Touchless car wash

I always have used touchless car washes before to avoid scratching the paint. But we have a shortage of car washes here and the waits can be long. The opened up a Tommy’s Express car wash but they don’t have a touchless option. Looking at a YouTube video of Tommy’s Express it looks like they beat the crap out of the vehicle with those brushes. Anyone have any experience with Tommy’s Express wash?

 

Any car wash that touches your paint will scratch it. Also, unless you know for a fact they don't - most car washes reuse the water and you cannot filter out salt.

 

Take your phone flashlight, point it at an angle about 15 in from your cars surface and inspect carefully - those thin lines you see are clearcoat scratches. Round ones are called swirls. If you go to brush car wash then you'll get more and more of these swirls.

Or you can just not worry about it and don't look lol

 

I have only been through an express wash one time, and it took off the top trim on my truck. The car wash person put it back on, and said that was common on tundra trucks. I never went back.
Now I have it hand wash at a local car wash, that hand washes only.

 

Don't do it. My neighbour brought his brand new GMC SUV through a car wash and it ripped off his front bumper and scratched the quarter panel.

My last car was an AMG the manual specified not going through car washes.

I'll only go through touchless.

 

I used to go to a touchless one near my work. The last two times the machine broke. Ever since, I've been washing it myself. I only went to the touchless one because I was being lazy and for the undercarriage spray. Although people have been saying that the car washes use harsher soaps which may be harsher to any waxes or sealants on your paint. So after I had ceramic coated my vehicle, it just gave me more motivation to be less lazy and wash the car myself. It's better to leave the car dirty than go to a car wash.

 

In my single younger days with no responsibility, I could hand wash every couple weeks. Those days are over. My multi prong strategy to avoid this and save time and effort is touch-less wash alternating with wiping down with waterless wash and detail spray type products in my driveway. I basically just do a good hand wash and wax in the spring and fall. It doesn't even have to go to a touchless that often, maybe every month or 6 weeks if I can really stay on top of it with the spray on detail products. There are different sprays available depending on whether a nonexistent to light or a medium dirt coat builds up before you can get at it.

My 09 Tundra only saw a handful of automatic car washes towards the end of its time with me. My Challenger was not touched by a car wash brush in the entire 5 years it was with me. My '21 F150 has never seen a conventional car wash and probably never will. I only hand wash a few times per year and fill in the rest with touchless and wipe downs. If a vehicle gets seriously dirtier than normal really fast, like by going down a dirt road, the touchless and maybe a waterless wash wipe down after usually takes care of it.

And my wipedowns leave it spotless without water spots, occasional missed dirt patches and streaks you get from a touchless alone.

 

Best car wash

 

Never

 

Yeah right, you will never see them drop the sponge on the ground. Nope not today or ever.

 

I've not had any experience with that chain, but as others have said or alluded to, these types of places are all but guaranteed to scratch your paint. Hand washing is your best alternative. if touchless is not an option for you, are there any coin operated ones in your area? I've used them, but brought wash solution in sealed buckets and my own wash mitts and done a hand wash there. Just out of curiosity, where do you live?

 

I'll usually go through a touchless wash once or twice over the winter. It's either that or my truck stays dirty until spring. It's too cold and icy up here in the frozen wasteland of Hoth to be whing my truck in the driveway from basically November until late April.

 

I quit caring a few years ago. I pay $35 per month for unlimited washes, and my truck is still shiny AF. Well, for a damn near 5 year old truck with 122,000 miles…

 

If it is not hand washed with microfiber rags then it is not good for the finish of a vehicle! The END!

 

I use Mr. Car Wash. Not touchless. But stops the sun from destroying the paint, which happens a lot here in southern AZ.

Scratches are from offroading...

117k 8years old.