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This is probably a very unpopular opinion, but I absolutely HATE washing/drying and (sometimes) polishing cars. I know some in the car world love nothing more than spending hours doing it...and I kinda wish I was one of them; but I'm not So what's the alternative? I always hear stories of automated ones basically being the equiv of washing your car with sandpaper. Whenever I see a hand car wash I wonder how many times that sponge has been dropped today and what 'cleaning' fluid is in the little spray bottle. I can't be the only one...can I?
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andyborris
Posted a lot
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Posts: 2,161
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I think autocarwashes are better than hand washes, as you say, that sponge can hold all kinds of nasties.
But I'm lazy and the Jeep probably won't never get washed again because when I did the machine got stuck on it's tow bar, the guy in the garage moaned (a lot!), but when I offered to put the Jeep in low range and drive out, he soon unstuck it!
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I've got to say that I also hate washing my cars. For me, I like the driving part of car ownership the most, maintenance, cleaning, and everything else is just a necessary evil I'm afraid, so this is what I do to keep my car clean... This doesn't make me popular with my car washing friends, however this lovely shine was achieved by this method. I bought myself a big Rhino tub, and very soft indoor broom. I fill the Rhino tub with warm water and put a hefty dollop of Turtle wax in it after I've got it about 3/4 full. Then I carry it outside, and make it frothy by mixing it with the broom. I wash the car using the broom, and keep dipping the broom into the bucket to keep it very wet. Once I've gone over the whole car I leave it to dry, however if the car was really grubby I go over it a second time before it dries. Once it dries, and if there are any car detailing fanatics who are still reading this, then honestly, look away now! So with the car dry I then get out my microfiber cloth, and go over the whole thing, panels, trim, windows, the lot with Mr Sheene! That stuff shines umpteen things clean including cars. I start with the glass then move on to the panels. I do panel by panel, spray on, buff to a shine. I have always used this method for maybe 30 years, and it works pretty good to me. Oh, and in case you're wondering what happens when it rains on your Mr Sheene polished windscreen? The water just beads up and disperses from your windscreen much like it would if you'd treated it with Rain-X. Anyway the whole process for most average sized cars including the Bentley takes less than an hour. Leaving me with plenty of time to head out and drive the thing.
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Last time I "washed" a car I just used a rag. Was early in the morning so the overnight dew provided just the right amount of moisture to enable dirt and green growth removal.
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Roach
Part of things
Posts: 717
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This has got my anxieties right up.
I actually make a living from washing cars… there isn’t a quick easy way unfortunately.. I’d be out of business if there was.
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I've got to say that I also hate washing my cars. For me, I like the driving part of car ownership the most, maintenance, cleaning, and everything else is just a necessary evil I'm afraid, so this is what I do to keep my car clean... Yay so I'm not the crazed loner I thought I was afterall ☺️ I've got to admit my least effort method is: wait till it rains then go out with the bucket of shampoo. That way nature does 2/3 of the job for me...
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Ryannn
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,421
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I take my van to the automatic car wash every Friday… a year in and the paint has started to fade 😬
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I only wash my car when it really needs it, I prefer to keep the inside clean as that's where I spend my time. I've been put off mechanical car washes ever since I saw someone leave their sunroof open. Not a pretty sight.
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Car Washes?Mercdan68
@forddan68
Club Retro Rides Member 68
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Car washes?..,,,,.NO!! I’m a car cleaning addict I’d spend all day doing a car to get it sparkly clean
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Fraud owners club member 1999 Jaguar s type 1993 ford escort
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I only wash my car when it really needs it, I prefer to keep the inside clean as that's where I spend my time. I've been put off mechanical car washes ever since I saw someone leave their sunroof open. Not a pretty sight. Or it getting the wiper tangled in the brush and flailing the rest of the car with it.
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I use a hand car wash if I haven't got time to get all my stuff out, but normally wash my 2 at least every week with a good go over and wax every month. I HATE driving a dirty car 😂
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Looks like those of you in the some areas of the south won’t have to worry about soon, as you won’t be allowed to wash it anyway. As for myself, I use the double bucket method & decent car wash liquid
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,248
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Car Washes?Rich
@foxmcintyre
Club Retro Rides Member 160
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Looks like those of you in the some areas of the south won’t have to worry about soon, as you won’t be allowed to wash it anyway. I’ll do it at work as a retail job then 😂 I don’t particularly enjoy washing cars, despite having the aforementioned full valeting facilities available to me. But I do try to keep the cars clean because I don’t like them to be overly dirty.
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Looks like those of you in the some areas of the south won’t have to worry about soon, as you won’t be allowed to wash it anyway. As for myself, I use the double bucket method & decent car wash liquid Double bucket method here too, with Autoglym Pure Shampoo and Aqua Wax for me. Usually once a week/fortnight. Not currently having a usable car means I've not had to worry about such things, though I made sure to give the 325 a good wash before I parked it up in the garage.
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Car Washes?Mercdan68
@forddan68
Club Retro Rides Member 68
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Drives me mad just a few hundred yards from me I have the Thames estuary and the North Sea …..but I’ve got a hose pipe ban from next week, oh well I’d better get both mine clean today😃
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Fraud owners club member 1999 Jaguar s type 1993 ford escort
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,248
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Car Washes?Rich
@foxmcintyre
Club Retro Rides Member 160
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Drives me mad just a few hundred yards from me I have the Thames estuary and the North Sea …..but I’ve got a hose pipe ban from next week, oh well I’d better get both mine clean today😃 You’d wash your car in, and more importantly, drink salt water? I imagine it takes a lot of effort to desalinise water. That’s why we don’t.
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Old fashioned bucket and clean sponge / use long builder type bucket and car wax shampoo depending whats available then a few buckets of water thrown over to rinse it then just dry it all off / lucky present vehicle body work not perfect but still wax it once a week for same reason others have stated don't like a dirty car / this sahara dust is the worst thing it settles everywhere but hose pipe ban will slow up car washes probably and in my street never see anyone wash cars so have to assume they all like dirty sponge car wash centres on their on finance tin boxes !!!!!
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Started out with nothing and have most of it left.
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jimi
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,819
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richYou might be surprised many countries use desalinated water, most commonly done with R.O. machines (Reverse Osmosis) & Flash evaporators (basically distillation), I've worked with both, most mobile oil rigs & ocean going ships make their own water. The same technology is used in water purification, surprisingly enough some bottled water is produced by the R.O method, Nestlé's Pure Life is one, but there are others
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Last Edit: Aug 7, 2022 13:50:18 GMT by jimi
Black is not a colour ! .... Its the absence of colour
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Car Washes?ChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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This is probably a very unpopular opinion, but I absolutely HATE washing/drying and (sometimes) polishing cars. I know some in the car world love nothing more than spending hours doing it...and I kinda wish I was one of them; but I'm not So what's the alternative? I always hear stories of automated ones basically being the equiv of washing your car with sandpaper. Whenever I see a hand car wash I wonder how many times that sponge has been dropped today and what 'cleaning' fluid is in the little spray bottle. I can't be the only one...can I? This has got my anxieties right up. I actually make a living from washing cars… there isn’t a quick easy way unfortunately.. I’d be out of business if there was. This has pretty much answered it in a TLDR manner. FWIW, I've tried washing cars via various ways, including -Self Service hand washes -Hand washes that used to be littered everywhere -Automated washes. IME, they will all inflict damage and swirls into the paintwork over time. I hoped automated ones would be inconsequencial but they still do inflict scratches more than a proper hand wash at home. With the hand washes done via various folks, I have found their chemical will eat into surfaces. I once spent 3 hours correcting the damage done to my 944 Turbo ; the acid effectively etched water marks into the paint. My wheels also used to corrode up quite a bit ; that's not been the case for a while now. Not all is lost however . You can make your armpower easier, but you have to accept it will involve you putting it more effort now and again. This is what I do, or rather what I try to do -At a minimum, 1 bucket with a grit guard and a wash mitt, or two if you can be bothered. Even the 1 bucket method will inflict way less scratches than the above 3 by quite a way IMHO. -A good snow foam agent. Not all are made the same. Bilt Hamber's ones as shown via the Forensic detail channel really reduce the armpower needed, and thus, the scratches, all without damaging the car's bodywork -Invest in a proper wax. Not one which really makes a car pop, but one which actually lasts. Collinite 476S or Bilt Hamber's wax is good here, lasting with full protection for around 8 months, with it ideally needing doing around once a year. The latter really helps. Instead of scrubbing like crazy, you literally glide the mitt across, with the dirt falling off the car. Finally? -Get a proper sized hand drying towel. Yes, they're not cheap, but they save alot of time, and do dry a car well -If you really can splash some cash, get yourself an inline water de-ioniser. This will remove alot of the water from the cash once it is washed. That for me, has saved me alot of time. I hate cleaning cars now where there is zero wax on the surface, turning a 10 minute wash into a 30 minute scrubbing routine. I would pay a detailer to clean my car if I could, but I cannot justify their prices. I probably should however, given that I don't really have others wash my cars.
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Last Edit: Aug 7, 2022 15:12:16 GMT by ChasR
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I'm in the not my thing camp. I'll power wash the bird plops off the cars (mine gets double helpings, from the swallows at home and then the gulls at work) but thats about as far as I'll go these days. Occasionally I'll have half a go at a full wash but I'm always disappointed with my results, I've put it down to me being too ocd about the level of clean I want but at the same time too lazy to put the effort in to get the result!
I'll go over the tractor with an oily rag for a good half hour though, that comes up quite nice!
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