Touchless vs. Touch (Brush) Car Wash vs. Hand Wash - Debate

[qellman32]

Car washing, I feel, is a hot-button issue in the car space. I've heard numerous reasoning for each method. But is there a difference? Which one would your use on your Z? Is convenience a priority or clear-coat longevity? Would you daily your Z and let it get filthy? Let's talk about it.

 

[MCN1SMO]

My routine is I spray the car off about once a week at the manual carwash with the wand. No brush. Then I go home dry it the rest of the way off and get any spots I missed. Then I clean the wheels and exhaust tips with spray-a-way glass cleaner. That's really all I ever do to my cars. If they get super dirty I will bucket wash at home but thats actually kind of rare

 

[bpeckham]

On all my previous cars, I used a hand wash place in in Sorrento Valley, San Diego. They do a good job getting the car, to quote Lennie Briscoe, clean in a crappy car wash sort of way. Then I drive home and use a microfiber cloth to clean off any water spots.

With the Z, I'm thinking about continuing that, and maybe throwing in an annual detail. We'll see...

 

[qellman32]

Ok. I get that hand washing or having the car hand washed is the best option. But most of the time I don't have time or space to specially wash my car (it's like getting into vinyl). I also get why Touch car washes are a big no-no, I guess unless it's a specialist one (reverses the cloth rollers to get rid of rocks, acid free soap, has filters on the dryers).

But is there an argument against Touchless car washes? I recently took my Z for its first wash to a Touchfree car wash, and it did pretty good. Only thing was it left a small stubborn piece of bird poop on the rear window. I'm wondering if this could be continued or if there is a problem...

 

[Mud]

 

[Jah_Happy]

Ive always used the manual wand for stubborn bugs or in the winter months to really get up into my wheels wells for the salt, but other than that I think the touchless does a decent job.

 

[Campi422]

Car washing, I feel, is a hot-button issue in the car space. I've heard numerous reasoning for each method. But is there a difference? Which one would your use on your Z? Is convenience a priority or clear-coat longevity? Would you daily your Z and let it get filthy? Let's talk about it.

Hi guys

Car washing, I feel, is a hot-button issue in the car space. I've heard numerous reasoning for each method. But is there a difference? Which one would your use on your Z? Is convenience a priority or clear-coat longevity? Would you daily your Z and let it get filthy? Let's talk about it.

Hi guys before getting my Z in March I always took my car to a Touch free car wash.
I would then take it home and wipe it down and polish, etc.
However, the car wash that I’ve used for years said that the Z is too low to go through the wash.
So I have been forced to do it myself which I don’t mind but it adds extra time that I don’t always have.
I live in central NJ. Can you guys tell me what brand, etc. Auto Car wash that I could use?

 

[Haste]

I prefer to never let a machine or any one else wash my cars so for me it's hand wash at home with pressure washer. I'm that idiot that's out in the driveway in winter washing cars. Fortunately it's pretty mild here.

Current method is clean wheels/tires first, spray entire car, foam cannon, top to bottom with wash mitts and 2 clean buckets of water, rinse, rinse again, dry with cordless blower. I got this along with a bunch of quick connect fittings in May and it's made setup/washing so much faster and easier.

 

[Georges1]

I am a hand wash guy. When I had classic cars they never saw a car wash. My 240 only gets hand washes, but it is so small, it’s easy. I also hand clean the engine with each wash on my three vehicles. I also do not use a power buffer. I take my pickup to a brushless place a couple of times a year and hand wash in between. Our Jeep Grand Cherokee only gets hand washes. I know it is tougher on those of you who live up north, especially in the winter doing hand washes. The brushless places have gotten a lot better over the years. I don't use professional detailers because i am not sure what they are using on the car and with my luck I would get a kid on his first day buffing cars and the clear coat would be damaged.

 

[NissanFreak2021]

When it's cold I prefer to just spray it off quickly, during the cool/warm months it's hand wash.

 

[KCZ]

I prefer a hand wash and wax with Blackfire sealant, but it's been raining continuously for more than a month and everything is all dirt and mosquitos. I think I'll have to resort to a touchless wash, except the local one has speed bumps on the entrance and exit. I'm thinking about a ceramic coating...has anyone done that?

 

[bpeckham]

I prefer a hand wash and wax with Blackfire sealant, but it's been raining continuously for more than a month and everything is all dirt and mosquitos. I think I'll have to resort to a touchless wash, except the local one has speed bumps on the entrance and exit. I'm thinking about a ceramic coating...has anyone done that?

I just had my car ceramic coated. It's been less than a week, but happy so far. You can see some before/after pictures of the paint correction phase here. Paint correction on a brand new car, you ask? Yes .

 

[KCZ]

I'm thinking PPF on the front (hood, fenders, bumper, side skirts, and mirrors) then ceramic coating on the whole car. ($2500 + $1500 for the car)...it shouldn't need anything else by my detailer, except the time to get this done. It's roughly the same price as a weekly touchless wash and detailing supplies in the driveway for 7 years, which is the warranty on the ceramics.