TucoTom

What's wrong with running a Corvette Convertible through the car wash?
I haven't but I'm tempted.....

FYRARMS

Do you like scratches? Because, that's how you get scratches.

aligator

Picture that big rolller that goes over your windshield beating your top frame.

randy ransome

It's a car , drive it, enjoy it, run it through the car wash.

Unless you're sanded and buffed it you'll never know it went through there.

capevettes

Aside from scratches and swirls in your finish, clearance can also be an issue with newer Corvettes. I wouldn't run any of my cars through any kind of car wash.
Unless you have physical limitations it just seems lazy to me. It's your car.

malexand123

I go through the touch-free car wash in winter.

i see nothing wrong with that.

TucoTom

Thanks for the advise. What holds me back is the cloth convertible top.
What really holds me back is cold weather!

Jimnc

Me either. I go through the touchless wash then hit it with instant detailer. No scratches or swirls.

captaineddie

I've never (and would never) run my Vette convertible through a car wash. Our other vehicles, however, I do. I started last year with my truck and now do it with my wife's Explorer. Much to my surprise, no scratches yet.

TucoTom

I rolled the dice & went to Touch less Car Wash...clearance 3". Went OK.

SlothX311

This.

The problem with touch free car washes is the abrasiveness and harshness of the chemicals used. Imagine the potency required of these corrosive chemicals to remove film, bugs, dirt, salt, etc without touching your car. Now imagine what that does to your clear coat. Modern Corvettes have notoriously hard paint but still, your clear coat is your only protection to the paint underneath. Once its gone, you're looking at a respray.

So to the average consumer that doesn't know anything about paint correction or auto detailing, they see a shiny end result because wax tend to fill in defects in paint.

FYRARMS

Exactly! The soaps used at those car washes aren't gentle pH-balanced "soft" products. They are strong as hell. If anyone wants to strip the wax or sealant from their paint, just drive through the automatic car was a few times. LOL

Jimnc

Explain how a soap with a low ph is abrasive? Does it have sand or other particulates in it? I have researched this subject and there is no evidence that the low ph then high ph soap wash process used in touchless washes degrades the clear coat. At worst it may slightly degrade the wax coating but it doesn't strip it off.

There is a lot of propaganda out on the web by different car wash system manufacturers touting their systems and bashing others. The companies selling detail products chime in that hand washing with their products is the only safe wash method.

I run my car through the touchless wash, blow it off and then hit with an instant detailer. The paint is flawless.

cadyshac

I don't drive my vette in winter so it's not an issue for me but I don't see a problem using the touchless wash. We run our Tahoe and Wrangler thru as needed, it is better than leaving the salt caked on during extended cold weather.

the kid C6

What does your owner's manual say? Mine says not to go to commercial car washes.

Car washes recycle their water. You're getting all the dirt and chemicals from everyone else's car.

SlothX311

I get your need to justify your behavior as safe but hear me out. I don't sell detailing products, not affiliated with any company that does. This is purely based in countless hours of paint correction and hands-on experience with dozens and dozens of vehicles. If you want to keep using a touch free... that's your prerogative.

Most touch free washes use both a very high pH alkaline soap and high pressure water. Even in a much heavier vehicle such as a 3 ton truck you can feel the pressure of the wash causing suspension travel. The soap needs to be abrasive because there is no physical touch to your paint to any of the washing mechanisms. Go home and use your favorite soap on your car without touching it, see how that works.

Thats great that your paint is "flawless" but I bet to a trained eye there are very small imperfections due to repeated use of the touchless wash. Also... instant detailer usually has wax in it. All you're doing is filling in the little marks and scratches with wax. Otherwise, this step wouldn't be needed.

FYRARMS

Agreed 100%. I have noticed how quickly the spray booth washes strips wax and sealant, too. I only use the spray booth in winter, and only on my daily driver. A good Chicagoland winter's worth of snow, ice, road salt, and brushing the snow off the car means I know I will be doing mild paint correction in the spring anyway. LOL! Nothing but hand washes for the Z06, though. Last year, I only used soap on it once. Waterless washes and detail spray often is what kept her looking flawless.

By the way, I have been impressed with how well my daily has been doing against the winter weather. Back in early November, I gave her an application of 3D "HD Poxy" hybrid sealant/montan wax. Other than regular spray booth washes since then, I only wiped her down with Meg's D156 Xpress Spray Wax once back in mid December. This was some recent beading I noticed on the hood. That HD Poxy is holding up better than I thought it would.

SlothX311

Yeah, I'm guilty of taking the daily through a touch free wash in the winter... but thats just a Silverado and who the hell cares about truck paint?

I need to understand better how you're getting away with one wash with soap per year, sounds like THE DREAM. Are you using a sealant on top of your wax? Also when you do wash, what soap are you using? I average about 1 hand wash per week in the summer. Takes about 2 hours to do it right, but man the results are stunning.

FYRARMS

Washed it when I first took it out of winter storage, did my paint correction, then applied my protection products. For the rest of the season, the car gets cleaned via waterless wash products and detail sprays. The car never sees rain or anything, so it really just gets dusty and hit in the front with bugs. I will use soap if the car requires it, of course. It just doesn't get that dirty, really.

Never. Sealants always go on before wax, as the wax never lasts as long. My wax is just for added "depth" and gloss, and as a sacrificial layer of protection. I use Collinite 845 as my base protection. 845 is a hybrid sealant/wax. I add "show waxes" on top of it after it cures. Griot's "Best Of Show" paste wax, Chemical Guys "XXX Carnauba", and Adam's "Buttery Wax" are usually my show waxes.

I have a bunch, to be honest. I have a foam gun that I use, and it takes a lot more soap than just using buckets. I buy soap by the gallon jug. I currently have Meguiar's "Citrus Blast", Nanoskin "Nano Suds", 3D "Wash & Wax", and a few small bottles of random foaming soaps from Chemical Guys, Adam's, Honest Wash, and Jax Wax. Soap is soap, really. After watching a few YouTube videos, I realized I probably should have just bought jugs of cheaper soaps from Turtle Wax, Zip, or whoever. As long as they clean and have a lot of lubricity, they should be fine.

I hear ya. I do the same to my daily when the weather is nice. My Z06 only sees weekend use and such. This picture below was taken at the end of the season in October at a fall car show. It was washed with soap in like April.

vett_guy

I own a chemical company, I would not take my vehicles through a touch free wash. You do whatever you want.

Before I started my company I worked almost 15 years for a company called ZEP. I sold lots of commercial car wash and what the process does is it applies acid to your vehicle to burn off the dirt and then uses an alkaline product to neutralize the acid, well...neutralizes as long as all the alkaline hits all the applied acid. It's a low ph followed by a high ph... then lots of water. The acid is a problem when it seeps into places you'd rather it not go, such as wiring, but the neutralizer doesn't get into the same spot.

You also have to be aware that the chemicals are very strong and if the chemical dispensers aren't dialed in correctly then you could be getting too much of one and not enough of another, it happens...been called out plenty of times to fix the dilution ratios. Do you think the car wash operator stops washing cars while it's not diluting properly? Hell no...he's got rent and salaries to pay!

The problem with the roll over washes is that the long cloth strips that hang down like spaghetti have dirt and crap from all the previous cars embedded in them and then you come along with your detailed, ceramic coated car and...well...I shiver to think of it. If the car wash has the big rollers that have those "soft bristles" then most likely those bristles have seen better days, the ends get frayed and can damage the finish on the cars. Think of it like a weed eater beating on your paint....ok...not as powerful but you get the idea. Those brushes are very expensive and car wash operators like to get all the mileage they can out of those....and then some. Next time you're at a tunnel wash look at those bristles, if you can, and pay close attention to the ends of the bristles....they look like split ends or some look like they've been run through a pencil sharpener.

Just hand was you lazy bastards!

Disclaimer....all the information I just gave out was free.....so take it for what it's worth!