Hi,

I have an SC430 with run flats. I've been washing it by hand, but have not done so as frequently becuase of the weather. I'd like to take through a brushless automatic wash once in a while, but I'm concerned about the clearance. Is it safe to bring this car through with scraping the bottom?

 

Check out your nearest Mobil Touchfree. None of them have a conveyor. You park, and the laser-guided machine goes around your car. However, the older ones had a little "platform" to position the front driver side wheel. Although not as bad as a conveyor, this still worried me a bit. Anyway, to my surprise, I went to a fairly new Mobil car wash the other day (took the Accord, not the GX ), and there was nothing on the floor, just a nice flat surface. You drive in slowly until the screen tells you to stop, and presto!

 

man i wouldn't even walk close to any automatic car wash. i rather have my car stays very dirty...

 

Well It's still warm in Palm Springs and I just let my little Debbie Joe, throw on a thong bikini and Go at it !, I mean the car of course...........


Gee-Bee

She uses ArmorAll car wash and cloth diapers to dry....

 

I'm with you in general, except these machines don't scratch because they don't touch your car. The downside to them is that since they use high pressure water for washing, the car comes out looking better, but not clean.

The GX is still not going in there though... Whenever the temperature goes above 40, I bathe it.

 

I do use touchless car washes as well as doing it myself in the winter since winter is wet here & I just can't always do it myself, depending on the weather. The one nearby is perfectly safe & touchless too, but yes, it doesn't clean as thoroughly as I do myself , you need to do a little follow up on certain areas.

 

yeah that's the thing about those high pressure hose, they hurt the paint still after all. guess i am just too picky

 

never saw any mobil carwashes around here...
saw a bp amaco one in jersey once..

 

It's not just the pressure but there are very strong chemicals in the wash to disolve the dirt and my guess is that's not all it dissolves . You should look into a poduct called Quick and Easy Wash or QEW for short. You can wash your car in your garage with 1 gallon of water. The stuff is terrific and has a high degree of lubricants which will cut way down on the scratches, especially for owners of dark colored cars. If you visit www.autopia.org and do a search you'll find more than you need to know about detailing. The stuff can be found at most RV type stores or online. Also go to this link for more info: www.protectall.com

JTMav

 

yea I heard that before too but how does it hurt your paint? if u got a good coat of wax and a good clearcoat shouldnt ur paint be fine?

 

I' ve heard of that too, but I'm sure driving through an avalanche of millions of invisible miniscule dust/rock particles on the highway everyday at speed is not any better . It's best just to leave it in the garage & admire it I leave my SC in the garage for about 5 days a week on average anyway . . .

 

I've had a black SC430 for over 4 years, and have never had it near any "automatic" car wash, even at the dealer's.

I keep it protected with Zaino rather than wax, and wash it by hand during the warm weather using techniques discussed at the aforementioned autopia.org web page -- a great place to learn about caring for good paint and good leather interiors; and a lot more, also.

It was there that I learned about QEW, and I have been using it on my black car when necessary in the garage in the winter, and it is a wonderful product. When used correctly with the right mits and microfiber towels, you can take the winter road crud off the car with a bucket or two (it's best to use two, one for rinse water) without scratching the paint. I'm pretty particular about that, and had reservations about QEW, but the pros at autopia rave about it so I gave it a try.

It's not expensive, but it's a little hard to find because it's sold mostly for RV use. I had to drive across town to a big RV dealer, where I got a gallon a few years ago. Since you only use one oz per bucket, it goes a long way. You can find it on the net, of course, but shipping is relatively expensive because liquids are heavy.

If you have a garage, it's the best way I know of to wash the car in the winter, because, as noted above, the harsh chemicals in those "touchless" car washes will take off the wax, if you use wax, (detergent takes off wax) and although it probably won't take off polymer sealants like Zaino, I doubt they will do it any good. One other note: often those car washes "recycle" the water (in some places this is required by law) so you could be paying to have dirty water sprayed on your car. No extra charge for the included grit.

No thanks. Leaving it dirty and waiting for rain is better than that.

 

bottom line is everything will eventually take wax down. i am not saying using high pressure washer will take off the wax right the way, but it will take off some. so why would i want that even if i got a thick layer of wax already?

and yes, i ONLY use zaino -- best stuff

 

I use Zaino too, 5 or 6 layers of them shouldn't come off too easily.

 

so zaino over nxt and liquid glass?? right now I am using liquid glass was gonna switch to nxt but everyone I ask uses zaino. can anyone rate the 3 waxes for me from a scale of 1 - 10