Car washing

[iamnottoofatiamjusttooshort]

Didn't have a clue which topic to put this in 🤭

Can anyone advise on best option for car washing

I've just changed my car , it's not new but new to me and I'd really like to keep it looking nice

Previously I've gone to the many available road side car wash set ups or gone through the automated washing machine

Sons tell me this is really damaging , I did see swirls and small scratches on the paintwork

I have no outside tap or private drive to wash myself

What do you all do to keep cars clean and maintain decent paintwork ?

Thank you in advance

If you have a hosepipe rinse the car of all surface dirt, or use a sponge and clear water to let the water run off to clear dirt. Don't rub in at this point. Once done use car wash diluted as per instructions and start at the top and work down. Don't clean the wheels until last as you just add a lot of dirt and grit to the solution. Rinse all the soap off with warm water. Uses a wash leather to remove excess water and bring out the shine.

I may have touched up a small chip on the last car with some black nail polish 🤭

The hand car washes are fine for paintwork. They are doing the same as you would do yourself.

Completely incorrect. They often use brushes, extremely harsh traffic film removers and things like brick acid to clean wheels. Add to the fact that their wash mitts are used on hundreds of cars without being cleaned properly and you’re looking at swirl central. It’s very obvious when looking at a car if they’ve been regular visitors at these hand car washes.

Dh likes cleaning his, maintenance, and waxing it. He resents paying others for such a service.
But, There are probably loads locally that will do an outside wash, a wax, an inside clean. £15-£30 depending on area.
Or a proper valet once a year, the price is not normally extortionate.

I agree @Shade17

So obvious when you examine the paintwork closely in direct sunlight , especially on a darker colour

Really want to avoid this with new car so I'm going to do a combination of

Mobile valet with wax protection
Regular rinsing
Bribe son for a hand wash clean each time I see him , he enjoys it

Thanks all for your advice

Be careful of those diy garage or supermarket car washers. We didn't realise there was grit stuck on the foaming brush and scratches appeared on the car. Also, because the pipe lays on the ground, when you pull it over the side of the bonnet to wash the other side, it can leave scrapes there from bits of crap that were on the ground. It was the car's first ever wash as we bought it completely brand new. We were gutted. Now we use buckets of hot soapy water and very clean sponges with no bits of grit in and a professional valet a couple of times a year. We also don't have a drive so it's a roadside wash.

If you get into it, it's really quite fun.

I'm not great at housework, kitchen floor gets cleaned less than the cars but with all the salt and mud, it's worth a wee bit of cleaning occaisonally.

Never wash your car on very sunny days tho.

Without going down a complete wormhole, there's also issues locally of modern slavery in car wash places...

A very keen mobile valeter is a good idea. Son even better!

Hand sponge with soapy water and then rinse with watering can or hand pump pressure hose bottle.

Yes I was going to mention this but didn't want anyone jumping down my throat

I think exploitation, poor conditions and modern slavery as you say is more common than we realise

I've booked a mobile valet gold service for tomorrow
Bought a few bits from Wilko's to maintain in between and see how I get on

Thanks a lot all