Car Wash drive thru or at home?

[780]

No where really to hand wash it. 2 mins down the road is a pretty good touchless car wash. Plus they usually have specials. Every Sunday you can get the top wash for like $7-8.
Washes underneath, paint protect, wax, spotless rinse etc, etc...

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[cb4017]

^ That

I use a pressure washer and foam canon but clearly don't know how to optimize it. Spend hours (many, many hours) yesterday hand-wash it after spraying soap, drying it, etc. Older guy as well and I literally could not move my arms and legs last evening. This thing is huge (that's what she said) and hand washing it is a PITA. But...I refuse to put my truck in an automatic car wash, even if it's touchless.

Based on some youtube recommendations this is the stuff I use in my foam cannon. I get it from Amazon. Makes a nice thick coat of foam. Says safe for use in direct sun. I've only used the foam cannon a couple of times and I'm still figuring out my technique but so far:

First I rinse the truck with the pressure washer and "delicate" tip.

Foam the whole truck and let sit for 30 seconds to a minute.

Rinse with pressure washer.

Dry with clean terrycloth towels.

This works but I may try foaming a section at a time then scrubbing with soapy microfiber cloths.

 

[sbi]

scrubbing with soapy microfiber cloths.

This is exactly what I am trying to avoid, can't spend hours on this both time and muscle wise.
I just watched this, I may give it a try. I want a "touchless" wash in my driveway.

 

[cb4017]

This is exactly what I am trying to avoid, can't spend hours on this both time and muscle wise.
I just watched this, I may give it a try. I want a "touchless" wash in my driveway.

That's the same guy I've been watching. In fact, I bought the Adams Mega Foam based on his foam comparison shootout.

If I can avoid scrubbing I will. So far my rinse, foam and rinse again technique has worked fine. The only thing I have scrubbed is the dead bugs on the front of the truck.

 

[kb2755]

Drive through here, but it has to be touchless. Fortunately, there's one 5 minutes from my house and I rarely have to wait in line.

 

[MJG44]

I have a membership to an auto wash/detail facility locally. Get the full package for $45/month. Can drive through 1x day.
I use that with the undercarriage wash in the summer season. I switch to the lesser package in winter with no undercarriage wash as I rustproof underneath and don't want it compromised.

Hand wash at home I use to do but its just too much time.

 

[Calson]

My black coupe looked dirty by the time I got home from the car wash so I started to wash it myself. I do the same with my SUVs and pickup trucks. Takes me under an hour to hand wash the vehicle and it would take a lot longer to drive to a car wash and wait for them to finish washing it and then drive home.

 

[PowerBoostSoCal]

I hand wash my truck every weekend, weather permitting ... I have a college degree, make fairly big $$ and just plain old enjoy doing this type of manual labor. I have several neighbors who will drive by with the old- hey I'm next, or dude you missed a spot - f them in my mind. I save about $80 per month, get my head cleared up a bit, put Alan Jackson on my Bose speaker, etc. I could give a damn ... honestly, yes handwashing with good tools, etc is better but honestly the calming sensation of doing something, getting your head into the week ahead and letting you noisy neighbors know that their comments and ideas just don't mean anything to me ... phew!!

 

[HammaMan]

The ole local scratch-n-swirl is convenient, but has its costs in superficial paint damage. We've had 2 new ones open in the last 2 years and they haven't had all of their 'tools' operating since their first few months. I've gone through 5 times between 3 vehicles and the last time I went was THE LAST. The 2 'tools' that cleaned the hood / windshield / roof / bedcover (oscillating pressure blaster followed by descending rotating microfiber soap wheel) were broke, so most of the vehicle wasn't actually cleaned. I really just wanted the dirt off the bed cover that was going to be rolled up so I still ended up having to go clean it anyway.

There's only one way to get it clean clean, and it's not through a scratch-n-swirl tunnel. A good blower helps, a decent air compressor can be used as well to blow out mirrors / trim / door handles else they'll continue to drip for a few hours (works on wheels as well). With a coating on the vehicle, you can just quickly blow it dry with a blower (not gas powered).

 

[Chilidog]

Unless it's touchless, any drive through with brushes will put fine scratches in your clear coat.

 

[780]

Maybe a regional thing, but I don't know the last time a saw a non touchless drive through wash.
They all seem like they are touchless around here.

 

[Davidwnuc]

Those pay to scratch your car places have gotten really popular out here lately. I don’t understand it.
Hand was only for our vehicles.

i understand though if you aren’t capable or don’t have a place to do it yourself. when i lived in an apartment i would drive 30 minutes out to a manual spray it yourself car wash with my own bucket of supplies. usually early in the morning when no one else was trying to use it.

 

[inseong]

took me over 1.5 hrs to wash and dry correctly with power wash and foam, thats not even a wax.... said fk that went to my local car wash and did a monthly 30 bucks unlimited plan. got to tell you, 8 months later im fine with the way it looks. i just dont got the time for that nor can my back and knees need extra work when i work manual labor already 12hrs a day.

 

[TexasTruck]

Your poll needs a third option, hand wash at the self serve place

The car wash clubs are very popular here. I’m not a fan of the brushes twirling around my truck. The touchless car washes are OK but I prefer the self serve places. I can do a much better job up in the wheel wells, the under carriage, wheels, etc.

My $0.02

 

[Old Hat]

Hand wash fanatic here. It pays off as my vehicles still look great even more than 10 years later.

An important technique I've settled on is rinse the wash mitt with the nozzle after every panel. No grit in the mitt or bucket. I pre-soak by simply throwing soapy water on the panels with the mitt before touching panel.

We get plenty of freezing weather here. I find I can hand wash in the driveway down to the upper 20's. I use a bucket of hot water. Hosing down any area that starts to freeze unfreezes it long enough to wash/rinse. A sunny day helps. It's seldom that I can't find a good enough day at least once a week, two at most.

Vehicle then goes straight into the garage to warm and be hand dried. About 50-60 minutes total but the results speak for themselves.

2005 ZR2 Blazer that I've had since new. Still no swirl marks and check out that reflection! (my F-150 is only a year old, so no use posting that in relation to this topic)

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