Shard Phoenix

i hand wash once a week, and go to a hand spray wash in between, works fine... but the car always looks better after the handwash, esp if I wax

STANGLVR

Trust me on this, hand wash your car, often. And wax it with a good wax ( I like Zymol or Meguiars) at least twice a year, once before summer hits and then again before winter. Your paint will last years longer. Touchless washes only blast off what dirt it can, it doesn't do your paint any favors, and never use the waxes at the touchless either, since the wash doesn't really clean your car your just spraying wax over the dirt left behind

Mr Clean Auto wash does not work great on black cars it leaves streaks BAD. Works sure enough on my green Bronco and my red 5.0 though

fairlane292

Most of these car washes recycle the water (ask them about it... see if you can get a straight answer) Recycled water has micro particles that will sand blast your car over time along with oily by products and who knows what else. We have a touchless one here that I know someone close to the owner who has spoken of this (but only to close friends with nice cars) ...stay away is your best bet. It's for most cars, not all.

hottymustang

fairlane.....so true!!!

I don't ever take any of our cars to the carwash, not even the 'commuter' car that I am not too fond of. It will scratch the paint. You might not notice the scratches now, but in a year of taking it to the carwash at least once a week, you will notice and totally regret taking it. Wash your pony by hand, she will love you more. She might not be too happy with you right now. LOL.

rebelyell06

Also, some colors need to be washed differently than others to prevent the "swirl" marks from washing it by hand the same way over time. Making only straight lines wash down in one direction from the top of the hood to the bottom. Then take your hand back and do the same all the way across. Go straight down on the sides and straight back on the back of the car. This is especially true for black cars because swirl marks are more visible on this color. I found this out from my ford dealer who's friend has a black H2. He said the detail shop he went to did that becuase they had seen the swirling problems in black paint from repeat customers and when they started washing like this that there was still wash marks, but because they were in the motion thay they washed it that they were a lot harder to pick up unless you just got right down close to the car and looked very hard.

SOLDSHORT

get a dual action porter cable to get rid of swirls.

Rkbarnes82

Hey hottymustang,

this has nothing to do with washing or even a mustang but Im almost positive Winston Churchill said that quote, not frank.

linernotejunky

my gt was 9 days old when i took it to a wash and the bastards scratched the back bumper. never again.

Andys06GT

another thing to watch out for, is the psi of the washer you're running through. its great to get a good rinse at a commercial car wash, but be careful. in kansas, the new Lazer Washes that are going up have ridicuous water pressure. it blew bumper stickers off my '03 f150. and regardless of touching rollers or strips of rubber, it will screw the paint on your car. not to mention a lot of the mustangs i see here that DO go through the roller wash pick up pieces in their front bumper. it seems to slide RIGHT into the crack between panels. imagine that getting caught and not ripping off, the next day your bumper is sitting low on the left side. its hard to get the information about the actual water pressure, but just looking and feeling and you'll get a good idea of where not to get a quick rinse.

Theorem1

I alway do it myshelf. Car washes are BRUTAL. I have a touch-less car wash I go to when she gets dusty other wise it worthless. My truck has all the swrils I get dizzy looking at in the sun