touch free car wash?

[Franco Cozzo]

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?

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

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?

why do you need your high pressure washer working?

[JoshXR]

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

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by gtxb67

why do you need your high pressure washer working?

So I can wash my car at home, garden hose is a bit dodgy. My car has only ever been washed once in its life since I've had it, so she's a bit dirty. Its brown instead of white, lol.

[JoshXR]

Also Don't go near it with a Chamie if you haven't hand washed it it won't get all the dirt off

[gtxb67]

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

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by gtxb67

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.

Turn them on and it only does high pressure for 2 seconds, goes back to just spitting out water, then high pressure for 2 seconds, back to just spitting out water etc.

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.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Turn them on and it only does high pressure for 2 seconds, goes back to just spitting out water, then high pressure for 2 seconds, back to just spitting out water etc.

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.

it sounds like the motor is gone, but the motor on my karcher has never been used

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

[Franco Cozzo]

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.

[buggo]

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.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by buggo_gt

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.

I drive down dirt roads a fair bit, so I don't see the point in washing it all the time, once every few months should be alright to wash it.

[Rodge]

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.

[Falconxr68]

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.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by buggo_gt

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.

You are kidding aren't you?

That is what my cars look like when they are clean.

[Franco Cozzo]

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?

[martyk54]

Originally Posted by Falconxr68

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.

Yeah, the dead give away for the lazy sods who use auto car washing is filthy rims(typically front), while the rest of the car is seemingly clean. My local usually has a queue for the auto while there are 3-5 bays free... even on fine days. No disrespect to those who do it, but I guess it's the nature of society today... most want a quick instant solution for everything($12-$14 I think?!? ), money obviously no object.

[Rodge]

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

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?[/QUOTE]

Yeah pretty much. The better ones have their own final coat wax application which is pretty good and blow dryer. I use them mainly in the autum and winter or if my back's playing up, (rains almost every day in winter N.Z.) once every couple of weeks to keep the winter filth and grime level's down. Prefer to hand wash in spring and summer. Like others have said they don't do the wheels very well. Give it a go, they're a bit of fun and most importantly unlike the other car wash types, they will definitly not damage your paint.

[kevino]

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.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by martyk54

Yeah, the dead give away for the lazy sods who use auto car washing is filthy rims(typically front), while the rest of the car is seemingly clean. My local usually has a queue for the auto while there are 3-5 bays free... even on fine days. No disrespect to those who do it, but I guess it's the nature of society today... most want a quick instant solution for everything($12-$14 I think?!? ), money obviously no object.

Just for some balance here, coming from a 2 car household, I used to wash both cars weekly by hand. Then chamois dry. Then wax by hand every 2 months. Of course, far superior clean, but when you work your ring off every week in your day job and you savour your wekends, the thought of spending 2 or 3 hours of it keeping the car clean sort of loses its appeal after a bit. So, whacking $12 into a auto laser wash to get 90% of the rubbish off it in under 5 minutes sort of makes sense.

[mistermxer]

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

[vztrt]

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.

[drew`SEVNT5]

Originally Posted by flappist

You are kidding aren't you?

That is what my cars look like when they are clean.

+1


Dirty cars are cooler...

[2011G6E]

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.

[dylby1]

Originally Posted by buggo_gt

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.

youre kidding right? thats clean lol
THIS is dirty

[FG_Frodza]

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.

[Rodge]

Originally Posted by Brent

Just for some balance here, coming from a 2 car household, I used to wash both cars weekly by hand. Then chamois dry. Then wax by hand every 2 months. Of course, far superior clean, but when you work your ring off every week in your day job and you savour your wekends, the thought of spending 2 or 3 hours of it keeping the car clean sort of loses its appeal after a bit. So, whacking $12 into a auto laser wash to get 90% of the rubbish off it in under 5 minutes sort of makes sense.

+1 Three cars in our family and my wife never washes her runabout.
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.

[jrfttf]

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.

[I reckon]

Lol touch free car washes are alot of rubbish IMHO

[BlackXR8]

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.

[stevz]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

............but I don't want to damage my paint with their filthy brush of death...........

Just the other day at my local carwash I saw a guy washing his near new 5 series BMW with the brush. I cringed and looked away.