[Junkman2008]

So many folks are under the impression that a touchless car wash is best for your paint. Now watch this video and find out the flaws in your mindset. You will be surprised.

[stbm5]

it depends on the situation. for a quick clean on a car that isnt very dirty a touchless wash can get you 90% of the way there.

[Junkman2008]

You must have not watched the entire video. It's not a question of if the wash is good or bad, it's how the wash is completed that makes it good or bad. If you allow the wash to AIR DRY, you should be okay if you don't touch the paint. But if you dry the car by wiping on it, you are grinding all manner of dirt into your finish, creating a petri dish of swirls. I definitely am not going to recommend that anyone who actually cares about their paint, to do that. It is nothing but common sense as to how damaging that is to your finish.

[sch0107]

My local touchless wash does not really clean the car...

[Junkman2008]

That's why the moomly touchless wash that I would do is one that I would do myself. Remember, they are in business to make money. They want to get your car in and out as fast as possible, because numbers mean profit. They have a host of bills and employees to pay. Most of these businesses could care less about your paint. The way they look at it is if you cared that much, you would have washed it yourself.

It's hard to find that level of service these days and that's why I started detailing my own car, as well as working on it too. I hate working on cars with a passion, but I don't trust anyone to do it for me. I've seen the level of expertise that is out there, ESPECIALLY at a stealership. Those places have some of the worse mechanical hacks around.

[Mech Spec]

There's a wide range of quality of touchless systems. The old ones are pretty worthless. I have a good one near me that is a nice time saver and doesnt leave dirt on the paint. Still requires a lot of drying as that is the weak point of all touchless systems.

I still do my own wash 80% of the time, but sometimes just need the dirt/salt off the car.

[BWBike]

The touchless wash near me gets “most” of the dirt/dust off. However it is nothing like carefully washing the car by hand.

I use the touchless for the Jeep in the winter to remove salt and grime. It’s good enough for that. The Challenger goes to the touchless when it is too cold to hand wash just to get the dust (bird dirt) off (Challenger isn’t driven on snowy roads).

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by BWBike

The touchless wash near me gets “most” of the dirt/dust off. However it is nothing like carefully washing the car by hand..

I totally agree with that, especially the "most" part. It's what they do to what is left that creates damage. Multiply that by the fact that they are using the crappiest towels known to mankind to dry YOUR car, after using those same towels on a hundred other dirty cars. Those towels have enough dirt in them to be 40-grit sandpaper.

The winter time is rough for most folks but I'm lucky in that I wash my car inside my garage. I heat that puppy up with a construction site Ready Heater and I can make it feel like summertime inside my garage.

[BWBike]

Originally Posted by Junkman2008

I totally agree with that, especially the "most" part. It's what they do to what is left that creates damage. Multiply that by the fact that they are using the crappiest towels known to mankind to dry YOUR car, after using those same towels on a hundred other dirty cars. Those towels have enough dirt in them to be 40-grit sandpaper.

The winter time is rough for most folks but I'm lucky in that I wash my car inside my garage. I heat that puppy up with a construction site Ready Heater and I can make it feel like summertime inside my garage.

The touchless wash near me is air dry (only). Nobody takes a towel to the car. Neither do I use a towel to dry when I hand wash; I use a car dryer blower.