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Who uses an automatic car wash on their Stinger?

Who uses an automatic car wash on their Stinger?

  • Yes

    Votes: 10 41.7%
  • No

    Votes: 8 33.3%
  • Sometimes

    Votes: 6 25.0%

  • Total voters
    24
Messages
88
Reactions
15
State
CO
Country
United States
What I Drive
2018 Kia Stinger 2.0T AWD
#1
During the winter times I tend to use the automatic car washes. Anyone else do the same?
 
Messages
32
Reactions
4
State
OK
Country
United States
#2
Was just debating this on my way to work this morning. Car is getting filthy and it's too cold for the hose. Considering a touch less car wash followed by a nice micro fiber wipe down when i get home and in the garage.
 

Devo9er

New Member
Messages
9
Reactions
3
State
MI
Country
United States
#3
I've actually developed a pretty good system of washing in my garage at home. I can do the whole car with about 3-4 gallons of water and don't feel I'm compromising by wiping dirt around. The trick I have found is to not let it get super bad firstly and keep it from drying if possible when it does get bad. Not sure where you are but here in Michigan the roads get nasty in a hurry. We haven't had too many days yet where road salt has been used but even when it's just wet the grime gets bad. I have a 2 gallon pump style herbacide sprayer I use for most of the wash. I wet the whole car down evenly with soapy car wash water which takes about 1 gallon. I let it work while I scrub the wheels and tires with a plastic wood shop style hand broom. I have an empty 5 gal bucket with about 1 gallon of soapy water. I rinse my brush and microfibers in this tub. Sediment sinks to the bottom. Once I'm done with the wheels I pump up the sprayer very high pressure and fan the dirt down the sides of the car. The wash I use is a dual soap and wax which I only like because it tends to dry easier and require less rinsing. I go back over everything with a wet soapy microfiber and try to sheet the water down the car. I then use a synthetic shammy and dry from the top down. I use 5 or 6 microfibers as to not cross contaminate the water and different parts of the car. If I drop one on the ground, it's done. It goes in the dirty bin. I wait until I dirty about 50 of them before I make a laundry load from them. They last pretty well. I get the multicolored 50 packs on Amazon for $20. I'm a little OCD so I try to use green for glass, blue and white for body, yellow for wheels, orange for other dirty stuff...keep your delicates separate ya know?

After it's mostly dry I mist with detail spray or wax and hit it with a new microfiber. I have done a full carnuba paste but wasn't impressed considering the effort difference. I'll stick with spray wax at least until I get out the meguiars and compound the car with the wheel in the spring.
 

CKeeler

500 Posts Achieved
Staff Member
Messages
782
Reactions
262
State
CA
Country
United States
#4
Not at all. I?ve done automatic washes before on previous cars and I just don?t like them. There?s enough hand washes out here I don?t need to worry. I spend around $20 on a hand wash and tip when I do decide to go. But no more automatic washes for me. I even stopped doing them on my mustang years ago
 
Messages
68
Reactions
6
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
What I Drive
2018 Kia Stinger GT
#5
I do all the time.[paranoid]
 
Messages
37
Reactions
7
State
PA
Country
United States
#6
I try to avoid them, but if the car gets salty and it's too cold/windy out I'll do it. I'm going to get my own system for washing in the garage like [MENTION=1684]Devo9er[/MENTION]

I already have a hose in the garage so will rinse, wash, rinse then squeegee the water out. The challenge is to use enough water not to rub dirt into the paint while not flooding your garage
 

robz32

2000 Posts Achieved
Staff Member
Messages
2,045
Reactions
665
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
What I Drive
Stinger GT2
#7
 
Messages
103
Reactions
35
State
Non-US
Country
United States
What I Drive
18 Stinger GT2 AWD
#8
Don?t hate the automatics!! As long as they are touchless and I immediately dry/details spray the entire car, they are fine.

Hater.
 

robz32

2000 Posts Achieved
Staff Member
Messages
2,045
Reactions
665
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
What I Drive
Stinger GT2
#9
For those of us that have some protection on the paint, its still not a good option as the chemicals they use are strong and can damage and even strip some of that protection.
 
Messages
29
Reactions
13
City
Northern
State
NV
Country
United States
What I Drive
2018 GT2 AWD
#10
According to Meguiar's, Blue Coral, and Mothers, the best 'first treatment' is to wash the surface with lots & lots of cool water, to remove most of the dirt (actually extremely fine bits of rock). Don't think I'd ever do a car wash to my GT's finish, not even 'touchless'!
 

Kazz

500 Posts Achieved
Messages
507
Reactions
138
State
IL
Country
United States
What I Drive
2018 Micro Blue Stinger GT2 AWD
#11
Touchless automatic? Yes.
 
Messages
216
Reactions
23
State
NY
Country
United States
What I Drive
2018 Stinger GT
#12
guilty

I don't want anyone scraping off my rebadges
 

Big Dave

New Member
Messages
2
Reactions
0
City
Jacksonville
State
FL
Country
United States
What I Drive
2019 GT1
#13
I used a gentle brush carwash weekly for my Mercedes. After 5 years and a quarterly buffing, the finish looked new. I know the Stinger will do as well.
 
Messages
98
Reactions
46
City
Brick
State
NJ
Country
United States
What I Drive
2019 Stinger 2.0L
#14
I try not to but a week ago when it was covered in salt AND bird sh*t I caved...I couldn't stand how she looked.
 

spider55

1000 Posts Achieved
Staff Member
Messages
1,785
Reactions
612
City
Coolidge
State
AZ
Country
United States
What I Drive
2019 stinger GT1
#15
I will never use a automatic car wash again. Since I've had my car ceramic coated I have never gone back, the guy that ceramic coated my car takes care of it for me. He uses a touchless wash then blows it off an then uses a detailer which adds another layer of protection to the ceramic coating.
 

tdoyon

New Member
Messages
13
Reactions
3
State
MA
Country
United States
#16
Never again. I did it once and the rear bumper got scratched up. $900 to repaint and it's never looked right. In the winter I'll stick to Ammo in winter https://www.ammonyc.com/shop/ammo-boost-winter-wash/ and gyeon/Kamikaze the rest of the year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Messages
5
Reactions
0
City
Hercules
State
CA
Country
United States
What I Drive
2018 Stinger
#17
Touchless automatic is a yes for me. Else, hand wash and never machine wash. Hello swirls.
 
Messages
39
Reactions
14
City
mountain lakes
State
NJ
Country
United States
What I Drive
2020 Sringer GT AWD
#18
Used to use car washes (brushless) but stopped. I found my local place would make my wipers clatter on the windshield and not wipe smoothly. Later I learned that most car washes use stronger soaps in order to remove dirt and grime, which will also strip off waxes and sealants.
Now I hand wash. Most car wash soaps are pH balanced to not strip away waxes.

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk
 

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