Hello.

I have a black Roadster...looks great when clean, but that only lasts about 6 minutes.

I don't have the time or facility to wash it by hand.

I used to have it washed at the dealer, but they have suspended the service because of the California drought.

When time and temperature permits, I will take it to a self-serve car wash such as this:

http://carwashsoap.org/wp-content/up...3A63BAE77D.gif

Does anyone here use a fully-automatic wash such as this:

http://www.bizben.com/pictures/1986522.jpg

If so, what what have your experiences/outcomes been...good or bad?

I'm just concerned about fabric damage, rear window seal damage and leaking,

Thank you.

 

I've considered taking my roadster to a fully automatic car wash with the spinning wash bristles as a last resort in the dead of last winter. The temperature was well below freezing, the automated no-touch washes was closed, and the self-service wand-wash only froze the spray on the car. It was pretty much the only option to get the road salt off...hard to avoid in communities in Illinois that spread over 200,000 tons of salt every winter.


The problem that stopped me from using the automatic wash was that there was literally less than 1/4 inch of clearance between the tire guide and the bottom of the frame. While it might have been able to clear, I didn't want to take the chance. I ended up using my neighbor's heated garage with a few buckets of warm water and a lot of careful wiping and rinsing along with a waterless-spray cleaner.


With my other cars (including a metallic black truck), I do get tiny scratches and swirling from using an automated wash. It is definitely noticeable on a black vehicle, but it's not a huge problem for me as I detail all of my vehicles twice a year with a power orbital pad that does a nice job removing the swirl marks.


So all-in-all, I wouldn't recommend an automatic brush wash for your Roadster.

 

While I would not take the roadster in an automatic wash it is certainly an interesting question... I'd be too afraid of the upper rolling brush putting too much pressure on the soft top, especially the rear half of the top where the fabric is the least supported (I wouldn't be as concerned of the rear window). But what do I know...
I'm sure it all depends on how does those roller brush adjust for car geometry. Is it via pressure sensing or something else. Understanding how these auto wash work might give some answers!

As a foot note, if time is a concern I would say this: it's all relative.
I compare the time it would take to wash the car in the comfort of my home equipment versus the time to drive somewhere, wait in line to pay, wait in line to wash, and possibly hand dry leftover water and come back home. I'm not always sure it's a true time saver.

I have a very narrow garage and while I always wash my cars by hand outside in the sunny days, I still do a hand wash in the winter. The main difference is how I do a few things:

- First I do it less often. Sometime it's better to leave the dirt a little longer than doing arm to the paint.

- I use less water. Rather than using a hose to initially spray the car and rinse the soap, in the winter I do a two process wash. I use less soap in the water. I first use two buckets. One with the soap and one with rinse water. I then wash a portion at a time and rinse my washing glove frequently. Once that is done I rinse the buckets and refill one with just rinse water. I then carefully rinse the car portion at a time while limiting how much water I use so not to overly water the garage floor. Again I rinse my wash glove often.
- I then wipe the car with a waffle weave synthetic towel which absorb a lot of water. I try not to put much pressure to the paint as much as possible so not to take unnecessary risk and hurt the paint with possible left over contaminant.

It actually doesn't take that much time to do a quick/partial wash this way and it gets me through the tough part of winter.

But I understand it still much easier to go through the car wash

 

Yes I use the two bucket waterless car wash as well in the winter. Places like auto geek have lots of info on how to do this. My roadster is black as well.

 

What? No hand car washes in the bay area?

 

I've gone through a touchless one a couple of times with no problem, and I'll be doing it again this winter I expect to get the salt off now and again.

 

Yep, I take mine through touchless all winter till it warms up to do by hand. I need to do it now, but it's way too cold .

 

No kidding !

 

+1 on touchless. Better yet, one with a wand that you can control, direct the spray where you want it.
The contact brushes will swirl your finish so fast it'll make your head swirl.

 

i remember hearing somewhere that salt doesn't corrode things under freezing or so. So while your car will look like hell in the winter, the salt won't start hurting the paint and metal until it's warm enough to wash your car safely.
Is this true?
I'm not a fanatic about clean cars so I just wait until a warm day to wash myself or go to the car wash

Steve

 

Steve,

I don't know much about the salt and temperature relationship, but I would say this. Salt is always corrosive so generally speaking it is better to take it off the car regularly. That said I think you are correct in that crystallized salt will have less effectiveness than when damped where salt can more uniformly reach corroded materials. So it's a bit of a catch 22.

What will unfortunately have more effect is the snow and the temperature fluctuations very hard to control. Heaven during the cold winter you may be driving through sludge which is essentially melting ice, mud, road grim, AND salt Further more salt will melt ice and snow which in term will make the salt more effective to corrosion. There isn't a lot we can do about it...

So it's all about balance. I tend to think that washing the car constantly during the winter can be more armful than letting a little layer of dirt on the car. But ignoring it for too long won't do any good either.

The best we can do truly is preparing the car for the winter. Waxing the paint and not overly washing the car will better protect the paint during the winter.
Making sure the suspension and steering components are well greased before the winter will help protect it against winter salt.

The quicker it drys the better so it does make a big difference to have a garage.
We use to have my medium size sedan and our larger car. We have a long and narrow garage and I could not fit the larger car in the garage. That car suffered from massive corrosion issues by seating outside all the time. My other car on the other hand is now almost 10 years old and has not slept too often outside and does not have near where close to the corrosion problems.
Now we have the MINI I can put both car in the garage which is a big relief!

In short keep it dry and you don't need to wash as often. If it seats outside more wash might be recommanded but be picky when you wash so it may have a better chance to dry.

 

You make some good points, mainly prepping the car for winter! You also reminded me about another thing I remember hearing ,sometimes a garage can quicken corrosion because of the warmer environment allowing the snow and salt to melt into crevasses as opposed to staying frozen. The best prevention is probably keeping up with waxing before winter! Or move to the southwest��

Steve

 

That would be the best . . . though you get increased dust problems as well over there which isn't great for engine life, that's if your car isn't swept away by a tornado!

 

I will use a touchless system in the winter. The little bit of work I do in the spring to get rid of any issue caused by the winter is very little. BUSTER is a bit bipolar, spotlessly clean April through November and dirty as can be December through March.

 

The touchless is better but the high jets on the top can beat things around and over time , water can be forced through the stitched seams. Treating and using a top conditioner , makes it easier to clean as the water beads up.

Hand wash the top if you can. Dont uses brush car wash systems at all. You love your MINI more then scratches down the sides.

 

The idea of washing in the winter does no good if your only getting the top. Any corrosion problems will begin underneath. This is where you can not wash with a bucket and sponge, where the tires kick up the most salt and rocks to chip off the protective layer or paint, If your worried about corrosion, unless your in a location where the roads are constantly wet washing could do more damage than good. If it's cold enough the roads are dry(or frozen) any bits of salt on the car will not be that corrosive. But to add water to it lets it get in all the seams and small areas and then freeze there. So each the time the car warms it melts, and corrodes some more, until the next time you wash and add some more. Even if your in a heated garage, if its dry, and you add water you have one night in that garage every week or every month(however often you wash) of extreme corrosion until the vehicle drys in the heated garage. To actually remove the salt you would need to flush the undercarriage with water, not just a quick splash. So if your not doing this you are just washing for looks and likely not getting any corrosion prevention out of it. That is fine too, we all want our cars to look good. And if the car is protected with paint it will not corrode. only where the paint is chipped off to bare metal. So washing the painted surface also does nothing to protect the vehicle unless you have deep scratches or deep rock chips.

You can also add a few tablespoons of baking soda to the water. The baking soda will neutralize the salt and help remove it so even if it isn't completely removed it will be less corrosion.

 

My quick read of the on-line 2014 R59 Owner's manual indicated NOT to use high pressure water car washes...as they could force water past the seals etc....

So no "touchless" washes it appears...then answer for us who drive all year in cold weather/salted road regions is to use the "touch" variety? But avoid the nylon strand bristle brushes...seems that I've seen more of the fabric or foam strip washes more recently and maybe they're more paint friendly?. What if the wash has the "come from above" rotating drum...is that a risk to the soft top?

Inquiring potential buyer would like to know

 

Please don't use any of the brush based car washes, whatever they say they WILL scratch/swirl your car. If ia touches does force water part the seals it won't be much. Alternative would be a wash it yourself booth.

 

I can't speak to the Mini, as we haveen't had it long enough to need a wash, but we took he Z3 through a touchless wash for 17 years without major problems (after 10-12 years it would leak a little around the passenger side A-pillar, just a few drips, we'd wipe it up with a towel). Didn't do anything to the paint (although the Z3 was white, which probably hid some minor scratches).

 

Remember stepping on aluminum cans...that's how I feel about taking my Roadster to a Car Wash.