Does a decent self drying car wash exist ??

[Vinny14369]

OK. I may not like the responses I get because I think I may know the answer ahead of time... (i.e. no substitute for hard work)

Question: Is there any decent self drying car wash? Like many of you, I cannot stand to dry my car. So, I'm wondering if there is a product out there that can be a quasi-substitute for old-fashioned washing and drying.

I've seen online that Simoniz, Rain-X and Mr. Clean all claim to make "self-drying" products. Does anyone have any experience with these products? I've looked on prior threads, but cannot seem to find any similar topic.

I'm open for any suggestions!

Thanks in advance,

~Vinny

[smockers83]

I've been using Mr. Clean AutoDry for the past 5 years or so. I think that's a testament all in its own. Drying with a towel can scratch the surface so I don't do it, therefore I use Mr. Clean. While it dries, I can clean up and get ready for the next step...waxing.

If you search the forums, there is a thread with a whole bunch of pictures of mine. It would date back to June of 08.

[Vinny14369]

OK, Great! Thanks very much!

[G_whizz]

I can also vouch for Mr Clean...used it on my Maxima which was black. Worked great!!

[Vinny14369]

Thanks for the reply. I, too, have a black car and know how difficult it is to keep clean so I'm trying to look at all options. Mr. Clean it is...

~V

[G_whizz]

The trick with a black car is.

Wash in sections. Starting with the roof. Don't dry in circles, always go back and forth one way.

Buy a nice lamb skin chamois.

[joe603]

Another vote for the bald guy!

[Sentientbydesign]

I have another suggestion. Go with a waterless wash setup.

I've personally used the FW1 Wash and Wax and it's actually a really nice setup. You basically spray small areas of the car with a wash/wax liquid wipe, haze, buff.

This works great if you wash you car regularly. If you wait weeks and build up a ****-ton of bird poop, mud, tar...etc, I wouldn't got his route.

http://www.fw1shine.com/store/

The other benefit is that you can wash you car while you're away from home. I used to carry a can of this stuff and a couple of towels. My buddy and I would be waiting for friends/girls and would just randomly wash my car. Was nice when the other party showed up and saw a shiny car. Only downside is that people do stare.

[smockers83]

Some tips on the AutoDry system. Wash in sections as Sean (G_whizz) said but after you wash a section, try to keep it at least a little wet. Sometimes if you don't, water will spot up a little bit from soap or because you haven't used the filtered rinse cycle yet.

And some general washing tips. Start with the least dirty section, usually the roof and work your way down. When you get to a really dirty section, use a different mit for these areas. I'll use a wash mit for the front bumper, side skirts, wheels, and exhaust that is different from the one I use to wash the rest of my car. This just keeps a lot of that dirt from scratching the rest of your car. Try and wash in some shade or when it's cool. I'll either wash my car early in the morning or before sunset so that it's done drying before the sun goes down but there isn't a lot of heat from it.

[pfarmer]

OK. I may not like the responses I get because I think I may know the answer ahead of time... (i.e. no substitute for hard work)

Question: Is there any decent self drying car wash? Like many of you, I cannot stand to dry my car. So, I'm wondering if there is a product out there that can be a quasi-substitute for old-fashioned washing and drying.

I've seen online that Simoniz, Rain-X and Mr. Clean all claim to make "self-drying" products. Does anyone have any experience with these products? I've looked on prior threads, but cannot seem to find any similar topic.

I'm open for any suggestions!

Thanks in advance,

~Vinny

As many others have stated, probably Mr. Clean. However don't expect a completely spotless dry with this. A lot depends on what type of water you have at your location and how often you change the rather expensive filters.

The resin filter should be changed fairly often and how often depends on the water flowing through it. Since I have a lot of experience with water treatment demin systems for large industrial boilers I have come across many large scale filters. We actually used to wash cars in the early days with this water with very good results, the water many times cleaner than anything you can get off the shelf. The water itself however can leave spots upon drying since it will try to dissolve whatever it falls on.

I have thought about making my own system since you can buy resins by the pound far cheaper than you can buy Mr. Clean filters. Disposing of them is tricky and you don't want them on pavement for walking on them is like walking on thousands of tiny marbles.

Part of the way Mr. Clean works is the soap used tends to be easier to rinse than others however I have used some that works about as well and a lot cheaper.

Some forums suggest that you use something like a plain dish soap like Dove if and only if you plan on doing a good wax job afterwards since these soaps work well at cleaning anything and that includes cleaning off the wax as well.

Perry

[smockers83]

You only want to use dish soap if you plan on stripping off wax. If you don't have wax on your car, you can begin to strip the clear coat.

I have tried using other soaps that claim to dry spotless in the Mr. Clean nozzle. They don't work very well. Mr. Clean works best with Mr. Clean. Go figure.

[C-Kwik]

Soft water > everything else

Of course, this can be expensive if you don't already have a soft water system, but there was an As Seen on TV product that was basically a miniature soft water system built into a nozzle. I think you can still find them online. I've tried it and it works. They do have to be replaced when the salts are spent though. The beauty though is you simply use the regular car wash products and simply rinse off with the attachment on when done.

[Sentientbydesign]

[QUOTE=smockers83]You only want to use dish soap if you plan on stripping off wax. If you don't have wax on your car, you can begin to strip the clear coat.[QUOTE]

Say what? My parents used to only use dish soap to clean their cars for years. I'll admit that poor washing techniques lead to less than glossy clear coats, but none of them had clear coat problems.

[smockers83]

I said it can, I didn't say it would. There's a difference.

[C-Kwik]

Mild dish detergents aren't going to harm paint. Some use some rather harsh chemicals. I tend to hear experts refer to using Dawn to strip waxes as it is pretty mild. I'd say most dish detergents aren't going to damage clearcoats though. I tend to associate poor paint quality from a lack of wax and paint protectants. In the case of people who regularly use dish soap, they probably don't realize the wax has become stripped as a result of its use (if they even wax their cars at all). In which case, the elements will cause the paint to deteriorate. Its unlikely that it was the dish soap that directly affected the paint in most cases.

[ArizonaG35]

This douche says that drying your car is a snap with the Shamwow, and if you call in the next 20 minutes then he'll double your order so you can have one for the G, the Boat, the RV and your dog!

"I don't know... these things just sell themselves"

[uncbeers]

Made in Germany...and you know the Germans make good things! for my people making good things!

Check out that douche's chopper thing...that looks cool!

I really want to try the carpet trick with a SHAMWOW...sorry no info for the OP-other than Zaino will REALLY help your black car shine!

[smockers83]

Shamwow's work very well. My brother has them and likes them.

[EOrdonez3229]

I wash my cars myself at the car wash, and I never go to a car wash unless the nozzle also sprays "Spot Free Rinse". When you are done with the final rinse of the car, you turn it to "Spot Free" and you don't even need to bother hand drying the car.

I just use it, and drive home. By the time I'm home, it's all good. Even works on my bigger car, the SRT8 Jeep. It's awesome

[pfarmer]

Mild dish detergents aren't going to harm paint. Some use some rather harsh chemicals. I tend to hear experts refer to using Dawn to strip waxes as it is pretty mild. I'd say most dish detergents aren't going to damage clearcoats though. I tend to associate poor paint quality from a lack of wax and paint protectants. In the case of people who regularly use dish soap, they probably don't realize the wax has become stripped as a result of its use (if they even wax their cars at all). In which case, the elements will cause the paint to deteriorate. Its unlikely that it was the dish soap that directly affected the paint in most cases.

I actually meant Dawn. I have never had any problems with harming the paint itself with using any dish water soap, and that goes back to my first car which was a 1953 model.

Perry

[pfarmer]

You only want to use dish soap if you plan on stripping off wax. If you don't have wax on your car, you can begin to strip the clear coat.

I have tried using other soaps that claim to dry spotless in the Mr. Clean nozzle. They don't work very well. Mr. Clean works best with Mr. Clean. Go figure.

I use the Turtle Wax Car Wash in the Mr. Clean nozzle and don't really see much difference between that and the Mr. Clean product other than being able to buy a burger, fries, and a shake with a bottle about three times the size for the same price. Works well with my water supply, your results may be different.

Perry

[pfarmer]

I wash my cars myself at the car wash, and I never go to a car wash unless the nozzle also sprays "Spot Free Rinse". When you are done with the final rinse of the car, you turn it to "Spot Free" and you don't even need to bother hand drying the car.

I just use it, and drive home. By the time I'm home, it's all good. Even works on my bigger car, the SRT8 Jeep. It's awesome

The problem I would have with most car washes is the water. I haven't really checked this out on the newer ones but the old car washes mostly used recycled water along with make up passing it through a simply screen type of filter for reuse. When you consider the dirt still left in the water being sprayed at various pressures, some fairly high, I wonder how safe it really is for the paint. The spot free rinse is most likely part of the makeup cycle. Also with automated car washes that recycle their water supply you probably are not getting a whole lot different wash than the guy in front of you that ordered the special selection of waxes sprayed on his car and then rinsed back into the common sump supply for everyone that follows.

Perry

[adren77]

use a ShamWOW !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwRISkyV_B8

edit: damnit i just saw someone beat me to it!!!!!!!

[smockers83]

Shamwow's actually work pretty well, I just don't know how well they work at in terms of drying cars.

My brother picked some up at the fair and likes them, uses them every now and then to clean up spills.

[pfarmer]

Shamwow's actually work pretty well, I just don't know how well they work at in terms of drying cars.

My brother picked some up at the fair and likes them, uses them every now and then to clean up spills.

They soak up the water fine, however do they do anything to the finish such as scratch it?

I use micro fiber cloths, one with special edges that are not sewn (which will scratch).

Perry