Whaddaya Think

**Gary Jones** · 08-13-2003, 10:22 PM

OK guys, this is my very first post on this board. I posted a message on another detailing board in regards to the Dri Wash stuff. I won`t reveal the author, but I received the following message thru email:

"What do you mean, scratch-o-matic"? Soft cloth car washes have been proven more safe for the finish of a car than most hand washing. Tests done by the Technological University of Munich for MB and again done by the University of Texas for the International Carwash Association.

They proved that hand washing creates more damage to the car`s finish than machine washing."

OK, whaddaya think about this statement?

TIA Gary

**Koop** · 08-13-2003, 10:33 PM

First off and most importantly WELCOME TO DC! Please make sure to introduce yourself in the new members section of the board. On to the topic. I`m not familiar with anything called dri wash. Can you be more specific as to what your talking about. Are you talking about a waterless wash like spray and wipe?

**Ferrarislave** · 08-13-2003, 10:37 PM

I never go thru Soft cloth car washs only the touchless in the winter but the soft cloth ones often cause scratchs at least in the winter when loaded with dirt and other contaminents that cause swirls that are caught in the fibers of the car wash.

Welcome the forum enjoy your stay.

**Tassadar** · 08-13-2003, 10:53 PM

Im sure if you went through it and it was perfectly clean (100%) it might do a decent job. But there is no way you can get every nook and cranny clean, period.

**Gary Jones** · 08-13-2003, 10:58 PM

Sorry, I`ll have to do that ASAP. The wateless wash is basically the same as the S&W from what I know. I don`t have any experience with them as I have never used either. The discussion was made about the wateless wash and the S&W and how a person lived in an appartment complex and didn`t have access to a hose for hand washing. I simply pointed out that it beats going to the scratch-o-matic and received the email that I posted. Maybe Steve can explain any differences or similarities better than me. The main thing that I want to know is how you feel about the machine washes doing less damage than hand washing. I have never heard this before and still don`t believe it.

P.S. I didn`t attend the University of Texas either.

Gary

**Tassadar** · 08-13-2003, 11:11 PM

S&W is absolutely safe to remove anything from any non pourous safe. Plus if your thirsty, you can drink the stuff without reprocussin! See it even eliminates refrigerator runs!

**Ferrarislave** · 08-13-2003, 11:28 PM

I have to try some of the stuff. Sounds really good

**Koop** · 08-13-2003, 11:51 PM

Originally posted by Gary Jones
Sorry, I`ll have to do that ASAP. The wateless wash is basically the same as the S&W from what I know. I don`t have any experience with them as I have never used either. The discussion was made about the wateless wash and the S&W and how a person lived in an appartment complex and didn`t have access to a hose for hand washing. I simply pointed out that it beats going to the scratch-o-matic and received the email that I posted. Maybe Steve can explain any differences or similarities better than me. The main thing that I want to know is how you feel about the machine washes doing less damage than hand washing. I have never heard this before and still don`t believe it.

P.S. I didn`t attend the University of Texas either.

Gary

It depends on the automatic car wash. many are now "touch free" where nothing but water and soap touch the car making it almost imposible to acutaly scratch the paint. S&W does not scratch the paint at all either though as long as your surface is already in good condition. For more info on poorboy`s Spray and Wipe please post in the new Poorboy`s section of the forums. Or just use the convienient search feature at the top of the page. A lot of information about this product has already been shared.

**Gary Jones** · 08-14-2003, 12:23 AM

I agree, the touchless car washes are the safer bet of the two. The question is however is in the emai to me that the soft cloth car washes are safer than hand washing. This was the statment made to me thru an email do to studies made by the University of Texas and the Technological Universitey of Munich. I don`t agree and don`t know why this was sent to me via email and not thru the discussion board via the the conversation that it started on. Don`t want to drag one discussion board into another so this is the question... Are soft cloth car washes safer than hand washing? How do you feel about this???

Gary

**Koop** · 08-14-2003, 12:27 AM

There is nothing safer than EXTREAMLY CAREFULL hand work. A machine simply can not take the detailed care to miss every contaminent that could put a scratch in the paint. The average hand wash done by the joe shmo across the stree and two houses down probably hand washes his car with an old rag and ajax and he puts in more scratches than an automatic car wash yes.

**rhillstr** · 08-14-2003, 12:39 AM

To state the obvious-
ANYTHING will scratch a car, it is 100% how it`s applied. The touchless car wash will even scratch if the water spray hits sand or salt crystals and pushes them. They have to spray pretty good too to remove road grime from a car! I sprayed my cars back in the day at a self-serve booth and found I had to smuggle a mitt in because the spray soap does NOTHING to remove dirt. And the brush? I have picked it up and seen small rocks embedded in it! I`ve seen guys wash wheels first with a mitt hitting the ground while doing so and then move onto the paint with the same mitt. To them the whole car is one surface to wash as quickly as possible. S&W if used incorrectly could be associated with scratches too. NOTE: I did not say it would CAUSE scratches. If not used according to directions like scrubbing hard with a polyester towel, the wash in which it participated will result in scratches.

Personally I think the "soft cloth" is not rinsed between customers and all the grit that accumulates gives your car a nice wet sand on it`s way through. They also recycle the water so you get the "micro abrasives" that did not get filtered get pounded on to give a slight haze over time to the finish, IMHO. I`m with Frozen in that it gets WAY TOO COLD to fathom washing a car here in winter and it`s nice to get a quick undercarriage spray to remove the horrendous amount of salt they smother the roads with.

**Tassadar** · 08-14-2003, 12:45 AM

The brushes around here purge like crazy when they are turned off. It litterally sits there and pours out a good half gallon of that foam stuff after you turn it off. I used to use it before I got into detailing, and they were always well kept.

**Poorboy** · 08-14-2003, 07:30 AM

I`m already wandering out of my assigned box

First let me say I know all about Dri-Wash and my Spray and Wipe is completely different....

If you read the Dri-Wash bottle it`s a wash and sealant...
it also can not be used on a dirty surface, only slightly dusted.
It can not be used in the sun or on a hot surface.
There are many more differences, but I`m not here to bash their products...it`s too easy

As far as your question....touchless is worthless unless you only have light dust or a few days between washes....I`ve driven through a couple with different vehicle and they were just as dirty when I came out , just $5 poorer

As for soft cloth Rob is right....I have seen so many people complain about scratches from the soft cloth washes because the car in front of them had mud and heavy dirt that stayed on the soft cloths....some of the better ones will at least power rinse your car before going through to remove heavy dirt and rinse wheels and wheel wells

Self serve....I only use it for heavy mud and under carriage , like previously said it`s recycled water with grit...and people who will stand two feet from their vehicle and spray a power jet, really don`t care or are unaware

Hand washing....yes it can cause scratching if you press too hard or don`t have enough lubricants to loosen the dirt safely.
Spray and Wipe has more lubricants than most car washes and the dirt is removed immediately and not moved back and forth before being rinsed down the side of the vehicle....

You just have to ask the people with experience with the product and all the Street Rodder and Classic car owners that use it and would never take a hose to their vehicles....

whew...that was a lot for early in the morning...

**Tassadar** · 08-14-2003, 09:13 AM

Go drink some espresso to regain your energy, feel free to accidentally drop a case of that new paste wax in the mail slot addressed to me while your at it.