Ye Olde Automatic Car Wash

I can't believe you still have touch-washes. There is only one in 100 mile drive that I know of. They are all touchless, or laser wash. Why? Because the water doesn't take off your mirrors and decals or antenna.

The laser wash works well, just make sure to take your time driving out.

You may want to research hand wash places in town. I have two intown, one is better than the other. They usually vacuum the insides and the mats, then hand soap the car and get the big stuff off. Laser wash the car, then hand dry. $7 in my location whereas it is $6 for a gas station car wash.

 

If you garage your car, it can be washed in your own garage with a product like OPTIMUM No Rinse Wash and Shine.
Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine 128 oz. New & Improved!
I have used this product for years and am completely satisfied. If there is heavy, caked-on dirt, mud, etc., I knock it off at the local wash with a wand on rinse only (never use the brush on the paint surface - assume it has been in someone else's wheel wells and is full of grit), drive it home and do the Optimum. If you're a tree-hugger, this is environmentally safe, as well.

The ONLY way to inexpensively and safely clean your car is to do it yourself. IMHO

 

You can unscrew the stock antenna on top FYI .

 

A car wash will not see dents and scratches, and will not get in the corners of wheel wells and the like, the most rust prone zones. This is doubly bad in cold climates with salted roads.

Also, the inability to have Toyo hybrids off and in Neutral is an issue with many car washes.

Once your area's weather drops below freezing I guess you will have to explore the auto wash options. Either that or extend the between wash interval, or take advantage of any milder weather you get to DIY.

 

I will try and keep this brief. If you must use a car wash go to the xtra effort and use the brushless. Car washes with brushes or "flying mops" hahahahahaha! as I like to call them and are one of the quickest ways to destroy your cars finish IMHO. At least with a brushless you avoid the physical assault on your cars paint. Trust me, I had a friend who used to build and install car washes with brushes and mops and cleaning "doo dads" hanging from the ceiling LOL!...lots of sand and grit are left in these belts which end up thrashing your paint. He would never use one ever. Good enough for me...I hand wash the C. It's a small car and does not take long. For what it's worth.....cheers!

 

I am bad and nearly always use the flying mops. Have only washed by hands once in five months. Whoops.

 

I'm usually careful. When I went to sell the car pre-Prius, I was in a hurry and used the mop-wash. That cost me 3 hours buffing out the scratches. I've been hand-washing the Prius - it's small. The avatar pic is just post-wash and it looks great (even if you can't tell.)
When winter comes and I can't hand wash, I'll use the wands. Even if the shine won't satisfy the obsessive-compulsive among us, it will clear the salt and preserve the car for spring.

 

Winter is going to be a bear for you hand-wash only guys. Unless you live in the south, anyway.

Touch washes vary by location. Some are better, some are worse for either coverage or potential damage. Scout several to judge which you might like best. If you plan on keeping your car 20 yrs I'd say hand wash as often as you can and keep the touch wash exposure low. I keep three cars and a big truck maintained so hand washing gets real old real quick. A good automatic car wash is a blessing.

Touchless washes are good as long as there's somebody at the end to wipe off the dirty film that water jets can't remove. Touch washes are good as long as the mops are modern materials and haven't just washed off a muddy jeep right before you.

Waxing your car will assist a bit in keeping scratching at bay. I like the modern spray waxes. Some like the really expensive polymer products. Any wax is better than none, so get what you're most likely to use regularly. Remember, a shiny car will fetch more bucks at trade in than a crappy looking car. It's in your best interest to take care of your vehicle no matter what kind it is.

 

Anytime you touch the paint you are scratching it. People with soft un-calloused skin equates to 2000 grit sandpaper. Nails are even worse, but jewelry is the worst offender. This is why most peoples' door handle cups and door edges are now flat instead of gloss.

Driving through the touch "grind-o-wash" is practically murdering your paint. If you must, use a coin-op wash with a soft horse-hair brush, and use the high-pressure soap to blast as much crud as you can out of the brush. This is what I do in the winter, and try to use as little pressure as possible and a brush that suds like crazy. No matter how careful you are though, you'll end up with moderate hairlines at the end of winter.

Touchless washes, however, leave most dirt and salt intact and don't do much unless they have aggressive chemical strippers, which aren't as bad for the paint as it may sound like. This is probably the least rough on the paint, but the car will also never look good.

Hand-washing isn't that good for the paint either. The best bet there is hyper-soft wash mitts using a double-bucket method [both with grit-guards] with a shampoo that has hella-suds. This will minimize hairline scratches.

 

DON"T WASH YOUR CAR AT ALL!

 

I just want to thank everyone who had useful comments in this thread, even if it wasn't "mine". It's generally too hot or too cold here in Vegas for me to do my own detailing or cleaning, or I just don't have the time. Thanks to this thread, I did some research and seem to have found a fantastic deal on getting everything done for less than 25 bucks... and at a location which is just a few miles from home. Now I just have to handle that whole time thing...