[335BOY]

Originally Posted by CLittle

Optimum no rinse, once every two weeks if I'm being good

Not good. Especially every two weeks. If there is any grime on there at all youre just cleaning the car with it ......ie swirl scratch city. There is a reason all GOOD car washes/detailers use LOTS of water.

[Halsifer]

I take it to a BMW dealer for a free car wash, don't most of the dealers offer this service? Or is it just the few that I go to? At the service entrance, the left side is for service, and the right side is for a free car wash. Takes about 20 minutes and all you need is a BMW (clearly). They also consistently bake fresh sinfully delicious snickerdoodles and chocolate chip cookies in the lounge!

[MickAv8r]

Originally Posted by Halsifer

I take it to a BMW dealer for a free car wash, don't most of the dealers offer this service?

Yes but some of us don't trust them not to swirl or otherwise damage the paint. Just depends on how OCD you are about the paint on the car.

For me I use a coin-op with the high pressure for rinsing the car and/or the two bucket method drying with FK425

[335i_4D]

^This.

Did spend 8+ hours on paint prep on my previous 335i, just to have the dealer swirl it back like crazy.

they offered to fix it, and I said no.

Big note on my car (and profile at the dealer)... DO NOT WASH !!!

[sdhotwn]

Yep. Same as the last two. I don't let anybody but my detailer or myself every physically touch the car for washing it. Dealers and the "full service" car wash places are great at swirling paint.

[1987E30M3]

I only wash it my self, dont even let the dealer hand wash my car.

[S4NoMore]

I'm another very OCD person, and my F30 is black. I always do it myself, coin-op DIY booth if the weather is cold. Agree on the therapy point; I could easily spend all day cleaning my car.

[pflau]

I use a local car wash. I am going to never wash my car by hands and never wax my car. I am using my brand new BMW delivered with 10 miles on the odometer to prove a point, that being particular with your car is unnecessary. I've had my car since mid-March, and have never hand washed it besides the occasional wiping off of bird doos. I take it to the car wash once or twice a month, and leave it outside when weather forecast predicts a thunderstorm. The paint looks brand new. There is _no_ swirl marks. I am happy with the way it looks and I think being annal about washing and waxing your car is a gigantic waste of time. And I am proving it with my 50K car.

[CLittle]

Originally Posted by 335BOY

Not good. Especially every two weeks. If there is any grime on there at all youre just cleaning the car with it ......ie swirl scratch city. There is a reason all GOOD car washes/detailers use LOTS of water.

Car was paint corrected, opticoated and I've been no-rinsing for the past six months. I use a spray bottle of no rinse to precoat the car and bucket full of microfiber towels in the no rinse solution to glide the dirt off, frequently flipping to a clean side and switching to a new towel. I use a larger microfiber towel to dry and buff. Still looks good to me, I don't see any swirls and I don't get those annoying weeping spots with a traditional washing method.

[XenaBimmer]

Originally Posted by IndotagSwizz

+1

+2!

[XenaBimmer]

Whomever knocked Optimum No-Rinse is not up to date with detailing. Both that method and a water free wash method (I use Chemical Guys Ecosmart) are every bit as good as a traditional 2 bucket hand wash with water

[S4NoMore]

Originally Posted by pflau

I use a local car wash. I am going to never wash my car by hands and never wax my car. I am using my brand new BMW delivered with 10 miles on the odometer to prove a point, that being particular with your car is unnecessary. I've had my car since mid-March, and have never hand washed it besides the occasional wiping off of bird doos. I take it to the car wash once or twice a month, and leave it outside when weather forecast predicts a thunderstorm. The paint looks brand new. There is _no_ swirl marks. I am happy with the way it looks and I think being annal about washing and waxing your car is a gigantic waste of time. And I am proving it with my 50K car.

Your car is white... enough said.

[X2 Monstah]

Originally Posted by pflau

I use a local car wash. I am going to never wash my car by hands and never wax my car. I am using my brand new BMW delivered with 10 miles on the odometer to prove a point, that being particular with your car is unnecessary. I've had my car since mid-March, and have never hand washed it besides the occasional wiping off of bird doos. I take it to the car wash once or twice a month, and leave it outside when weather forecast predicts a thunderstorm. The paint looks brand new. There is _no_ swirl marks. I am happy with the way it looks and I think being annal about washing and waxing your car is a gigantic waste of time. And I am proving it with my 50K car.

To each his own, but I bet if you parked your car next to one of the "anal" BMW owners, the difference would be night and day. My neighbor has a BSM 3 Series and doesn't detail it like I do mine. The cars look like two different colors.

[XenaBimmer]

Originally Posted by S4NoMore

Your car is white... enough said.

Exactly, I'm sure under the right light his paint is all swirled up

[M-Powa!]

Hand Wash with two bucket method and foam gun.

[M-Powa!]

Originally Posted by XenaBimmer

Whomever knocked Optimum No-Rinse is not up to date with detailing. Both that method and a water free wash method (I use Chemical Guys Ecosmart) are every bit as good as a traditional 2 bucket hand wash with water

I agree with the statement on ONR. It's the bomb, and lets me stay nice and cool in my garage or warm in the winter. I do still prefer the traditional wash method though, just for the piece of mind. I'm not a fan on EcoSmart though doesn't feel very safe and I saw some scratches on my Mk6 after using it. Yes I used multiple towels and heavily saturated the car. I have decided to just use it as a quick detailer.

[335BOY]

Originally Posted by roundel335

I NEVER use gas-station car washes; I have used higher-tier automated drive-through washes, both touchless and those that use chamois-like brushes (but never the nylon-bristle ones). Lately I've been using the pressure-wash coin-op car wash nearest my home, as I like to get the bugs out of the radiators/intercooler and the dust out of the engine compartment. Good for blasting brake dust off the wheels and calipers too. I always hand-dry with one of those synthetic chamois that don't scratch and I follow that with a good rubdown with Griot's SpeedShine detailer.

Youre scratching the sh*t out of your car if you dry it after auto wash as they don't get all the dirt off.....you are with your chamois. i never use pressure washer at home .......forces water into places that i don't want water like doors and door locks, trim etc. Great for bugs but that it. Locks end up freezing in the winter.

[RoundelM3]

Originally Posted by 335BOY

Youre scratching the sh*t out of your car if you dry it after auto wash as they don't get all the dirt off.....you are with your chamois. i never use pressure washer at home .......forces water into places that i don't want water like doors and door locks, trim etc. Great for bugs but that it. Locks end up freezing in the winter.

Let's clarify a few things. First of all, I use an "Absorber", not a natural-skin chamois, and it doesn't scratch. Secondly, the automated washes I use always get all the dirt off, or I wouldn't use them. I've used pressure washers even when I lived in New England and never once had a lock or door jamb freeze - probably because I garage my cars and I don't wash them in freezing weather. For that matter, I don't drive in freezing weather either (it rarely freezes where I live). I've also not found any other good way to get the underside of my cars or the intercooler/radiator areas cleared of debris without using the do-it-yourself pressure wand at the car wash (I don't own my own pressure washer). When I lived in TX, we had severe water restrictions and were not allowed to wash cars in our driveway (one of the many reasons I moved away from TX).

Now - I HAVE seen other people using the "foamy brush" at the do-it-yourself car wash all over their car without rinsing the brush off first. That will definitely scratch a car's finish, because more than likely, ol' Bubba in his pickup has just finished spending $20 getting the crap off his jacked-up off-roader with that same brush and didn't bother to rinse it off before driving away.

Moral of the story is if you know what you're doing, there are safe alternatives to hand-washing. After 20+ years of using them, I've never had any issues with scratched paint.

[sdhotwn]

There are different definitions of scratching though too. REALLY fine spider lines I consider a scratch, and breathing on the paint pretty much puts them on the car. It requires careful buffing, or a filler wax periodically to keep them under control. There are guys that think their paint is awesome, and it looks good in most light honestly, but get the sun right and I see all the spider lines and that to me is "scratched".

Here are some good comparisons, some more severe than others:

http://www.chdetailing.com/portfolio...nt-correction/

[335BOY]

Originally Posted by BSM F30

To each his own, but I bet if you parked your car next to one of the "anal" BMW owners, the difference would be night and day. My neighbor has a BSM 3 Series and doesn't detail it like I do mine. The cars look like two different colors.

Exactly! Everyones definition of "fine " and "swirl free" is different.

[335BOY]

Originally Posted by roundel335

Let's clarify a few things. First of all, I use an "Absorber", not a natural-skin chamois, and it doesn't scratch. Secondly, the automated washes I use always get all the dirt off, or I wouldn't use them. I've used pressure washers even when I lived in New England and never once had a lock or door jamb freeze - probably because I garage my cars and I don't wash them in freezing weather. For that matter, I don't drive in freezing weather either (it rarely freezes where I live). I've also not found any other good way to get the underside of my cars or the intercooler/radiator areas cleared of debris without using the do-it-yourself pressure wand at the car wash (I don't own my own pressure washer). When I lived in TX, we had severe water restrictions and were not allowed to wash cars in our driveway (one of the many reasons I moved away from TX).

Now - I HAVE seen other people using the "foamy brush" at the do-it-yourself car wash all over their car without rinsing the brush off first. That will definitely scratch a car's finish, because more than likely, ol' Bubba in his pickup has just finished spending $20 getting the crap off his jacked-up off-roader with that same brush and didn't bother to rinse it off before driving away.

Moral of the story is if you know what you're doing, there are safe alternatives to hand-washing. After 20+ years of using them, I've never had any issues with scratched paint.

Its physically impossible for any auto wash to reach every corner of a car. See post #42.

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

The coin-op pressure washer bays I use to rinse my car in Hackensack (near Sears) have hand-held blow driers so you can dry the car without touching it at all. It also works great for getting the water out from behind the wheel center caps and other places impossible to get at.