Wet Vibes...

Merzbow · Post by **Merzbow** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 3:01 am

So, today for the first time since I got my Vibe in July of 2002...I went to one of those public self wash car wash garage things...It made me nervous but the place I was at all weekend was on a dirt road, obviously it was extremely muddy. I normally wash it in my driveway with my old 100% cotton baby dipers that my mom saved, and dry it with a california shammy.I'm curious to how many people in here take there poor Vibes into automatic car washes, or anyother method.....How do you wash YOUR Vibe?

ArcsVibe · Post by **ArcsVibe** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 3:09 am

Hand wash only! Takes an hour or so but I prefer to hand wash my car.

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 7:08 am

Quote, originally posted by Merzbow Â»I normally wash it in my driveway with my old 100% cotton baby dipers ...it takes a secure person with a lot of self confidence to announce to the world that you wash your car with your own diapers I wash my vibe by hand in the driveway, I guess it needs it again, been a while.

DavidPIL · Post by **DavidPIL** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 8:36 am

heya... Love the underbody lights, btw...I don't go through the automatics though I almost did a few weeks ago when it was VERY brrrrrr and the Vibe was filthy. I do, however, use the manual sprayers from time to time, especially just to get off any chunky dirt/mud either before I hand-wash or as a quick solution to make the Vibe look a bit better. I would NEVER use the brushes there and no one should. Sometimes when the Vibe is just dusty I will rinse it off with the no-spot rinse then dry it off. I have been noticing the "no-spot" rinses aren't really what they say they are anymore so I still hand dry unless it's too cold.Dave

Post by **NSimkins** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 11:04 pm

Hand wash always except for the cold winter season when I ride through the touchless car wash (w/ underbody spray)... helps keep the salt exposure to a minimal level.

Stang2Vibe · Post by **Stang2Vibe** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 1:42 pm

As the Washing/Waxing moderator here, I hate to admit that I will take mine to the automatic car wash here near my house. It is the only automatic one that I trust with my car. I only use it in the winter months, though, as it is more important to get the salt off the car. Any marks that the car wash might leave (which I have ever yet to have happen) could be easily removed with a buffer. Rust blisters would be a lot more work and money. Otherwise, it's hand washing in the driveway for me. I actually like to wash my car. I know that I am getting all the dirt off and detailing it the way I like it.

threekrows · Post by **threekrows** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 2:16 pm

I cheat and use the car wash stall at the dealership.So I guess mine has never seen an automatic car wash.

Stang2Vibe · Post by **Stang2Vibe** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 2:33 pm

LOL. I use the pressure washer at work sometimes, too.

Houston · Post by **Houston** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 2:37 pm

Only in the summer is the washing done by me. Those car washer companies are just fine... I've been using them for years on all my cars with never any damage... so take the easy way out and go with them. In the winter you really need those things. Don't sweat the small stuff. Trust me, folks... there are more important things than our Vibes. Think about it... most things are more important.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 3:31 pm

Every weekend in the summer I spend ridiculous time on the car -- hand washing, detailing, etc.Now, too cold. Go to the carwashes around here. But unfortunately, "touchless" is unheard of in this part of NJ. We have 100% brushless, so that's as good as I can do. Just went through one the other day mainly to get the salt off. Which is good, because if my intention was to have it clean, they did miserably.That touchless in ohio around the corner from the rally was spectacular!

drunkenmaxx · Post by **drunkenmaxx** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 4:02 am

automatic every time. no probs yet except for a bent license plate. of course, they hand dry it and vacume where i go as well. i have better, more fun things to do with my life than spend hours so that my car can look good for a couple days

Merzbow · Post by **Merzbow** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 12:38 am

Dave, thanks for the compliment on the underbody The reason I don't wanna go to an automatic car wash is because once my mom and I took her Taurus to one and the blow dryers at teh end I thought were kind of close to the car...one of the dryers got hooked on teh windshield-wipers and snapped off both of them. I don't want to take the chance something like that or worse may happen to the Vibe...I enjoy listening to some tunes and washing it by hand anyways...it relieves stress

dmitri · Post by **dmitri** » Thu Jan 15, 2004 2:05 pm

lol here in jersey its like -10 or somethng and even worse with wind chill. my vibe is SOOOO dirty. its awesome. and i still street race it on every saturday night. talk about sleeper

Merzbow · Post by **Merzbow** » Fri Jan 16, 2004 10:59 am

street race? Everyone here like packs their cars away and hibernates until spring...I hate sitting around not "cruising" if you will, late at night. I think it would be hilarious if someone actually painted their car a salt color like it allways had road-salt on it so it looked dirty and salty all the time.

GlenW · Post by **GlenW** » Fri Jan 16, 2004 12:25 pm

Automatic...but you know, every time I go through one, the darn blowers always flips my rear wiper so it sticks straight out. So then I have to park my car get out and put it back down (boohoo). Otherwise no problems and my Vibe is Black so I was concerned about swirls. No problems yet. (crossed fingers)

DavidPIL · Post by **DavidPIL** » Fri Jan 16, 2004 12:36 pm

So, I have a question about the automatics...I did a manual spray wash only and it leaves a nasty film on the car. It always does whether it was my old White truck or older red olds... It's just not good at all. 2 different car wash places and they both do the same. Do the automatics, where you stay in the car, work better? I think the ones here only use high pressure water. I really don't want to wash by hand when it's much below 40 degrees or so brrrrr. But I might just have to if I get such bad results...Dave

Merzbow · Post by **Merzbow** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 9:20 am

Perhaps the self-wash setting is on soapy water? becaues the one I go to has a bunch of setting: soapy rinse, regular water rinse, wax rinse, soap brush, and something else...

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 9:36 am

Quote, originally posted by GlenW Â»Automatic...but you know, every time I go through one, the darn blowers always flips my rear wiper so it sticks straight out. So then I have to park my car get out and put it back down (boohoo). Otherwise no problems and my Vibe is Black so I was concerned about swirls. No problems yet. (crossed fingers)At the automatic wash I use the guy who I pay takes some masking tape and tapes down the wiper to the glass. Works like a charm, and no residue is left either!

DavidPIL · Post by **DavidPIL** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 9:47 am

Hi Merzbow...Actually, I was talking about the manual bins... What I do there it set it to tire cleaner, spray the tires down... Set it to high-pressure Wash (soap), spray the under-side, lower side body, wheel wells, upper body, top, then usually the same in reverse getting close to the body but not too close unless there's noticable dirt that won't come off... then I high-pressure rinse making sure there is no soap left... then spray down with the no-spot rinse. From a distance and at night it doesn't look too bad but just standing back and looking, it's not clean at all... Run a finger over a small part and it leaves a clean spot... There's like a light film over most of it. I think I'm just gonna end up bringing my own soap and wash-mit and wash it by hand in the bin. I haven't gone through an automatic drive through thing yet. Can't believe it would be any better.Dave

Mavrik · Post by **Mavrik** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 1:50 am

I wash mine either in the dealership wash bay on my day off or by hand in my driveway. I used to take my Sunfire through the car wash but I always noticed fine scratches afterwards. I have no confidence in touchless ones... and have never used one.

GlenW · Post by **GlenW** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 7:45 am

If you use a touchless bay, make sure that its above freezing. I was at the bay type and there are automatic ones right next to them. This guy was using the automatic one where the soap sprays out and then lets it soak. He had to use the regular one right after that because the soap froze to his car. lol!!!

Merzbow · Post by **Merzbow** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 9:06 am

I allways dry my Vibe with one of those California shamys so the water doesnt slide around and leave spots...I don't know ify you dry yours too, but the shamy will remove any left over dust and dirt that the water leaves behind.

JohnC · Post by **JohnC** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 9:49 am

Here is something to check into for those of you who go to automatic car washes to remove road salt. Many if not all car washes recycle the water, it is pumped from the drains thru filters to remove the particulates. The salts and other minerals build up in the water, this is why all the water must be dried immediately or it will leave hard water marks.If you want to check just collect a sample of the rinse water and take it to the local swimming pool supply store for analyses. The car washes add several chemicals to the water to reduce the problem of staining, but you are still rinsing with salt water.Merzbow; I wouldn't be able to dry my Vibe with my 100% cotton diapers because I wear Depends!

Big_Red · Post by **Big_Red** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 11:48 pm

I prefer to handwash my car, but in the winter....uhm...I have to admit that I go to a PetroCanada carwash down the street, not because I am too lazy to handwash the car, but it is too ****ing cold to do it by hand. Furthermore, I don't live in a house, so I can't use my driveway. I swear, the first chance I get I am either moving into a house or into a condo that has an indoor carwash area.

Merzbow · Post by **Merzbow** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 8:44 am

(removed), depends...clever indeed. I wash it with the diapers not dry...drying would take forever if I used those little diapers!!!

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 3:19 am

Touchless automatic all the way, every time. It works great. Occasionally I'll get a stubborn spot that I just scrub with an Armor All carwash wipe, and all is well.

wicked1981 · Post by **wicked1981** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 5:23 am

I go to a place where it gets sprayed and 2 guys one on each side wearing washing gloves will make sure they scrub the car. The have 2 big containers with soap where they rinse the gloves after evrey car (they have a window to watch your car go trough) and then the dry it. Like the job they do for about $12. not bad.

trocar · Post by **trocar** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 1:04 pm

Hand wash in a heated garage in winter. I am lucky that I have access to a huge garage with a wash bay set up with every cleaner that one could think of. so the car gets the same treatment in the winter and summer.

Merzbow · Post by **Merzbow** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 2:46 am

Wow, you must have a pretty big garage, or not alot of stuff in it lol.

trocar · Post by **trocar** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 9:54 am

It is the garage at my office. 6 cars plus the wash bay.

Fialchar · Post by **Fialchar** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 11:39 am

There's a really nice touchless automatic car wash about 5 minutes from my house that I use sometimes. When I have the time, or when it's warm enough, I take it to The Rim Shop and they let me hand wash it there. I guess I should clean out my garage so I can wash it there. (Kind of funny.. a 3 car garage so full of stuff not even a Mini Cooper S could fit inside.)

Merzbow · Post by **Merzbow** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 5:43 am

Geez, maybe you should

Nick1556 · Post by **Nick1556** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 9:45 am

For one of my jobs I am a medic. I have the feature of getting to park my vehicle in a garage packed full of ambulances. I use the same carsoap that we wash the ambulances with (Meguiar's) to wash my Vibe. I wet the vehicle down with softwater from the hose. Then I handclean it with a lambswool sponge. Rinse and dry. I'm lucky enough to have the access to clean hospital towels to wipe the vehicle down. Although one time those towels had been in the dryer with fabric softener . That was terrible because it left a film all over my Vibe when I was done with it. It will actually take me about two hours total to full detail my Vibe in full. When I'm done my co-workers don't seem to be jealous but I bet they are!

Stang2Vibe · Post by **Stang2Vibe** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 3:00 pm

I know I've mentioned about not using fabric softner on towels that are used to dry the car before too. Good point. It also tends to make the towel push the water around on the car more instead of absorbing it until the towel finally starts to get wet.

Merzbow · Post by **Merzbow** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 12:38 am

I use one of those leather California car shammys.

Stang2Vibe · Post by **Stang2Vibe** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 9:11 am

I use the "Absorber" cloth along with a California Water Blade. Both are available at WalMart, as I found last week. I used to use a soft rubber detailer's squeegee and a clean towel to dry my cars so I learned the tricks of towel drying when I used to do it that way.

Merzbow · Post by **Merzbow** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 1:19 am

A pro lol. I washed my car again last night when it was warm so it would be ready to cruise later that night. The car dries so much easier when it's warm than when it's cold! Obviously....But I would only have to make one pass over the water with my shammy and it would absorb it right away instead of smearing the water around.

Fialchar · Post by **Fialchar** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 1:29 am

I just recently got my Vibe back from it's heart transplant, so you know it's getting a good, nice, long soak, wash, and rinse in my driveway today (Don't gotta worry about the water freezing, I haven't seen snow for like, 2 years Oo)

mwebb · Post by **mwebb** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 5:41 am

I prefer to hand wash in the driveway- but I also use the coin operated washes- I never go through drive through car washes. In the winter I go to touchless ones but in the Summer I can not do it due to my wheels you have to drive in so the drivers wheel is between the bars and I am afraid of scratching my wheels

NY Pete · Post by **NY Pete** » Sun Mar 14, 2004 1:39 am

I get 4 free car wash tokens from my dealership every month, so I take it there when it's REALLY dirty. The dealership is really close, so I drive the mile or so home and wipe it off, then get the wax out and finish the job...Pete

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Mavrik · Post by **Mavrik** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:45 pm

Looks really sweet there NY Pete. Nice Vibe and all shiney clean in the sunlight.