oktane

Does anyone know of a "touchless" wash in the Southern California area? These are the new washing systems you find at some gas stations in N. California and the Midwest.

There is an articulating arm that bombards your car with a very intense water stream, stripping away all dirt (and probably wax)!

Obviously I don't use the brush-type car washes, and I don't like the "hand" washes where the guy uses the same glove to wash car after car, probably wiping in a swirling motion on my black paint after dropping the glove 10 times on the floor...

I have yet to find one of these in SoCal. I plan to run my car through this, then do the wax at home.

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks

marksatex

My understanding is that they use some fairly strong soaps to cleanse the car, yet due to enviromental concerns, not really bad stuff. They do use high pressure and heated water. My wife has driven her SC400 through the local one for years, and it does remove the wax, adding a wax of their own, but to the windows as well!..... after 7 years I can see no real "bad" evidence, but I still wax and detail her car quarterly at least.

I think it's ok in an emergancy but not as a regular thing for a MB
MHO

Rock72

i'm not sure what the laser part means but the local touchless car wash at the chevron station next to my house has something like this.

you drive your car into the car wash, a big thing shoots warm water at pretty high pressure on the car from front to back over and over again. at the end, there are a bunch of tubes with warm air coming out to dry the car.

it's touchless since there are no brushes or people with sponges touching your car.

as far as the job that it does...i guess it's okay but the drying never really works so you need to dry it yourself.

i take my truck into this place sometimes but never the mercedes.

Rock.

marksatex

If I spot my MB ( driven by the spousal unit of course) emerging from that or any car wash, I will be one upset dude and she knows it.. Heck she thinks my wash jobs are the best so it probably will never happen but then again if she is tempted I have reminded her that I will be upset.

oktane

Rock72,

Can you give me the address/city/intersection of that Chevron so I can check it out?

Marksatex: Obviously these auto-washes are no substitute for the weekend washes a loving owner gives his car. I've been known to spend over 6 hours washing, including a complete Zaino finish, and toothbrush detail on the inside and outside of the wheels, not to mention taking apart the center console to clean the shifter gate and lemon oil the wood between the buttons.

However, in a hurry the "touchless" washes provide a good wash in between washes, and can end up saving a lot of time when your car is really dirty and just needs a pre-rinse before finishing the job at home.

theine

The mobil station close to my home has the touchless car wash, first a high pressure stream of water all over the car, goes around, then again with less pressure, once it's done, some kind of liquid wax, and then the drying procces. The wheels are never done good. I take my Jeep thru it, but my car, I'll do it myself.

marksatex

I can do 6 hrs cleaning her car or my Suburban, or my garage.

Most of the time it' a good indication I might have ...ahem.. spoken out of turn shall we say....

You have seen the strategy. Stay out in the drive or in the garage until she is sure you have worked your fingers to raw meat and then feels the need to provide food and refreshment....

Just hoping she doesn't spot the TV mounted in the rafters.

SpeedLimits?

I took my Jeep through one once to wash off some serious gunk because it was cold out and its only a Jeep. Stay the hell away from these places. Think of taking a pressure washer for those have used one and indiscriminately blowing it all over you car. Thats right radiatiors, sunroof and door seals, headlights, air intakes. These places are recipes for disaster and dont ever work that good.

FInality

I use the touchless washes ocassionally. Zaino fan myself but I know snow is coming and my car was COVERED in salt. Salt was caked on everywhere wheel wells, front bumper, roof, side panels you name it you could scape the salt of.

Silly local muncipality overdid the salt this time around. Roads are white when they should be black. Even the base of my tires where white for a while. Lost a lot of traction.

JeT

I was told that using high pressure hoses when washing a car can cause the dirt to scratch into the paint surface causing bad swirl marks and scratches. Only use these sort of washing systems if you don't care about your car that much!

calboy

I would like to find a touchless car wash too so somebody please post if in LA area. I am sick of the automatic car washes that use the rotating brushes or hanging cloth htings. I can see all the dirt from the previous who knows how many cars caked on them. The hand car wash places are no better. This weekend I watched in horror as the guys behind the glass window used a long brush like the ones you use to sweep the floor the wash the rims then proceed to scrub the sides and hood. At some other place, the reused towels that they sit on the hood while they are cleaning somehow left a whole bunch of swirl marks that even 7 coats of zaino z5 couldn't get rid of. I think the high pressure hoses would be better than that. I would wash it myself if there was a garage I could borrow as I still live in an apartment.

darkLCD

I agree with the earlier post about using caution in regards to high pressure hoses. If you car is dirty and you blast it with high pressure water, it's the equivalent of bead blasting your paint. You could produce swirls or scratches. It may not be evident at first, but you will see this in the long run, definitely on a darker colored vehicle.

Damian

Any touchless car wash worth your money should not initiate with a high pressure blast. If you can find a wash which uses a two-step process(one low ph, one high ph) presoak to take care of the road grime prior to a high pressure blast, go for it.

If the car wash has the right chemistry, it shouldn't be a problem.


http://surfactants.net/

theine

The one I use at Mobil, does that, first soaks the car with soap, then, high pressure, then low pressure, then wax, then blower to dry it.

agentMurdoc

why don't you guys just take your car to your local MB dealership for a courtesy car wash?

Yup a free wash

Probably not touchless, but it is free and they do a descent job. I had my BLACK 129 washed by them and it looks great for a free job! I think they also spray on some 'wax' too cause my swirls weren't as evident. And you get tire shine free :p

TOGWT

‘Touch less’ carwash:
Never use a car wash, period touchless or not, there are a variety of reasons: You should never, under any circumstances use a car wash that requires you to let another person drive your vehicle onto the ramps or into the wash, notice the disclaimer of ‘No responsibility for damage to customer’s vehicle.

•To remove snow/sand/road dirt and grit without agitation (brushes etc) requires the use of very strong chemical cleaners.
•Probably the most important is that this type of automatic car wash use high-pressure water and strong alkaline detergent to clean vehicles that will strip the wax/polish
•You will also need to renew the vehicles sealant / wax to ensure the paint surface protection on a regular basis to counteract the effects of the harsh detergents.
•Also be aware of those that use ‘wheel guides’ as they will cause scratches / etching to the wheel surfaces, as many wash facilities will not accommodate either the tire width or the clearance, thus causing sidewall damage
•Vehicle with lower than ‘standard’ suspension (Corvette C6 and other sports cars) should also be aware the wheel guides could cause body damage
•As an alternative in colder winter months I would suggest using a waterless vehicle cleaning product Protect All’s Quick Easy Wash (QEW)
•If you get a chance, attend a car wash / wax vendors symposiums where they give demonstrations of the different soap products that these type of facilities use. You'll come away a convert to never using them again, on any vehicle.
JonM

Bigdot

i heard that these touchless washes are bad, bad I tell you!!!! dont use them!!!


Mark