Adivse for automatic carwash

[My2010M3]

Not to get flamed too badly, but is there any decent automatic carwash in the Indy area? (northside) I try to keep ahead of my car, but sometimes I just don't have the time to wash it myself. I used to wash my G35S at Mikes, bring it home and finish it ..... much quicker, never a problem, Anybody use Mikes? They do have rails, soft cloth, also does the water affect the air vents in the hood. Haven't taken it there yet, but I'm curious if it will hurt the car. I'm getting old and the hand wash does take some time for me.

[ChineseGuy]

Only advise is to stay away from those.

If a car wash is too much work, maybe try to find some detailers in your area. Some of them would do packages where they help you wash it weekly. Since you go to them weekly, it'll only work out to be a bit more than auto car washes.

[exssive]

I either handwash mine, or run it through the touchless laser wash at the local carwash.

[Slpnbyu]

Handwash preferred -- Touchless if absolutely necessary

[SonnyJack]

Originally Posted by My2010M3

Not to get flamed too badly, but is there any decent automatic carwash in the Indy area? (northside) I try to keep ahead of my car, but sometimes I just don't have the time to wash it myself. I used to wash my G35S at Mikes, bring it home and finish it ..... much quicker, never a problem, Anybody use Mikes? They do have rails, soft cloth, also does the water affect the air vents in the hood. Haven't taken it there yet, but I'm curious if it will hurt the car. I'm getting old and the hand wash does take some time for me.

Do swirls show on AW? I'm JB so automatic is out of the question for me due to the issue with swirls. Plus, those high pressure spays will strip you wax. At least out here some of the automatic guys offer hand washing services. In a pinch I might do that, but I would suggest owner hand washing only. Anywhere else you go it's all about speed and how quickly they can get done.

Water won't affect the vents, and only the drivers side is actually a vent. Passenger side is fake.

I personally don't mind washing mine, but I do understand that it can be time consuming and strenuous to do it correctly. Got any trustworthy neighborhood kids that might want to make some money?

[Suprane]

I agree with the OP's frustration about the time spent washing.
I recently tried ONR, and I must say it saved me quite a bit of time. (I was reluctant to try a no rinse but after reading RAVE reviews from pro detailers I tried it).
If your car is not HEAVILY dirty, I would check it out. No hose tangling etc. It saved me about 30-40 min. Car did not even come out of the garage!!
I'm still a sucker for car shampoos and the traditional way, but if I'm short on time and want my car clean WITHOUT swirls, I'm going to go to it. (I'm neurotic about anyone else's towels touching my car so I would consider touchless and dry yourself if you must go out). Good luck.

[ShockDoc]

I live in Indy. The rails at Mike's Car Wash on West 86th will catch on your car. I found out when I stupidly believed the dealer and the kid at the car wash who said it wouldn't. I followed the rules for disengaging DCT to the letter. Ran it through just once. Plus there were tons of swirls on my bone stock JetB E92 with 19" OEM wheels. Never would do it again. I wash at least weekly and now do 90% hand wash and occasional touchless. I've read through most of the advice on washing/care techniques and bought decent products and use grit guards. Relative to this forum I'm probably old too (mid 40s) but it's at least mild exercise on Sat morning. Never tried no rinse stuff- afraid it would scratch. Did you buy your car at Dreyer BMW? The free Saturday wash at Dreyer is touchless I believe- just the lines are sometimes long and its on the wrong end of town for me. I don't think they even check- they would probably wash any BMW that showed up there.

Totally unrelated- but would enjoy meeting up with other Ms in the Indy area for a meet sometime. There's a highly modified JerezBlack E92 M3 I've seen screaming around on the Northwest side that I would love to see up close.

[Alex1911]

I wouldn't take it to any sort of automatic wash that touches your car. I used to do my truck and it got real old, real fast (did the M3 today and it too 30% of the time). I started using the $5 automatic wash and have all sorts of swirl marks, they'll buff out, and it's an 8yr truck, but no way I'm running my M3 through one of those.

FWIW: The local run through with all the "spinning and slapping stuff" place will hand wash a car for something like $25, not a bad deal.

In a pinch, I think it would be okay to hose it off at one of those places with the pressure guns (though not getting close) and dry it with a MF towel.

[Wah]

Originally Posted by Alex1911

In a pinch, I think it would be okay to hose it off at one of those places with the pressure guns (though not getting close) and dry it with a MF towel.

Definitely keep the tip of the pressure gun away from your paint. I was trying to get bird poop off one of my cars a few years ago, and the water suddenly stopped (time ran out) and I hit the metal tip of the gun on my paint and put a deep scratch in it.

[Georgeair]

Just say no. Dirty is better than trashed.

[aw08e92]

Originally Posted by Georgeair

Just say no. Dirty is better than trashed.

+1

[bobbyd1961]

Originally Posted by exssive

I either handwash mine, or run it through the touchless laser wash at the local carwash.

what is touchless laser? i never heard of that

[ersin]

Originally Posted by bobbyd1961

what is touchless laser? i never heard of that

A high power laser to burn off the dirt. Be careful. If you set it too high you'll melt the clear coat. Almost the same results can be had by repeatedly driving by cops using lidar.

Seriously, I'd like to know also. I'm sure it's just a fancy name for a plain old touchless carwash.


Cheers.

[exssive]

Some info for all:

Function
Touchless car washes were developed because older automatic car washes had one major flaw--the brushes that were made of nylon would leave brush marks on the vehicle's paint. Because of this, the need arose for something different and touchless car washes became the new trend. Touchless car washes function by using high pressured water and cleaning chemicals. Instead of brushes using friction to clean the car, the power of water mixed with chemicals would create its own type of friction. Once the cleaning was done the vehicle was rinsed with a spot-free rinse.

Features
Many chemicals used in touchless car washes are based on mild acids and alkalis which are designed to loosen road dirt and basic grime. Touchless car washes usually offer the same features but vary in quality and certain "bells and whistles." Some offer special laser washing systems, Turtle Wax shining solutions and hyper-concentrated sprays that remove grime. Other special features include solutions that help guard against UV rays, pre-soaks, soft water usage, undercarriage washes, rust-inhibitors, tire and wheel cleaners, a spot-free rinse and a clear coat protectant. Most touchless car washes have packages that you can choose from with different prices depending on the features you want.

Types
There are several different types of touchless car washes available. PDQ is one type of a touchless car wash system that offers customers a special "no-scratch Laser wash system" complete with "Laserdri," its own brand of a drying system. X-Stream uses a premium high pressure pump called a Catpump 3545 which is able to produce water pressure of about 45 gallons per minute at 1000 psi. It also offers Wheel and Rocker Blasters which specifically target your wheels, rims and rockers for an extra clean car.
Benefits
The plus side of using touchless car washes is that it is super easy and doesn't do any damage to a car. Since touchless car washes do not use harmful brushes and other equipment that could damage a car's paint job, they are the preferred cleaning method. They also do not have pieces of equipment that would damage mirrors or break an antenna.

Warnings
The downside of using a touchless car washes is that while road dirt and film can be loosened from the car, it is generally not completely removed. Without actually touching the car, most dirt cannot be removed. Another downside is that touchless car washes need strong water pressure and chemicals in order to be effective. While most companies use eco-friendly chemicals in their touchless car washes, some of them may still harm the environment.

[Elaz]

what about going to a hand car wash with no brushes what so ever.They seem to do the trick for me and they use micro fiber cloths to dry it.

[My2010M3]

So I'm still trying to keep the car away from the car wash. The car was purchased in Ft. Meyers. I had a infiniti from Dreyer and Reinbold and never went to the Sat. carwash. But I did run it through Mikes and never had an issue at all. It was silver, this one is aw. Just a bit easier to run it through and bring it home to finish it up. The rails do scare me, but the guys at the BMW dealership said it should be just fine. So I'm still torn and I suppose I'll keep washing it by hand for as long as I can. Not sure where there is a touchless carwash near the castelton area?

[exssive]

There's a self-serve carwash on allisonville before you get to 116st on the left. I take my car there when I'm too lazy to hand wash it.

Sunwest Express Carwash
11554 Allisonville Rd Fishers IN 46038

[Hawk Lax]

I would find a local reputable detailer and see what he'll charge for a wash only, no detail. I bet its within $20 of an automated wash. Your asking for swirls etc at an automated wash.

[Hawk Lax]

Originally Posted by Georgeair

Just say no. Dirty is better than trashed.

Even with AW the convenience is not worth the trade off in swirls and RIDS induced by any car wash.

[templarklimek]

Originally Posted by Alex1911

I wouldn't take it to any sort of automatic wash that touches your car. I used to do my truck and it got real old, real fast (did the M3 today and it too 30% of the time). I started using the $5 automatic wash and have all sorts of swirl marks, they'll buff out, and it's an 8yr truck, but no way I'm running my M3 through one of those.

FWIW: The local run through with all the "spinning and slapping stuff" place will hand wash a car for something like $25, not a bad deal.

In a pinch, I think it would be okay to hose it off at one of those places with the pressure guns (though not getting close) and dry it with a MF towel.

"spinning and slapping stuff?" I wanna go there, maybe a car wash with a happy ending!

[Tam@SupremePower]

Originally Posted by Slpnbyu

Handwash preferred -- Touchless if absolutely necessary

+1

[shaggag]

As the owner of a touchless carwash id like to add 2 things.

1) NEVER go through a touch wash - unless you are comfortable w swirls. A touch wash will leave swirls no matter how soft the bristles or cloths are. Plus there is always the risk of the rails scuffing your wheel.

2) Even if you are going to use a touchless wash, i would recommend using it no more than once a week; and if you do, be sure to follow up with wax when you have time.

As mentioned above, these touchless systems are highly dependent upon slightly acidic soaps to loosen dirt and road grime from your car before the high pressure wash. Wash operators should keep moderation in mind so that the customer is getting a good wash without their clear coat being stripped (called a 'flash' wash) but this is not always the case. (for ex some places bump up the acid so that cars always come out clean - what the customer is not realizing is that their clear coast is being burnt away as well)

so yeah, in the end, nothing is easy. even i end up washing my own car at home (sigh)