Drive Thru Car Wash

[Perfectlap]

sure while your at it why don't you wax it with a brillo pad? Maybe clean the top with Clorox? LOL

DO NOT WASH YOUR PORSCHE IN AN AUTOMATIC CAR WASH.

You will get soap on the canvas top. don't ever get soap on the canvas. Just rinse it and use the Raggtopp kit when its dirty.

if the car wash has a wheel track that's trouble for your wheel paint.

Wash the car yourself using two buckets. One with clean water and one with soapy water. Use a water softener like Optimum No Rinse in both buckets. Any car wash soap will do. Take the spray nozzle of the hose to rinse. Dry with a waffle weave towel. Maybe spray a quick detailer on while the car is still wet/damp before wiping dry. This reduces the swirling, you should avoid rubbing on dry paint.

If you don't have a hose fill a bucket with warm water and add a couple of ounces of Optimum no Rinse and after soaking the car, wipe the paint down paint in one direction, dunk the sponge and repeat. This method has become very common for high end pro detailers because it gets the car clean in the least amount of time...without having to use a hose.

If you absolutely must wash it away from home, find one of those coin operated car washes where you spray down the car yourself but don't use their brush and their soap. First stop by Pepboys, Wal-Mart and buy some car wash soap (I like the turtle wax clear soap) a sponge, a Meguiars Gold Class wheel face brush, two small buckets and buy a waffle weave towel from Bed and Bath. Once you have all your "supplies" put in the quarters and add soap to the two buckets, fill with water all the way to the top, rinse down the car itself, Rinse out the wheel wells, rinse the top WELL, and rinse under the bumpers. Put down the hose, brush your wheels and tires with one bucket, and then wash the paint and glass with the other bucket. Take your time. Then fill the coin machine up again and when the water comes on just rinse everything down.

[ichiro75]

I just realized I asked a very stupid question. :chicken: I will spend the time to hand wash it.

[Perfectlap]

well if your in Mass washing it yourself in winter can be hard. I have a garage now but before this I would take the BoxsterS to an underground parking garage and use the one bucket (with a lid!) filled with warm water and Optimum No Rinse. Good excuse to get out of the house when its too cold to do anything else.

[ChrisZang]

realistically, what damage can a touchless car wash do to your car?

[Perfectlap]

to the paint nothing really but for your canvas top those detergents are no good.
Detergents attract dust. which gets into the threads, brings on fading, and ends up tearing threads and gives you those weird looking creases.

If you have a hardtop its fine, that's if you can find a touchless car wash.

[ChrisZang]

oh, thanks I didn't know that.

So I guess I could drive with the top down through the car wash then

[7th gear]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

to the paint nothing really but for your canvas top those detergents are no good.
Detergents attract dust. which gets into the threads, brings on fading, and ends up tearing threads and gives you those weird looking creases.

If you have a hardtop its fine, that's if you can find a touchless car wash.

agreed .... up to a point though.

since i've joined up with the pca, i attended a clinic for detailing (http://polishandwax.com). the local automatic carwash probably doesn't attend to their chemicals as well as we could at home. and if i'm proven wrong by those that own a local auto-wash, i'll bet that the next guy down the road hit the snooze button on his/her auto-wash maintenance.

ichiro75, you'll do more for your car's appearance, up-keep and a longer lasting shine when you spend just a little time with a nice meguire's wash/wax. (insert your favorite here) when you do a little searching around here on this subject, you'll see some in-depth knowledge to learn from & hold on to. i did.

'nuff said.....

[CJ_Boxster]

I know from experience, i took the boxster to a carwash and the tire guide track scratched up my drivers side from rim, it scratched up the lip pretty good.

[Dr. Kill]

Originally Posted by ichiro75

I just realized I asked a very stupid question. :chicken: I will spend the time to hand wash it.

That was not a stupid question. Since you didn't know the answer, it was a very good question to have asked!

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the forum.

[ichiro75]

So I took your advice and hand wash and wax the car. I also vacuum and clean up the interior. It took me 4 hours!!! but it was well worth the time and effort. The car looks soooo clean and good now. I am going to take some pictures tomorrow and post it here. Thanks again!

[Franco]

Hi, Congrats, that wasn't a stupid question at all and I'm sure some others learned something from this post just like myself .

Thanks

[der Geist]

Let's not forget how many of these places recycle their water as well. I stopped at a self serve wash in NM and for the kife of me could not get the black Benz clean. There was a lot of crap in that water, even the rinse was not 100% fresh.

[achillian]

This is an old thread, but I have to leave a comment after todays experience. I work in Novato, CA and I work a lot. Which in the winter time, when the sun goes down at 5 p.m. , makes it very difficult to wash the boxster during the week. So if I'm busy on the weekends, it does not stay as clean as it should.

Today I decided I would let someone else wash my car (big mistake). There's a handwash next to where I work but they use a track system. I drove over there anyway (big mistake #2) and they told me their track system doesn't damage wheels. I even showed them my perfect wheels before the car went in for a wash. Anyway, car came out, and big suprise...scratched wheels!

They told me the scratches were already there. I am having the wheels fixed then heading back to this carwash place to have them pay it. They don't know it yet, but they are paying one way or the other.

Moral of story: as has been said before, never, ever use a carwash with a track.