[mosen7]

Just got the car. Is there a consensus on ceramic coat, other coating or treatment, Clear bra etc?
Also, I'm in Houston. Looking for safe for paint car wash. Exterior only. What do you look out for?
Mister Car Wash?

New X5, trying to figure out how to keep it clean regularly, with limited time to commit while avoiding car wash places that will damage the paint.
I love going to a Splash Hand Car Wash place which is efficient and fair on the wallet.
I used to take my Cayman there and everyone I've told to go there have also been satisfied.

Now, with kiddos and all, not always having time to go to Splash for a hand wash and unable to always wash it myself, is there a generally safe car wash to go to? What do you look for?

I can see my post is a bit of a scramble with some back and forth but I think you can understand what I'm getting at. I do realize there's some info about this in other posts but I think this covers both topics in one for for folks who've just gotten their car like myself.

[bmwloverinct]

There is no “safe” car wash. All will do damage in varying degrees.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by mosen7

I love going to a Splash Hand Car Wash place which is efficient and fair on the wallet.
I used to take my Cayman there and everyone I've told to go there have also been satisfied.

For you, if you really care about swirls and have the cash, get a full PPF.

If you don't want to go that far, you can try ceramic, but it won't do much to prevent swirls other than making washing easier which, due to maybe less touch required, might prevent a few ...

Otherwise, having someone else wash your car, you're gonna get swirls without a doubt so if you have a tolerance for them, then no problem or you can have them polished out every year or so (but you can only do that so much).

Otherwise, find the time to do it yourself and learn how to do it right which isn't hard, time consuming, nor expensive and you don't need even need to go two-bucket ... probably $100 all-in minimum, $500 all-in for a great setup. Once you get your process down, and if you do it every few weeks and after a rain, you can wash your car in about 20-30 minutes with minimal setup & clean up.

[mosen7]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

For you, if you really care about swirls and have the cash, get a full PPF.

If you don't want to go that far, you can try ceramic, but it won't do much to prevent swirls other than making washing easier which, due to maybe less touch required, might prevent a few ...

Otherwise, having someone else wash your car, you're gonna get swirls without a doubt so if you have a tolerance for them, then no problem or you can have them polished out every year or so (but you can only do that so much).

Otherwise, find the time to do it yourself and learn how to do it right which isn't hard, time consuming, nor expensive and you don't need even need to go two-bucket ... probably $100 all-in minimum, $500 all-in for a great setup. Once you get your process down, and if you do it every few weeks and after a rain, you can wash your car in about 20-30 minutes with minimal setup & clean up.

Thanks for the feedback.
After I move soon I'll have the space to do it myself.
As for PPF and ceramic coating, I'm looking into this. Doing a bit of research and will eventually talk to a couple shops $$$

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by mosen7

Thanks for the feedback.
After I move soon I'll have the space to do it myself.
As for PPF and ceramic coating, I'm looking into this. Doing a bit of research and will eventually talk to a couple shops $$$

Well, just fyi, if you use a modified rinseless wash method, if you have room to park it, you have room to wash it.

it's pretty easy and you don't even need buckets and/or you can use collapsible ones.

Fancy short method:

0.) Buy 3-5 gallons of de-i water from whole foods ($1.50)
1.) Use a hydroshot (battery powered pressure washer) to wash off loose debris
2.) Fill 1 collaspible bucket half full with water & rinseless wash
3.) Put 10 good MFs in there, have 10 dry handy
4.) Take them out 1 at a time, fold in 1/8s, wash a panel with 1/8 and dry it with a dry MF - flip, move to the next panel
5.) Dump out the water, wipe out the buckets, DONE!

There are a few other tips & tricks in these threads (like 2 bucket is stupid) but that's the gist

[mosen7]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Well, just fyi, if you use a modified rinseless wash method, if you have room to park it, you have room to wash it.

it's pretty easy and you don't even need buckets and/or you can use collapsible ones.

Fancy short method:

0.) Buy 3-5 gallons of de-i water from whole foods ($1.50)
1.) Use a hydroshot (battery powered pressure washer) to wash off loose debris
2.) Fill 1 collaspible bucket half full with water & rinseless wash
3.) Put 10 good MFs in there, have 10 dry handy
4.) Take them out 1 at a time, fold in 1/8s, wash a panel with 1/8 and dry it with a dry MF - flip, move to the next panel
5.) Dump out the water, wipe out the buckets, DONE!

There are a few other tips & tricks in these threads (like 2 bucket is stupid) but that's the gist

Thanks GrussGott .
I'll have some space again soon (moving) and will refer to this.
From everything I've gathered, if you're going to take the time and care to wash your ride then, it's more worthwhile getting PPF/Ceramic coating. Otherwise, for someone who doesn't care so much, just runs through the local wash then it's probably not worth the $

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by mosen7

Thanks GrussGott .
I'll have some space again soon (moving) and will refer to this.
From everything I've gathered, if you're going to take the time and care to wash your ride then, it's more worthwhile getting PPF/Ceramic coating. Otherwise, for someone who doesn't care so much, just runs through the local wash then it's probably not worth the $

Here's a great vid that details the trade-offs

* PPF "self-heals" swirls
* Ceramic stays way cleaner longer
* Both PPF & non get chipped; to fix it the PPF has to be removed/replaced; the non has to be repainted
* No-ppf looks better, especially on dark colors

In my area it's cheaper to repaint than the 1st application of PPF