On self spray car washes, it always says, " no buckets".

But I see people with buckets all the time, soaping up their cars and trucks...

But all the self-sprays around here you can't stop the machine from running/time ticking down once you enter your $2.xx ....

So how the hell do people do it? Or do they just waste $2.xx on filling up their bucket and doing a pre-wash?

 

for an extra 3 bucks you could have a machine wash your car. with Hot wax

 

My car doesnt fit in the autowash

 

thats exactly how i used to detail my car along w/ everyone elses during college. just get your bucket ready w/ soap already in there. put the money in and have it on the wash function (not rinse), go over your entire car to loosen up the dirt and get it wet. that should only take like 90 secs or whatever. then w/ the rest of the time left use it to fill up your bucket and get your sponge wet.

once the water stops, scrub down your entire car. i could thoroughly go over my entire car in literally 5 mins or less w/o missing a spot. then once youre done, put in another few quarters and rinse it off.

dry w/ cali water blade and the absorber and youre done. time to take it back for waxing and the rest of the detail crap.

 

i use the setting they have there. i start with the a quick pre wash, move to the foam brush, then rinse and if i have time left quick wax.

 

i would never use the brushes they have there. you dont know what kind of cars/trucks have been washed using that thing, let alone have it washed and rinsed off. think about all the clumps of dirt or rocks that would scratch the paint. hence the reason i bring my own bucket and sponge.

 

meh.... the one i go to is kept up, and i look at the brush first before i run it across my car. but still i see what your talking about.

 

yeah, just be careful if youre really concerned about the condition of your paint. those brushes look harmless, but they can put a crap load of swirls on your car. they use those types of brushes at car dealerships and i dont even let them wash my car, even after servicing.

case in point, when my roommate bought his new 06 G35x, he went to get it detailed for free at the dealership and noticed a TON of swirl marks on his new, black paint. from then on i just told him id clean his car for him. i just dont want other people to get their rides messed up needlessly.

 

Since my only option is a coin-op DIY wash, I find that it's easier and faster to just pay the $3.50 and only use the sprayer. The brushes are too coarse and frankly, I prefer to do the job myself.

Getting back to the orginal topic: Re-using dirty soapy water from a bucket is less effective and has a greater risk of damaging the clear-coat.
This is particularly true with a sponge, because grit will tend to accumulate in the pores of the sponge over time.

 

I never go to the DIY spray. I just do it @ home.

But when i do go, I just pre spray, soap spray... wait 10 seocnds, high pressure spray rinse, then spot free rinse...

no one has answered my question yet... I guess people just waste there money filling up their buckets