[youngdumbandbroke]

How does everyone wash their cars? I live in an apartment most of the time so taking it out in the driveway is not really an option, but I'm a little bit scared of the public wash bays scratching the car too.

[annual]

I subscribe to a mobile detailing service who will do an exterior wash only once a week for $99. I have heard horror stories of the drive thru washes scratching wheels, definitely don't do that!

[Wh4rfR4t]

When i was living in my condo a few months ago i would take the car to my detailer once a week to have a hand wash done. Ran me about $40 and was worth every penny knowing my car would not be scratched or swirled.

[NightWriter]

Not all drive-through car washes are hazardous. There are genuine touchless washes which only spray water/detergent, and do not have any brushes/bristles ever applied to the paint, nor tracks that move your tires (i.e. you just drive in/park/drive out). This approach may not be as effective at scrubbing heavier soil off, but it's far safer and still very good at washing off winter road salt and grime.

They're not always easy to find, but call around your area.

[smaglik]

I have a cheap harbor freight pressure washer with a foam attachment. I hook a hose up to it, rinse it, foam it, wash it with a high quality mitt (rinsing the mitt in a bucket of water after each panel or so), rinse, then dry with microfiber. Works pretty well, honestly.

[Limegrntaln]

Originally Posted by youngdumbandbroke

How does everyone wash their cars? I live in an apartment most of the time so taking it out in the driveway is not really an option, but I'm a little bit scared of the public wash bays scratching the car too.

There are a few choices. Waterless wash or Rinseless wash, is pretty popular. There are a lot of detail shops, that only rinseless wash, these days. Optimum No Rinse is your friend. Ethos D3fy is so incredible, I only wash my car about once a month.

There are other alternatives, but, a 32oz bottle of ONR, is $20 and the mix ratio is 256:1, so, it's extremely cheap. The formula emulsifies and encapsulates dirt, for you to just take a rag and wipe it away. There is a method that works best. Here's one video, but, a quick check on YouTube and you'll find 100 videos on how to do it, properly.

Keep in mind, that if your paint is bare, meaning without anything on it, like a wax, or a sealant, or a ceramic coating, touchless washes, don't touch your car with anything, except big blasts of water, so, in order to ensure you get a decent wash, the chemicals they use, are on either the extreme alkaline, or extreme acid end of the chemical spectrum. Something with a PH, of like 12/13 to strip dirt away.

You will see touchless washes coat your car with whatever it's going to be washing it with, and then there will be a pause, before the jets come on, and do their business. The time in between the chemical lay down and the pressurized water, is the dwell time. Some of these chemicals that sit on the paint, for dwell time, can be right under muriatic acid, on the chemical scale. But that's ok, to the car wash place, because it's only a 10 second dwell. But it's extremely hard on your clearcoat.

What you don't see when these chemicals are laid down, is, in that dwell time, the chemicals are so harsh, they often make the clearcoat swell. It's like holding your feet to a campfire for 10 seconds. We all know what happens to anything that swells, and contracts. Eventually, it weakens or fails. So, just be careful with even the touchless washes.

Obviously washing a car with a Ph neutral car shampoo, like Koch Chemie GSF, or Gyeon Bathe, are the best way to wash a car, but in your case, I would try ONR and a bucket and get a bulk or microfibers and a "BIG RED" ONR sponge. If you do want to rinse, I would recommend getting a garden pump sprayer. Something that's like a gallon or 3, to pump up and then rinse the car off, when you're done.

[G MONEY]

Bring your 2 buckets to a car wash. Only use the water for wetting and rinsing. 6-7 bucks and your done

[playswcars]

2-bucket method when I'm in the mood, otherwise I just do maintenance washes at the jet wash. The car is a daily driver, 365 days a year so dirt is inevitable.

[Alvinmark12]

2 bucket method with a lambskin mitt. I use Adam's Graphene soap then use a blower to dry the car. The less you touch the paint the less swirls and scratches you will have.

[barryc365]

I live in an apartment too so can feel
Your pain.

I was giving it to my detailer. He charges $50 a wash but recently I bought a bunch of stuff.

I drive to a fuel station with a pressure washer. I keep a bucket with a grit guard in the trunk. I have a bunch of various sprays and solutions that I keep hanging off the bucket along with a bunch of rags and drying towels inside etc

You can do the waterless wash if they car is dusty but not if it's actually dirty

This thing stays in my trunk now and has everything I need to do a wash at a fuel station

It's not perfect but it's not a show car either!

[LuxemburgBMV]

So I live in Minn and it's still winter and cold and windy and snow and grit and salt. No way to daily drive and avoid a wash. I have been freezing and washing in my drive on nice days but none in the near future. I have spots from when it snowed and they salted or something and I did not want that to sit on my car. I figured a quick touch less wash was just necessary on occasion during the crap winter. I went to a quality place that I knew had touch free wash. Got the cheap wash to avoid all their crap coatings and minimize my exposure. Well the spray bar comes down in front and hits/scrapes my car right above the grill. It put a couple chips in the area in front of the hood right through the Ppf. And right at her nose it damaged the Ppf and maybe dented the edge right by the badge but I can't tell yet because it may be the Ppf but not likely. So lesson learned. These seemingly overprotective people on the forum were right. Avoid the damn auto car wash.