I drove past a Shell garage in Esher and noticed it had a touchless car wash.
has anybody used one ?
I remember years ago having a gleaming White XJ6 and putting it through a brush car wash frequently.
Eventually the primer started to show through !! I haven't been in an automatic car wash since.

It's a very subjective thing. On one hand it's a lot better than a rotary brush swirl-o-matic thing. On the other, the water jet pressure is so high it sends the grit and dirt across the paint with such force it may as well be called a light sandblasting.

The best way by far is a low pressure foam gun, left to soak for 5 minutes. This softens and lifts a lot of the dirt. Follow up with a pressure washer using as wide a spray as possible, at an angle to the surface. try not to embed the dirt in the paint surface.

I follow this routine religiously. Once done I then use the 2 bucket method and several lambswool wash mitts to do the last bit, rinsed off afterwards with an open hose end (no nozzle). I use a waffle weave towel to dry it, not a chamois.

A bit of a faff yes, but way less long term paint damage than any other method I know of.

I tried the brushless Shell car wash yesterday.
It soaks the car in soap and water several times gently to rinse off the dirt.
It then applies the wash detergent, rinses hard and then the wax, again rinsing at high pressure, it uses the round brushes for the wheels and then blow dry.
The only thing that doesn't work well is the blow dry, the back window streamed water and there is quite a lot of water marks.
The other concern is the time it takes, probably ten minutes for the £9.99 premium wash, also waiting for the two cars in front, 1/2 hour total I suppose.
I will try it again with the £6.99 job, that doesn't wash underneath etc.

The advice I've seen, and I think it's good. If you live in an area with winter grime and temperatures too low to make doing it yourself viable, a touchless is okay for when you can't clean it yourself. If you can do it yourself, so much the better.

i have a personnel touchless car wash, trouble is because i dont touch it its still dirty...  ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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Another issue with the touchless wash is that the wax process coats the windscreen.
The damp screen last night would not clear with the wipers, the wipers had to be left on to drive safely.
I will attack it today with something ?

Doesn't putting the heated screen on help with clearing the wax off? Land Rover Addict
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Pay attention to touchless car wash - a study here in the fatherland showed that 75% are faulty i.e. to much water pressure etc....  All my spelling errorz are belong to me!

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