Car Washing That Won't Remove Wax

[newbold1]

I never knew that when you wash your car using Dawn dishwashing liquid you end up removing all of the layers of wax you have ever applied to the car. I found that out reading another post.

So... now I am trying to figure out how to be sure that I don't remove all of my waxing work when I wash my car. I live in an apartment so I can't really wash my car at home. I usually go to a do-it-yourself car wash and use the power wash wand. I never use a car wash that touches the car and I don't use the brushes in the do-it-yourself wash. Just the high pressure wand and a cotton cloth to wipe areas that don't come clean otherwise. Is this an okay way to do it?

Will the soap at the typical car wash remove the wax from the car? I hate to think that all the hard work I put into waxing might be completely removed everytime I clean the dust / dirt off of my car.

 

[Chesty Bonds]

I never take my car to one of those do-it-yourself carwashing places so I can't really comment on how good they are. I think they are probably fine though, as long as you take your own cloth, like you said.

You're right that dishwashing liquid takes off the polish. The stuff is practically paint-stripper! Personally, I just wash my car with plain water and a cloth whenever I can but if it's really dirty I use a proper carwash liquid like Kitten or the like.

Give your car a good couple of polishes over 6 months to build up the coating again and it'll be fine.

 

[Big Daddy]

I use Zymol Auto Bathe, made for washing waxed cars. I do not use high pressure and would be cautious of the harsh soaps at the power wash places.

 

[newguy]

I usually take a bucket with a good carwashing soap (Meguiars,or Turtle), add about 6 iches of water to it. When you start the power wash, just put the presoak on the car..(lots of it). Let the time run out, and use your mitt, or sponge and the stuff in the bucket to hand wash the whole car. Then use the power wash rinse cycle to clean it all off. Don't put too much water in the bucket before you leave home, or it will make a mess. The car washes here have a soft water rinse that helps with water spotting until you can chamois the car...hope this helps

 

[newbold1]

Since I live in an apartment I will have to use a car wash since there is no way to do it at home. I'll go ahead and do the pre-soak only method followed by the regular rinse and then spot-free rinse. I plan to wax the car at least once a week each weekend. One nice thing about keeping the car waxed is that dirt usually washes right off. I've had other cars where I was a bit more lazy and almost never applied wax and it made getting the car clean a lot harder to accomplish.

 

[Chesty Bonds]

Waxing once a week will take it out of you! I do mine at least twice a year and that works fine for me, but then again I don't use my car all that much as i'm a student.

Once a week will certainly get the level of polish right up again!

 

[newbold1]

I've waxed it up twice in the past 4 weeks. Would have done it more but I had two out of town trips that used up my weekends. After a while I will probably go to every other week or so. While the car is still new I don't mind the extra work. I'm sure after a while the new car feeling will fade some and I'll not be quite as motivated to do the work as I am today.