At the car wash near me they have one of those manual high pressure hose thingers. It sprays your car with extremly high pressure, with soap and then water (you do it yourself, which is why I like it) it is the best way to wash your car only using soap and water, my car looks so damn clean every time I wash it. I love it. However, it costs about 8 dollars every time I go, and I don't like spending 8 dollars every 5 days...so does anyone know if there is a way to get my hose at home to spray high pressure water? Or something along those lines.

 

You shouldn't need high pressure water to wash your car unless you are going off-roading. Just a normal hose will do. I use one of the nozzles that you can twist to adjust the stream. I think they're called Bonaire nozzles or something?

 

i dont think it a very smart idea to blastin your car paint with high pressure water often.
nissan paint is not the best in the world and spraying it wtih the high pressure hose probaly only goin to help it flake off

 

Well, for living in New England, the only time my car sees the high pressure car wash is during the winter when the road salt needs to be removed on a regular basis, and there no option to wash it in my driveway with the bucket, soap, and garden hose. If the high pressure hose isnt concentrated in one spot for any period of time, and kept a fair distance away, I doubt that it would do any harm to the paint. Its a good benefit to get that high pressure wand to get all of that cursed salt from under our cars too. ...actually, I should consider oil undercoating....its legal to do in NH, i'm close to the border.

 

Personally, I would relegate the pressure washer to the fenderwells and underbody to get rid of the garbage in those areas. They are also helpful when cleaning the wheels.

However, I recommend one that it is 1250 psi and you can get one of those pressure washers from Menards, Lowe's, or Home Depot.

 

I use these all the time since I live in an apartment First I vacuum the car for $.50 and then I wash it. It costs $1.25 for the wash and I usually do 2 of them so I spend $3 total each time. During spring/summer/fall I do it 3-4 times each month. During the winter, I'll probably do it only when the weather is above freezing point or I'll probably go to one of those automatic ones once or twice each month.

First I spray the soapy water. Then I use the soapy brush to scrub the bottom areas of the car and the wheels. Then I spray wax everywhere. And finally I rinse it with regular water. Then I park it and dry it off

When I went to another car wash to see how good it was. They charged $1.50 and I had less time. I went there once and I was out of $7...

 

$1.25 for 4 minutes in Salt Lake
****!

 

2.50 for 3 minutes here!! Gotta have lots of quarters though lol

 

Those auto car washes are paint killers.... I hope you like swirl marks because you might get a bunch of them! Just do it at home with a bucket youl wind up much better off!

 

Daaaammmm! $8 for do it yourself wash? I pay $1.50 for soap spray and brush. Another $1.50 to rinse.

 

FYI...

Automatic Car Wash = Very bad

Using the Brush on ANY paintwork = UNBELIEVABLY BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HORRIBLE SCREAMING DEPTHS OF HELL BAD!!!!!!

Spray Wax from the car wash = Worthless, especially the way you are applying it. I wouldn't even waste the time applying it because it's not doing anything.

Drying the car when you have just sprayed it down = One of the worst things you can do to your paint. You are grinding dirt directly into the paint.

You are killing your car. I'm sure that it's covered in swirls, and you probably don't mind, but the track you are on is going to leave your car looking much much worse. Given the choice of that routine or just letting the car get dirty and washing it by hand every 6 months, you are WAY better off with letting it get dirty and washing it every 6 months.

I'm not saying this to be a ****, but I wanted to warn you that your "detailing" routine is doing FAR more harm than good...

 

Living in the North east, the manual car wash is critical. I try to go as often as I can and just spray the car down with soapy water then clean water. NEVER use that brush for anything but wheels and, if you have nice aftermarket rims, don't even use it for them. High pressure is awesome for getting salt and sand and gunk out of your wheel wells, off your suspension components, cleaning off the underside of the car, etc.

I've gone to the manual car wash when it was so cold the water was freezing on one side of the car when I went around to the other. That I wouldn't do again because ice scratches, but short of that it's a good thing. I've heard that the harsh soaps they use in those things can take off your wax, but it didn't affect the Ardex I used last winter, so I suspect it won't take off the Klasse SG I'm using this winter.

Spot free rinse works...okay...not great but better than just the rinse. I think it's just filtered/deoinized water. You need to leave enough time for the rinse to make it's way through the hose, then rinse the car down thouroughly.

Luckily the car wash I go to is near the highway, so I get on the highway right afterwards and drive hella fast to dry the car. Overall it's a good routine and a paint-saver for those of us in snowy areas with no garages. Usually costs me about 8-10 bucks a trip...if I want to use their vacuum for some reason that's usually another 2-3 bucks.

 

Yeap. I also pray underside of my car w/ soap water after a snowy day; get all that salt off. I use the brush when I wash my car. My 8 year old car has swirl marks. That's not from the brush but from waxing and polishing.

 

It's from the brush...if waxing and polishing (providing you do it right of course)caused swirl marks no one would do it...that's kind of ridiculous. Swirl marks come from rubbing paint with something that is too hard...i.e. dirt, bad towels, or a brush whose brissles are too hard and caked with sand and grease and salt and garbage. Polishing and waxing take swirls out and hide them as long as you use proper towels and products...

 

How would I get round swirl marks? I don't take the brush and scrub my car in circular motion. Only circular motion I use is when I'm waxing and polishing. I do use proper towels and name brand waxes.

 

They just seem to happen that way....I think part of it might just be how light hits them. I would imagine that the brissles move around a bit on the paint as you use it as well. If you're using good towels (REAL 100% cotton...burn tested, or MF towels) you should not be getting swirls from your waxing process. If you are then you have a problem and should change your process...car isn't clean enough, towels aren't actually 100% cotton, etc. But trust me, that brush WILL put swirl marks in your car faster than *ANY* wax/polish process using clean materials will. The other thing is that if you're polishing enough, you should be able to take the swirl marks out.

If you want to stop inducing swirl marks into your paint you have to start with the most likely cause. The brush is 100% guaranteed to be putting scratches into your paint. I mean think about it man: which is more likely to induce swirls...

a.) Wax polish process using clean presumably cotton towels

b.) Washing the car with a dirty brush with plastic bristles that are covered in grit and sand and brake dust and garbage.

Okay, maybe your wax/polish process might not be 100% non-swirl inducing, but it's like blaming your engine not running right on a bad sparkplug when you just threw a rod. I mean yea, maybe the plug is bad, but the piston that just shot through your hood is a much bigger problem. Maybe you do need to change some things with your waxing, but you could use the most paranoid Autopia-approved method of polishing and waxing, and you're still going to get swirls from using that brush...I guarantee it 100%.

What type of applicators are you using to polish and apply wax? Many of the ones you find around auto stores are not actually 100% cotton...they have synthetic fibers in them which will give you swirl marks. If you burn a corner of them you will see black smoke and melting if they are not 100% cotton. Here's a link I just found...

http://sewing.about.com/library/sewn.../aafab0303.htm

Personally I don't even like 100% cotton though. For the most swirl free finish MF is the only way to go.

Ditch the brush and make sure you're using 100% cotton towels. Give the car a good polish, using a 50/50 alcohol/water spritzer between rounds of polish to remove filling oils that will hide swirls. On the last round of polish leave the filling oils then top with a wax applied with a cotton or MF or foam (if you have a buffer) applicator. Voila...no more swirls.

 

I have a white car so you can actually see the dirt on it. When I just use the soapy water and rinse it, the car is still dirty near the bottom areas. Only the brush takes all the dirt off. The brush is sometimes really dirty, but I rinse it first before I use it.

I can't see swirl marks on my car, just the great shine My hood, trunk, and roof shine great, but the bumpers and the bottom sides of the car are kind of faded and a little bit yellowish (car was like that when I bought it).

It's kind of hard to wash it with a bucket when I live in an apartment without a hose. Imagine walking up to the 2nd floor every minute to get a bucket of water to pour onto the car to rinse

The car wash wax is a waste, but it does protect for a day or two I do have Mother's wax on my car

 

I have no idea why anyone would use the brush at a self-service car wash. If scrubbing is necessary, one can simply bring a soft sheepskin mitt or towel and use that to scrub the vehicle after spraying it with the soap solution.

 

It's much easier with the brush since the soap comes out of it by itself

 

I usually wash my car once a week if not more. some times hand wash and sometimes at the spray wash. if you use the spray soap for a lil bit and get the whole car good and rinse it off the car will be pretty clean. Soon after I use an absorber and dry it off. this seems to work good without having to hand wash it.

 

The manual washes are pretty good, 'specially when you live in an apartment and cant wash in the parking areas. But I bring my own bucket, my own soap, own wash mitts, etc. All I use the hoses for there are to rinse the car initially and to fill my bucket, then I wash by hand, then rinse it with the hose again, then dry by hand and when I get back home I'll wax and everything. Works pretty well for me!

 

heh. Isn't there a sign that says that you can't handwash or dry your car in bays? All the manual washes around here posted that sign.

 

I dont think that sign is going to tell you to stop.

 

Ofcourse not; except when there are people behind you.

 

Yeah this place is never crowded, plus, whats the difference between hand-washing your car in there vs washing it with the broom? I can see them saying you cant stay in there to dry, since I take about twice as long to dry as i do to wash, but there's no "attendant" or anything around, so who cares!

 

Let me give you guys a small tip on washing your car at a self-service place. For those who dont have access to a hose, you could do it this way.

Buy a small pail/bucket, a 3 gallon should do fine. Get a bunch of 100% Cotton Towels. Buy a few of those $1 sponges at Pepboys (or anywhere else). Buy Carwash Soap (don't be a moron and use dishwashing liquid). Put all this stuff in the bucket and throw it in the back of your car. Buy a California Water Blade too, they're awesome!

When you get to the carwash place, put some carwash soap in the bucket and fill it up with water. Once the bucket is filled you should still have time left with the high pressure hose, use it to throughly rinse down the car (even if you have to put it a quarter or two more to get the extra time, its important to rinse it good). Now you can take the sponge (after dipping in the soap-water of course) and wash the whole car, work quickly, but dont miss spots. After you got the whole car soaped up, put those quarters in the machine again and rinse it good (again, be sure to get all the soap off). When you're done you can use the Water blade to get most of the water off (great tool), spray some quick detailer (fake wax) if you want, and then use the towlels to compeletely dry the car.

 

Exactly what I do, but I'd go for some sheepskin wash mits instead of sponges, so you dont scratch the paint.... and I'd get 2 buckets, fill one with just clean water and the other with soapy, so you can rinse your mits in the clean water, get all the dirt off, then dip in the soapy water and continue washing. Use some degreaser under the wheel wells and some rim cleaner on the wheels when you first drive in, then with the high pressure hose while initially rinsing the car get all that dirt off first, makes it nice 'n clean! And yes, the Ca Water Blade is GREAT! I leave it in my trunk since its often damp here in the morning when I leave for work, so I can wipe off most of the water that's formed all over the car, avoid spots.