Hand job or not?

[andrewparker]

A sponge isn't ok but a 100PSI jet of water is!? Interesting.

The problem with an automated wash at this time of year is the pre-wash stage won't remove much of the dirt before the brushes are applied, so you've got brushes that aren't particularly kind hitting paintwork that still has dirt in it, which is a recipe for disaster.

The best method at this time of year is to snowfoam them pressure wash off. If you're concerned about leaving pools of water on your drive then it's probably too cold to be washing your car anyway!

I think what people often forget is that these cars were continuously tested at sub-zero temperatures for months. Not washed them one week really won't do any harm.

[ub7rm]

I'm in a similar position, since becoming a dad I've not got enough time in the day to do most of things I want let alone wash the car anymore.  So I've stopped caring and frankly its quite liberating.  When it comes to resale I've found it makes feck all difference (talking about trade ins - when I traded in the golf they didn't even look at it, for private sales its worth making the effort).  If I get offended at the lack of shine I'll pay someone to polish it up nice!  Having seen some of the amazing restoration work done just by cleaning / polishing I'm confident the 'damage' caused by a sponge / car wash can easily be rectified when ever the need arises.

[Tamiyoman]

If your on good terms with your local hand car wash (Which I was where I used to live), I took my own sponges and Chamois leather and when they saw me they knew to rinse the buckets and use fresh water, they got tipped well so they always did it, if your not on good terms, power wash it yourself (dont use the brush tho as it will be full of grit!!!!!), again take your own sponge and use that instead of the brush