Time to wash the car... How?

[retx]

My car arrived in the snow storm day. I picked it up when roads were messy and slushy. Next week another snow week... My car is so ugly since Day 1. I really want to wash the car but didn't want to touch the cold water in this temperature... Lazy.

In the past, I hand-washed my new car in the first 6-months, afterwards asked the garage attendants to hand-wash for me, or searched for the auto-wash...

The garage guy I trust is off these two weeks.

I know this may be against most of you guys' preference... But, where can I find the GOOD auto-wash or hand-wash in Manhattan/Queens/Brooklyn/Nassau so my 1-week old F15 can get cleaned nicely?

[retx]

Or. What's the better and easy way you guys would recommend if I have to hand wash it? What shampoo and tools do you guys usually use?

Thanks a lot...

[Wing Co]

Go to http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/ and immerse yourself in an obsession or carry on with the car wash and all the damage they do!

[kkakonn]

Originally Posted by retx

Or. What's the better and easy way you guys would recommend if I have to hand wash it? What shampoo and tools do you guys usually use?

Thanks a lot...

You could probably spend days reading and perfecting the art of car washing lol. Its definitely some what of a hobby if you get really into it. I get most of my stuff from ChemicalGuys.com Its pricier but I feel like their stuff is definitely top notch.

[JOHNBMWM5]

Snow foam it then jet wash off, no hands needed.

You need a snow foam gun, snow foam and a jet washer. Simple.
Most dirt comes off without touching the paint.

[hyde]

RetX, you live in the city, no matter what you do, there will be time when you will have to run it through regular carwash. I've been hand washing mine but I didn't wash it last 2 weeks (maybe longer) because roads are still covered in salt and dirt.

I took my last X5 to hand wash most of the time, eventually I gave up and took it to regular carwash in area stations. Unless you wash it yourself (even when you wash it yourself) there will be swirl marks. I don't believe anyone who says his car is swirl free just because he hand washes it every single time. This is even more difficult on a dark car (jet black here) and BMW paint is soft compared to other vehicles I've owned. It is good and bad, it's good because it is easier to buff, it's bad because it gets scratched if you walk too close to it.

If you find a good wash in Midtown/Queens/Brooklyn, let us know.
For now, look away, my F15 is hideous.

Good luck.

[gqt5013]

Originally Posted by JOHNBMWM5

Snow foam it then jet wash off, no hands needed.

You need a snow foam gun, snow foam and a jet washer. Simple.
Most dirt comes off without touching the paint.

just did that to my car today for the first time!

[leasehackr]

Originally Posted by gqt5013

just did that to my car today for the first time!

Awesome!

Where did you buy foam gun? Chemicalguys.com ?

and after doing this just wash with pressure washer??

I need to order this

[gqt5013]

Originally Posted by abhiku

Awesome!

Where did you buy foam gun? Chemicalguys.com ?

and after doing this just wash with pressure washer??

I need to order this

I ordered the foam cannon from AutoGeek.net: http://www.autogeek.net/autogeek-foam-cannon-hp.html

All you do is remove the power washer "wand" from the gun and attach the connections that come with the foam cannon. I used a Clean Force 1800 electric power washer and got the "Kranzle" fitting. Different manufacturers and gas/electric washer require different fittings.

I used Chemical Guys Mr. Pink Shampoo which works a lot better than the AutoGeek sample you get when you buy the foam cannon.

The process of washing is very simple:
1. Remove wand from pressure washer gun
2. Attach fittings and foam cannon to washer
3. Add about 2 oz. of shampoo and warm water into the foam cannon and shake so the shampoo mixes in with the water.
4. Attach foam cannon to gun and shoot away! (It has adjustable knobs if you want a wide spray or direct spray)
5. Let the foam do the work for about a few minutes and hose it down. That's it!

Side note: Since I used an electric power washer the pressure wasn't as great as a gas one and the foam wasn't as thick. Also when hosing down I just removed the foam cannon and put the original wand back on the pressure washer and hosed it down that way since there was more pressure.

[retx]

Originally Posted by Wing Co

Go to http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/ and immerse yourself in an obsession or carry on with the car wash and all the damage they do!

Originally Posted by kkakonn

You could probably spend days reading and perfecting the art of car washing lol. Its definitely some what of a hobby if you get really into it. I get most of my stuff from ChemicalGuys.com Its pricier but I feel like their stuff is definitely top notch.

Those readings made me dizzy already. Lol. Thanks.

[retx]

Originally Posted by JOHNBMWM5

Snow foam it then jet wash off, no hands needed.

You need a snow foam gun, snow foam and a jet washer. Simple.
Most dirt comes off without touching the paint.

Originally Posted by gqt5013

I ordered the foam cannon from AutoGeek.net: http://www.autogeek.net/autogeek-foam-cannon-hp.html

All you do is remove the power washer "wand" from the gun and attach the connections that come with the foam cannon. I used a Clean Force 1800 electric power washer and got the "Kranzle" fitting. Different manufacturers and gas/electric washer require different fittings.

I used Chemical Guys Mr. Pink Shampoo which works a lot better than the AutoGeek sample you get when you buy the foam cannon.

The process of washing is very simple:
1. Remove wand from pressure washer gun
2. Attach fittings and foam cannon to washer
3. Add about 2 oz. of shampoo and warm water into the foam cannon and shake so the shampoo mixes in with the water.
4. Attach foam cannon to gun and shoot away! (It has adjustable knobs if you want a wide spray or direct spray)
5. Let the foam do the work for about a few minutes and hose it down. That's it!

Side note: Since I used an electric power washer the pressure wasn't as great as a gas one and the foam wasn't as thick. Also when hosing down I just removed the foam cannon and put the original wand back on the pressure washer and hosed it down that way since there was more pressure.

After reading info, I start to think this could be the way for my car wash... Thanks.

Just need to read more to figure out...

[retx]

Originally Posted by hyde

RetX, you live in the city, no matter what you do, there will be time when you will have to run it through regular carwash. I've been hand washing mine but I didn't wash it last 2 weeks (maybe longer) because roads are still covered in salt and dirt.

I took my last X5 to hand wash most of the time, eventually I gave up and took it to regular carwash in area stations. Unless you wash it yourself (even when you wash it yourself) there will be swirl marks. I don't believe anyone who says his car is swirl free just because he hand washes it every single time. This is even more difficult on a dark car (jet black here) and BMW paint is soft compared to other vehicles I've owned. It is good and bad, it's good because it is easier to buff, it's bad because it gets scratched if you walk too close to it.

If you find a good wash in Midtown/Queens/Brooklyn, let us know.
For now, look away, my F15 is hideous.

Good luck.

It's tough to live in the city... Can't find the good place to wash our own cars... Need to spend $500+ for the monthly garage parking... Need to pay high amount for the car insurance. (Well, comparing to Derroit's car insurance averaged 5K per year, I guess we are still in the heaven.)...

Today I "showered" my F15 to try to remove/reduce the residual of snow/dirt/salt since the temp was finally above 33.

My friend told me the BP station in Woodside Queens Blvd has 24-hrs self service car wash, $5 for 8-mins. It's not the bad location... Not sure if it is still there...

[hyde]

Originally Posted by retx

It's tough to live in the city... Can't find the good place to wash our own cars... Need to spend $500+ for the monthly garage parking... Need to pay high amount for the car insurance. (Well, comparing to Derroit's car insurance averaged 5K per year, I guess we are still in the heaven.)...

Today I "showered" my F15 to try to remove/reduce the residual of snow/dirt/salt since the temp was finally above 33.

My friend told me the BP station in Woodside Queens Blvd has 24-hrs self service car wash, $5 for 8-mins. It's not the bad location... Not sure if it is still there...

Yes, but to be honest, I hate that place. If it's 24hrs (I didn't know they operated the wash 24hrs), unless I am with someone else I'd be scared to wash at night, you never know.. I think they have two next to each other with no divider? Dring day, there is always some pick-up washing sh*t off their truck bed, or some other guy spraying all over the place. If it is two spots next to each other, I don't want others spraying back at my just washed car.. Let me know if you go that way and what you find.

The only thing I need at that place is their high pressure soap dispenser (although we don't know what kind of soap they use) but for regular hose down, I do that a lot, and I don't know if that hurts the paint but I usually just keep it at low pressure first to get rid of loose dirt, then do medium pressure. My garage has a pretty high pressure from the city already and with one of those pressure nozzles, it does a good job pushing dirt away.

There is also another place on HESS station, and that's actually indoors, not outdoors like the Queens Blvd gas station. This one is on northern blvd and 39th (if I remember correctly) right pass Benz dealership heading east.

[Terp335]

Originally Posted by gqt5013

I ordered the foam cannon from AutoGeek.net: http://www.autogeek.net/autogeek-foam-cannon-hp.html

All you do is remove the power washer "wand" from the gun and attach the connections that come with the foam cannon. I used a Clean Force 1800 electric power washer and got the "Kranzle" fitting. Different manufacturers and gas/electric washer require different fittings.

I used Chemical Guys Mr. Pink Shampoo which works a lot better than the AutoGeek sample you get when you buy the foam cannon.

The process of washing is very simple:
1. Remove wand from pressure washer gun
2. Attach fittings and foam cannon to washer
3. Add about 2 oz. of shampoo and warm water into the foam cannon and shake so the shampoo mixes in with the water.
4. Attach foam cannon to gun and shoot away! (It has adjustable knobs if you want a wide spray or direct spray)
5. Let the foam do the work for about a few minutes and hose it down. That's it!

Side note: Since I used an electric power washer the pressure wasn't as great as a gas one and the foam wasn't as thick. Also when hosing down I just removed the foam cannon and put the original wand back on the pressure washer and hosed it down that way since there was more pressure.

This is my next impulse buy.... Damn this forum! What a time saver though.

Do you rinse off with the power washer too or just hose off? I'd be afraid of etching the paint.

[hyde]

Originally Posted by Terp335

This is my next impulse buy.... Damn this forum! What a time saver though.

Do you rinse off with the power washer too or just hose off? I'd be afraid of etching the paint.

I thought about the same thing, apparently you cannot get the true touchless wash by just getting a foam cannon and pressure washer even if you rinse it off with power washer.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=807722

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1056366

[originalgoods13]

Black Sapphire Metallic here. BMW have hard clear coats but easy to scratch.

I have minimized or eliminated swirls using the two-bucket method hand wash with quality shampoo and mitt.

Blow-dry after with a powerful shop-vac

No microfiber touches my paint, only during waxing/sealant

You do not need a pressure washer. Just use a bottle spray with "foam" setting on the nozzle and fill it up with a quality shampoo.

Go to your nearest car wash and bring your bucket filled with warm water and shampoo mix and bottle spray. No need to wipe though water spots are a pain.

OR

Just go to your nearest touchless car wash and call it a day

[leasehackr]

Originally Posted by hyde

I thought about the same thing, apparently you cannot get the true touchless wash by just getting a foam cannon and pressure washer even if you rinse it off with power washer.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=807722

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1056366

IMO electric pressure washer should be fine as they don't have higher psi rating.

[hyde]

retx
I went to the HESS on Northern, turns out it's brushless self wash, not actually a free for all self wash. I also noticed the amount of soap it dispenses is hilarious. There is no way it will get into nooks and cranny or even be able to clean the running boards, but I might be mistaken. Of course there was a line so I skipped. I'll go back one night and try it out just for the hell of it. Let me know if you give it a try yourself.

Originally Posted by abhiku

IMO electric pressure washer should be fine as they don't have higher psi rating.

There was a $60 one on sale, I was told not to waste time in budget ones, but if we don't need that much pressure (nobody is scraping gum off the sidewalk) maybe I should have gotten that, but if the carwash I mentioned above works fine, I don't think we need to worry about any pressure washers, soap, etc.. Then drying is another issue, get the shopvac out, make sure it's all clean with new filter, or better yet use a 2nd shopvac for just drying, it adds up too quickly.

[retx]

Originally Posted by hyde

retx
I went to the HESS on Northern, turns out it's brushless self wash, not actually a free for all self wash. I also noticed the amount of soap it dispenses is hilarious. There is no way it will get into nooks and cranny or even be able to clean the running boards, but I might be mistaken. Of course there was a line so I skipped. I'll go back one night and try it out just for the hell of it. Let me know if you give it a try yourself...

Thanks a lot. I'm not familiar with that neighborhood. But, I'll will check it out around the following long weekend.

[gqt5013]

Originally Posted by Terp335

This is my next impulse buy.... Damn this forum! What a time saver though.

Do you rinse off with the power washer too or just hose off? I'd be afraid of etching the paint.

I usually use the pressure washer to wash the soap off then use an electric leaf blower to dry the car lol. my paint is sealed and everything so the water beads off instantly. minimal drying with microfiber cloths

[Terp335]

Originally Posted by gqt5013

I usually use the pressure washer to wash the soap off then use an electric leaf blower to dry the car lol. my paint is sealed and everything so the water beads off instantly. minimal drying with microfiber cloths

Any stares from the neighbors . This might be the way to go.

Hyde - great link to the other post.

[originalgoods13]

Our city has a bylaw against using detergents that goes directly to the sewage which goes to our river.

I am sure most cities have bylaw against washing your car at home