MS3 and automatic carwashes?
- Thread starter chufa
- Start date
silverspeed03
Boost Junky
- :
- 2008 MS3
Well, It's easy to say "it's good if your lazy" when you live in FL/CA but, when you live where I do and get cold weather it's hard to find the motivation to go outside and wash your car. This is the only reason I own a silver car, no swirl marks.
jam_asian85
Member
- :
- Mazdaspeed 3
i'm guessing there's no touch-free car washes ???
yeah... youd be surprised how many swirls your car has because its silver. sure it hides well, but under proper lighting youll see it. youd be surprised how deadened your finish looks compared to when the paint is swirled.
Take this approach to ensure swirl free paint, even on silver:
Pre-wash the panels good with high pressure.
Clean your bucket out well.
Clean your washmit out well after and before each use.
Ensure your washmit is either Chenille or MF.
wash with light pressure and avoiding going in circles.
Rinse the car thoroughly, than wipe dry with MF rags with NO tags.
STAY AWAY FROM CAR WASHES!!!!
Follow that and you will have very very very little swirling.
Pre-wash the panels good with high pressure.
Clean your bucket out well.
Clean your washmit out well after and before each use.
Ensure your washmit is either Chenille or MF.
wash with light pressure and avoiding going in circles.
Rinse the car thoroughly, than wipe dry with MF rags with NO tags.
STAY AWAY FROM CAR WASHES!!!!
Follow that and you will have very very very little swirling.
Sacrilicious
boom boom!
- :
- Cosmic Blue MS3 of hawtness!
i am not a fan of the cleanser that comes with SOS pads, so i like to add this as well...=d
http://www.instawares.com/super-duty-cleanser-grit.91386kim.0.7.htm
Cleaning your car with an SOS pad would feel about the same as cleaning your donkey with an SOS pad.
I use Haltech's method. Spray the most amount of dirt off as possible and then use the bucket method, rinse and dry.
I'm a MF nazi, I would never use anything else. My silver paint is unswirled.
I use Haltech's method. Spray the most amount of dirt off as possible and then use the bucket method, rinse and dry.
I'm a MF nazi, I would never use anything else. My silver paint is unswirled.
Awww man, I thought I was the only person who knew that secret. (sad1)
this works soo much better than the SOS pad
Polish Pad with wear indicator
http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=42
It really keeps the hard-to-maintain black mica looking shiny!
Polish Pad with wear indicator
http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=42
It really keeps the hard-to-maintain black mica looking shiny!
Last edited:
flipstylex
Member
- :
- Mazdaspeed 3, Cosmic Blue sport
whenever i use the automatic carwash, i never used the standard one(with the rotating brush). they have a couple of carwash around my area nowdays that just uses high presure water 
i think they call it hyrowash4000 or sumtin 
. it works real good, doesnt scratch your car in any way. it also has that high pressure dryer, so u dont have to wipe ur car
i think they call it hyrowash4000 or sumtin . it works real good, doesnt scratch your car in any way. it also has that high pressure dryer, so u dont have to wipe ur car Here's a funny story.. in the 80's my neighbor had a Delorean.. And no s***, he washed his car every sunday with SOS pads.. He did make a mistake once and used a circular motion. He spent weeks fixing that mistake. In 1989, he hired a dude to come out and polish the stainless steel to a mirror shine, only to be fined by the local police. He ended up selling the pos.
silverspeed03
Boost Junky
- :
- 2008 MS3
Touchless carwashes suck ass, might as well not even wash your car. Every time I get a wash from a touchless place I leave with dirty water marks along the bottom of the car from the lack of scrubing that the touchless washes are not capable of. I don't go to the washes where the brushes beat aginist your car. I go to the do-it-yourself type washes. It's not the best either but, what choices do I have? Not wash my car all winter? Not going to happen. Wash my car myself when it's 25 degrees out? Not going to happen. I doubt any of you would either, really, you wouldn't. So I figure this is as good as it gets.
BlackCherry06
Member
- :
- '17 CX-3 GT
I normally end up spending about $8 when I'm feeling lazy. I go to the do-it-yourself coin-op and wash the car myself so the wheels, fender wells and rocker panels get clean. Then I run it through the touchless and get it blown dry. 10 minutes with a towel afterwards (optional depending on the temperature) and I'm done. I'd NEVER use a brush-type auto car wash. Scratchy Scratchy.
I'll go to a do it myself place and spend around 15-20 bucks. Of course, the DIY near my place is top notch. However, I use the auto places every now and then, especially with winter coming up. Sorry, I know it may not be great for the paint, but the last thing I want to be doing when its forty out is spraying water all over the place.
Dude at 15-20 bucks why not take it to a car wash where they wash it by hand for you? a DIY for 15-20 bucks...Wow! They letting you use Evian water to rinse your car or something?
My take on washing car from best to worse:
0. Having it professionally car washed and detailed (80-100 bucks minimum)
1. Washing it yourself at a DIY (with all the same stuff you would use at home)
2. Washing it yourself at home (only 2nd if you dont have a high pressure hose)
3. Letting it be washed completly by hand at big car wash places(we dont have big enough wheels to worry about it)
4. Touchless car wash as found in gas stations
5. Scratchy/touchy car wash found in gas stations (rare sight these days)
6. Not washing it for years (albeit 5 could be considered worse)
