@TheBigTuna is right about the hand car wash places using the same towel and bucket for multiple cars.
Although that is true, I’ve only gone to a few local places several times and have never seen scratches like the ones in your picture. Overall, If you’re not going to hand-wash yourself, I think this is the best method.
I’ve used Crystal Clear Hand Car Wash in Brooklyn.
Not bad.
On the other hand, I’ve gone to a spinning mop car wash once, out of desperation, and ended up with similar scratch on my roof. Definitely not as much swirling though. I’d imagine the brushes at the wash have a lot more dirt and salt and grime in the winter. It’s like washing your car with sandpaper.
The other issue with washing your car is drying in this weather. If it’s under 32 degrees out, the moment you wet car rolls out of the car wash, the left over droplets of water freeze. The car wash team ends up wiping little pieces of ice all over your paint.
Just my own personal thought, but if you have access to a hose and a bucket, always hand wash (weather permitting). Waiting on line at the car wash, and then getting the actual wash can take an hour. Might as well just wash yourself and save yourself the headache and scratches.
This is NOT brushless, right? Or “brushes” in this case are made from cloth, hence it is “brushless”? Can never figure out which is and which one is not. They don’t spell out for people like me.
I think that’s technically brushless, since it’s more of fabric mopping VS the broom with “soft bristle” tips that other car washes use
If you want touchless, this would be it. Car definitely isn’t as clean but likely less scratching.
Not sure how well paint will hold up against consistently being shot at under high pressure water though
@wam22 should correct me if I’m wrong, but fabric mops still have a chance of catching dirt, sand, small rocks, etc. in them which will cause abrasion on your paint.
Isn’t that why people use grit guards and the 2 bucket method in the first place? To get agitation of the paint to remove contamination then remove that from the glove and keep it in the bucket.
Correct. Anything that touches the car picks up dirt and debris and will scratch the paint. I use the 3 bucket method when I wash (1 soap, 1 rinse, 1 for wheels/exhaust). Basically rub the mitt against the grit guard, ring out the mitt, and then pick up clean soap. Some people will even use multiple mitts where each side touches the car once only and then a new mitt is used. Then I use a leaf blower to dry off the car and apply a drying agent to the towel for extra lubrication to get any leftover water.
Anything like that are brushes IMO. They market it as “cloth” or “soft touch” but it is all the same since it is an automated wash that uses machines to wash hundreds of cars a day.
FWIW - I never use an type of automatic washes on any of my vehicles, even the commuter/beater car. I really don’t use car washes at all as they are a waste of money, I have more than enough detailing items in my own garage, and I enjoy doing it. Even the good car washes do a very mediocre job IMO, unless you go to one of those places @TheBigTuna frequents… where it is an automatic wash with a quick “detail” at the end.
Not to hijack @Abe_Lefko’s thread but the next day after I picked up the new Mazda CX9 last week, my son noticed a bunch of swirls. First we thought it was just the bumper but quickly discovered it was the ENTIRE car.
Text messaged my salesperson right away and told me to come in so they can take care of it. Took them a couple hours to polish it and get it back to new. There is a video on YouTube on how people refuse for the dealer to wash their new car prior to delivery because of this.
You are lucky. Most people pay thousands of dollars for dealer-installed swirl marks and you got them for free.
But on a serious note, I don’t let anymore other than the tech touch my cars when they come in. I remove everything, gas the car, and clean it myself. I would perform the PDI myself if I could. It isn’t the porters’ fault since they lack training and the tools required, but I don’t want to have to perform two paint corrections on a new vehicle.
