don't know why you would want to go through a touchless car wash unless you're really lazy. Like it was said before, it won't completely clean the car.

 

Lazy?


...Genius, I want YOU to go buy a Black Mustang and use it as a DD in New Mexico.
See what happens. The dust, blowing wind, random rain showers and high altitude with do wonders for your paint. It get to a point where it's not fun to wash and wax your car, just because I have to do it soo often to make it look nice. I'd rather pay the $5 to have a machine do it, then have to do it myself which will take well over 1.5 hours to do it properly.

And after the automatic car wash, I always touch it up using a microfiber cloth and turtle wax polish, so yes, it doe's get it completely clean.

 

My intention wasn't to insult you. I guess i have been spoiled by using Optimum no rinse, only takes me 30 mins tops to clean my whole car, and it's definitely cheaper than going through an automated car wash and have it not completely clean.

Your climate isn't any different than here, and just to add I have been through multiple winters when I lived in new york, my mustang was a daily driver and had to be parked outside.

 

I feel your pain about a black car... I can't imagine the nightmares I'd have if it were my daily driver...however - I'm not sure if it was a typo or not - the automatic touchfree car wash doesn't get your car clean enough to safely wipe or wax your car. You should try some higher quality products, they seem to be better at repelling what they can at dust & you can get better results washing with less effort.

 

ummmm, some of us don't have the facilities to properly wash cars, like people who live in tower apartments

 

When your car is covered in salt and its freezing outside, lazy has nothing to do with it. The touchless washes do a good undercarriage job too.

 

the only reason i use the automatic carwashes is the undercarriage, because id say 99% of mustang drivers do not have the tools to clean under thier car as well as a automatic carwash. But Ive always noticed that they never seem to get all the dirt off under the wheel weels it always seems to be the biggest pain. but I usually go through the automatic wash after any snow or muddy weather. But nothing can compare to a handwash job

 

Understood, no offense taken

Can't really afford any great products right now, like the ones that vendors here sell. The $20 bottle of turtle wax ice polish doe's the trick for a while: 1-3 days looks perfect, 3-5 days looks decent, 5+ days looks like crap.
One thing I noticed with the Turtle Wax Ice Polish..it is INSANELY hard to buff...Yeah, theres no white residue, but theres an oil residue that you have to spend 20 min. on every panel just to wax in. >_<

It's to the point where I'll be spending my scholarship money ($2400) on a new paint job in August.

Very true. On New Edges(maybe on S197's as well?) if the undercarriage is dirty, that dirt and muck will find itself to other parts of the car...Especially the rear bumper and trunk.

 

been through that before.. still didn't stop me from washing my car in sub 30 degree weather during the winter.

I don't know, maybe im just used to doing it myself, kinda like how people choose to go to a dealership or other shop to do a simple oil change or they do it themselves.

As for the topic, I doubt the Rain-x wash is anything special, you're probably paying the extra just for the special coating.

I lived in an apartment as well while living in new york, hence the reason why it had to be parked outside all year. Optimum No Rinse is key here.

 

Have faith....if you can afford the Turtle Wax Ice Polish and give up the extra time it takes to apply and buff that off your car - you can find a way to scrape up some money and try some Obsessivedetail Wet Shine Glaze. That oil residue you are talking about - that is all of the oil fillers in the TWI. The amount of pressure it takes to remove that oil - you better hope your MF's are as clean as could be, with no wind kicking up around you, because if you notice after a week or so - your car looks worse than it did before you applied it the last time. Reason being, the pressure you are applying to remove the oily residue, you are just rubbing in air born dust & dirt into your finish at the same time, all of those fillers are just masking it for the time being. Any high quality glaze, after you load your applicator and make a mess of one panel - leave no white streaks or residue, sometimes you'll completely miss a section and won't ever notice it...even if it bakes in for a couple hours or even a few days it'll come right off, that's how good the stuff is. You need NO pressure to remove the glaze at all, just the weight of the MF and your hand - trust me, you'll giggle like a little girl when you quit fooling around with the OTC stuff. So, you won't be dealing with residue on the edges of panels, around emblems, or god forbid you miss a spot and the sun bakes it on the car.

Since you have a black car, the heat is going to evaporate the TWI quickly.. I don't believe the Wet Shine Glaze has any fillers, so it won't hide bad scratches the same way, but it'll give it the same deep shine and it'll hold up to the heat & last much longer, especially if you seal it with something like Opti-Seal. The WSG will still hide fine scratches and light swirls, just not to the degree that the filler loaded glazes/waxes will - but they aren't durable, especially on a black car that sees any sun...

You've washed your car the following day after waxing it right? And you noticed how easy it was to dry your car and how much easier the dirt and grime comes off? Switching to some high quality products, the ease it takes to clean & dry is even BETTER and it'll last a whole lot longer.

My car isn't a DD, but I usually leave it outside in the summer and it gets sun from sun up to sun down and I can get a couple weeks out of a single coat of glaze/opti-seal before I see it losing depth and color.