putter

Any advice for a newbie regarding putting a SL through an auto car washer. I've put my other cars through Costco car wash for years without regrets.

Utopia Texas

I occasionally take my other vehicles through a car wash but not my SL.
We have two local places and neither one does a good job and seeing all the PU trucks they run through covered in mud I sometimes wonder how well their filters work. The SL is so small it can be washed in 15 minutes and I use a super duty electric leaf blower to blow off 99% of the water so drying with a soft cloth takes only a minute or two. The SL is the only modern iron I own that I pamper.

Streamliner

I used to wash my SL's myself, but it's tbe brake dust that makes such a mess. How do you deal with that?

Anyway, I am very pleased to have a wonderful hand wash right down the street. They wet the exterior, then soap it with big "mittens," then the car moves through the rinse, then the blowers to get most of the water off. Then hand finishing which takes about 30 minutes. I tip the guys well, then drive to the gas station. While filling her up, I take a towel and dry off any rogue droplets.

I've seen new Bugattis go through this place, lots of Bentleys, Rolls-Royces and tons of Porsches. I run our E, S & SL through there every week or two, with no worries.

Shot249

Putter,
I actually enjoy washing my SL by hand. It's not a daily driver so it doesn't need regular washing. I spend time in the garage w beers and music while cleaning the car. When it's not being driven I put a car cover on it.
No three putts when golfing.
Best, Shot.

jetjok

My '17 SL is my daily driver, however, if it's forecast to rain, etc, I try to use my wife's GLK. I wash the SL, by hand, once a week and use a decent wheel cleaner to remove the brake dust and road grime. Living in Connecticut will require a totally different strategy, starting in about 3 months, because of the snow and slush. Obviously, no more hand washing until spring, but we've got a great touchless car wash a few miles away, which I've used for all my other Benz's. I've yet to test it on the SL, but will do so before winter sets in. Other than that, I've got a friend who has a heated garage, and I'll supply some beer and I'm sure he'd let me use the garage to clean up my car. I hope.

TennesseeZ4

Streamliner, I have found that the Griot's HD wheel cleaner is the ticket to cleaning the wheels on my SL. Along with that cleaner, I have the 'long' wheel brushes that I can reach through and clean the inner wheel. Then I have some 'finger' foam brushes they sell to do the more detailed area of the wheels. You might check out the Griots website, and look at the products for wheel cleaning.

As for the car wash, I have yet to do that. We have an E350 that is nine years old and it has never seen a car wash. I simply have doubts about the streaking / swirling that a machine wash provides. Our runabout is a '13 Chevy Traverse, and it has been in the car wash almost exclusively. They can all advertise the touchless, cleanest, paint friendly wash, but that Traverse shows the swirl marks from the car wash.

My neighbor with the '88 Turbo 911 has introduced me to waterless car washing. He does that in the winter, and his paint looks great. I may have to try it this winter.

putter

Thanks to all for your thoughts on this matter. I appreciate that you prefer hand washing to auto washers. I do too. However, I now live in Phoenix were the average high is +100 deg 5 months out of the year. The sun, oh the sun, the Phoenix sun is something else. It's really bright and it's really hot, exactly the kind of sun to be avoided when washing a car. On most days, it doesn't get below 90 until after dark. Put it all together and personally hand washing the car is not a practical for several months unless one has the ideal space.

This is why I'm asking about putting our convertibles through an automatic car wash. Anyone tried it? How did it work out?

Utopia Texas

The car wash does not differentiate convertables from regular cars so you will be ok as long as the top is up while going through the car wash!

Streamliner

Yes, BUT, what happens to the brake dust? I know how to get it off, but it really makes a mess when washed off in the driveway, not to mention rags, towels, buckets, etc. It clings to everything, wet or dry.

Utopia Texas

Wash your car in the neighbor's driveway!

Streamliner

We actually live on an alley and if I washed the wheels in my driveway, all the crud would run down the alley and get tracked into garages. Not good. Anyway, I love my car wash. AND, there is a Maserati dealer right next door to it, then a Ferrari dealership, then McLaren and a great consignment dealer that always has fun things to look at. He had a Ferrari Enzo in there a few weeks ago.

jetjok

Great minds think alike.

CCOOK

I put a half-gallon of distilled water in an empty 1-gallon water bottle and mix a shot of Meguiar's shampoo with that, then take it to the carwash with aluminum wheel cleaner and a wheel brush. I only use the spot-free rinse on the car at the carwash - first to rinse it off then I use a soft mitten to soap it up and then rinse again, then drive at high speed to dry it off; after that I touch up the back bumper and tailgate body with a simple body cleaning spray.

putter

Any problems with water, soap, etc getting into the hood openings?

gdurhamski

I run my SL550 through an automatic car wash all the time, however never a touchless as the water pressure is too high. As far as brake dust, I ask the guys to pre-spray the wheels to get a lot of the brake dust off before I enter the wash. The wheels come out great. Soap and water do enter the hood events, however it drains out of them and is not a problem. I also ask the guys to not spray directly on to the side windows with the high pressure water as it will penetrate the seals slightly.

seascape

For those of you who take your cars, with the HANDS-FREE ACCESS option, to a car wash, has spraying underneath the trunk ever caused it to pop open? Can you temporarily disable it?

(My EDP SL450 arrived at the dealership yesterday, and I'll pick it up Friday!)

Streamliner

We need to remember that these cars are engineered to be driven all over the world, in all sorts of severe weather conditions. If they can be driven in heavy rain, wind, and snow, they can handle anything a car wash can dish out.

seascape

jetjok, the 2017 manual says "Never clean your vehicle in a Touchless Automatic Car Wash as these uses special cleaning agents. These cleaning agents can damage the paintwork or plastic parts."

putter

That certainly should be true. Just don't want to mess up a good thing.

lipper

Alway hand wash my sl550 takes 15 to 30 minutes tops I also use a gas powered leaf blower to get the excess water off especially from the grill. For the brake dust put Racing Brakes brakes on the car if you have the sport pkg. I clean the wheels after approximately 4 to 6 weeks very little dust and it's grey same color as the paint on the wheels. Also braking may be better, definitely the same as original factory brakes and without the occasional squealing.