Car wash vs. do it yourself

I always do it myself. Granted, the weather is nicer here and it does take some time to do it. But, that said, later on in years you will have results like the below picture. My baby is 17 years old with original paint.



Chris

rrumaner said:

OK the truck is dirty and it is still cold outside. Should I go to a no-touch full serve carwash and let them do their thing or wait until it warms up and do it myself.

I really hate to see the truck so dirty but we are expecting more rain/snow for the next few days which means it is going to get real dirty real fast.

I used to take my Durango to this place every other week and they really do a good job. I am just worried about the 'newness' of the paint and the potential of it getting scratched or something.

I do need to get some Rain-X on the windows however.

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Good questions rrumanner. I hope everyone can add a thought on car washing since all of us proud new Titan owners will be doing that a lot. I'm sure we can get some good tips.

Power washers don't really work well in my area. There is just too much road grime that has oil in it. It doesn't matter how close you hold the nozzle or what cleaning solution you use, the grime still stays. I am also worried about putting too much PSI on my paint and using very strong chemicals.

The best thing you can do is spend some money and build you a car washing kit with plenty of all the stuff you will need. I bought all new sponges, towels, buckets, mag wheel brush and soap. Soon I am going to buy a brush with a long handle to put an end to all of the bending and reaching. The brush that I am going to buy will have soft cloth mop on it rather than nylon bristles. I see a lot of squeegees for sale to dry your vehicle off. It looks like it they have a very soft clear silicone blade. Does anyone know if these work? I wash my truck at my in-laws house because when they built their house they had an outside faucet that gets its water from the hot water tank. Hot water removes grime better and makes washing in the winter more enjoyable. I'm just mentioning this in case someone is building a house, they might want to add this feature in their plans.

For those of you in cold climates I think I would pay to have it done until springtime. I think the most important advise is to constantly rinse out your sponge and soap bucket, otherwise you will be sanding your Titan rather than washing it. :crying:

I use the new Castrol product rather Rain-X. Rain-X always streaked the windows on my cars and Castrol doesn't seem to do that.

My Profession Is...

carwash owner and I find it amusing to hear all of your perceptions regarding car washes and doing it yourself vs. going to the wash. :rollingey

Mine is a full service wash meaning we vacuum and do interior windows in addition to exterior washes. My tunnel is 100' long with soft clothes and a blower bags at the end which blow most of the water off the cars. Three days ago, I spent $10,200 on two high sided washers which have soft foam fingers that rotate at 100rpm which have the ability to clean the sides of the smallest cars to the largest trucks very well.

I'll try to address some of your questions / concerns to the best of my abilities. The way I see it, you've got your good carwashes and your bad ones. Some are dirty and run down with old tired equipment, dirty lobbies and grounds, and help or management that don't care. Avoid these at all costs. Judge a carwash by it's cover so to speak. If the place looks like a dump....chances are the machinery is run down or broken and malfuncitioning machinery is what damages cars.

Touchless or touch free car washes such as those at gas stations generally don't clean nearly as well as car washes that have material that cleans the car such as clothes that hang or spin or the new foam style brushes.

The squeeges that you guys mentioned work great. If you use one, keep it clean. Don't rest it on the ground or anywhere it could pick up dirt. When you use it, sort of "flick" the water off the car in long strokes.

We don't use nylon brushes on auto paint. We use hogshair brushes with bristles on the edge of the block to prevent scratching with the plastic block. We use 5' handles with these brushes to prep the cars. They cost $45 each and will not scratch. I buy them here: http://www.eriebrush.com/.

Water Pressure. Our prep gun runs at 2400 psi and I've yet to damage the paint on a car yet. I wouldnt suggest sticking the nozzle right up to the paint, however, getting within a foot with a 45 degree angle spray tip is fine. If you have an adjustable wand on the gun, don't make a pinpoint stream and stick it up to the paint. Thats bad!

The myth about car washes scratching cars started in the 70's (it actually happened back then) due to automated bruses (not clothes or foam like today's washes) being used by cheap wash owners cutting back on soap to save money. Yup. They scratched cars. Bring your car to a modern, well run wash and you should be fine.

Two advantages to owning your own wash are 1) I wash my truck 3 to 4 times per week and I get to drive just about every new car that comes out! We had our first Titan come through the other day and I was at the bank when it came through! All my guys teased me about missing it when I got back.....

Anyway...these are my 10 cents.

www.blackmagiccarwash.com