"Car Lovers"car washes are crap

[Creampuff]

Twice I have gone through a automatic carwash,they never clean the car.
This time I went there and did it myself(high pressure hose etc) I still could not clean the road grime off. Had to come home and do it myself with about 30 buckets of water.

[Mechan1k]

I usually go to a carwash cafe ... and have a coffee while watching others do my car.
I am lucky I have found a decent one ... they do a bloody awesome job on both my vehicles.

I never like the carlovers places ... the brushless wash never cleans properly ... I only used them in a hurry when the car is that dirty it doesn't resemble the original colour it was meant to be ... LOL

[max]

Originally Posted by creampuff

Twice I have gone through a automatic carwash,they never clean the car.
This time I went there and did it myself(high pressure hose etc) I still could not clean the road grime off. Had to come home and do it myself with about 30 buckets of water.

I agree. Do it yourself at home. Good exercise. Better job. Cheaper. Satisfying.

Water restrictions suck. If I wash the car during the day I take it to the local carwash and spray off as much crap as possible and spray under the car, then take it home and wash with buckets and watering can, normally in the afternoon when the shadow of the house next door is over the driveway.

A lot of the time I'll start to wash just before dawn and spray the car with the gurney in my driveway. By the time there is good enough light I'm going around a second time, throughly to spot where I missed the first time round. I can normally get paint cleaning done and waxed as just as direct light starts to hit the car.

[LTDHO]

Originally Posted by creampuff

Twice I have gone through a automatic carwash,they never clean the car.
This time I went there and did it myself(high pressure hose etc) I still could not clean the road grime off. Had to come home and do it myself with about 30 buckets of water.

Creampuff, don't be so slack, get of you but and clean it yourself. You will do a better job cheaper!

[Black XR6]

Originally Posted by creampuff

Twice I have gone through a automatic carwash,they never clean the car.
This time I went there and did it myself(high pressure hose etc) I still could not clean the road grime off. Had to come home and do it myself with about 30 buckets of water.

How dirty is this car that you need 30 buckets of water to get the job done? No wonder the drive through splash and dash cant hack it.

[Miss_XR6]

do it at home with a high pressure hose bucket which is legal and u buy them from meguries...

[mr_efxr]

Originally Posted by creampuff

Twice I have gone through a automatic carwash,they never clean the car.
This time I went there and did it myself(high pressure hose etc) I still could not clean the road grime off. Had to come home and do it myself with about 30 buckets of water.

Could of told you that from the start. Only reason I drive through a self serve car wash is to give the car a quick high pressure rinse. I know a few people in the business and the soaps and detergents used by Car Washes aint good for the car. That's why majority of them say use at your own risk.

[xr8man83]

you think you have trouble dont go and buy a black car so hard to keep clean the car wash places are a waste of time and forget bout washing it in the sun that just dont work at all

[BlueRaven]

Originally Posted by Black XR6

How dirty is this car that you need 30 buckets of water to get the job done? No wonder the drive through splash and dash cant hack it.

Thats actually a pretty good comment. Your best off washing your car really well once and doing a pressure wash at a car lovers place every week or two.

I've seen plenty of nice looking cars follow the same method. Unless you have mud and crap all lover your car, just give it a good spray every week for $1 and your laughing.

[Creampuff]

For all you who said "do it yourself". I should have said "I do it myself every week"but,I just drove 5000 k's through rain,following trucks,dirt roads,snow etc,
hence it was the dirtiest it has ever been or ever will!!

[russellw]

The thread should have been entitled ALL automatic car washes are crap.

Let's see:

1. Recycled water (whihc they are required to use these days) is treated with salt to trap the dirt particles.

2. The detergents they use are generally harsh, cheap and nasty in their treatment of modern automotive finishes.

3. Anything with a brush/strip/etc. (whether automated or hand held) is roughly akin to washing your car with sandpaper.

Frankly you'd be better off driving your car to the nearest sandy beach; doing donuts for half an hour to ensure the car is well coated in grit and then driving it into the ocean on a windy day. It will come out just as clean and just as well looked after.

Even in these water restricted days just go an buy a cheap pressure washer (preferably with a variable pressure wand) and invite a few mates around for a car washing morning. It's sociable; you'd be surprised how easy the work is with a few people involved and you'll be doing your bit for the environment and your car.

Cheers
Russ

[Kenaz]

If you really love your car you wouldn't take it to CarLovers.

[ssb2005]

i took mine whrough a happy wash to see what it was like, it seems the bootlip sopiler confused the bugger and left just the back of my car diirrrteh it was all good apart from the rear :p i would love to see one VS a big ricey wing.

[Group C]

Originally Posted by Kenaz

If you really love your car you wouldn't take it to CarLovers.

mate, the BEST thing i've read on FF in a long time...

[TUF_302]

The places you find in the city with high pressure hoses and things are good if you want a quick wash, but nothing makes your car look better than a bucket of soapie water and a sponge!

[bArNsY]

I've been through a couple of times and the wax liquid still covered half my car!
so i took pictures then rang up to get my money back.
I got my money back, but never again, the automatic car washes are the DEVIL

[XD 351 Ute]

[QUOTE=russellw]3. Anything with a brush/strip/etc. (whether automated or hand held) is roughly akin to washing your car with sandpaper.[QUOTE]

I know exactly what you mean there Russ.

While cleaning the ute at the local wash-o-matic, I gave the broom a real good clean before doing the wheels and they still got bloody scratched....

Not impressed.

All your comments are spot on, especially the salt in the recylced water.
By the time you get home, any fresh stone chips will have fresh rust on them!

I don't bother with these anymore, I just wash my ute a lot less & try not to get it as dirty.

Ed

[Castlegreyskull]

Originally Posted by xr8man83

you think you have trouble dont go and buy a black car so hard to keep clean the car wash places are a waste of time and forget bout washing it in the sun that just dont work at all

couldnt agrre more on thatone, i have a dark blue colour on the fairlane, and it is a ***** to keep clean. I can spend hours cleaning it, then half a hour later u can see **** on it. it ****es me off like u wouldnt believe.

But yeah carlovers and places like that are ****, all the products they use are **** and they dont clean the car properly, and if u do wash it there, they wont let u chamois the car there, which defeats the purposeof cleaning the ar in the first place, as if u drive with the car wet, it catched heaps of **** on the way.

The old mans friend actaully used the brush at carlovers once, then he found it was scratching the hell out of it, he had a good look at the brush and there was real sharp plastic or something liek that in it. stuffed a section of his car, lucky it was a bommadore though.

[GK]

Originally Posted by russellw

Even in these water restricted days just go an buy a cheap pressure washer (preferably with a variable pressure wand) and invite a few mates around for a car washing morning. It's sociable; you'd be surprised how easy the work is with a few people involved and you'll be doing your bit for the environment and your car.

Cheers
Russ

That's a very good idea indeed!

GK

[SVR73]

Originally Posted by SVO_XR6

The places you find in the city with high pressure hoses and things are good if you want a quick wash, but nothing makes your car look better than a bucket of soapie water and a sponge!

If you like swirl marks, then yes.
For those in water restriction areas, the technology is here now to do waterless and even better, semi waterless washing

The no rinse type shampoo's can also be used as clay lubricant and quick detail spray by simply diluting with water
These allow you to use one or better yet (two buckets, 1 shampoo - 1 water) and wash the car without rinsing before or after washing
Just wash like normal even if the car is covered in crap, then dry the car with microfibre towel

The lubricants in them encapsulate the grime and flush it away safely or something like that.
I was skeptical at first but my friends tell me that it really works
A big plus also is that you can add them to normal shampoo and wash the traditional way and the ingredients in them soften and condition the water, reducing chance of mineral water spots and helping the paint keep that just waxed feel

The problem with the places you mention is that they use industrial products in 205 litre containers which are harsh caustic, high PH shampoo's
These contain sodium laureth sulphate which is widely used in cosmetics and inferior car care products and this dries the paint out and strips virtually all paint, glass and wheel protectants (from polymers, flouropolymers, polyethlenes and acrylics) and waxes so your car is left with unprotected dry paintwork which if continued to be cleaned this way can cause cracking of the paintwork

Best thing is to do it yourself at home the way I mentioned, especially in NSW
If using a pressure washer, don't stand close at the paint and spray, do it side on or have the gun aiming down the paint so you cannot get impact marring or swirls from grime being blasted into the paint

Full pressure can also affect most waxes and sealants, takes the smoothness or slickness away from the paint
I'll be using a particular no rinse product on the way and during my stay at the 10th anniversary FPV day next year.

Hopefully this forums fine sponsor - themboys has something like this in stock.
You'll save heaps of water.

[Dezza]

Originally Posted by Castlegreyskull

couldnt agrre more on thatone, i have a dark blue colour on the fairlane, and it is a ***** to keep clean. I can spend hours cleaning it, then half a hour later u can see **** on it. it ****es me off like u wouldnt believe.

That's one of the reason I love my silver paint! It hardly shows any dust. I actually washed my car today at a BP servo / carwash. I've found that it does a reasonable job, but it isn't very good for removing bug splatter. I can scrub and scrub at the front of the car but it doesn't remove it all. Usually I wash my car at my parent's farm in Gippsland. They have plenty of lawn to park it on, and Dad has some great detergent at the dairy. I think it is Milestone LF Dairy Detergent. It does wonders for the car. It doesn't harm the paint, and does an awesome job of cleaning off all the bugs. They also have the Milestone Superlux Detergent, but that is strong stuff and would probably eat the paint off the car, so must be avoided.

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by ea_silver_ghia

...I think it is Milestone LF Dairy Detergent. It does wonders for the car. It doesn't harm the paint....

How do you know that??

No offence, but using anything but car detergent probably is harming your paint, even though it may not look like it.

[Dezza]

Originally Posted by Peuty

How do you know that??

No offence, but using anything but car detergent probably is harming your paint, even though it may not look like it.

My parents always use it on their 1993 EBII which they bought brand new. The everglade green paint hasn't faded the tiniest bit, and it still looks like new. It hasn't been polished once and it spends plenty of time in the sun. I have used it on my EA for 4 years and it still looks mint, despite my lack of undercover parking.