Help finding a good touchless in Bay Area

[bcwang]

I live in San Jose, CA and have been searching for a good washing touchless IBA. So far in my quest I've tried 4 and none have washed well at all, these 4 are all part of gas stations so are probably corporate owned and not tuned for performance.

From what I hear, it's possible to get over 90% of cars clean when the touchless is operating right. My cars are the cleaner ones on the road so I'd imagine a well setup wash should have cleaned it up just fine. It simply didn't though.

Just wondering if any member here could direct me to an excellent touchless wash in my area so I can stop wasting time looking for and trying washes just to end up having to hand wash afterwards anyway. If you can't self promote in this thread, please PM me, letting me know if you have a wash that you believe performs very well.

Thanks!

 

[Whale of a Wash]

Why ask us, this site is for owners and operators, not to figure out why or who should wash your car--- site. I for one would like the moderator to dump you, as you are wasting everyone's time. Try the star trek site I hear they are into minutia

 

[MEP001]

Touchless isn't going to get a car completely clean. The cleaning can vary from poor to adequate to "clean enough that it's difficult to tell," but they were never intended to replace the occasional old-fashioned hands-on approach. Consider a touchless auto a maintenance wash for between thorough cleanings.

I should point out that this forum is primarily for those who own/operate washes to communicate with one another. The responses you might get will likely only be from operators themselves who are in your area. I should also point out that Whale of a Wash doesn't speak for everyone here.

 

[Waxman]

try a conveyorized tunnel or self serve.

 

[ruggerwash]

Well based on the reception he just got, he'll probably just hand wash from now on. That was called a customer guys, and the kind we are all looking for- he is looking for a place to wash his car. If I were located out there I'd be thrilled to know that there are still customers to be won. It was a question, give him a break. Wang- Mep is right, the idea of a touchless is to maintain cleanliness between big washes. The chemical/high pressure does the work here instead of friction, but it won't get everything perfect. If you're worried about something touching your car, be rest assured that the industry has been improving and developing systems that are a lot more "friendly" to cars. Maybe even more so than the rag you use to hand wash. If you haven't tried one lately, go see one in action. Just remember- if you got dog crap smeared on your arm, would you simply spray it off? or would you wipe it with something too? Spraying it would get probably 90% of it off, but it's not perfect.

 

[Gabriel]

Just go out in your area and find a good clean well operated independently owned Wash. You will know when you drive into the location if it is a good Wash by the way it is maintained. Most independently owned washes are clean, the equipment is well maintained and you will be attracted to the Wash by the appearance. Talk with the owner and you will find friendly owners and good service. Go get them tiger--they are out there in every town or city. They will appreciate you and you will appreciate them.

 

[bcwang]

Very specifically I'm looking for
-Touch Free
-Virtual Treadle
-No human interaction (pre-wash, towel dry, etc..)
-Good clean - used 2-4 times a month after car is fully cleaned and waxed. I'm expecting the wash to be able to get the car obviously clean when used so frequently and starting with a clean car.

The problem with the locations I've visited is seeing cars coming out of the wash looking almost exactly the same as they entered, that is pretty unacceptable for a carwash.

try a conveyorized tunnel or self serve.

I avoid conveyors specifically because of the wheel damage factor. Wide wheels with low profile tires getting self steered by metal guides, I've heard of too many stories of wheel damage from those and treadles.

Self serve, I might as well just wash at home. I use them sometimes as a touch free for certain circumstances, but I'm looking for something quick and convenient I can do weekly without any hassle.

Just go out in your area and find a good clean well operated independently owned Wash.

This is what I'm hoping to find with this thread, an owner/operator in my area who can direct me to their IBA touch free wash or one they know works well. There are plenty of full service washes around and probably do a good job on the clean. But I'm looking for one with no human interaction as I cringe at seeing the towels they use, and drop, and pick back up to continue using. Plus, they are all conveyor based systems which I want to avoid as well. All the touch-free IBA units I've found are part of gas stations, though that doesn't mean they can't be independently owned and operated.

 

[Waxman]

At my IBA we offer the customer free towels to use and return. Many folks use them and I have found them to be the perfect compliment for a touch free carwash. If there is still some windshield mask left or a little bug guts, the towel dry effectively removes them.

As far as washing at home being synonomous w/Self Serve, you are way way off.

I washed my own car in my SS bay this very morning. I used 4 tokens ($4) and did HP soap, foamy brush, 3- color foam polish, HP wax, rinse and spot free rinse.

A good SS wash uses 1200 psi HOT water, great chemicals and waxes and spot free rinse. The time you save at a good SS is at least an hour over home washing, plus you're sending the effluent to the city sewer, not into the ground as with driveway washing. Time is $$, bcwang.

 

[bcwang]

Hi Waxman,

Home washing isn't what you think it is for some of us. Home washing for me is

-2 gallons of water
-Optimum No Rinse
-Lambswool Mitt
-Microfiber Drying towel

It's about 30 minutes total if I'm taking my time, or 15 minutes if I move fast. And if I want to wax my car I can do a Ultima PGP or Opti-seal in 10 additional minutes which is a very durable sealant that you wipe on and walk away.

So for me SS actually takes me more time because I have to drive to it, even if the whole process there takes only 5 minutes. Then when I get home after driving I'll still have to wipe up the excess water that comes out of the crevices only after you start moving the car.

However, both of these require me to get out of the car and sweat a bit, which is what I'm trying to avoid as well for this particular usage. I may be on my way to a party and want to get the car cleaned up while going, SS isn't what I'm looking for, fully automatic is.

 

[Waxman]

If your car is as nice as you say it is then any halfway decent touch free iba should work great. if it works on my 1997 civic, it should be fine for your car.

if towel drying is too much sweat for you (2 minutes) then go to a tunnel.

why bother posting here? why not just drive around and find a wash that suits you?

btw, i'd still take a nice ss wash over the process you describe. i have hand washed thousands of cars from 1985-present and trust me, ss wins over driveway, no matter how fancy your wash mitts are.

 

[bcwang]

You'd be surprised at the performance of some of the touch free washes I've visited. If the car looks nearly the same after the wash is done, I'd say that isn't even halfway decent.

I have been driving around trying to find an automatic wash that suits me. Just haven't found a touch free that cleans well yet. I know a good wash is based on a good setup, which is why I'd hope to be directed to one by people here, a group that likely cares enough about a good wash to discuss things with others. It's time consuming and tiring trying every single one just to rewash by hand afterwards anyway, kinda defeats the purpose and I feel like I'm throwing money away each time.

All this talk of SS by you Waxman, now I'm going to have to try this new SS wash I found. It's about a 10 minute drive each way though compared to the one 1 minute away. The one actually near me is much less featured, it only has HP soap, brush soap, rinse, and wax. The new one I found has tire cleaner, pre-soak, HP soap, brush soap, rinse, power gloss(rain-shield I think), and spot free rinse. And at a cheaper price than the one near me! Of course, this is not to replace need for an automatic wash, but something to consider when I want to just try a SS for specific things, like focused wheel and tire cleaning, or testing out the beading on some new wax combo.

One question about SS, if you don't use the brush, can it actually clean better than an automatic because you can direct the HP soap directly at problem spots and closer to the finish as well? I'm still leery of using the common brush, especially since you never know what material it is made of and what couldn't be rinsed out of it.

 

[termn8tr]

Your time shouldn't be a problem if your trying to find the perfect car wash for your FERRARI, PORSCHE, whatever it is your driving. You spend more time on the forum asking the dumbest questions which really shouldn't concern any one of us. If these touch free washes you have visited are so crappy, how the hell do they stay in business. By the way if you think hand washing is harmless and doesn't cause scratches or minor imperfections, you really are clueless. Let us know when you open up your PERFECT car wash

 

[JustClean]

I can't understand why some members are so rude here. Bcwang, I can only apologize for this behavior. Unfortunately, I am not in your area so I can't help you. If there is no adequate touchless that suit your requirement have you tried a soft foam brush IBA machine? That may be an idea...