A&Q about Lotus
Q:
I make time by waking up a couple hours early and dealing with a hangover on Saturday morning
It only takes about 45 minutes to wash the car... and that's if you're REALLY paying attention to the details.
If you just really don't want to deal with it... I've also used a couple of the "hand dry" washes in the area who will usually do a full hand wash in their detailing garages for around $20-25. I think it's worth it and they've done a great job both times I've used them for a mid-week wash at night.
A:
It's not about the time or ritualistic.
If you don't mind the color fading and the paint degrading then it's ok, we did warn you
Here is what the service notes state for Body Work Care:
A:
ok, u guys need to relax....
i usually take my nice cars to a place where they hand wash and wax....I just dont hand wash it myself, sorry....
i asked the question abt touchless cause in winter i like the undercarriage sprayer....
everybody calm down, and drop their weapons....
A:
by the way, why would the paint fade and stuff from a touchless carwash every great once in awhile??
my honda hasent..
and yes, a lot of people are pretty ritualistic about washing a car...but obsessive compulsives arent known for self diagnosis..
A:
The Miata manuals say the same stuff. I used to run my Miata through the touchless wash every once in awhile. No harm done.
I'm not advocating running the Elise through.
A:
Originally posted by evomind
ok, u guys need to relax....
i usually take my nice cars to a place where they hand wash and wax....I just dont hand wash it myself, sorry....
i asked the question abt touchless cause in winter i like the undercarriage sprayer....
everybody calm down, and drop their weapons....
All in fun
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ha, i know its all in fun, guys.....i hope u know my comments are meant to be humurous too.....
just get the shotgun away from my temple....i have kids to support.
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I have had to take my cars through a car wash due to our lovely winters also. One thing you may want to be aware of is what is on the floor of the car wash, such as at a Delta sonic. Many people have had various types of sports cars severly damaged becasue the car was too low for the automatic floor tracks in the car wash. Best bet is to find a laser wash with absolutely nothing on the floor. I have had no problems using those the few times I needed to. The ones here dont seem to be nearly as high pressure as what I have seen at some do it yourself places. If you have the soft top I would recommend not getting the "dry" cycle as it could put some undue stress on the fabric.
I had some contact paper "cone protection" on my car and didnt get any lifting at the edges or anything so I'm sure the star shield would have been fine in that particular car warsh.
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yeah i dont do delta sonic really....their rails are a bit high it seems and they use those octopuss things to wash ur car...
i have used the touchless at the do-it-urself washes....a real crappy job, but if ya just wanna get some grime off in a hurry its ok...
and no, i wouldnt go through anything with the soft top on...
i think it would get whisked away.
using the wands isnt too bad though...ya just dont shoot it from real close range to the car....i suppose if im careful the starshield will be ok....
A:
A touchless carwash? I've never seen one. Hmm. So, you pull up and machines spray water at you ... then soap and then a rinse and then air?
Or do you pull up, put in $$ and then you use the spray gun yourself? I've used those.
Once in a convulsive bout of stupidity I attempted to take a C3 corvette thorough one of those track based automatic washers (the old type where you pull up and it grabs your tire and slowly pulls you through the machine ... building about 100 feet long). I got stuck! It was too low to the ground. It was a fiasco to get it off the rail.
-doma
edit: I'd be loath to take the elise through any automatic system but the 'wave it yourself' spray gun sounds fine. Just don't spray water near the window ... my seals arn't tight and the water would spray into the cockpit. The starsheild seems to be stuck on really good ... it bet it's very hard to strip off or lift even with the water gun IMHO.
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I always hand wash my cars, why take the chance. Both of mine get washed every weekend, and no machines touch them. Okay, a vacuum, but that is about it.
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doma, yes there are car washes where u pull in, a big wand shoots water all over, then it shoots soap, then it shoots a rinse, then theres a blow dryer....when u pull in there is an undercarriage sprayer too.....
ive also used the ones where u use the little wand urself too...
those are good....
i will NOT, as someone suggested, be filling buckets of hot water and running them back and forth from inside my house to hand wash a car in my driveway...hahaha.... thats, ah....interesting.
anyway, i usually take my nice cars to the hand wash place for a few bucks, but if im out and i drive through something, or if there was residual salt on the road, ill go to a touchless place real quick to get it off the car.
i understand some people enjoy washing their car or bike...thats fine, enjoy....
to me its another chore. i would rather pay someone a few bucks or use the wand than spend 2 hours of my precious time washing cars....
A:
Evo if I were you I'd only take it to a no-touch place you've used before with other cars. There are two in my area and my M3 has been through both of them. The one I no longer utilize uses very harsh detergents that basically partially strip off a wax job. The stuff seems to be only a notch below the strength of brake dust remover. The last time I had the M through there you could see little ghost streaks where the goop had etched away some of the wax. So the whole car had to be rewaxed again and I've never returned there. Be careful! It should be doable if the place is up to snuff.
On the bucket thing...you can easily one bucket wash the car if it's not super filthy, especially with one of those larger buckets. A quickie takes under 10 minutes.
Stan
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ive used them before stan.....
i think they cheap out on the detergents cause ive never had any problems like u describe....
i drove my evo in the winter so i would it through that if for nothing else for the undercarriage sprayer...it did a great job of getting all the salt off the car...
it actually doesent do a bad job for what it is...
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I've seen an Elise pressure washed before, even with Starshield. It appears to come out fine. With that in mind, a touch-free car wash, which applies no more pressure than a normal pressure washer, should be fine as well provided the detergents are okay, but I still wouldn't expect the Starshield to stay on forever with that many spray nozzles going back and forth!
The challenge comes when you have octopus sponges scrubbing all over the car to leave swirly marks.
On my Mercedes, I had a fender repainted 18 months ago after a snow-induced jersey barrier event. Six months later, some of the clear coat came off on the painted fender with a stronger than usual spray nozzle. I can only assume that the paint is at fault as much as the nozzle because it had no effect on the rest of the car.
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Originally posted by evomind
i will NOT, as someone suggested, be filling buckets of hot water and running them back and forth from inside my house to hand wash a car in my driveway...hahaha.... thats, ah....interesting.
Hey, whats wrong with running in and out of your house with buckets of hot water? Thats what I do!
Ok. I admit I live in CA so you don't have to put that much hot water in the bucket before bringing it outside to fill up from a hose. Although I find that 1 bucketfull and about 5 minutes is all I need to just rinse the car each weekend. I only give it a proper washing and drying about once a month.
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You could always move to Florida or California. Easier washing down there in the winter.
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Originally posted by Tintin
Hey, whats wrong with running in and out of your house with buckets of hot water? Thats what I do!
Ok. I admit I live in CA so you don't have to put that much hot water in the bucket before bringing it outside to fill up from a hose. Although I find that 1 bucketfull and about 5 minutes is all I need to just rinse the car each weekend. I only give it a proper washing and drying about once a month.
The further advantage of living in California is that the roads are a hell of a lot cleaner. I know that if I drive about 100 miles north of DC, the roads suddenly get a heck of a lot messier due to all the extra salt, sand, cinders, and other chemicals and abrasives applied to the roads to keep them clear in the winter.
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WHO CARES HOW COLD IT IS. DONT ANY OF YOU PEOPLE HAVE KIDS. why do you think you got them. they dont get cold. give them some rags and tell them to stay away from the belt sander. tell them if they do a really god job you will let them eat dinner. but what do i know i still dont have my car yet.
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Heh-heh-heh. I can't believe you guys. You're all talking like the paint is a layer of jello that will come off as soon as you drive it to a car wash.
It's a car, it's got car paint, nothing more. I intend to hand wash it, lovingly wax and care for it with Zaino and what not, put a car cover when not in use even if it's inside my garage. But, after a weekend at the track and I'm too tired, I WILL take it to a car wash, touchless or otherwise, with high pressure chemicals and underspray, and drive it and enjoy it.
That line about the car and car paint in the manual is mostly marketing (it's a "special" car).
It's a car, guys, nothing more. It's not the Queen of Sheba.