who hand washes their car?

[thesilverbullet]

Used many products over the years. Currently I’m using cerakote paint sealant and duragloss car wash. i re-apply cerakote after every wash on all my vehicles. I do not wash unless i have time to wax or apply some sort of sealant

these are a few that i liked in the past
DuPont rain dance - 80’s
meguiar’s mirror glaze #26
meguiar’s ceramic spray & rinse wax (I couldn’t bring myself to just spray and rinse and would end up spraying, working it in using a wet towel then rinsing.
Meguiar’s hybrid ceramic liquid wax
mothers classic
collinite 845 & 476s
duragloss 111

 

[thesilverbullet]

Anyone else old enough to remember when Westley's Bleche Wite was in a class of its own for cleaning tires? I still use it, but it's not what it used to be. Guessing they water it down to increase profit or it used to contain some crazy chemical/carcinogen they had to get rid of.

When i was a kid in the 70’s Ajax w/ blech was a common household cleaner and we used for whitewalls /white letter tires. now I found that the magic eraser will white letter tires just as good.

 

[ill-legal?]

Handwash only. While I'm not a huge fan of the brand, I currently use Chemical Guys Honeydew Snowfoam as my wash soap, a nice microfiber wash mitt, two-bucket method with grit guards, a third bucket with a separate mitt, wheel woolies, and a soft brush for the wheels, Griot's Garage PFM drying towel and an air blaster. Ultima Waterless Wash for a quick detail spray for light touch ups. VRP for a tire shine, although I'm going to be trying some new products from CarPro (Reload 2.0 on my PPF, Perl for a tire shine) and still deciding on what coating I will end up using on my paint...

 

[kevinbonds]

Handwash only. While I'm not a huge fan of the brand, I currently use Chemical Guys Honeydew Snowfoam as my wash soap, a nice microfiber wash mitt, two-bucket method with grit guards, a third bucket with a separate mitt, wheel woolies, and a soft brush for the wheels, Griot's Garage PFM drying towel and an air blaster. Ultima Waterless Wash for a quick detail spray for light touch ups. VRP for a tire shine, although I'm going to be trying some new products from CarPro (Reload 2.0 on my PPF, Perl for a tire shine) and still deciding on what coating I will end up using on my paint...

While I respect your methods, white is the most forgiving paint, you could literally go through the car wash every day and never see a swirl or imperfection.

 

[FSUZ33]

Was looking forward to trading my soft top roadster for something new so I could sign up for one of those monthly subscription drive through car wash places, as I was told they could damage a soft top. Now that I have something new I was told that those car washes can be pretty abrasive. That they hold on to whatever came before you and rub it all over your car. I've always hand washed, so that's nothing new. And I'd probably hand wash/detail the wheels anyway.

Anyone have thoughts on the drive-throughs? Should I stick to hand-washing. My Z is black, which may make a difference.

 

[ZillaZ]

Was looking forward to trading my soft top roadster for something new so I could sign up for one of those monthly subscription drive through car wash places, as I was told they could damage a soft top. Now that I have something new I was told that those car washes can be pretty abrasive. That they hold on to whatever came before you and rub it all over your car. I've always hand washed, so that's nothing new. And I'd probably hand wash/detail the wheels anyway.

Anyone have thoughts on the drive-throughs? Should I stick to hand-washing. My Z is black, which may make a difference.

I am not a stickler but yes I can say that my Frontier goes through a public wash tunnel that I have a subscription for is not perfect. It misses some spots and I guess I see some small streaks in the paint

I don't know, I feel like some people just care about that stuff more than I do. My Frontier is now 3+ years old and I go through that wash on average 3 times a month. It still looks brand new to me. It's a truck and I sometimes do truck things with it. I want to keep it nice looking but I am not obsessed with it's looks like my Z.

I have taken my Z through that same wash two times - in a pinch. But generally I like to manually wash (either at a place with a sprayer or at my house by hand) because I know i can clean every nook and cranny that an auto wash will miss. That said, in public I avoid using things like a foam brush because where I live jack-wagons that just went mudding in their big ol Ford truck like to use those and who knows how many rocks are stuck in there before I would potentially use it.

 

[Who.Am.Eye.2716]

I use PB Brake Buster dilluted to clean the wheels and tires. Gyeon wet coat after wash. Spray on and rinse off helps bead the water. I use it on the wheels after every wash

Tire shine is Chem Guys VRP. Yep, I just contradicted myself lol. I just like the cream liquid and has a medium shine that doesnt sling onto the paint

Since this post from last yr. I have switched to Adams wheel and tire cleaner. Its works better than PB Brake Buster.

I found out Brake Buster is a great maintenance cleaner but doesnt do a good job on really dirty wheels and tires. I have to use Iron Remover prior and I hate the smell and it isnt cheap either

 

[kevinbonds]

Since this post from last yr. I have switched to Adams wheel and tire cleaner. Its works better than PB Brake Buster.

I found out Brake Buster is a great maintenance cleaner but doesnt do a good job on really dirty wheels and tires. I have to use Iron Remover prior and I hate the smell and it isnt cheap either

I have moved away from using any wheel cleaner. I tend to wash me cars often enough that I can clean them with just a separate bucket with my car wash soap and microfiber towel. I noticed on my Shelby with black wheels, that over time, even the best wheel cleaner would dull the wheels over time. I wash my cars at least once a week or every other week, and over the last year or so, have not had the need for any wheel cleaner.

 

[ill-legal?]

Was looking forward to trading my soft top roadster for something new so I could sign up for one of those monthly subscription drive through car wash places, as I was told they could damage a soft top. Now that I have something new I was told that those car washes can be pretty abrasive. That they hold on to whatever came before you and rub it all over your car. I've always hand washed, so that's nothing new. And I'd probably hand wash/detail the wheels anyway.

Anyone have thoughts on the drive-throughs? Should I stick to hand-washing. My Z is black, which may make a difference.

Personally, I wouldn’t take a black car through any automatic wash, the issue with brush/contact type washes is that they will induce surface scratches as dirty bristles or components will drag across the car as you mentioned, while a brushless or “touchless” wash has to use more aggressive detergents to remove dirt and grime which can degrade any wax or sealant that may have been protecting your paint.

Luckily our Z cars are small, I can do a really good maintenance wash and clean/dress my wheels and tires in just under an hour.

 

[kevinbonds]

Personally, I wouldn’t take a black car through any automatic wash, the issue with brush/contact type washes is that they will induce surface scratches as dirty bristles or components will drag across the car as you mentioned, while a brushless or “touchless” wash has to use more aggressive detergents to remove dirt and grime which can degrade any wax or sealant that may have been protecting your paint.

Luckily our Z cars are small, I can do a really good maintenance wash and clean/dress my wheels and tires in just under an hour.

This is true! I washed my z this am; and it took me 40 mins. Granted it’s a garaged car, but I washed it today in between works conference calls, had it done in 40 mins.

 

[ill-legal?]

While I respect your methods, white is the most forgiving paint, you could literally go through the car wash every day and never see a swirl or imperfection.

True, white is definitely a “cheat code” for easier cleaning! I’m way too picky about keeping my car clean to have a full black vehicle (mine does have the black roof though). I also honestly enjoy the process, throw some music on my headphones and just zone out for an hour.

 

[Dot’s son]

Was looking forward to trading my soft top roadster for something new so I could sign up for one of those monthly subscription drive through car wash places, as I was told they could damage a soft top. Now that I have something new I was told that those car washes can be pretty abrasive. That they hold on to whatever came before you and rub it all over your car. I've always hand washed, so that's nothing new. And I'd probably hand wash/detail the wheels anyway.

Anyone have thoughts on the drive-throughs? Should I stick to hand-washing. My Z is black, which may make a difference.

I agree with what others have said about NOT taking a Z through the auto car wash. The brushes hold on to debris and will likely leave minor scratches or swirl marks. Pretty sure the damage would show up more on black. I stick to hand washing. My black Titan is starting to get broken in with a few blemishes and I would consider taking it through an auto wash to remove mud or salt now that the new has worn off.

 

[5amp5on]

Tommy's about 3x a week, I do hand dry it though because this gun metal does leave water streaks if you don't. This car is a no rain car, if there is even a 10% chance, it stays in the garage.

I have not seen any harm from Tommy's automatic wash even on the piano black parts.

 

[Who.Am.Eye.2716]

I have moved away from using any wheel cleaner. I tend to wash me cars often enough that I can clean them with just a separate bucket with my car wash soap and microfiber towel. I noticed on my Shelby with black wheels, that over time, even the best wheel cleaner would dull the wheels over time. I wash my cars at least once a week or every other week, and over the last year or so, have not had the need for any wheel cleaner.

Good to know. Wheel cleaner without Acid should be used on black wheels

I remember when I used to clean wheels and paint with the same Dawn dish soap 🫣

 

[bpeckham]

I remember when I used to clean wheels and paint with the same Dawn dish soap 🫣

Yep. Not any more though. I love the new tech. Works really well.