a thin layer of clearcoat. Normally, it wouldn't matter but if you are doing this every month, 3 years or 36 polishes later, you run the risk of having issues. You might be fine but it would make me VERY nervous.

Very true.

For me personally I always wash and detail my own car. Just not a fan of watching someone else touch it.

[Templar]

Originally Posted by dbhg1124

how do you find the time? by the time i get home from work im shot and the weekends forget it

If you care enough you'll make time.

But if you absolutely can't do it yourself, then find a good detailing shop in your area. They can do a full detail to remove paint imperfections, and a lot of them even offer basic maintenance/washing services. The good thing is that they do it the right way, and won't mess up your paint. Any place that mentions the two bucket system with grit guards or foam guns, etc. Doing a small bit of research on your part beforehand will help you find the right place!

Just think, the same sponges in that car wash you're running your baby through were just wiping down the mud, grime, and rocks from someone else's Jeep earlier... Automatic car washes are never a good idea.