local car washes

[HydroBlueJK]

this will make you think..

i work in a hydraulic hose shop and i had to make a hose for a customer who owns a pay and spray car wash..

he was saying that the "cleaner" chemical before diluted through the sprayers will eat through your clothes if you got some on and didnt wash them ASAP..

 

cant picture that being too good for the finish of your ride...

Edited January 8, 2014 by bobbybrooks14

[Chewy]

Full strength, I can see that it's not something that you'd want on your clothes. You have to remember, the soap HAS to be strong to clean when all you do is use pressurized water.  I don't use soap though.  I use straight water at the coin-ops.  

[THE Mook]

I'm with Chewy, I rarely, if ever use that harsh, I won't even call it soap...I'll call it a cleaner. 

 

I'll spend the entire stack of quarters on high pressure rinse, then boogie home to either administer a Two Bucket Wash or a Rinseless Wash.  

 

 

That's crazy and scary at the same time how harsh that junk is.

[HydroBlueJK]

since i dont have a garage i will go to the car wash (when its around 40-50) and take my buckets and actually wash the truck there with their water and my products..ive never used their cleaners just the water

[jbjones85]

I will use their pressured water if it's to cold to break out my pressure washer (or i'm out of gas) to knock off the big stuff then into the garage for a WW or RW. 

[PHILLIE PHANATIC]

I never use a car wash because I've read and I know someone who owns a carwash and they RECYCLE the water! Up here in New England they use alot of SALT on the roads, when they recycle the water in gets the dirt out but not the salt, then what you are doing is putting salty water into areas with high pressure that you would not get at home with a regular hose.Just something to think about.

[Chewy]

Bob, there's no doubt that using a coin-op isn't the best option, but in the winter, it's the ONLY option for many of us.  Sure, I can turn the heat on and wash my car in the garbage, but without a drain, it means my driveway turns into a 20º angle skate rink.  

 

I've not had an issue with salty water at our coin-ops.  You'd see it when it dried. 

[Beemer]

You can always taste it to be sure.

[6inarow]

Well, there is so much more to a car wash than just the chemicals.  But it ts really hard to find out what the washes use because a lot of owners dont even know.  They just buy the "soap" from the local supply guy and call it good.

 

But here is a crash course:  It takes proper water temperature, soft water, proper chemistry (ie "soap"), imlpingement and finally the knowledge to use all of this stuff.

 

Our wash likes the water to strike the car at about 100*F.  We use water that goes through a softner, then through a reverse osmosis process.  This removes all the minerals and totally dissolved minerals in the water.  This makes the "soap" more effective.  Proper chemistry is the correct soap.  If you ever want to hear about snake oil, hang around a car was convention.  There are more guys with the "next best thing" coming down the pike than you have ever seen.  Good soap is not harsh.  Its not acidic or basic.  Too much of either is what the above posts refer to about the soapy eating holes in your clothes.  Impingement refers to how the nozzle makes the water droplets.  Ideally you dont need more than 1000 lbs of pressure.  If the nozzle is right, the water is right, the temperature is right, the soap is right, it will clean your car with less pressure.    

 

The problem with most commercial car washes is that they can cut corners and the public has no way of knowing.  Heck, most owners dont care to know.  Here is how I do it:  I wash my car at my wash to get the big chunks off.  I know our stuff is good and it wont cause damage to the surface.  It looks pretty good coming out of the car wash.  Then I go home and clean it by hand with all the things on this forum, just like you do and get the finish like you get.

 

Here is the bottom line:  find a car guy that gives a crap about cleaning cars and use his wash.  He probably knows what his wash does to cars - or more importantly what it DOESNT do to wreck finishes.