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20-11-2011, 01:53 PM | #1 | ||
Thailand Specials
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Driving past the local car wash the other day, I noticed it has an automatic "touch free" car wash, has anyone ever used these before? I want to wash my car, but I don't want to damage my paint with their filthy brush of death and both my high pressure washers aren't working.
Anyone had any good experiences with these things? |
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20-11-2011, 01:56 PM | #2 | |||
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20-11-2011, 01:56 PM | #3 | ||
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Yeah the laser car washs are ok don't expect your car to be spotless, the one near deer park is good it also has a dryer. I use it just to get the dust off every now and then
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20-11-2011, 01:57 PM | #4 | |||
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20-11-2011, 01:59 PM | #5 | ||
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Also Don't go near it with a Chamie if you haven't hand washed it it won't get all the dirt off
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20-11-2011, 01:59 PM | #6 | ||
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what is wrong with it though. i never plug my karcher into the power. i just plug the hose in to make it legal and use the low pressure from the karcher. i never use high pressure water on my car's body
at the car wash stations, i only use the spot free rinse. i only use high pressure underneath it and in the wheel arches etc. even if you hate low pressure washing, i would still prefer it over the car wash places. i only use them as a last resort |
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20-11-2011, 02:03 PM | #7 | |||
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I checked the hose to make sure there are no kinks in it, hose is turned on, it just won't hold pressure. I'll grab a few photos of the car so you can see how dirty it is. |
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20-11-2011, 02:07 PM | #8 | |||
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even without power, the water will run through the high pressure cleaner, but with a low pressure spray. it is up to you, but as i said, i never use high pressure on the body. certainly not around the window frames, and door handles maybe if it is so dirty, try some car wash, then paint cleaner and then polish. i am not sure what water restrictions you have, but your home hose should probably do a legal and good job |
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20-11-2011, 02:39 PM | #9 | ||
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It looks worse when you look at it, photos don't seem to capture how dirty it is. The wheels are clean because I used IronX on them, lol. |
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20-11-2011, 03:28 PM | #10 | ||
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lol why did you let your car get that dirty. It takes 2 hours max to get my car super clean and dried, windows done, tyres etc etc.
Maybe you should get that stuff you let soak in the dirt before you wash it, to avoid scratching it up real bad.
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20-11-2011, 03:31 PM | #11 | |||
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20-11-2011, 05:47 PM | #12 | ||
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They're not bad mate, I use the no touch ones from time to time, they give a reasonable clean. Good if you're tired, CBF'd, have a sore back, have limited time or are otherwise not interested in hand washing. If you expect an immaculate hand groomed wash you'll be disappointed as the water jets are designed not to damage the paint so there's only so much pressure they can apply, hence they don't get all the dirt off.
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20-11-2011, 05:55 PM | #13 | ||
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I work at a car wash and like others have said, if your car hasn't been hand washed in a while then the laser wash won't make it super clean. You need to apply some pressure with a sponge or something similar. Also, it won't clean your rims, you need to get in there with your hands.
If your car has been washed recently and is just a little dusty, then the laser wash will get the job done. In terms of damaging your paint, it won't. It will only damage it if you have paint or clear coat already peeling off. |
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20-11-2011, 06:15 PM | #14 | |||
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That is what my cars look like when they are clean. |
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20-11-2011, 06:54 PM | #15 | ||
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I'm not expecting super clean, but if you look at the car from a distance, it looks clean haha, or even just to losen up some of the dirt so I could hand wash it afterwards.
Whats it like with cars which are already waxed? Will it strip the wax from them? |
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20-11-2011, 06:57 PM | #16 | |||
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20-11-2011, 07:07 PM | #17 | |||
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20-11-2011, 07:28 PM | #18 | ||
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Big damo -you will have to handwash it, but if you used the car wash every 2 week after that would keep it looking good.
LASER WASH brand car washes are the best car wash. |
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20-11-2011, 08:53 PM | #19 | |||
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20-11-2011, 09:11 PM | #20 | ||
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place i used to work i had to wash my car every weekend... by lunch on monday my car had a thin film of cement dust on it... bucket of water with some wash-n-wax, a sponge is all you need, hose it down, wash it with sponge, hose it down, do it again it need be, chammy dry. done. no biggy
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20-11-2011, 10:18 PM | #21 | ||
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I've noticed that they vary. Thought the laser wash ones were good but they're ok. There is one that I have found that swirls the high pressure water and it actually does a good job.
I started using these from time to time as were I work its a pointless exercise to wash my car as its filthy by the end of the day.
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21-11-2011, 12:12 AM | #22 | |||
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+1 Dirty cars are cooler...
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21-11-2011, 01:03 AM | #23 | ||
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No touch laser ones are the bees knees.
Anything is better than the old rotating brush ones that flogged your car to death...I still remember the instructions at the one that used to be over north Mackay back in 1987 where I used to take our TE Cortina..."Remove headlight protectors, remove rear window louvres, lower radio aerial, remove hubcaps if loose, remobve any wind-deflector accessory parts on windscreen wipers"...etc. Then sit still and feel your car get buffetted by the huge blue rotating drums covered in fibres. Then go home and pick the fibres out of every panel gap and from where they were wedged under every piece of chrome trim... But if your car is really filthy like that, warm soapy water and a good quality sponge and gently get it all off first is the way to go...after a solid hosing and soaking when the car is cold. |
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21-11-2011, 01:19 AM | #24 | |||
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THIS is dirty
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21-11-2011, 09:28 AM | #25 | ||
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I always go to the car wash places and give it a hose myself to make sure I get the spots off,then go through the touch free auto basically just to air dry it, then I chamois the body because it doesn't dry it completely, then I use a glass cleaner on the windows followed by a special cloth on the windows to get rid of the water marks.
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21-11-2011, 09:43 AM | #26 | |||
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Washed them all by hand a couple of weeks ago & chamois dry and vacum out the dust and rubbish and it took me all Sunday afternoon and my back was stuffed at the end of that. If you're not a complete clean freak the new touch free's do a more than adequate job. |
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21-11-2011, 02:14 PM | #27 | ||
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i use them every now and then, i find when the carwash is just been installed it works great, after a while it gets a bit stale, also they suggest you run over the car with a broom and soap first, so defeats the purpose of it not needing you anthing but drive in.
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21-11-2011, 03:36 PM | #28 | ||
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Lol touch free car washes are alot of rubbish IMHO
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21-11-2011, 03:54 PM | #29 | ||
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I will run through one after a country trip to dislodge the bugs, then hand wash back home.
Stay away from sponges, they are evil! they trap dirt and leave wonderful swirl marks in your paint, invest in a nice microfiber wash-mit, also get rid of the chamois and get some microfiber towels for drying.
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21-11-2011, 06:13 PM | #30 | |||
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