Rupes

I waxed my car about two weeks ago, since then the wax has been pretty much removed. I decided it was more than likely due to the local self car wash place I go to. I use my own towels and wash mit, so I knew it wasn't that. I decided to go in and ask the person on duty if they knew what kind of soap they used. He said, "our soap is a company secret."

Joking around I said, "that's too bad, now i can't make it in my basement and sell it to the black market." He didn't laugh.

Ok...so I asked, "Is there anything that might be in it that could strip the wax off my car?"

To which he responded, "You are responsible for the care of your own car, we cannot be held responsible."

I told him I wasn't looking to blame anyone for anything, I just wanted to know for future reference if the soap might have stripped the wax off my car, again the guy tells me something along the line of, "you should take care of your vehicle, we can't help if something is wrong with it."

About this time i want to ring the guys neck, so I tell him he's not intimidating me, if thats what he was looking to do, and that my question was quite simple, and if he could answer it i would be on my way.

He then walks out on me to take another customer. I was so fumed. I obviously know not to ever go back, but I feel like writing a letter to their corporate office (it's a chain of car washers) and explaining how poorly i was treated. I wasn't looking to sue, or blame anyone, he could have just been a lot more forthcomming with me.

tiggerlee

I use to take my car to a place here in Orlando. They charged $27.00 to hand wash and chamois the car. They even went so far as too blow all the excess water out of the cracks and crevices so to keep water streaks to a minimum. Overall they did good work but I noticed that the wax on my car wasn't lasting as long as it should before the next waxing. I found out later that they used a soap with the same characteristics as Dawn dishwashing liquid. I also noticed a few minor scratches forming on my hood(probably from the towels and chamois). I decided to invest in the Mr. Clean Autodry system, and I haven't been back to that place since. This is an excellent system. No need to chamois or dry the car,it dries spot-free(if you follow the directions). And won't harm your wax. I suggest looking into it. I believe there's even a thread on it. Good-Luck!

Some differing opinions in this thread but I've had a very good experience with the product and have seen no adverse affects to the car.
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...3&page=1&pp=15

valpac

iTrader: (2)

Those places dont give a rats *** about their customers. All they care about is the cash. And with all the chemicals they have for selection (wash, wax, rinse & wax, wax & seal, tire cleaner etc..) they are bound to mix em up by accident. My experience is the car never felt "clean" when I left, lotsa residue on the surface. Not good. Those chemicals are too harsh longterm.

I just dont use em.

BlueFrenzy

That's very poor customer service. What is he a robot repeating the same line "It's your responsibility to take care of your car". It's like if I had my tires swapped by a professional and it's not inflated properly ... does he tell me "It's your responsibility"? I had better hope not because I'm paying good money for the service.

My suggestion is to do it yourself (I realize that some people live in an apartment and don't have access to a hose) or at least bring all your own equipment (soap and all). Good luck

Rupes

I'm gonna have to look into that Mr. Clean stuff. The only reason I started taking it there was during winter, it was way to cold for me to be outside with a hose and bucket trying to wash my car in sub zero weather. I guess i'll need to invest in some ski outfits for when I need to wash the car in the winter. :D

NavyDood

The soap that comes with Mr. Clean Autodry will remove waxes and polishes no matter what brand the polish or wax is. It will make a silky smooth and freshly polished surface look dull and rough feeling.

If you do use the Mr. Clean Autodry, you need to throw the soap away and use a good name brand soap instead. Watch the concentricity of the soap though. For example.... Using Zaino car wash you need to dilute it 50/50 with distilled water. Other wise you are totally wasting the soap.

As for the filter part of the Mr. Clean Autodryer to get the minerals out of hard water, it does work pretty dang good. I can't knock it for that.

It is still a waste of money IMO. A handwash and removing the nozzle from the hose and letting the water sheet over the car is still better IMO.

tiggerlee

Interesting. I have just the opposite results. I actually found that I can go longer between waxes since I started using the Mr. Clean system. The car maintains a superior shine and smoothness as if it were just freshly waxed. I've also noticed since I began using it that the car actually seems to stay cleaner longer,as if it were repelling the dust and dirt as opposed to it sticking to the paint. But again, this is just my experience.

quack_p

Personally, I've never found drying the car as distasteful as apparently the owners of the Mr. Clean AutoDry system do. It takes about 5 minutes with a good drying towel. The aspect of car washing I dislike the most would have to be cleaning the rims.

quack_p

Wow, 50/50, really? That seems like a lot. The directions from Zaino say 2 or 3 capfuls per gallon of water.

tiggerlee

I don't consider drying a car distasteful. The less you have to touch the car the better. Less of a chance of fine swirls and scratches.

rkostolni

I was going through an automatic car wash last winter and saw a bunch of boxes of Dawn. Needless to say I'm sure I know what that was used for and I won't be going there again!

Rupes

Sorry to bump my own thread but...

I just found out that I have no hose connections to my apartment, meaning, I have to use a do-it-yourself car wash place. My question is, do you think if I use my own bucket and soap, that the high pressure water that comes out of the hose is going to strip the wax? It sounds like a dumb question, but I don't know if they use some type of chemicles to make the water pressure as forceful or whatnot.

Coop '04

They use a pressure washer pump and tap water, no extra chemicals just mechanical force, it's the soap that will strip the wax..... some of them take the time to filter the "spot free" water but I doubt most even do that...

Nubo

There's a car wash place near us with a great sign. It reads:

WASH AS LONG AS YOU WANT: $5.00

Then, in very small letters at the bottom:

maximum 20 minutes

So yeah, ask them about the soap. Lol.