OT: No more auto detailers

[Anonymous]

For anybody who has an expensive and/or newer car of any price point, I would think there would be some pride in appearance. If cars were merely tranportation for point a to b, then I would buy a cheap, used beater.

[Rich Toscano]

I am a bit of a neat freak and that extends to cars (and everything else too)… I can’t abide by a dirty car. It just stresses me out; that’s the way my damaged psyche works.

So question for the car experts here. I’ve always had lighter cars but recently got a dark blue one (which of course doesn’t hide dirt as well, so I need to wash it more often). I’ve never had an issue with “normal” car washes, but based on the above, it sounds like with dark colors maybe you have to be more selective? Is this true? If so, what exactly do I need to look for?

I’ve been going to this place: http://www.yelp.com/biz/pacific-beach-car-wash-san-diego which is just an automated one, and I dry it myself after. I like the automated ones because they minimize human interaction, which is generally a goal of mine. It seems to be of higher quality than other automated ones I’ve been to. Am I ok with this one? Thanks for any tips…

[UCGal]

I was at the gas station and saw an mobile detailing truck – they had it in bold print on the side of the truck that they are “eco certified and permitted”. I assume that means reclaimed water.

I’m not sure what is involved in setting up water reclamation for a mobile detailer – but apparently it’s doable.

[Coronita]

[quote=Rich Toscano]I am a bit of a neat freak and that extends to cars (and everything else too)… I can’t abide by a dirty car. It just stresses me out; that’s the way my damaged psyche works.

So question for the car experts here. I’ve always had lighter cars but recently got a dark blue one (which of course doesn’t hide dirt as well, so I need to wash it more often). I’ve never had an issue with “normal” car washes, but based on the above, it sounds like with dark colors maybe you have to be more selective? Is this true? If so, what exactly do I need to look for?

I’ve been going to this place: http://www.yelp.com/biz/pacific-beach-car-wash-san-diego which is just an automated one, and I dry it myself after. I like the automated ones because they minimize human interaction, which is generally a goal of mine. It seems to be of higher quality than other automated ones I’ve been to. Am I ok with this one? Thanks for any tips…[/quote]

It really depends on how anal you are.

If you look at a car and can see swirl marks and it bothers you, then you’ll probably need to be more selective.. If you don’t notice swirl marks or dont care, you can be less selective.Also sometimes watching your car more frequently, you are less likely to a have a scratched surface since less dirt/debris clings to the finish…

Swirl marks are tiny circular scratches on the clear coat that you get if you take a wash cloth/mit/or dry cloth and rub that in a circular motion on the car’s clearcoat, especially if you wash with not enough water or with some dirt still on the car.

On a white colored car, you can almost use something really abrasive and never see it. At the other extreme, on a black color car if you just slightly rub with cotton towel for some time without water, they’ll show up…

When a car is washed and dryed, the washer should use plenty of water with soap to surface wet, and avoid circular motion, since swirl marks you’ll be able to see easily from all angles from a light source..

Ideally, a low pressure rinse is desired, because if you have small rocks/pebbles, a high pressure water sprayed on the car can/will drag the debris across your clearcoat.

If you do end up with swirl marks, most of the time they can be buffed out by a decent detailer, by leveling hte clear coat…They usually start with the least abrasive stuff to the most aggressive stuff:
polish < glaze < swirl mark remover < cleaner < and for really bad scratches.. compound < wet sanding... I have always used a detailer on a black/dark blue car and keep the car parked inside as much as possible away from trees, birds that like to take a dump, and grass with misbehaving sprinklers...Up to the point when my car hits about 5 years old. Can't help you with a recommendation of where to go since my detailer just quit the business...lol....

[Coronita]

[quote=UCGal]I was at the gas station and saw an mobile detailing truck – they had it in bold print on the side of the truck that they are “eco certified and permitted”. I assume that means reclaimed water.

I’m not sure what is involved in setting up water reclamation for a mobile detailer – but apparently it’s doable.[/quote]

For the beaters, I try to kill 2 birds with one stone..

[img_assist|nid=18821|title=|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=500 | height=400]

I don’t think I’ve turned on my sprinkers for awhile and I don’t bother to use any soap…If I could cut down a pesky tree, I could actually fit a bigger car probably..

I don’t think the neighbors are too happy about it though…

Next time, I’ll leave the top down when it rains so that I can get the inside washed too…I think all I need to do is drill a few drain holes on the floor pan…

[img_assist|nid=18822|title=mm|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=500|height=400]

[Rich Toscano]

Thanks for the overview flu!

[an]

[quote=deadzone]For anybody who has an expensive and/or newer car of any price point, I would think there would be some pride in appearance. If cars were merely tranportation for point a to b, then I would buy a cheap, used beater.[/quote]Different strokes for different folks. I bought my car new and I would say it was relatively expensive. I baby it for a month or two. But that’s about it. I take pride in the performance of my car, not the appearance of my car. It could have a bunch of scratches and full of dirt for all I care. As long as it can hug corner better than most cars and can out accelerate most cars, I’m happy. Dirt and swirl marks doesn’t degrade the cornering ability, so I don’t really care. As I said before, my car is there to serve me, not only to get me from point A to point B, but also put a smile on my face while I get myself to point B.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Rich Toscano]Thanks for the overview flu![/quote]

Yep well put Flu. It is obvious that Rich is somewhat OCD and now with a dark car I recommend stearing clear of all commercial car washes of any kind. There is a 100% chance they will leave major swirl marks. As FLU says, you can buff these out so it isn’t the end of the world but it is better to avoid if you can.

The alternative is
1. Wash your own car (using proper 2-bucket method, micro fiber or lambs wool wash mit and micro fiber drying towels
2. Use a professional detailer. Many of the mobile detailers do a great job and they will come to your house or office and do a hand wash, they usually charge about $30 for basic wash.

[Coronita]

[quote=deadzone][quote=Rich Toscano]Thanks for the overview flu![/quote]

Yep well put Flu. It is obvious that Rich is somewhat OCD and now with a dark car I recommend stearing clear of all commercial car washes of any kind. There is a 100% chance they will leave major swirl marks. As FLU says, you can buff these out so it isn’t the end of the world but it is better to avoid if you can.

The alternative is
1. Wash your own car (using proper 2-bucket method, micro fiber or lambs wool wash mit and micro fiber drying towels
2. Use a professional detailer. Many of the mobile detailers do a great job and they will come to your house or office and do a hand wash, they usually charge about $30 for basic wash.[/quote]

For #1, how to you get around the hard water?
It’s never been a problem for me on even a slightly darker color blue car…. until now I went extreme and got a black car, even if I wash in the shade.

Folks have recommended something like this, but I think it’s kinda overkill for me…

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/portable+water+deionizer.do

[Anonymous]

[quote=flu][quote=deadzone][quote=Rich Toscano]Thanks for the overview flu![/quote]

Yep well put Flu. It is obvious that Rich is somewhat OCD and now with a dark car I recommend stearing clear of all commercial car washes of any kind. There is a 100% chance they will leave major swirl marks. As FLU says, you can buff these out so it isn’t the end of the world but it is better to avoid if you can.

The alternative is
1. Wash your own car (using proper 2-bucket method, micro fiber or lambs wool wash mit and micro fiber drying towels
2. Use a professional detailer. Many of the mobile detailers do a great job and they will come to your house or office and do a hand wash, they usually charge about $30 for basic wash.[/quote]

For #1, how to you get around the hard water?
It’s never been a problem for me on even a slightly darker color blue car…. until now I went extreme and got a black car, even if I wash in the shade.

Folks have recommended something like this, but I think it’s kinda overkill for me…

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/portable+water+deionizer.do%5B/quote%5D

Yeah the de-ionizer may be a good choice if you have the room for it and want to deal with a machine. I have never tried it buy a friend who has one “claims” you can wash your car in the sun and not even dry it. I personally would never try that with my black car.

As far as hard water I assume you are talking about water spots. I don’t really have a problem with that since I always wash in the shade and towel/air dry (using air dryer or driving the car up/down the street) immediately.

For your case, I recommend you try Optimum No Rinse (ONR). This is what I normally use on my black car. It works great as long as your car isn’t filthy. If you keep your car in the garage and wash once a month ONR would be perfect for you. Even though I mix it with standard “hard” water, you only wash one section at a time and as the name implies, no rinse so just dry each section right away. Plus there is less water to get into the crevises which is what usually leads to water spots in my experience.

[Author]

Posts