I'm interesting if hearing what people think of the different types of commercial car washes. I would like to use a commercial car wash instead of doing it by hand at home since the stuff that washes off of cars is bad for the environment. I bought my first new car a week ago. Before that, I didn't care about washing my old car.

Anyway, the way I understand things is that anything that touches the car has the potential to scratch it. But what of touchless car washes? Can a strong stream of water be better?

Thanks for any replies.
Anthony

the same environmentally harmful crap that you'd buy in a store. I'm sure you could find some "green" car wash somewhere. Try ordering it from California - they probably have one made of perrier and bean sprouts.

Cheers,
Mark

although they are borderline toxic, the pressure is the killer. It doesn't take a firehose to get a little dirt off your car, just some water in a bucket with car wash soap and a sponge.

DIY!

If I had to wash by hand I would never do it. I have washed my Avant weekly for 10 months now (it is black) at the local touchless high pressure water wash and any scratchs etc... are so small and infrequent that the convience easly outweights the negatives. Relax, don't worry.

I saw this car at the last meeting.
There was a chip on the hood.
I guess that the power washer was able to get underneath, and removed a 3SQIN of paint.
OUCH!!


1996 a4 2.8 qm
manual wash or not at all (thats why its dirty)

that commercial wash bay sprayers are just fine, as long as they are the "fan type," where the water comes out in that shape and not a straight jet. I would believe the manual.

I have washed my '99 1.8Tqms once or twice a week in a commercial bay since I got it 7 months ago. No problems. I do have a few paint chips on the hood (from stones) but this is because of Audi's questionable paint hardness, not a fan sprayer! I just never put the sprayer closer than two or three feet from the surface, in other words, I don't try "sandblast" bug guts and tar off the car with it. I spray the car down good with soap for the 4 minutes that $1.50 buys me, then gently remove the stuck-on stuff with a clear-coat friendly wash mit, then pump in another $1.50 for another 4 minutes and a through rinse. Then dry with one of those synthetic "Absorbers," and presto, it's gorgeous.

BDW

I was once at a marketing seminar, and one of the speakers was from a service station company, talking about car wash marketing. He admitted that the touchless car washes were worse for paint than the regular ones, but worked better as far as marketing. Go figure.

Tim

I agree. I use the touchless wash for convenience and wash by hand when I have the time and want it perfect. Have had no harmful effects on either car from the touchless. Spotless rinse makes drying a snap.

In January in Minnesota the touchless is usually the only option.

Pete 98.5 Avant 2.8qt

The environmental concern wasn't the stuff I'd use to clean the car, it's the run off water. All the oil and grime that's on the car that runs straight into the water system, untreated. I tried a professional car wash today, and I must say I was not impressed. I think I would have gotten just as good a job done in a simple gas station car wash. The wash included a hand drying, but the rags were filty and in a few spots there were dirty water streaks. Thanks for all the replies I received. I think I might just have to buy a few buckets and ignore the run off water.

It always does a better job, and it won't hurt your car. Yes some of that stuff is bad for the environment, but it is if you do it at a commercial carwash, too! I've used some of the "green" car wash solutions on my Acura and it seems to do just as decent a job.

I majored in environmental sciences in college, so I know how you feel. But it's a lose-lose situation if you think about it. You may not be depositing the soap into your own home's natural environment, but think about it... no matter where you wash the car, it has to go somewhere!
Simply driving a car does environmental damage, but in countries like these, you just can't get around anymore without them.

All you need to do is your best. Don't purposely do any kind of damage to Mother Nature too often and she won't get mad at you. Pretty tough old broad, she can take a few small things here and there. ;-)

-S2-