PDA

View Full Version : !!car Wash!! At Home Or Express Wash?



KrypTOniTE
06-06-2008, 09:33 PM
Just wondering how many of you wash your car at your own garage at home.. or those express mobile car wash... and the self car lot wash places????
i dont have a garage,,:mfrown: wish i did... but i take my boy at the self lot places!

Zeth
06-06-2008, 11:59 PM
at home in the drive way ftw

kprocivic
06-07-2008, 12:35 AM
wash at home, usually public places people wash mud of trucks and the rocks can mess your paint up badly.

SLOW EP3
06-07-2008, 08:43 PM
ALWAYS wash mine at home.

No beat. Only pamper. :whoo:

Fish
06-07-2008, 09:13 PM
Lately I've been washing at home, the express washes just don't do a good job unless you go to the ones with the things that actually touch your car, but then scratches are abundant so meh I just do it in the driveway.

It's always nice spraying my sister's car with the hose to piss her off too ;)

MugsyTheGr8
06-07-2008, 10:28 PM
only time i dont wash it myself is in winter to get the salt off the chassis.

QUEEN
06-08-2008, 02:00 AM
I would NEVER take my car to an express car wash

ep_hatcher_510
06-08-2008, 02:42 AM
In my driveway in direct sunlight, yay! no garage FTL :mfrown:

SiN05
06-11-2008, 04:44 PM
Nothen beats doing it by hand, you just can't get as clean as washing it by hand at any automatic place. I only do cleanings at the quarter places in the winter due to temperatures.

3dkahuna
06-26-2008, 07:14 PM
By hand 80%, then Cactus Car Wash in Buckhead the other 20%, plus I am cheap and only get the 5.95 wash. I usually will touch the car up a few days later with a hand wash.

No Driveway, but apt complex has car wash area

cow
06-26-2008, 07:27 PM
weekly detail > anything I could do

Emerica459
07-01-2008, 07:51 PM
All by hand at home, or in the winter time at my shop after hours. And i just got a buffer so waxing will become much easier.:clap2:

NyQuil
07-01-2008, 08:31 PM
i do mine in my driveway... garage is too nice to let water in.

Strife
07-01-2008, 08:45 PM
I wash my own car. The only times I've ever done other wise was the few years I lived in an apartment.

powdbyrice
07-01-2008, 10:58 PM
home!

dont trust the maintenance of those quick wash machines.

locoep3
07-01-2008, 11:20 PM
In my driveway always

ep3 604
07-02-2008, 12:18 AM
i wash at home. don't trust other people washing my ep.

MR.Pizza
07-02-2008, 12:34 AM
Mostly at home but in winter I have to use the quarter wash. Never use the blue brush.

frm_808
07-02-2008, 01:47 AM
i do mines mostly at home.

JohnyBlaze
07-02-2008, 07:51 AM
I've recently discovered touchless laser washes. Pretty effective, but I wonder if the water spray is so powerful that it strips wax??!?

si4life
07-02-2008, 08:13 AM
wash it at home, you'll thank me later.

fungkeyfresh
07-02-2008, 10:51 AM
i always wash it at home

trogdor48430
07-09-2008, 02:38 PM
i only rinse my car at the do it ur self wash to get the heavies off cause i dont have a pressure washer and then go home and wash it with a mitt by hand and hand dry

profresh
07-09-2008, 09:16 PM
i wash my car at the dealership that i work at. hand wash with pressure washer

2005rollingegg
07-24-2008, 12:09 PM
Wash at home. Its cheap and your less likely to get swirl marks.

JDMtunerEP3
08-19-2008, 07:48 PM
Definitely at home!

Why spend the money to do something you should take pride in doing yourself...

r-tech87
08-20-2008, 04:29 PM
I wash mine always by hand!
Never ever would take it to the auto carwashers.

nrengle
08-20-2008, 07:37 PM
If you're asking why do it at home here's the scoop too.

95% of those automatic car washes use recycled water. They filter out a lot of the particulate, but they don't get the fine grains of sand, so when you have the high pressure water coming out, you are also sandblasting your car a bit.

The ones with the soft cloth tend to get a lot of the debris stuck in them. So then you are just blasting your car with rocks and sand again. Also if you've ever felt those things, they aren't exactly the softest thing you want hitting your paint (cause that's what it's really doing, not wiping, but hitting).

If you wash by hand the correct way your paint will last a long time, and look it's best for a long time too.

0h5ive_EP3
08-20-2008, 08:13 PM
any one try that mr clean autodry stuff? you can also run a hose to it and use it as a power washer if im not mistaken...

Blackexcoupe
08-20-2008, 09:28 PM
any one try that mr clean autodry stuff? you can also run a hose to it and use it as a power washer if im not mistaken...How strong it is depends on the pressure of the water at your house, but I doubt it can be used as a pressure washer. I had one in the past, but threw it in the trash because it didn't work that well. The water can only flow so fast through the filter before it gives up and floods making it useless.

SI in GA
08-22-2008, 06:34 AM
I wash the car in the driveway. And when I return from a road trip I use the coin operated car wash first (just the sprayer) trying to get most of the bugs off before they stick. Then I was the car at the house. So I usually end up doing most of the cleaning in the drive way. Its a trust issue.

chinkstha84
08-27-2008, 10:54 AM
i wash my car at my house because my friends tell me the car washes around my town leave scratches. so don't trust the machines and trust your arms.

Ep_patty86
08-27-2008, 10:57 AM
I go to the local car washes....no where ti wash it at the apartment :(

SiiK20
08-27-2008, 03:25 PM
Just rubbed my baby down this morning. ALL HAND JOBBY! :tehehyper:

nrengle
08-29-2008, 09:11 PM
Guys if you don't have anywhere to wash at your apt, try this. Go over to Autogeek.net and pick up some Optimum No Rinse car wash solution. All you need is 2 gallons of water, and a ounce of that stuff, it works great. Pick up a couple of wash mits, a couple of drying towels, and maybe a wheel brush, and you're set. I just did my car in the garage at 10pm while it was raining out. Took about a hour with doing my windows, and some tire shine, and some protectant on the plastic and rubber trim. I have a EP3 also.

You wipe a panel down with the ONR, then dry that panel, move on to the next, all done. Simple of enough... I have to say, I used to do only home washing, I'm now swearing by this stuff...


God I feel like I'm on a stupid infomercial trying to sell you the ShamWOW lol!

Blackexcoupe
08-29-2008, 10:13 PM
ONR is awesome stuff when you're in a rush to get your car cleaned. I've gone through a few gallons of it already.

Honda_boy83
08-30-2008, 09:04 AM
There's no place like home :tehehyper:

Lincroft What
09-01-2008, 09:04 AM
alot of people i know have had bad experiences at car washes with broken mirrors, scratches, and one friend even had a windshield cracked and they always say they are not liable, so i do most my washing at home.. luckily there is a place by me that is an express carwash called auto exotica and ferraris lambos porsches are always getting washed there so i bring it there sometimes.. i feel if someone will risk their 60k-120k cars why not give mine a shot and it comes out fucken amazing.. inside and out for 14 dollars hah

04bluepearl
09-06-2008, 10:16 PM
I wash at home almost all the time, just enjoy doing it. When i use a car wash during winter or whenever i use the quarter machine things.

Just a tip using an express wash (quarter thing) before you use the brush, spray it out with the high pressure sprayer first to get rid of any derbis :mwink:

I also use those places after i go mudding in the truck :tehehyper:

dannysi
09-07-2008, 12:23 AM
I wish I could wash my car myself at home. No place to wash it.
I go to a hand carwash cause my car will not pass in the automatic car washes. I don't like those any ways they leave swirl marks on the car.

josetequila
04-27-2010, 01:41 PM
been working in the Carwash Business for 6yrs now, started on a carwash that had 3 self service in bay, with 2 Automatic Inbay " touchless laser wash".... now i am running a Express tunnel with Mac Neil Equipment.... well i have wash my car almost every 2 days or everyday, lol and i have a white/ep, and the truth is that i havent had no problem witht the paint, it all depends on what your local carwash uses for quemical cheap or the good brand, and equipment makes the diffrence too...

ep3steez
04-29-2010, 09:38 AM
Originally I washed my cat at home, then I moved on to the drive thru wash, and now I'm set with the Foam and Wash self wash

emersc63
05-02-2010, 05:18 PM
at home. all the carwashes around here are car eaters. if they aren't scratching your car they are ripping it apart.

SI in GA
05-03-2010, 07:20 PM
I wash mine in front of the house. Wash weekly,but ra it rains all the time here in HI.