davis449

Y'all check out this study about hand washing vs automatic car washing. It says it's backed up by an experiment conducted in Germany BACKED by MB. I want some opinions on this since I've always understood that a hand car wash done the right way is better.

Kar don

haha what a bunch of garbage, notice it is on a car washing company site. They are getting scratches because of the methods used (sponge, brush hooked to a hose, etc). Sure the high pressure washes have less chances of scratching but they also grind particles into your paint and cause pitting if sprayed perpendicular to the paint. I'll stick with my hand washing technique.

IluvS500

Well I still dont know whether or not the pressure washes are safe or not, but I will continue to use them. I am going to make sure I spray at a angle like I was told.

davis449

That car wash site is not the only place I saw the study that's just where I linked it from, the other place I found it required an Acrobat Reader. I just can't get over the Munich Test being back my MB. That's crazy.

E55AMG99

Funny how we jump to conclusions! Just because it was BACKED by Mercedes Benz doesn't mean they agree or disagree with the results. Not only that, the test is hardly scientific nor reliable.

gbahri

There is also a joint study by Ryco (Car wash Manufacturer Shell and Amoco use it) and GM, where they gave the president of gm a new vehicle and covered some parts of it with magnets. He would use it as his everday car and they would wash it once a week (not sure if it was exactly once a week.). One week they would put the whole car in Ryco's signature car wash (It uses a sponge type of material). The next week they woul dtake some of the magnets off and wash it with a touchless car wash. And some of the magnets never came off. After about one year. The part of the car washed with the sponge car wash had more luster and less swirl marks than the other part off the car. I know this because we were gonna build a carwash and were looking to see which one was the best when we came upon this.

IluvS500

so the ones that touch your car are actually better than those that just spray tons of water?

davis449

I'm not jumping to any conclusions. I just wanted to see some reactions and opinions. My car came with swirls already, as I bought it used. I'm not that picky, I have a method and I use it and it works for me. I like my car to look clean, but I know it's doesn't stay perfect forever and I don't have the time to make sure it stays showroom condition.

moomeh

i just try to keep my car clean and as swirl-less as possible in 1 hr. if it takes any more than that, screw it. my car isn't going to carshows.

as for touchless car washing, they don't just spray on at the ones here in ann arbor. they let on a mist, then slowly as you go through, the power increases. would some dirt stay on? probably. but it is not as bad as people might think.

Frank Wiesmann

Several German car magazines conducted similar test lately. They all came to the conclusion that hand washing soothed the paint the most and cleaned the car the best, closely followed by touchless/textile/rubber car washes where an employee hoses your car down before you drive in. The real conventional brush car washes got poor ratings in both categories.