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
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
