I use a hosepipe as my water source, probably wasteful of water I know. I use no soap or cleaner at all, and have three sponges, one for windows and lights, one for bodywork, and one for wheels and unpainted plastic skirts below the bumpers. I dry the car using a silicone blade. Daily use causes far more parking rash damage etc than any wash system would ever do; my current car has minor dents at 3 corners, and 1 in the middle of tailgate, and of course no-one ever lets you know that they hit your car..

Scott - is that a franchise operation? Do you have any tips for someone looking to find a high quality car wash somewhere else?

High pressure spray in the touchless can also be hard on your paint as it work like a blaster except the media is already on the car instead of in the sprayer.

After a little reading on Auto Geek I'm going to try that. Sounds like a good winter garage washing solution, when hand washing in my driveway isn't possible.

Beat me to it, I wanted to ask the same thing. I've seen the paint damage that can result from going to Green Lantern, so I never go to the touch washes. During the winter we normally run our cars through a nearby and brand new Laser Wash that does well for a touchless, it at least gets the bulk of the salt and crud off. We have 50s this week, so I'll be hand washing everything before it gets cold again.

David,

It's been awhile since I lived in Mass, so my memory of the geography there is a little foggy. Having said that, there was a really good car wash right off the highway in Natick when I was living there. It's where we always took our government cars to get done.


Personally, MY cars never see a car wash--Touch or Touchless; I do it myself. I know the quality of my work, and I know that when I do it, the person washing my car cares about my car, so they're going to be careful not to screw up the paint ;)

Just to followup on this thread, based on some advice here I took my Subaru thru a local, new, foam brush non-touchless carwash this winter 3-4 times. The car is clearcoated black metallic. This weekend I did my spring wash/wax on our daily drivers. I found swirls all over the rear hatch from the carwash. I did not find them anywhere else however. I'll be going back to the touchless washes. While the chemicals may be more harsh I think the potential for visible damage is less, as I've never had a problem before.

Where I live with all the Mag Chloride they dump on the roads I think leaving the Mag on the paint and trim (especially chrome) is more damaging than the chemicals from a touchless wash.

I haven't used a hose and bucket in years. It leaves water spots, takes longer, and wastes more water. I am a huge advocate of ONR on anything but the filthiest cars out there.

I got in an argument with the tire guy last week as he swore up and down that my car was recently repainted due to how spotless the paint is.

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