Mark in Baltimore

The car washes with the cloth strips scare me for any type of car. The touchless ones seem much safer. My 993 is too low to go through one, but I take the Sequoia and Miata through it regularly.

pcar964

Automatic car washes on a 993? Explain yourself any way you like, that's just wrong. The car deserves better. If your daily commute is bad enough that you need to wash it that often, maybe you should invest in a $3000 beater for daily driving. That's cheaper than the paint damage you'll get from automatic car washes

Blue Ocean

No Mark, I have used Main Street in Lewisville. I know the owners and have never had a problem with any damage to the car or paint.
I did have a loose cover over the nut on my rear windshield wiper on my X3 that came off one time and I noticed it after I had it washed there the day before. I called them to see if maybe they found it if posibily it came off there. He said no but he ordered a new one from BMW and replaced it even though I wasn't sure it came off there.


Pcar, the commute is that bad, it's just that as a daily driver it needs to be cleaned more often. I decided I would rather enjoy it everyday instead of just on weekends. Don't really have a desire to drive a beater!


Good idea dhicks, I check into that.
Thanks

trojanman

Keeping mine clean wears me out too, but I've found a few things that help.

1) As much of a hassle as it seems, buy a good cover and use it. I wasn't really a believer, but since I started covering mine I notice that it stays A LOT nicer for much longer. Plus, my on-and-off times are down to about 10 seconds, so it really isn't that big of a deal.

2) Keep a bottle of Maguire's Final Inspection and a microfiber towel with you. The stuff is really amazing at removing minor dirt, fingerprints, dust, etc. between washes. I can usually get at least 2-3 weeks between washes just using that stuff every few days. Goes on and wipes off real quickly... I do the whole car in like 15 minutes.

Having a black car requires some diligence, but mine usually looks really good with relatively minimal effort (and she's driven daily as well).

98_993_cab

Maybe get a Jag XKE convertible? I saw a guy take his through a carwash last week (just ahead of my A6 Avant). Talk about fearless!
BTW, if you have a glass sunroof, close the inner sun shield before driving into a carwash - we've heard firsthhand from someone who had their glass sunroof shatter while in a carwash!!

jackb911

To significantly speed up the drying process, use a gas powered leaf blower before toweling or whatever you use for final drying....the blower will remove 75% of the water, especially from all the nooks and crannies, engine compartment, wheels, etc.

I saw my uncle doing this to his Cadillac about 15 years ago, and I thought it was the most hilarious thing I'd ever seen - until I tried it.

Edgy01

The quickest way back into enjoying the washing of a Porsche. Buy a new one.

obchuck

Sure, give me the $$$ and I'll enjoy the hell out of it!!!

rickw51

993 ... by hand. Water squeegie before finishing with microfiber towels. This is therapy for me following a week's worth of stress at work. Finishing with a wax job every three months or so is hard on the shoulder, but well worth the pain. Love that white paint ... drive a little faster and the dirt just doesn't stick to it.

2002 Explorer work pig with 120K miles and rolling has only seen automatic car washes of every size shape and mode. Paint color is black and okay considering that it has never seen a wax job. Rock chips make the front look like polka dots.

Never again will I own a black car for a business vehicle , but I appreciate the allure of a black on black 993.

vjd3

Since I moved to a condo and don't have the ability to wash my car by hand, I've taken both my Porsches (and my new M3 convertible) to a true touchless tunnel near my home; nothing touches the car except water and soap, they towel it dry by hand at the end, the rims come perfectly clean, and the tire track is edged with rubber rails and handles even the 19" rims on the M3 and low profile tires safely. If you car is a cab, you'll get a little water inside from the high pressure spray, but I just have a hand towel ready. No scratches, no problems, and the underbody wash is great for the winter (I drive my cars all year).

YMMV

Obie1

Newbie here. I have more of a concern with the "towel dry" process then I do with the actual wash. Towel drying, especially on a dark clear coat car, will cause the nast paint swirrels. I can't stand looking at a beautiful 993 in the sun and seeing those swirrels. Thats the bigger issue at the car wash.
remember --> [Tericloth towel = paint swirrel]

95cab

See if you can find a hand-wash drive through. They must be around there if they have them here in CT. Like a normal wash, only there are people inside and they hand wash the car between the soap application and the rinse. If you don't find one in the Dallas area, let me know - it might be time to open one up and start making some $$$!!!

c993k

I would never go through an auto car wash or let anyone else dry my car clean rags or whatever.
All rags can keep small particles that will scratch your paint. I guess mine being Met Black makes it
very difficult to avoid scratches anyway.
I see it as a relaxing pleasure to do it myself. Now, mowing the lawn is a whole different story!
Chris

95 C4 993

I just had an external detail yesterday by Polished Image. They hand wash. My 3x year trip to the them and they do a great job for an external detail-$89.00+$20 sealant=$109.00+$20 tip=looks like I wont be detailing my car this weekend.

FGL28

I do not put the 993 through the auto wash because it is a Cab. But the Lexus goes through a touchless system all the time. I used to detail cars in high school to earn money and now choose to have the car washed at the local hand wash, under my strict observation. The car is a daily driver so the important thing is to keep it clean and waxed Waxing is everey couple of months or less depending on the level of dirt. When we take the car to Carmel we hit a self serve car wash when we get into town to get the dirt off and use Ma guiers Quick Detailer and Final Inspection, along with lots of micro fiber towels which live in the trunk.

You guys know that you need to wash the microfiber towels separate from any other type of fabric so the other typs of fabric will not cling to the microfiber.


I use the Porsche Plastic products for the rear window or Maguires.

I like to use Maguires because they are local in SoCal and they have done several car clinics. Glass cleaner, the stuff in the spray can from Costco. Amourall for the tires. The Microfibre is bought from Costco or Target.

My Father-in-law lives in Hong Kong and for about a $100 a month his cars are damp wiped morning and night, washed once a week and waxed. I like that.