joonsta

...and I'm left with water spots, pieces of towel cloth, swirls, and light scratches on my car .

So out with the ****ing car washes, and in with the self washing.

From this day and on, I'm gonna go to those places where you pay and wash your own car .

Now, how do these places work? Do you have to take your own cleaning stuff?

What stuff do I need? How do I go about cleaning the car so it stays sexeh?

Any tips and recommendations are welcome!

MrG4Life

iTrader: (14)

Bring several dollars with you like 5 or 6 so you can make change cuz most require you to deposit quarters. I always bring wheel cleaner and something to dry your car. Honestly, I really don't use those kind of car washes anymore cuz I'll end up using like $8 worth of quarters to clean the car the way I want it. It always seems like the timer counts down a little too fast for me. These kind of car washes allow u to spray soap water, wax, and tire cleaner on your car. I wouldn't ditch the regular car wash just as yet.

UDel

I tried doing a self car wash twice when I was in a apartment and it was such a pain. The thing continues to count even when your not spraying and always runs out when still need to spray then you have suds all over your car and you have to mess around with paying it again and it often did not accept the dollars unless they were perfectly crisp. Then a bunch of dirt/dust/pollen, and leaves were blowing around getting on my car so it was kind of pointless. It was also in kind of a shady area and I did not want to stay there too long washing a nice Lexus.

There is a new car wash called Optimum No Rinse that you only need a bucket or 2 of water for a complete wash that people seem very impressed by and is perfect for winter/apartment washing, I will definitely try that when I move back into a apartment instead of messing around with those self car wash places.

LXMN

If you want to handwash at the do it yourself car wash, bring one or two empty buckets, two gallons of water, wash mitt, and car soap. (tire brush and cleaner optional). You might want to get a bag or hard rubbermaid container for all of these things.

Plenty of quarters, blast the car with the rinse cycle to remove all loose contaminents. Pour the water into your buckets and wash your car. Let the timer run out ( so what, you get more time if you restart the cycle instead of adding additional quarters) Do not stop until you are finished washing your entire car. Then blast the car again, and if they have the spot free option, blast away with that too.

Do not forget to bring a shammy of some kind and immediately dry your car off. Expect to pay about $4-5 each time you do this. I have done this half a dozen times at a touchless car wash.

jfelbab

You could also look for a LaserWash touchless auto wash in your area.

LXMN

What exactly is this? Never heard of one before and am now curious.

EXP_Cougar

Around Houston many of the bigger Exxon stations have the laser wash (or whatever it's called) - it's just a touchless car wash. Typically $8 for a top of the line wash and $6 for a quick wash...

jfelbab

It is a totally automated car wash and drying system. It uses high pressure water and soap to dislodge the crud and it then rinses with regular water and finally with de-ionized water so any water that is not blown off with the high volume blower will dry spot-free.

Not as good as doing your own two-bucket hand wash but it won't damage the paint either.

I use them when I'm on the road or in the midwest's cold/snowy winter months. I usually follow up in a parking lot with QD and a bunch of microfibers to be sure everything is perfectly clean.

Evitzee

Here in TX you start with $1.25 for 4 minutes of time, each additional minute is $0.25. I can easily soap and rinse my IS in 5 minutes if it isn't too dirty. Six minutes if it is really dirty. Then I just dry and detail it under the shaded canopies out front. Very easy. I've never put my car throught the normal car washes, too harsh on the surface.

Most places have the soap brush, which looks like a push broom. I NEVER use that as you don't know where it's been and if there is embedded crap in the bristles you will scratch your car. I've seen very dirty pickup trucks using them, so I won't use it.

A laser wash is ok if the car isn't too dirty. But I like the ones where you put the quarters in and do it yourself.