[punman]

What do you guys think about standard car washes, for a new M440i? I live in an apartment, park in a garage, I'm not allowed to wash the car myself in the garage. And of course, every bird in the area when I park outside decides to shit on my car. I'm not going to get a professional clean every time it needs to be washed, so what are the options?

[Burrcold]

Don't you have any do it yourself carwash bays around you? Alternatively you could use a standard gas station car wash (just go for brushless only).

[SportySpice]

You could try a rinseless wash product like Optimum No-Rinse or McKee's N-914. Basically, you need a bucket and a bunch of microfiber towels - some to clean the panels and some to dry. My car is black so I spray it with foam and rinse it at a self service bay before I do a rinseless wash, but I don't think that's required if you're careful. A good coat of protection, whether it's traditional wax or ceramic coating, will make maintenance washes easier so be sure to take care of that too.

[VetteGuy]

I think your best bet is find a DIY wash bay nearby. Pack a few micro-towels, give detailing spray, etc. Even though I have a single family house and washed mine in the driveway this morning, I still like to hit the self wash bay now and then to powerspray the wheel wells, wheel drums, and even the windshield and grill. Just never never never use those nasty brushes that many of the do it yourself bays have.

Good choice for winter washing too.

The wash by me even has blowers so it’s pretty easy to blow out the rinse water and then it only takes a couple micro towels, one loaded with ceramic detailer and one to buff.

[cowymo]

Your best bet is getting it PPF and ceramic coating on top. Then you can just run through touchless car washes.

[KnackaredNomad]

There are a couple car washes around me that have monthly plans, which seem pretty reasonable. Wash as much as you like for one price. Good thing is they do the undercarriage so all the salt and road dirt can be washed off in the winter.

[Lakeside]

I was about to make a post for this. Was still cooking up a clever title.

I'm from a car business family and scouting for rock chips and door dings was part of my dad's routine when I was a young driver. Decades later I'm still obsessed with the stuff, and I added swirl marks to my repertoire later in life.

So, how do I make peace with minor wear and tear so I can enjoy the vehicle?

I'm planning to get the vulnerable bits covered with PPF, but aside from that ceramic isn't in my future because I no longer have the ability to hand wash my vehicle on weekends. I did avoid black so at least my white will look a little better as I go forward.

Originally Posted by cowymo

Your best bet is getting it PPF and ceramic coating on top. Then you can just run through touchless car washes.

I thought any auto-washes were a no no for ceramic. I had planned to do exactly this.

Along these lines, how much should it cost to PPF the entire vehicle? I got a $5000 quote for M340i.

[ses87]

Good example of a hoseless product here.

[Emily172013]

I always wash by hand. Even in cold weather I just spray the bottom good with a hose. Car washes use recycled water so in wintertime you're only spraying saltwater where it isn't already.

[CCM11285]

You could look into using a rinseless wash product like those mentioned above. McKee's has a range of products in their rinseless line. For these you will want to purchase distilled water and follow the dilution ratios on the back. I prefer to use 500gsm microfibers for the wipe down and 500-600gsm for the buff off. There are dedicated sponges also. Watch some videos for tips on best practices.
Alternatively there are waterless wash products. They're ready to go out the bottle and work well for lightly soiled vehicles.

Tunnel washes will just induce the swirl marks you see on most cars. Touchless washes tend to use harsher chemicals to clean and really don't clean well anyway. DIY washes would be ok as long as you don't use the foaming brush, but there is no substitute for a contact wash. You could try going to a DIY place, but bring your own wash mitts for the contact wash.

[CCM11285]

Check out for hand washing at DIY wash bays

[KingLuii718]

I will stay away from machine car washes that leave small/big scratches.

Always try to go touchless car washes or hand car washes.

I live in NYC so the pricing difference is not too much of difference, its about $5-15 difference from machine car wash depending where you go.

[squishyy]

Originally Posted by KingLuii718

I will stay away from machine car washes that leave small/big scratches.

Always try to go touchless car washes or hand car washes.

I live in NYC so the pricing difference is not too much of difference, its about $5-15 difference from machine car wash depending where you go.

Which one do you go to? I went to the Ultra Sonic in Floral Park but was not impressed. Would like to go to a better one if I could.

[jodandayo]

A lot of the machine car washes around here tend to use a belt-based system where the car's driver-side wheels are pulled through the car wash. Are there any concerns about that being bad for wheel alignment, etc.?

[k4sh_90]

I live in an apartment and have my car parked outside (no garage). I need to get the car ceramic coated, but the self serve wash bays are perfect. They're typically 24 hour, so you can go late when no one is around and take your sweet time washing everything down and towel drying.

[inssane]

Do touchless wash, or rinseless in a bay.
Don't go through any machine that slaps your car with other people's dirt.

The optimum rinsless is nice. Do one bucket with product, one bucket to rinse the cloth between. Don't wipe too hard with the cloth, make sure there's plenty of product and water on the cloth when you clean to lubricate so there's no love swirls and scratches. Try to get seamless microfiber cloths for the rinseless wash process.
Lastly, use a different cloth for the wheels. Don't share cloths between wheels/tires and paint. Just good practice.

GL!

[Irish_car_fan]

I highly recommend McKees N-914 Rinseless Wash. Even though I have hoses, buckets, and a driveway to wash car in, Rinseless is the fastest way to keep the car clean. You can clean your entire car in about 30-40 minutes using Rinseless method. There are a few approaches, so here are all my "notes" on the topic (literally copy/paste from the Notes app on my phone).....

Rinseless Fast Wash

Note: Only use for LIGHT to MEDIUM soiled vehicle

Prepare equipment
1. Prepare 1:256 McKees N-914 "Rinseless Wash" mix (half ounce per gallon)

1. 3 capfuls (half ounce per capful)

2. 3 gallons cold water

2. Prepare spray bottle of "Waterless Wash" (1:128)

1. 5ml (teaspoon) in spray bottle

2. Fill to 645 ml

3. Get 6+ clean microfiber towels and presoak in the Rinseless water bucket
4. Empty bucket for dirty towels
5. Clean water bucket to rinse waffle weave drying towel
6. Waterless wash as drying aid lubricant
7. McKees Glacier microfiber drying towel

Washing (Garry Dean Method)
- Clean panel by panel from top down

1. Pre-soak panel with Waterless Wash spray bottle
2. Take one wash towel, wring excess liquid, but we want "loaded" cloth
3. Fold cloth in 4
4. Wipe side to side gently, flipping towel to use only 4 sections of towel in total
5. Optional spray Waterless Wash light spritz as a lubricating drying aid
6. Dry with waffle weave microfiber towel

Yvan Lacroix Wash Method Smooth Paint
1. Pre-spray panel with Waterless wash
2. Mitt or supply of cloths, soak and squeeze so not dripping excessively
3. APPLY N-914, no rubbing/scrubbing.
4. Replace towel or rinse dirt from mitt
5. Use 10-minute paint sealant as a drying aid and dry with microfiber towel folded in four

Is claying needed?
- run plastic credit card along paint. If you can feel and hear the rough contaminants then clay needed

Yvan Lacroix Wash Method With Clay Mitt, Fast Wax
1. Pre-spray panel with Waterless wash
2. Mitt or supply of cloths, soak and squeeze so not dripping excessively
3. APPLY N-914, no rubbing/scrubbing.
4. Replace towel or rinse dirt from mitt
5. Apply McKees Fast Wax
6. Fine clay mitt where we sprayed the Fast Wax. NO PRESSURE. Just let it slide on its own weight until you feel smooth surface.
7. Dry with microfiber towel.
8. OPTIONALLY Use 10-minute paint sealant or SIO2 product as a drying aid and dry with microfiber towel folded in four

Dedicated Microfiber Towel Color Coordination
-

- Gold : Exterior Paint Wash and Clean
- Light blue : Glass cleaners
- Gray towels: Metal, chrome, etc
- Black : Wheels, tires, undercarriage, engine, exhaust tips
- Yellow : Interior non-leather
- Tan : Leather


References
- How to Use McKee’s 37 N-914 Rinseless Wash
-

- AMMO NYC 15 Minute Car Wash: Water vs No Water
-

- Pan Organizer: RINSELESS CAR WASH METHOD : EASY TUTORIAL !!
-

- Pan Organizer Best Drying Aid
-

- AMMO FROTHE: The Best and Safest Hoseless Wash !!!
-

Cleaning off the Bugs

Fastest
- Spray on Waterless Wash to pre-soak bugs and let sit 2 minutes
- Wet clean microfiber towel

- Just clean front panel and mirrors using Rinseless Wash Method
- remove asap with either

- Rinse less wash product OR

- Quick detail spray

- Use dry microfiber towel. Wipe and lift. No rubbing.

Yvan LaCroix Method for Fast Detail
-

- N-914 apply (let it do the work)
- McKees Fast Wax as lube with fine Clay Mitt
- McKees 10-minute paint sealant apply as a drying aid