Touchless or Brushed or does anyone care on Car Washes?

Don’t care. It’s a Toyota.

 

Best.

 

I love it when people say who cares its a truck/toyota/4x4 or what ever justification they use for being lazy. I paid hard earned money for everything I have. Nothing wrong with a little pride of ownership, it goes a long way imo.


With that said I dont take any of our vehicles through a car wash because I care how they look. I hand wash when its nice out and use my pressure washer to keep grime at bay when its shitty outside. I never got the im bad at cleaning excuse. People always say things to me like "how did you get it so clean" Well I cleaned it until it was clean, some times that means going over it more than once.

 

Living at the Beach, I only use Touchless Car Washes during the winter. Reason....no sand in brushes/chamois to scratch paint. Rest of year hand wash at home.

 

I buy what many consider "boring" silver vehicles and run them through a well-maintained brush car wash where the attendants pre-spray the truck down before heading in. The one I use has a power-rinse feature on all brushes before another car enters - rinses, spins at high speeds, then rinses again before another vehicle enters. Do NOT go through a wash where it drops wax on your rig though - brutal on the plastics and will cause your black trims if you have it to become gray over time. I get a basic wash including undercarriage and tire cleaning without additional treatments, then I hand dry with a clean/soft microfibre and then apply either some McGuires quick wax or quick detailer to make the paint shine. And weekly I wipe a bit of 303 protectant on my black trim and interior plastics b/c I like to see the deep black contrast.

My entire process takes me 30 minutes a week and my truck always looks shiny and clean so it works for me and has for the last year and a half

Edit: And I will do a more thorough hand wash/clay/polish/wax regimen about every 4-5 months. My weekly shining process can build up on the paint after a few months so I strip it back down and start over

 

You are right, there is no justification to not take care of one's stuff. My kids always thought I was too critical and worried too much about keeping my/our things well maintained and clean. The older they get the more they understand the benefit.

It helps when they see and hear things that are unsolicited pointing to how well some of our things have held value.

My daughter, the one that works at a dealership, pointed me out one day as I was picking up my Taco form service. She was told by their master technician in reference to my former Taco..."Your dad's truck is in such great shape and so clean, it could be mistaken for new. It is rare to see an 04 in such good shape."

 

If you care about your car's paint, hand wash it yourself!!

I wash all of my cars by hand, since my first car. Hand wash, hand wax. Use quality microfibers, grit guard in the bucket, and quality materials.

 

I prefer to scratch my Taco myself.

 

I use brushes when I'm in the woods, they do leave marks though. In the city I usually go brushless or handwash.

 

I don't think the method of how you wash your truck makes you a lazy owner. some people just aren't too worried about every little hairline scratch

 

Does anyone else go to self serve wash bays? I've been going to one for the past year and for me its the best of both worlds. You get a decent pressure hose, foaming soft brush and some bays have a handheld air dryer. Plus as long as it isn't packed I can microfiber dry the truck in the bay. Usually runs about 10 bucks per visit. At least then if i scratch/swirl it i know it was from me.

 

Again, for whatever reason I am just bad at washing in self service bays. I can wash the truck for 20 minutes, take it home, and streaks. I just somehow miss or overlook spots and then it looks horrible, haha.

 

I use the self service wash bays during the Winter so I can just get the salt off, otherwise I always hand wash at home.

 

Some people have no idea that a car wash can scratch their paint. And then of course those same people will cry manufacturers defect when the paint starts to fad or rust starts forming on the bumper, wheel wells, or rockers from never washing or only washing without ever applying a coat of wax. Take care of it or it will eventually disintegrate.

 

I take mine to the self wash bays, it's way easier than washing it at home. I don't really trust the foaming brushes, I've seen people cleaning their wheels and engine bays with them. Luckily just using the pressure soap and rinse is enough to get it clean.

 

I use the wand-y pressure washer type car washes. Apartment life means no hose, which kills me, but I can't stand a dirty truck.

 

correction, it's for wheels exhaust bike rack and skidplate only

 

Truth about the brushes, although I usually take the pressure hose to it prior to use. My main thing is eliminating the buildup of film on my windshield that's outside of the wiper realm. Shit drives me nuts so i must brush.

 

If you care about your paint, never take your car to a brushed car wash. They don't clean the brush/mops and reuse the water. It's like taking a brillo paint to your paint.

Hand washing is very easy. Look up the 2 bucket method.

1) Wash your wheels/tires first.
2) Work from the top down in sections. I generally do 3. Roof & windows is one section. Upper half the doors, and hood is another section. Bottom half of truck + bumpers is 3rd.
3) Use multiple mitts/tools. I have a wheel brush for wheels/tires. 3 different mitts for each section.

You're never going to be fully able to prevent all swirl marks but following this method will reduce a lot.

Never go to a brushed car wash if you dont want swirl marks covering your truck.

 

Also for what it's worth a pressure washer and home wash setup will save you a ton of money in the long run. Occasionally in the winter when it's too cold to get my gear out and my car is covered in mag chloride/salt I'll use the pressure washer at the drive-in bay. I always end up blowing through $10 to get a good thorough spray on all surfaces though, so the $250 pressure washer I got at Costco has paid itself back many times over with how often I wash my truck. I used to wash cars in for service at a dealership in college. My crew was pretty conscientious about washing mitts regularly, keeping chamois's clean, etc, but most crews aren't. These days I don't let any dealership wash my vehicles. A dirty mitt on dark paint - it only takes one to really mess up the clear coat.