Tanqueray86

Would you guys, with PPFs done on your 992s, go through a touchless automated carwash with high pressure water? (No rails to scratch my wheels, no brushes to scratch paint)

I use hand wash (uses steam water rinse, not high pressure) service almost every two weeks, but sometimes I’m too busy to take it to the usual guy.

G650

So my Fiancée takes her Acura SUV through one of these every 2 weeks or so, and I have to say that it does a pretty thorough job and is 100% touch free as advertised with no chance of scraping your wheels since you drive through it under your own power. I had considered taking my 992 through it, but like the OP my main concern is that the high pressure water jets could catch and loosen the PPF I have. I’ve decided that it’s not worth the risk and will stick to paying $40 for a professional hand wash.

lucycan

Yes. Here in MN you need that if you drive daily.

Dan Nagy

If so was leasing, sure, no problem. On my owned car, no way because of PPF and Modesta.

In many places, that water is recycled through a filter and could carry some contaminants. I would go to a heated self-wash place before I would do a drive-through. Anyway, I wonder if it would just be better to do a light spray to rinse off the salt. Dunno - lots of experts here so I am interested to read their responses.

Tanqueray86

Do you know any in NOVA? The touchless one I am talking about is in Fairlakes mall in Fairfax.

drcollie

Nevah - not a chance. I am so adverse to paint swirls I don't even hand wash a car like most you guys. Even when its 20 degrees out, I do it myself in the driveway (have to go fast with the hot water hose, the water freezes on the driveway in 20 minutes and goes glare ice). Foam it first, then two bucket - and only Master Blaster air dry.


However, the proof is in the pudding. Here's the paint on my 7 year old 991 when I traded it in just finishing its CPO certification for resale.. You don't get to keep this kind of sheen for that long when taking it through the car wash.

ipse dixit

Nope.

I just take it to the Porsche dealer for a hand wash.

I'm not an "**** no-swirl don't touch my car" car wash guy.

I just want it cleaned by a human being, by hand.

And I get that at the Porsche dealer, plus warm cookies and fresh espresso. Free Wi-Fi to boot, so I can get some work done, or continue trolling, er, ahem, I mean, posting on Rennlist.

carson2

This is why I like dark colors on other people's cars, but not my own. Paint swirls and dark colors are a beotch. Lighter colors are a lot easier to keep looking good.

Tanqueray86

Porsche dealer I take my car to apparently has “hard water” with lots minerals because it leaves white spots.

Hard water is to blame, unless the wash guy is jeezing on my car, while washing.

mdrobc1213

I do hand-wash and also have my own pressure washer which I use also at lowest setting with Foam gun to keep my car looking great. Recently tho after finding out via a parking lot incident how thin Porsche paint is I probably would definitely now not take it through anything other than a self serve bay as others have indicated and would only use a touchless auto-wash IF I lived in an area of the country where winters made it such that other options were too difficult.

KCviper

My Porsche dealer closed their hand wash service when Covid hit (I will only wash the car myself so no biggie). However, the espresso bar is still open

pfbz

The problem with a commercial carwash, even a touchless one, is that they recycle water. It is filtered, but the higher quality the filter, the more frequently they clog, so they tend to use filters that are fine enough to prevent the jets from clogging, but there are still particulates in the water. Abrasive particulates.

Richard_Wallace

If you have PPF on the entire car, not a problem. I hand wash mine a few times per month (daily driver even in winter), Mine is PPF'd, but I still do it by hand (or by power washer) at least give it a nice spray every few weeks to do a quick soap and rinse. If for you it is more convenient to do touch-less than not doing anything, then go for it. If you have time and facility to hand wash (or a dealer that offers that for you) - go that route.

I would recommend if you haven't done a nice ceramic coating (You can do this yourself)... Makes a quick spray off much easier and less hassle.

PJSD

I wash by hand on my driveway. I try to use good washing habits, but I'm not that **** i.e. soft water treatment and several different buckets, etc. It's a small car, so I can wash the exterior in about 30-45 minutes.

Rxpert

My car is fully wrapped in Xpel Ultimate+ and I’ve been taking it through touchless automatic car washes about once every week or two (daily driver) for the past 2 years.

The PPF still looks as good as it did on day one. Don’t stress OP, if you have a good quality PPF you’ll be fine.