993RS

Do you wash your car yourself or go to a car wash?

StevoUK

Never never use a car wash with brushes - only the no-touch variety! And then only if you have to.
Hand wash with warm water only - otherwise detergent removes the wax.
If you see a car with swirls and lines in the paint - its usually been washed regularly in a rotating brush car wash.

993Maineiac

Porshe, in the owners manual, recommends only hand washing-and I totally agree. No mechanical wash will ever see my baby!

Al

Kolbjorn S

Careful handwash without swirling.

Franklin229

No mechanical washing for me-ever, at least for the Porsche. Even if the car wash is "brushless" you are still subject to someone using a dirty, dropped or poor quality rag for drying, which could put you quickly into "swirl mark" territory. Also, some of the "brushless" places also use a dryer that rolls over your car with a rubber wheel-not good.

lowblow

I can't believe you would even ask this question!!. NO WAY NO HOW!!. I wouldn't even let a "professional" detailer touch my car.

No one will ever be as careful as you would.

Mark in Baltimore

It's best to handwash the car. Here in the US, most of the automatic car washes, whether the car is pulled through or if it just sits there while all of the arms and wands do their laser-actuated dance, seem to be too high to accommodate a Porsche without scraping the undercarriage or a wheel.

Having said that, I'd rather use a car wash in a pinch, as opposed to leaving a coat of salt on the car.

mrsullivan

i am only a potential 993 owner, right now i have a BMW E46 M3. On my M3, nothing ever touches the car but microfiber towels. In my opinion, its pretty easy to keep swirl marks and spiderwebbing from occuring on your paint as long as you hand wash, but it is very easy to get them in an automated car wash or even by using dirty towels, etc. when washing by hand.

I use these three sites for all my detailing gear... pricey, but worth it.

www.zainobros.com
www.griotsgarage.com
www.detailersparadise.com

akolodesh

Unless you have someone come to your house, all mechanical or professional hand washings will be done when the car (particularly the wheels) is hot. Adding even the mildest detergents - such as p21s wheel cleaner- to hot alloy wheels can damage them. Car washes are absolutely horrible for them.

csertich

Hand wash only. I have always enjoyed washing my cars. My wife thinks I'm strange.....

chuck

Howdy993

Csertich -

I seriously doubt you are strange. I bet your bride prefers driving / riding in a car you have washed!

When we were first married we'd go past a car wash that had a sign "Ride with Pride in a Clean Car"

After a hand washing of her car, she always says, now I can ride with pride.

mnmblu

Stevo, what do you do when there is dirt on your paint. Water only??? Can't you use one of the car wash soaps that are available that don't strip wax? All the wax manufactures have them. If not, how do you get the dirt off?

993RS

Thanks. Actually until I got my current car, I just went through car washes. Hardly ever used wax either. Was short on time, and the time I had available, I wanted to spend driving, not cleaning and waxing. Now though, I was able to get very early retirement at 55 and have the time to hand clean it. Which I did this afternoon, and applied Rejex (it arrived today). Very pleased with the product (can't compare it with other products because I never used any..), because it is so easy to apply. Question: are two coats of Rejex needed?

993Maineiac

Phil

I think that the other threads have recommended two applications-with 12 hour curing in between-the first time. I just got mine in and will be stripping the wax with dish detergent and then claying the car before the Rejex. Fortunately (?) they're predicting rain and thunderstorms for a few days so after the cleaning I won't be tempted to take it our of the garage. I'm hoping for the best as I've never used clay before and my car is really looking good with the wax.

Al

mnmblu

Phil,
Two is always better than one. It's twice as much!