What's Your Best Strategy at a Car Wash Bay

LOhToTheZee on 10/10/2023 - 12:35

I'm always trying to work out the best strategy to wash my car at a car wash bay, the ones with 8 (or so) different functions between high pressure soak/soap/rinse, options for wax, spot free rinse, brush etc.

To be clear I'm not talking about the cheapest way to wash my car, I'm aware that sending bikies to wash my car is a thrifty alternative (you cheeky OzB monkeys).

Spending a couple of dollars on each setting would have me up for a fair chunk of change, so what I'm interested in is where is the money best spent?

How much time (or money) do you spend on each setting and why?
Which ones are pointless? do you supplement with BYO sponges etc?
Do you switch settings half way through?
Do you add money slowly or pop in all your change all at once?
So many questions sorry…..

Automotive Car Care Car Wash

Comments

  • haroldmac on 10/10/2023 - 12:42
    +14

    I bought a wash mitt and bucket and a bottle of magical cleaning product and I wash it at home for as long as I want, for a lot less than at a car wash.

    I then have a beer.

    Otherwise I'll waste time and money on driving to a car wash, queuing, then rubbing a gritty brush over my car…. Just saying

    • dogboy on 10/10/2023 - 12:50
      -2

      This is the ozbargain way. I see these car wash places and don't understand why people can't do the same at home and take as long as they want and pay almost nothing.

      • bobbified on 10/10/2023 - 15:13
        +9

        Some of us live in apartments where there's nowhere to wash cars.

        • Jazstar on 11/10/2023 - 10:10
          -3

          Modern apartment blocks have a car wash bay. They also generally have outside taps you can use.

          • bobbified on 11/10/2023 - 10:44
            +1

            @Jazstar: I can tell you that I live in a modern inner city apartment and there's absolutely nothing.

            I do have a shopping centre carpark further underneath that has commercial hand car wash bays that I have to pay for. (and I don't trust these places with their reuseable cloths).

          • mapax on 11/10/2023 - 10:55
            +2

            @Jazstar: My apartment block doesn’t have a wash bay and the only accessible tap is in the bin room.

      • boretentsu on 10/10/2023 - 23:33

        Same reason dishwashers and laundry machines exist. If you like washing by hand then you do you.

      • backpaqer on 11/10/2023 - 08:13
        +3

        I get back from the bush, car caked in mud, I'll stop by a car wash to pressure wash all the chunks out of wheel wells, off the bottom of the car etc so that when I do wash it at home it makes less mess on the driveway.

    • illogicalerror on 10/10/2023 - 12:59

      Yeah man, you can wash your car naked whilst drinking a beer for as long as you like at home. No queues… though maybe an audience.

      • haroldmac on 10/10/2023 - 13:00
        +1

        That escalated…. 😳

      • Muzeeb on 10/10/2023 - 13:02
        +4

        Link to webcam please

        • Xistn on 10/10/2023 - 13:22

          ^ 2nd this.

    • OhToTheZee on 10/10/2023 - 12:59
      -1

      I don't have a beer when I wash my car so I think your method might actually cost more… just saying

      • haroldmac on 10/10/2023 - 13:01
        +2

        I see it as…I don't pay for the wash, so with what I save, I get a free beer !

        • OhToTheZee on 10/10/2023 - 14:41

          Fair enough, I wouldn't mind a free beer. What beer do you drink?

          • haroldmac on 10/10/2023 - 15:21

            @OhToTheZee: The free sort 😊

            • OhToTheZee on 10/10/2023 - 15:30

              @haroldmac: Sounds like VB

              • haroldmac on 10/10/2023 - 15:32

                @OhToTheZee: F no. That's toilet cleaner.

                Anything from the 'boutique' shelves.

                You buying?

                • OhToTheZee on 10/10/2023 - 15:40
                  +2

                  @haroldmac: I always keep a couple of VBs (Visitor's Beers) for guests that come over and don't BYO.

                  Personally I'm on some craft beers from local Adelaide area that are good, and nah, I don't buy for fellow OzB's unless they are very attractive.

  • 2jzzzz on 10/10/2023 - 12:51

    I do soap and wizz around as a soak, then wheel cleaner wizz around, then rusnenit all off. Costs me $5 and im done. I dont use their washes or anything, do that at home.

  • Muzeeb on 10/10/2023 - 13:04
    +1

    Just don't. You are slowly destroying your clear coat. Do it a home and do it properly. Then again, if you don't give a shite about your car then just keep doing what your doing.

    • OhToTheZee on 10/10/2023 - 13:15
      +2

      What is it precisely that slowly destroys the clear coat that you avoid by doing it at home?

      • Muzeeb on 10/10/2023 - 13:20
        -1

        Not scrubbing a huge brush over your duco that the previous user just used to clean all the brake dust from their wheels plus

        Nevermind. If you have to ask them definitely just keep doing what your doing.

        • OhToTheZee on 10/10/2023 - 14:36
          +6

          Oh, sorry I thought you were going to say something smart about chemicals and paint but I guess big used brush and high pressure remove paint is still pretty good knowledge of car paint and how it works.

  • kolorijo on 10/10/2023 - 13:07
    +2

    2 buckets method at home if you want to be thorough.

    Touchless wash (pressure washer, snow, pressure washer, then dab to dry) if you are lazy like me.

    • Jazstar on 11/10/2023 - 10:12

      Why two buckets? I just wash wheels at end of bucket then rinse out for chamois.

      • Muzeeb on 11/10/2023 - 10:23

        2nd bucket of fresh water is to remove the contamination from your mitt.

      • kolorijo on 11/10/2023 - 11:07
        +2

        The basics of the two bucket method is one bucket with your shampoo wash solution, and one bucket with plain water for rinsing your wash mitt.

        Work on the vehicle from top to bottom, working in small sections, rinsing the wash mitt in your rinse bucket out before reloading with shampoo solution from the wash bucket. It makes sense – you’ve pulled your wash mitt across the vehicle to remove grit and grime, you wouldn’t want to add that dirt back into the shampoo you’re using to wash the rest of your vehicle.

        TWO BUCKET WASH TOOLS

        Two Buckets
        Extra points for a different colours/stickers to know which bucket to dunk your mitt in to as you work around the vehicle. A plastering bucket can be a good starting point.

        Grit Guards
        Basic grit guards are fine, the key is to ensure whichever grit guards you buy fit your buckets well

        Wash Mitt
        Step away from that sponge, and use a wash mitt with a thick pile to pull dirt away from the paintwork

        Car Shampoo
        A dedicated car shampoo suited to your vehicle’s cleaning needs

        Water

        https://www.farecla.com/what-is-the-two-bucket-car-wash-meth….

  • Some Human on 10/10/2023 - 13:10
    +2

    I have a hose and some turtle wash and wax.
    Rinse and repeat once a year.

    • geekcohen on 10/10/2023 - 14:23

      Rinse and repeat once a year.

      Seriously? Just as worse than @Tomhaigh1 below who does it twice a year.

      • Some Human on 10/10/2023 - 17:32

        I live on a dirt road. It will be dirty again as soon as I leave my driveway.

  • mapax on 10/10/2023 - 13:10

    I’d be interested to see if anyone has compiled a list of carwashes and how much each one costs. There used to be one near where I live that was 2.5 minutes per $1 whilst the other one was 1.5 minutes per $1.

  • AustriaBargain on 10/10/2023 - 13:11
    +1

    Car washes charge $2 for a few seconds of water pressure/soap/etc. Might be cheaper in the long run to look at getting your own kit and doing it at home.

    • OhToTheZee on 10/10/2023 - 13:14
      +1

      I don't own a pressure washer, is that something you'd recommend in a home kit?

      • AustriaBargain on 10/10/2023 - 13:22
        +1

        Dunno. Doubt it's necessary. But nice to own one anyway.

      • geekcohen on 10/10/2023 - 14:21

        Not necessary to have a pressure washer as a part of the home kit.

  • Tomhaigh1 on 10/10/2023 - 13:14

    $21 every 6 months at automated car wash, I like to save money / bargain when amount > 1000 and frequency is < 4 per year

    • dogboy on 10/10/2023 - 14:06

      You only wash your car 2 times a year?

      • Tomhaigh1 on 10/10/2023 - 14:09
        +2

        yes, and the windshields fortnightly.

        • Jazstar on 11/10/2023 - 10:13

          Not washing your car is going to cost you a lot more than water and soap would.

  • Euphemistic on 10/10/2023 - 13:49
    +1

    If you must you a pay car wash…..

    Many moons ago when I didn’t have a car washing space I used a car wash reasonably regularly. It was coin timed so the key was to be FAST! Potentially can improve the process a little by pressure spray then suds then wait a bit before the next coin goes in to give the suds time to soften up the grime.

    • OhToTheZee on 10/10/2023 - 14:38

      I usually do this and bring my own sponge to use before the rinse

  • Arnold1 on 10/10/2023 - 14:18

    High pressure soap blast, sprinkle the foam from the foaming brush over the car, use sponge to wash then rinse it off.

    I do the protectant products at home with a microfiber towel.

    • OhToTheZee on 10/10/2023 - 14:37

      you don't scrub with the brush? I also avoid the wax coat, do you use the spot free rinse?

      • Arnold1 on 10/10/2023 - 15:58

        Nah the brush ruins your paint. Yeah high pressure rinse then spot free.

  • seannami on 10/10/2023 - 15:07
    +2

    I mostly wash at home, but did a carwash bay today mainly cause of time (rather than setting up my own pressure washer etc). I did end up using $10 (I missed getting the foam off by about 30 seconds cause it's the first time I have done this car, and I had not factored in height time in an SUV wash)

    1. High pressure soap, with some focus time on bird poop etc
    2. Use high pressure soap to blow the grit and crap from foam brush
    3. Foam brush with a light hand
    4. High pressure rinse.

    I normally stop here, but as I had to pay another taps worth to get the foam off the front half of the car, I also did the

    1. wax (took ages for the wax to come out properly, and a gent came to ask about the car)
    2. Final rinse (using high pressure hose instead cause the low pressure was not doing a job and time was running out).
    3. Leave and blow dry by driving down an 80km/h road

    The foam brush didn't have any foam on it to use the "just use the foam from the last sucker" trick even before I pressure washed it.

    However, I will go back to just washing at home. It wasn't worth the $10 and my novated lease company sent me a fancy pants car cleaning kit, so should probably use those at some point. At home I pressure wash the dust off, then blast on soap, sponge all over, pressure was the soap off, done. Maybe the kit is wasted on me :p

    • OhToTheZee on 10/10/2023 - 15:12

      haha, not bad description thanks, I think I'll try this method and see if I can do it for like $6.

      Why did a gent ask you about your car? Fancy new car or one of them older generation gents that loves to have a yarn?

      What's in the fancy pants car cleaning kit?

      • seannami on 10/10/2023 - 17:06

        Should absolutely be able to the first 4 steps in $6 (or less), I just got the timing off :)

        He was an older bloke, but wanted to know how it compared to a Mazda CX-something (it's a ZSEV). Wanted to know "what it went on", which I took to mean fuel but looking back might have meant price or something, and to tell me it looked good. Not sure he was keen on the EV thing.

        The care kit has glass cleaner, bug remover, and wash (the normal stuff), but also some scratch buffing agent, water beading stuff to prevent water spots, some stuff for the wheels, fabric cleaner and a kind of goo remover? It's in the shed atm so can't really check, but that's what was there from memory. It's mainly fancy cause its a higher end brand (I say as someone using Bunnings home brand and Armoral on my car), rather than having anything really special in it.

  • bobbified on 10/10/2023 - 15:16
    +2

    High pressure soap all over, high pressure rinse all over. All up, about 7 minutes. I never touch that brush.

  • Pcosmic on 10/10/2023 - 15:49

    Proper pressure wash and wax at home every season (4x a year). Clay only if surface don't feel smooth. Don't bother washing every week or month.

    Waste of resources and if anything destroys your paint faster. 25 years car and still looks reasonable well maintained.

  • Toph Beifong on 10/10/2023 - 23:17
    +1

    If you do decide to use one of those car washes, then you should spray the foaming brush with the high pressure hose to remove all of the dirt stuck inside. Otherwise you will be damaging your paint while scrubbing down your car.

    Ozbargain way - Buy a pressure washer on special, 2 buckets, sponge, car wash detergent (don't use dishwashing detergent) and a couple of microfibre cloths to dry your car afterwards. You can also choose to use Nufinish or turtlewax sealant, or a carbonara wax if you want some shine afterwards.

    Yes there is a small investment involved but the cost of each wash is a fraction of what you would pay at the car wash.

  • Emphasise on 11/10/2023 - 08:08
    1. Pre soak, let it sit for a bit to break down dirt
    2. High pressure soap
    3. High pressure wash

    Never use the brush.

  • Rob-4x4 on 11/10/2023 - 08:43
    -1

    Being in a 4wd club I get the after trip blues of cleaning all the mud off the vehicle. The worst part is getting it out from under the vehicle. I have a pressure washer with a underbody cleaner attachment . Give underbody and engine bay a good soak with something like CT18 cleaner. Often I will let it soak overnight. Then clean all mud and crap off. Note I use the lowest pressure nozzle on pressure washer after the soap nozzle (White from memory). Getting engine bay and under vehicle clean can take a hour or more.
    Then use foam gun & a as a wax for the paint work
    Then finally clean down my driveway …

    When I lived in S/E Queensland before work took me south I did visit the beaches a bit. I would usually budget on 3 days to clean car after a holiday on fraser island. First day strip inside of car and was everything. Usually used a sprinkler under car to soak first. Had was all interior as well to try and get all salt etc out.
    Second day was letting car dry in back yard with all doors open etc. Day 3 was polish all paint work inside and out and reassemble interior. Sounds OCD but lots of beach driving kills 4x4s. When Queensland government sold 'crusier utes used on Fraser island they would usually sell them as a non-repairable write off the conditions are so harsh on the vehicles.

    I even had friends that would not take their own 4x4 onto beaches and would always use hire 4x4s .

  • numloxx on 11/10/2023 - 09:58
    +1

    Because I have ceramic paint coating, I don't use the brushes, as they have all sorts of dirt etc that will scratch your car. I use the pre soak, then only water spray.

  • bobbified on 11/10/2023 - 10:11
    +1

    I should add that it pisses me off when someone has parked in a timed carwash bay and is using a foam to hand wash their car while there's other cars waiting.

    (No problem with people doing it late at night or very very early in the morning when there's no-one).

    • Muzeeb on 11/10/2023 - 10:26
      +1

      My local has a sign that says "strictly no hand washing". Problem is there is no one there to enforce it.

  • skillet on 11/10/2023 - 16:42
    +1

    Best strategy is stay away from the foaming broom it will scratch your paint, and create micro swirls. Use the $2 high pressure gun, then drive off.

    • bobbified on 11/10/2023 - 22:55
      +1

      I cringe when I watch people use it on their rims and then the next guy on their paint!

  • CWJ on 11/10/2023 - 22:40
    +1
    1. High pressure soap
    2. Soap brush on rims & tires only (NEVER anywhere else)
    3. High pressure wash
    4. Depending on time hose down the brush as feel a little guilty due to #2 😋
    5. Straight home & do a two bucket wash & dry
  • Signet on 18/02/2024 - 11:47

    It’s interesting how many comments mention not using the brush. I’ve always rinsed the brush out with high pressure but maybe that’s still not enough?

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