Is it safe to go through car wash?

[robsurfskate]

I drove through takes about 2 minutes and is zero effort. It shouldn’t be difficult to understand the appeal for those who do it.

I learned a hard lesson with so called "touchless" car washes with my 2008 Tacoma. I still have the truck, but the paint on the hood is ruined. Good luck to you. Just my opinion.

 

[TrailWhale]

It literally takes 30 minutes. Really easy to hand wash. I use Chemical Guys Ceramic Wash with a foam canon and finish with a spotless water filter. Easy.

Winter exists. There is nothing easy about handwashing between November and April in the mountain west.

 

[RideWithYanu]

I learned a hard lesson with so called "touchless" car washes with my 2008 Tacoma. I still have the truck, but the paint on the hood is ruined. Good luck to you. Just my opinion.

My Land Cruiser is already scratched to hell. It’s an off-roader. A typical car wash will never do as much damage as the branches I’m driving through. For anyone that’s trying to keep their paint pristine, of course they should only hand wash. That’s not most people.

 

[Viktorv1961]

I go to car wash only to clean undercarriage. Otherwise foam cannon, good chemicals and waxes. I am retired and have plenty of time for the hand wash.

 

[robsurfskate]

My Land Cruiser is already scratched to hell. It’s an off-roader. A typical car wash will never do as much damage as the branches I’m driving through. For anyone that’s trying to keep their paint pristine, of course they should only hand wash. That’s not most people.

This is the last vehicle I plan on buying, so trying to take care of it. I have 2 Tacoma's (beaters) I still drive. I am not an off roader. Beach and camp ground is about it. I live in FL.

 

[mrCharlie]

It literally takes 30 minutes. Really easy to hand wash. I use Chemical Guys Ceramic Wash with a foam canon and finish with a spotless water filter. Easy.

I like hand washing when I can, and have been considering getting a foam cannon to make it a bit more efficient. Unfortunately the time of year washing matters most (winter, to remove road salt) hand washing just isn't an option.

My truck is black and is parked outside, and local water is pretty hard, so it's pretty much an exercise in futility anyway.

 

[Altitude]

I like hand washing when I can, and have been considering getting a foam cannon to make it a bit more efficient. Unfortunately the time of year washing matters most (winter, to remove road salt) hand washing just isn't an option.

My truck is black and is parked outside, and local water is pretty hard, so it's pretty much an exercise in futility anyway.

A foam cannon is a fun tool (I have one) but it doesn’t make washing your car easier or faster. You have to deal with it - fill it with the right amount of soap, mount it on the hose, clean it up after. Etc.

Maybe worthwhile. But the easiest and fastest driveway wash, IMO, is a bucket, a mitt, and the same sprayer that’s on the hose already.

 

[Altitude]

Winter exists. There is nothing easy about handwashing between November and April in the mountain west.

Right? That guy lives in Florida.

 

[LcAz]

Ai says it is safe to go though car wash.

 

[Bedawson]

I saw a video from Ammo NYC explaining that when the chemicals from a touchless are not mixed correctly it can eat the clearcoat. Never been to a carwash since.

+1 for handwash only

 

[robsurfskate]

Right? That guy lives in Florida.

Yes. FL Boy. It's warm here year round. We're in Hurricane Season here now.

 

[robsurfskate]

I hand wash my LC every Wednesday after work. I'll post time stamped pics before and after later when I get home from work.

 

[Mikie]

Personally, I like to keep a nice, protective coating of dirt on mine!

 

[RideWithYanu]

Personally, I like to keep a nice, protective coating of dirt on mine!

This is the way!

 

[Altitude]

I saw a video from Ammo NYC explaining that when the chemicals from a touchless are not mixed correctly it can eat the clearcoat. Never been to a carwash since.

+1 for handwash only

If automotive soap is corrosive, imagine what magnesium chloride deicer does to paint.

While you’re thinking about that, consider that when the mag chloride gets on there it might be three weeks before it’s warm enough to keep the water you spray on your car from turning your driveway into a hockey rink, and when it is warm enough it’s on a Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 but it gets dark at 5.

Or you could run it through the wash on the way home.

 

[Matsayz]

Winter exists. There is nothing easy about handwashing between November and April in the mountain west.

Or Maine…

 

[Ike582]

Or Maine…

Allow me to add Chicago.

 

[maladon]

A drive through takes about 2 minutes and is zero effort. It shouldn’t be difficult to understand the appeal for those who do it.

Hand wash can't do the undercarriage. Those of us in the northern hinterlands (Minnesota for me) need to clean off all the winter chemicals underneath.

I don't really care about micro scratches either. Mine is going to crawling through crap to get me to hunting hidy-holes. Gonna have scrapes from that.

 

[robsurfskate]

I have never taken mine through a car wash. I hand wash weekly. It only takes 30 minutes. The paint is ruined on my Tacoma from so called "touchless" car washes.

 

[NHtommy]

From everything I’ve read, the chemicals on the touchless are harsh and the brushes are worse. Personally I don’t have the time or desire on the 30 degree days to be washing with 2 buckets. I’d go with touchless and dry it off after.