Carwash

[tesco]

How often do you get your car washed?
Do you go to car washes or do it yourself?

[Burnsy]

Depends on the weather really... if it's shit weather and the car gets dirty quickly from spray on the roads then probs once a week... and I never do it myself, quicker to just take it thru the car wash :)

[Skiz]

I usually wash my truck myself, in the driveway. A bit of dishwashing liquid, a bucket, and a hose is all it takes.

Once or twice a year though I like to get a good wash from the pros, usually in the winter when it's cold.

[lamuller]

carwash all the way, my hands can't take it

[clocker]

I'm a carwash snob and if there aren't any good ones around (and there aren't), I just handwash at home.
Skiz...NEVER use dish soap on your car.
It'll strip off whatever wax is on there very quickly.

In the spring I'll take a jack with me and visit a local powerwash...pull the wheels and try to get rid of all the winter crud (no salt here, thank Jeebus) and give the undercarriage a good rinse.

[Cabalo]

I never wash mine during the winter. The rain does the job for me. I wash it once before the summer starts, and again once during fall.

[NotLettingItGo]

Are you meant to wash them then ?

[brilman]

1st (nice) car I had use to wash it and rub it out with compound, my dad was a body man so I learned all that stuff. the one thing he never told me was rubbing a car out takes a little bit of the paint every time. My nice white car started turning primer gray, that's how I learned how to paint cars

oh ya.... never use dish soap kills the wax

[Skiz]

I'm a carwash snob and if there aren't any good ones around (and there aren't), I just handwash at home.
Skiz...NEVER use dish soap on your car.
It'll strip off whatever wax is on there very quickly.

In the spring I'll take a jack with me and visit a local powerwash...pull the wheels and try to get rid of all the winter crud (no salt here, thank Jeebus) and give the undercarriage a good rinse.

Orly? Do you mean clear-coat? I've been washing my 2001 F150 with dish soap since I bought it and I haven't noticed anything. :unsure:

What do you use?

[clocker]

What do you use?
My brother owns carwashes and I have a barrel of his soap.
It's a violent, flaming red powder that dissolves in water and works beautifully.
Bear in mind, his are excellent car wash facilities, most places use crap chemicals because they're cheaper.
Don't even get me started on "foamy" soaps...

About dish soap...
Since your car is (probably) not covered in bacon grease and food residue, why use a soap designed for those very things to wash it?
Assuming you have a good base of wax- and if you don't, you should- you want a soap that will remove the typical junk that attacks cars (birdshit, treesap, roadgrit, etc.) without removing the wax.
As far as dish soap is concerned, car wax is just a fancy way of saying "grease" and it'll strip it off in a heartbeat.

[Darth Sushi]

The drive-thru car-wash always does damage to the paint. I prefer to do it myself because I hate to hide the coins and other valuables before going to a detail shop.

[clocker]

The drive-thru car-wash always does damage to the paint.
Depends on the system.
A touchless wash using quality chemicals and properly treated water shouldn't hurt anybody's paint.

[Darth Sushi]

The drive-thru car-wash always does damage to the paint.
Depends on the system.
A touchless wash using quality chemicals and properly treated water shouldn't hurt anybody's paint.

Yeah, but bird crap is a problem. I always put a wet rag on top of it for about a 1/2 hr to soften it up...chemical washes are great when it just dirt and dust.