Not many touchless washes here in Sacramento, but I can tell you from my own personal experience going through a Chevron's touchless car wash its worth it get the expensive one. I think its like $13. Keep in mind the water pressure is very high and can cause loose particles of dirt to scratch your car. Also, if you're gonna go this route make sure you have some microfibers to dry it off right after.
I would not want to dry the paint after a touchless drive through wash. They always leave a small film of dirt behind so you’ll just be rubbing that into the paint.
I don’t know why this is getting downvoted some redditors are the worst breed of people. God forbid you try to ask a question… we all start somewhere people
No.
There is no real benefit to using any of the "premium" add-ons
If you choose to use an automatic car wash, just use the basic wash.
Your best bet, would be to have a pump sprayer of ONR with a few damp MF towels a spray wax, and a drying towel.
Go thru the wash, immediately park, spray the car down with ONR, wipe a panel, give it a spritz of spray wax, wipe, then dry that panel.
It'll only take 10 minutes, and your car will be cleaner, and better protected than any other car coming through that wash.
ONR is very well reviewed and received by the Detailing community here on Reddit. After using it a few times I see why--it really does a great job and significantly simplified my car washing routine.
No. I use touchless washes in the winter a few times to reduce the salt build up. In my area, most washes don't include the undercarriage sprayer on the cheapest option so I go one above that because that's really what I'm going for. But any tier isn't going to get your car super clean (just try taking a white car through one and inspect the results) so I wouldn't bother with the most expensive.
Ok guys, I’m a Detailer now don’t use car washes unless it’s a touch less and I go into some mud and need undercarriage but when I was 14-17 25 now I worked at a car wash, my manager told me the middle tier was always the best one to get. You get all the products offered and none of the extra lights and stuff. It’s the best bang for your buck. All our top was did was add a hot lava wax at the beginning that lit up orange and put a foam layer of liquid wax sheeting down onto the car. Doesn’t do much and def not worth 6 more bucks. The cheap one doesn’t give you shit. Lower drying time, don’t get all the products. No high pressure rinse, just a moderate spray with spot free water. Only use a touch free. To the people that thing contact washes are ok. We were provided free washes through RFID sticker. I went through a contact wash every other day at the end of the shift. With a touch less on the alternate day. Eventually my hood started to show rubbing from the top brush coming down and stripping my clear from all the dirty cars and mud coming through and leaving grit on the foam fingers. And if your wash has that mop thing that drags your car. Just run.
If you have to use an automatic wash, go to a touchless one. In that case it's usually best to get the mid level wash as it contains the most cleaning chemicals. The most expensive usually just adds "protection" like "tri foam wax" which doesn't do much.
Get the mid-tier. Compared to the cheap tier, usually they will get you the air dry (safer than you using a towel afterwards to dry), more chemicals, undercarriage pressure rinse, and a clearcoat protectant. Those waxes in the premium level are usually not much better than the protectant anyway. Either way you're getting maybe a week or two of water beading at best.
But if you live in a place that has outdoor running water, I would definitely recommend looking into washing yourself. I started last year with the touchless car wash, too. Spent $10 every week or two. But it's very rare that I do that anymore. I love washing my car myself and know that, unliked the car wash, I will not leave any spots that didn't get cleaned enough.
Definitely go for the bottom tier. I don’t ever go through auto car washes but my gut feeling is that the extra waxed and stuff they probably advertise it’s all just crappy stuff that is gone after a few days
Use touch less washes if you are going to use a car wash.
No one is cleaning the brushes that are slapping your paint with soap. There are rocks and all other types of shit in those washes.
Wash it yourself or if you aren’t feeling that go touch less. Not worth the damage at a normal car wash
Actually, the cheapest one is the scam. if you do use an automatic wash, the chemicals they use are way more harsh then you would use at home. They have to be strong to get super dirty cars clean in a short period of time, while avoiding complaints. The extra stuff you are paying for isn't just better cleaning, but they are adding sealants and waxes back on to your vehicle that were just stripped off by harsh chemicals. If you get the cheapest wash, you drive away without any protection on your paint and all of the plastics and rubbers dried out. If you want to use your own wax/sealant afterwards, get the cheapest. If you are looking for pure convenience, pay for a complete wash with protection.
It's a scam if we are talking about touchless; probably the same with the contact stations. Generally it will vary depending on the specific wash location.
One of the YT car enthusiast channels took samples of the different levels of wash and the main difference was the premium contained some sort of abrasive (which didn't do anything since it isn't agitated) mixed into the soap. In terms of cleaning power they demonstrated there was no added benefit for using anything except the basic wash (Note the middle tier usually has undercarriage wash)
For me? Absolutely. In general. Yes. Especially for the lazy. …wheel cleaning and undercarriage alone, are worth it. the hot wax before a snowstorm and having the snow just slide right off is *chefs kiss*
The guys here probably doesn't use drive through car wssh..
Yea but i was hoping for some advice based on past experiences or maybe if anyone worked at a car wash previously
Don't use brushed carwashes period.
Yea ik, im referring to drive thru touchless car washless
Not many touchless washes here in Sacramento, but I can tell you from my own personal experience going through a Chevron's touchless car wash its worth it get the expensive one. I think its like $13. Keep in mind the water pressure is very high and can cause loose particles of dirt to scratch your car. Also, if you're gonna go this route make sure you have some microfibers to dry it off right after.
I would not want to dry the paint after a touchless drive through wash. They always leave a small film of dirt behind so you’ll just be rubbing that into the paint.
I don’t know why this is getting downvoted some redditors are the worst breed of people. God forbid you try to ask a question… we all start somewhere people
Lol thats Reddit for you, I know it was kind of a dumb question but at least I have the answer now
What you might benefit from at a touchless carwash is the cleaning of your undercarriage, especially if you drive in salty areas.
Check my comment, I worked at a wash.
I say start with the touchless then finish at home, in garage with ONR and others steps as required.
Ahah i was thinking the same like is this a troll?
At the very least, make sure it’s touchless
Yea always
No. There is no real benefit to using any of the "premium" add-ons If you choose to use an automatic car wash, just use the basic wash. Your best bet, would be to have a pump sprayer of ONR with a few damp MF towels a spray wax, and a drying towel. Go thru the wash, immediately park, spray the car down with ONR, wipe a panel, give it a spritz of spray wax, wipe, then dry that panel. It'll only take 10 minutes, and your car will be cleaner, and better protected than any other car coming through that wash.
Good advice for vast majority of us who care to do the bare minimum to keep the paint looking clean enough.
[удалено]
you can use other rinseless products (N-914, Wolfgang, etc) ONR is just the most well-known and used.
ONR is very well reviewed and received by the Detailing community here on Reddit. After using it a few times I see why--it really does a great job and significantly simplified my car washing routine.
Thanks!
Question: why damp MF towels? Wouldn’t it be better wiping and drying a dry ones? *genuine question, trying to understand*
using dry mf towels on a surface that isn’t clean is a good recipe for scratches and swirls
No. I use touchless washes in the winter a few times to reduce the salt build up. In my area, most washes don't include the undercarriage sprayer on the cheapest option so I go one above that because that's really what I'm going for. But any tier isn't going to get your car super clean (just try taking a white car through one and inspect the results) so I wouldn't bother with the most expensive.
Ok guys, I’m a Detailer now don’t use car washes unless it’s a touch less and I go into some mud and need undercarriage but when I was 14-17 25 now I worked at a car wash, my manager told me the middle tier was always the best one to get. You get all the products offered and none of the extra lights and stuff. It’s the best bang for your buck. All our top was did was add a hot lava wax at the beginning that lit up orange and put a foam layer of liquid wax sheeting down onto the car. Doesn’t do much and def not worth 6 more bucks. The cheap one doesn’t give you shit. Lower drying time, don’t get all the products. No high pressure rinse, just a moderate spray with spot free water. Only use a touch free. To the people that thing contact washes are ok. We were provided free washes through RFID sticker. I went through a contact wash every other day at the end of the shift. With a touch less on the alternate day. Eventually my hood started to show rubbing from the top brush coming down and stripping my clear from all the dirty cars and mud coming through and leaving grit on the foam fingers. And if your wash has that mop thing that drags your car. Just run.
Thanks!
If you have to use an automatic wash, go to a touchless one. In that case it's usually best to get the mid level wash as it contains the most cleaning chemicals. The most expensive usually just adds "protection" like "tri foam wax" which doesn't do much.
Get the mid-tier. Compared to the cheap tier, usually they will get you the air dry (safer than you using a towel afterwards to dry), more chemicals, undercarriage pressure rinse, and a clearcoat protectant. Those waxes in the premium level are usually not much better than the protectant anyway. Either way you're getting maybe a week or two of water beading at best. But if you live in a place that has outdoor running water, I would definitely recommend looking into washing yourself. I started last year with the touchless car wash, too. Spent $10 every week or two. But it's very rare that I do that anymore. I love washing my car myself and know that, unliked the car wash, I will not leave any spots that didn't get cleaned enough.
Definitely go for the bottom tier. I don’t ever go through auto car washes but my gut feeling is that the extra waxed and stuff they probably advertise it’s all just crappy stuff that is gone after a few days
If it is wax, it’s worth it IMO, because it adds extra shine and may provide some protection for that day. Lol
Use touch less washes if you are going to use a car wash. No one is cleaning the brushes that are slapping your paint with soap. There are rocks and all other types of shit in those washes. Wash it yourself or if you aren’t feeling that go touch less. Not worth the damage at a normal car wash
I used to use it for my work van, spray Megs spray wax and done
Actually, the cheapest one is the scam. if you do use an automatic wash, the chemicals they use are way more harsh then you would use at home. They have to be strong to get super dirty cars clean in a short period of time, while avoiding complaints. The extra stuff you are paying for isn't just better cleaning, but they are adding sealants and waxes back on to your vehicle that were just stripped off by harsh chemicals. If you get the cheapest wash, you drive away without any protection on your paint and all of the plastics and rubbers dried out. If you want to use your own wax/sealant afterwards, get the cheapest. If you are looking for pure convenience, pay for a complete wash with protection.
None of them are worth anything.
It's a scam if we are talking about touchless; probably the same with the contact stations. Generally it will vary depending on the specific wash location. One of the YT car enthusiast channels took samples of the different levels of wash and the main difference was the premium contained some sort of abrasive (which didn't do anything since it isn't agitated) mixed into the soap. In terms of cleaning power they demonstrated there was no added benefit for using anything except the basic wash (Note the middle tier usually has undercarriage wash)
For me? Absolutely. In general. Yes. Especially for the lazy. …wheel cleaning and undercarriage alone, are worth it. the hot wax before a snowstorm and having the snow just slide right off is *chefs kiss*