Supermarket car washers

andyred

andyred

Suspended / Banned
Messages
11,116
Name
And
Edit My Images
No
Well, if you were uncertain should you use one...saw this this afternoon

IMG_1480886652.900932.jpg

Perhaps seeing where the drying towels were, would help make up your mind - shocking, pity the next person's car they dried them with...

Couldn't work out who the shoes belonged to though ?
 
Last edited:
andyred said:
Well, if you were uncertain should you use one...saw this this afternoon

View attachment 91205

Perhaps seeing where the drying towels were, would help make up your mind - shocking, pity the next person's car they dried them with...

Couldn't work out who the shoes belonged to though ?
Click to expand...
Tesco in Midsomer Norton has set up a pro-type area for car wash and valet. Seems very popular and keeps the wandering trolley pusher car cleaners away. The use of a well constructed undercover work area adds a better look/feel. Seems quite busy on the few times I have been in there to shop.

Not used them as I do not have a car. I use my youngest son's car when I need one.

Still musing about buying a smalla runabout I can drag behind my motorhome when on .y travels.
 
Watch out for folk who use pressure washers. Used such a jet they blew through my seals and the interior seats and boot were damp after. Never get that in the rain.
 
MidnightUK said:
Watch out for folk who use pressure washers. Used such a jet they blew through my seals and the interior seats and boot were damp after. Never get that in the rain.
Click to expand...

Your car should be tested to easily withstand any commercial power wash. It is either perishing or made defectively. You'd better call your dealers.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
Your car should be tested to easily withstand any commercial power wash. It is either perishing or made defectively. You'd better call your dealers.
Click to expand...

As someone who used to be quite heavily involved in the wonderfully interesting (ha!) world of automotive door and window seals - sadly not. Aim a commercial pressure washer at any door or window seal the wrong way and you're in for a soaking - quite a few of them will slice through paint if handled by an idiot, let alone penetrate a very flexible rubber seal designed to withstand fairly low pressure water ingress. Fine for any 'normal' pressure washing, but I've seen some of these car wash people press the nozzle into the gaps and blast away. :eek:

I've witnessed all manner of horrors at hand car washes, and had my car scratched up rather impressively after some chap used the same cloth and bucket directly after washing a mud-caked Land Rover. Never again!
 
I know of someone who asked one of the supermarket car wash places to clean the inside of their car.

The seats were left so wet that the mat that detects whether someone was sat in the seat which then gives you a seatbelt warning was defective for several weeks until it dried out.

The cleaner didn't want to know either and was pretty abusive. The supermarket doesn't want to know as it's a different company and each cleaner is franchised so the company HQ says it's for individual branches to settle issues not them.
 
nilagin said:
Some people really do need to have their cars washed for them though.
Click to expand...
Not sure what is wrong with that? I've done that many a time.

neil_g said:
The cleaner didn't want to know either and was pretty abusive. The supermarket doesn't want to know as it's a different company and each cleaner is franchised so the company HQ says it's for individual branches to settle issues not them.
Click to expand...
A very good point to make as I'm sure people wrongly assume a big name is behind it. If anything goes wrong it could be a very difficult process to get it fixed and figure out who is legally responsible.

Personally I just like doing it myself. I never seizes to amaze me how my two bucket method ends up with such a black water rinse bucket, no way I'd pay anyone to just smear all that over the paintwork of my car.
 
Steep said:
Done that to a van before now, it had rubber floors though.

OK maybe not to quite the extent she has 8:
Click to expand...
Several years ago, one of the managers asked someone to take his wife's Escort Cabriolet and get it cleaned. They put it through an automated car wash with the roof down. With the use of the forecourt hoover and the fact it was a hot sunny day they managed to dry the interior and the manager even complimented them on how clean the interior was too.
 
As far as I know, they use fairly harsh cleaning fluids which will take off any wax you have applied.

Plus you will end up with swirls.

I wash my car, nobody else.

People that see a car as something to get from A to B tend to use them.
 
MidnightUK said:
Watch out for folk who use pressure washers. Used such a jet they blew through my seals and the interior seats and boot were damp after. Never get that in the rain.
Click to expand...
These pressure washers are known to cause damage to parking sensors from what I've read...
 
Quoth said:
These pressure washers are known to cause damage to parking sensors from what I've read...
Click to expand...
Much like damaging seals, there is no real need to get that close with the pressure washer lance.
 
nilagin said:
Much like damaging seals, there is no real need to get that close with the pressure washer lance.
Click to expand...
I started using Valet Pro Citrus pre wash. Leaves my paint and paint protection alone, is not damaging to the lacwuer on the wheels either. Smells great :) and actually allowed me to turn the pressure washer down a nudge or three. Dirt just falls off without need for brute force.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
Your car should be tested to easily withstand any commercial power wash. It is either perishing or made defectively.
Click to expand...

Its pretty old, they would be too embarrassed to have it pause on their forecourts :-) No issues at all though, other than the jet wash - watertight all other times :-)
 
dejongj said:
I started using Valet Pro Citrus pre wash. Leaves my paint and paint protection alone, is not damaging to the lacwuer on the wheels either. Smells great :) and actually allowed me to turn the pressure washer down a nudge or three. Dirt just falls off without need for brute force.
Click to expand...
DId you dilute it first? Ive tried it a couple of times about 8:1 dilute I think, warm water as well and doesnt seem to shift anything. I dont have a power washer though, whether that makes a difference. Ta.
 
I've used citrus prewash and apply it using a pressurised sprayer. I think I dilute it to something like 1:10, let it sit on the car and rinse off. Pressure washer makes a massive difference as does using the prewash through a snowfoam lance.

On a car that's had a decent clean, polish and then waxed, the dirt comes off the car readily.
 
DorsetDude said:
DId you dilute it first? Ive tried it a couple of times about 8:1 dilute I think, warm water as well and doesnt seem to shift anything. I dont have a power washer though, whether that makes a difference. Ta.
Click to expand...
Yes 6:1, applied it to just the bottom half of the car. Left it for about 5-10 minutes. Used normal tap water. Then rinsed it with the pressure washer with a car wash nozzle so a little bit more powerful than a spray but not so much it hurts :)
 
omens said:
I've used citrus prewash and apply it using a pressurised sprayer. I think I dilute it to something like 1:10, let it sit on the car and rinse off. Pressure washer makes a massive difference as does using the prewash through a snowfoam lance.
Click to expand...
so you have snow foam lance that attaches to a pressurised sprayer? I also have a 3 litre or so garden pressure sprayer thing that I pump the handle to build up pressure and use. Dont think I could change the spray attatchment it came with though.
 
I don't think anyone that really cares about their car would use a 5 quid supermarket car park wash. Personally I wouldn't let any of these hand car wash clowns anywhere near my vehicles.
 
DorsetDude said:
so you have snow foam lance that attaches to a pressurised sprayer? I also have a 3 litre or so garden pressure sprayer thing that I pump the handle to build up pressure and use. Dont think I could change the spray attatchment it came with though.
Click to expand...
No. The snow foam lance attaches to the pressure washer. Creates a beautiful foam on the car.
The pressure sprayer I have is similar to yours but 5 ltires I think. I used to use it on those days when I used to use the petrol station's Karcher pressure washer. Both snow foam and citrus prewash are akin to soaking last night's dishes in soapy water to help loosen the dried on food and hence reduce the mechanical effort required to remove the crud. A pressure washer will make things vastly easier than using just a hosepipe.
 
DorsetDude said:
so you have snow foam lance that attaches to a pressurised sprayer? I also have a 3 litre or so garden pressure sprayer thing that I pump the handle to build up pressure and use. Dont think I could change the spray attatchment it came with though.
Click to expand...

omens said:
No. The snow foam lance attaches to the pressure washer. Creates a beautiful foam on the car.
The pressure sprayer I have is similar to yours but 5 ltires I think. I used to use it on those days when I used to use the petrol station's Karcher pressure washer. Both snow foam and citrus prewash are akin to soaking last night's dishes in soapy water to help loosen the dried on food and hence reduce the mechanical effort required to remove the crud. A pressure washer will make things vastly easier than using just a hosepipe.
Click to expand...

I stopped using my snow foam lance on my pressure washer in favour of using a garden pressure sprayer device :) I find it much more effective than the snow foam ever before.
 
dejongj said:
I stopped using my snow foam lance on my pressure washer in favour of using a garden pressure sprayer device :) I find it much more effective than the snow foam ever before.
Click to expand...

Is that with the citrus pre wash. ?

Keep wondering about trying some, but don't want it to remove wax etc,,,
 
andyred said:
Is that with the citrus pre wash. ?

Keep wondering about trying some, but don't want it to remove wax etc,,,
Click to expand...
It is with the one aforementioned. I was a little apprehensive but having read the reviews it really is good and seems to leave the paint protection alone.

Smells lovely as well :)
 
dejongj said:
It is with the one aforementioned. I was a little apprehensive but having read the reviews it really is good and seems to leave the paint protection alone.

Smells lovely as well :)
Click to expand...

Cheers [emoji108]

I already have a garden sprayer, so might be worth a look - best place to buy some from ???
 
I bought mine from juicydetailing. However are full disclosure, even though I didn't get a discount, I do disclose that the chap and lady owning and running it are close friends of mine. Same company as diesel tuning uk. But good price and delivery.
 
Treat your car like the front element of you lenses :)

If you are on fb try detaillingaddicts
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Detailingaddicts/

I recently added a pump sprayer to my kit for a tfr/prewash but rarely use it as it never gets that dirty. I use Built Hamber autofoam as my main pre wash and it does a great job at softening contaminants.
I've also added a few more kwazar spay bottles to my kit, not cheap but chemical safe seals and the trigger action sprays on the release too.
For the winter months when the weather means time wise you don't always get the time to top up your sealant/wax I've just bought some purity-x which can be sprayed on through a snowfoam lance then rinsed off.
Wheels, I use KKD Brakeaway which is non acidic and can be diluted down to 20:1 so I have a few bottles premixed at different strengths depending on how bad the wheels are.
APC/citrus pre wash is also KKD which can be diluted down to 100:1 depending on what you need.
For shampooing I like Meguiars Gold and my Dooka wash pad. The 2 bucket method is a must with grit guards.
I could go on and on but it's time to nip out for a beer.
 
foggy4ever said:
I use Built Hamber autofoam as my main pre wash
Click to expand...
I've only used "own brand" snowfoam and Valet Pro stuff before using BH and love the stuff. Much better than what I've used before.

foggy4ever said:
I've also added a few more kwazar spay bottles to my kit, not cheap but chemical safe seals and the trigger action sprays on the release too.
Click to expand...
I've only used Meguiars spray and foaming sprays. Still going strong 8yrs down the line. Any ideas how these compare?
foggy4ever said:
Wheels, I use KKD Brakeaway which is non acidic
Click to expand...
Any idea how effective it is against baked in brake dust? Ironx both as spray and gel are wholely ineffective. I'm gonna have to have the wheels refurbed.

foggy4ever said:
For shampooing I like Meguiars Gold and my Dooka wash pad. The 2 bucket method is a must with grit guards.
Click to expand...
I've used synthetic lambswool mitts which I used before splurging on a genuine lambswool mitt. That just used to moult over time and leave strands on the car, so switched to the zymol sponge. After a while, I went back to synthetic wash mitt. But would be looking at dooka next time.
 
@omens

I've found the spray bottles most suppliers use are OK and can be reused a few times but the bottles can be easily damaged and crack (had a couple crack and leak) The kwazars are great for when I buy 5 litres and dilute. They are very solid with sturdy wide bases. if your Meguiars have lasted 8 years they must be good.

For baked on brake dust you need an acid based cleaner such as KKD devil's juice and gently work in with a brush. Used it on my nephews wheels when he bought a high mileage civic and brought them up a treat. Once clean seal them and next time it will be a lot easier and not necessary to use an acid based cleaner.

The Adams pad looks pretty good so I might look in the new year sales. Black Friday had some great deals from all the popular suppliers.
 
dejongj said:
I bought mine from juicydetailing. However are full disclosure, even though I didn't get a discount, I do disclose that the chap and lady owning and running it are close friends of mine. Same company as diesel tuning uk. But good price and delivery.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Had a look and they were out of stock.

Will have a look - see if I can find a trial pack to try it out.
 
A old valeter I know would never use a pressure washer on a car, only rinsed off using an open ended hose, the high pressure water will force the dirty suds across the paint and could cause scratches, probably more so now with the crap water based paints used in the industry, I wash the car myself with a lambskin mitt and two (or more) buckets of water, one with soapy water the other to rinse the mitt to remove dirt before reloading with suds, time consuming but I'm like that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top