Automatic Car Wash Tips

By ERIC PETERS

Posted: 2007-07-10 10:37:57

Automatic/drive-through car washes are more popular than ever because they save time and hassle. And in winter, they also save you from the ordeal of trying to keep your car clean in freezing weather. Automatic car washes can also be safer for your car's finish than washing your car yourself because do-it-yourselfers sometimes don't use enough water to safely remove dirt; or they wash the car in direct sunlight -- which can burn spots in the paint. Or they use the wrong type of soap -- such as dishwashing detergent, which removes protective wax and leaves a chalky residue on the finish. Or any one of several common mistakes can end up doing more harm than good.

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Keeping your car clean and the finish looking good can also mean higher resale value when it comes time to get a new car. All else being equal, a car with faded paint and a dingy overall look sells for 10-20 percent less than an otherwise identical vehicle that just looks nicer.

So how often should you have your vehicle washed? That depends on how quickly it gets dirty -- and how dirty it gets. For some cars, once a month or so is sufficient -- especially if the car is lightly used and kept in a garage. But some cars will need a bath more often -- especially those that are parked outdoors where they're exposed to bird droppings, tree sap and so on, or driven in areas with very long/severe winters, where the roads are salted when it snows.

Here are a few important things to keep in mind when it comes to automatic car washes:

Be sure it's "brushless" -- Some older car washes still use abrasive brushes (instead of cloth), which can leave small scratches in a car's finish. On older cars with so-called "single stage" paint jobs, light scratches could usually be buffed out; but all modern cars use a "base/clear" system with a thin, transparent layer of clear coat on top of the underlying color coat to provide the shine. Once the thin clear coat is damaged, often the only way to restore the shine is to repaint the damaged area.

Another safe bet is "touchless" car washes that use only high-pressure water jets and detergents to clean the car -- without physically touching it at all. There is virtually no chance of your vehicle suffering any cosmetic damage this way. Some areas have "self-service" coin-operated hand washes, which are great for spraying away heavy dirt buildup. You'll usually need to bring your own bucket, wash cloth/sponge and dry towels, though.

Watch out for the after-wash wipe-down -- Most drive-through washes use a strong jet of heated air to force excess water off after the car goes through the wash. Many full-service car washes will then have you drive the car (or drive it for you, in some cases) away from the wash area to be hand-wiped by attendants. This is usually OK -- provided the attendants are using fresh, clean (and soft) towels to do so. Be alert on busy days, when lots of other cars have gone ahead of you. If you see the attendants using obviously dirty old rags to wipe the car down, you should say "thanks, but no thanks" -- and drive away wet. Dirt and other abrasives in the rags can scratch the finish just like sandpaper. Simply driving away from the wash and letting air flow over the car to dry any remaining water won't hurt anything -- and is the best guarantee of a no-damage experience. Any lingering streaks can easily be cleaned up at home yourself using readily available spray cleaners designed for just this purpose. (Honda Pro Spray Cleaner & Polish is excellent for this; it also provides UV protection and easily and safely cleans off bugs, tar and road grime, etc. without water.)

Hold off on the extras -- A "works" car wash can cost twice as much as the basic wash, but you may not be getting twice the wash for your money. Undercarriage rustproofing, for example, is of dubious value. Effective rustproofing is applied to brand-new metal, in order to seal it from contact with external corrosives such as road salt. Most new cars are extensively rustproofed at the factory during the assembly process; further "treatment" is superfluous --aAnd a money-waster.

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On the other hand, if the wash offers an undercarriage bath, it may be worth the additional cost. Jets of water sprayed directly underneath the car can break loose accumulated crud that would be difficult (and unpleasant) to try to remove yourself using a garden hose. It's also important that underbody drainage holes not be obstructed by mud and other buildup; accumulated moisture can accelerate rust or (in the case of the air conditioning system) lead to the formation of mold in the system. The undercarriage bath should help keep those drain holes clear.

Do, however, think twice about spray-on wax. This typically adds at least a couple bucks to the cost of the wash and while it doesn't hurt anything, it's no substitute for hand-applied polish/wax. Spray-on "wax" may provide a short-term gloss enhancement, but doesn't protect against UV sun damage the way hand-applied wax does. Ditto the cost of having an attendant spray Armor All (or a similar protectant) on your tires to make them shiny. The cost for this extra can be equivalent to the cost of buying an entire bottle of the stuff on your own.

Wheel and tire cleaning is an exception; the heavy-duty cleaners used by the car wash do a great job of removing baked-on brake dust, etc., that can otherwise be a real chore to clean on your own, using over-the-counter cleaners, a hand brush and a hose. It's especially important to keep aluminum alloy wheels clean; brake dust can eventually permanently stain them if it's not regularly cleaned away.

Educate yourself before buying a car:

Finally:
Make sure your car's OK before you leave -- While many car washes will have a disclaimer posted that they are "not responsible for any damages that may occur" as a result of running your car through their wash, that doesn't mean you should automatically absolve them of any damage their equipment or personnel may have caused. If you notice something, ask to see the manager and point it out to him; whether "legally liable" or not, he may offer to fix the problem in the interest of customer relations. And even if he does not, you can still pursue the matter with a higher-up (such as the company headquarters, if the wash is a franchise, as many associated with big-name gas stations often are). If you have a cell phone with a camera, use it to take a photo of the damage in order to support your claim. And it ought to go without saying that you should never leave your purse or other valuables in the car if you use a wash where an attendant will have access to the vehicle's interior.

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31 comments

Vipermanz85 02:37:01 AM May 17 2008

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Feel free to ask any wash related questions, i work for a top manufacturer in this industry

Conspe 11:14:18 PM May 16 2008

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i wash my car on my own. ( well, i used to before we got water restrictions). but i washed it myself and it came out amazing! way better than what the local washes do. the local washes use the same towls, so dirt and debris gets in tem and then used on your car. i had one guy try and use a rag he droped on my car. i about knocked him out b/c he was about to use it and i told him no and he stil was about to use it.

Gloria246 10:40:25 PM May 16 2008

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My car is only 4 years old, a Honda Accord, but the white finish is dull and looks horrible. Do I need to paint it to get it to look good. The dealers told me that I ruined the finish by using a car wash or using liquid soap at home to ******* in the summer. I also have a couple of tar spots near the undercarriage. They told me that I must have gone over some repairs on potholes and the tar will never come off. I need some good advice, please. Send to Gloria 246@aol.com

ASerenityStorm 09:43:33 PM May 16 2008

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As easy and convenient as an automatic car wash is, from time to time I still prefer to wash my car by hand. I feel like I can get my car a lot cleaner by doing the work myself- sometimes you need to work a little bit harder in some areas to get the road grime off your car and automatic car washes just don't do that. With automatic car washes, every car is treated as the same. There is no way that you can convince me that the guy driving in front of me drives through the same conditions I do- gravel roads, parking outside (sometimes underneath a tree), through muddy water-filled potholes or even behind that annoying co-worker who is convinced that he must squeal his tires and 'burn rubber' out of the parking lot at work everyday as if the building were going to explode if he didn't leave in 2 seconds flat!

TRdaggers 02:56:57 PM May 16 2008

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Allstarcarwash: I found your comments amusing. Sounds you have a degree from some Car Detailing University. This not rocket science!!! I show classic cars and I bet me and 500 other guys reading this can detail a car as good as you.

Ralphesten 07:51:13 PM May 15 2008

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I DON'T LET TARDS COME ANYWHERE NEAR MY CAR. I ******* MYSELF

LeeGee1028 06:16:12 PM May 15 2008

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Using a "brushless" car wash (to me) is like putting soap on your hands and putting them under your faucet at high pressure. They won't get as clean as if you rub your hands together or use a wash cloth. Give me a car wash with brushes before brushless any day! I'm a road warrior and have used many different types of car washes with brushes, and if any of them have scratched the surface of my car I'd need a magnifying glass to see them.

Spunky900123 05:46:12 PM May 15 2008

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BRUSHLESS CAR WASHES ARE ONLY GOOD FOR CARS THAT HAVE DUST ON THEM . BECAUSE THE BRUSHLESS CAR WASH NEVER GETS THE DIRT OFF THE WINDSHIELD.

FactryRatt 04:07:28 PM May 15 2008

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I know everyone wants to keep it looking nice, but face it folks...............it's JUST a car!

Allstarcarwash 01:29:33 AM May 15 2008

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It makes me laugh that people think they are so much better than professionals. Just because you have a saw, hammer and nails does'nt make you a carpenter. Just as if yu own a hose, bucket and sponge make you a car cleaning expert. Everybody is so smart until they have a problem. then they go to the pro for help.

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