Living in areas with harsh winters or even just regular city driving, our cars constantly battle road grime. Many car owners opt for Touchless Car Washes, believing they are a gentler alternative to traditional brush washes. But are touchless car washes truly effective at getting your car clean, especially when faced with stubborn road dirt and winter salt? Let’s delve into the reality of touchless car washes and explore how to achieve a truly clean car.
The effectiveness of touchless car washes is often debated, and for good reason. While they avoid the swirl marks associated with brushes, they sometimes fall short of delivering a truly spotless finish. This often boils down to a few key challenges:
(1.) The Persistent Problem of Road Film
Road film is a complex concoction. It’s not just সাধারণ dirt; it’s a stubborn layer composed of salt, dirt, oil, gasoline, brake fluid, and other road contaminants. Think of everything that leaks and accumulates on roadways. This greasy film gets sprayed onto your car and clings stubbornly to the paint. The crucial point is that standard pH-neutral car soaps, often used in basic car washes, are simply not designed to break down and remove this oily road film effectively. They might make your car look cleaner temporarily, but the film remains, ready to attract and trap dirt again quickly.
(2.) Heat Cycles and Trapped Dirt
The daily cycle of heating and cooling of your car’s body panels also plays a role in trapping dirt. As your car heats up in the sun or from engine heat, the paint and clear coat expand. Microscopic cracks can form, and road grime gets pushed into these openings. When the car cools down, the paint contracts, effectively sealing the dirt within the clear coat. This baked-in dirt is much harder to remove with a simple wash.
(3.) Sticky Contaminants: Beyond the Usual Dirt
Beyond road film, your car also encounters other sticky substances like tree sap, industrial fallout, overspray, tar, and acidic contaminants. These materials can bond strongly to your car’s clear coat, especially with the help of heat cycles. Touchless washes, while convenient, often lack the chemical strength or dwell time needed to properly loosen and remove these bonded contaminants.
So, what’s the solution if you prefer touchless washing? If touchless is your only option, consider a DIY approach at a U-spray car wash to enhance its cleaning power.
DIY Touchless Wash Enhancement
For a more effective touchless clean, especially during seasons with road salt and grime, consider this method:
(a.) Pre-Treat with a Degreaser: Before using the regular car wash functions, bring your own weapon against road film: a degreaser. Fill a pressure sprayer with a degreaser like Road Warrior, diluted as recommended (e.g., 4:1). Apply this degreaser to your car, focusing on the lower panels and areas with heavy grime.
(b.) Let it Dwell: Allow the degreaser to dwell on the surface for 4-5 minutes, or even longer if it’s cold, but ensure it doesn’t dry or freeze on the paint. Dwell time is crucial for the degreaser to break down the road film effectively.
(c.) High-Pressure Rinse: Thoroughly rinse off the degreaser and loosened grime using the high-pressure sprayer at the U-spray station.
For heavily soiled vehicles, you might need to repeat the degreaser application. You can also adjust the dilution strength depending on the level of dirt.
Taking it a Step Further
To achieve an even deeper clean after the DIY touchless pre-treatment, you can follow up with a contact rinseless wash in your garage or driveway using specialized rinseless wash products and microfiber towels. This method, discussed in detail in many car detailing communities, safely removes any remaining light dirt and enhances the shine without the need for a traditional hose and bucket wash.
In Conclusion
Touchless car washes can be a convenient option, but their effectiveness is heavily influenced by the chemicals used, application methods, and equipment quality. For truly challenging road grime, especially road film, a simple touchless wash might not be enough. By incorporating a pre-treatment with a degreaser in a DIY touchless approach, you can significantly improve the cleaning power and achieve a cleaner, better-protected car, ready to face whatever the road throws at it.
