Ragtop Through a Car Wash?

[HEY32G]

Saw this while leaving the grocery store today.

Seriously? I would never do this.

[The HACK]

Why not?

[NickyC]

Done it far too many times to count. Never had a problem.

[Nate4641]

I wouldn't take any car through an auto car wash, convertible or not. I like my paint not being scratched to shit

[Steeler]

Originally Posted by Nate4641

I wouldn't take any car through an auto car wash, convertible or not. I like my paint not being scratched to shit

^ this. Touchless car washes are still spraying high pressure water against your car body and grinding the dirt into the paint.
I won't even take my cars to the manual car wash

[jdoublehcubed]

its someone driving a boxster (and a base model one at that); what do you expect?

[HEY32G]

Originally Posted by jdoublehcubed

its someone driving a boxster (and a base model one at that); what do you expect?

I had the same thought.

[Huz-Z]

Ahem:

[Twixboy]

I like my top motor to remain operational, so I would never run my roadster through an automatic car wash. As for other cars with ragtops, it wears down the cloth so I wouldn't do it on a ragtop period. I don't mind the paint getting scratched because they are so fine that you don't really notice it unless you have an eye for it. The convenience factor wins for me.

[PLCZ4MC]

I hand wash my car all the time since I got it. Not me personal all the times since I do not have all the time but local hand wash places. They are a bit more $ but worth it. I didn't know those machine wash could ruin your car some how.
I do think at the end automobiles will get scratches or damage no matter how much we try not to let it happen. The only way to prevent that is to garage a car for ever which I do not want to do with me Z.

[deemo319]

Hand wash your cars as not to damage the softtop itself and the softtop motor.

The only way to really know your car is to wash it by hand.

[Westersund]

Originally Posted by dbarton62

^ this. Touchless car washes are still spraying high pressure water against your car body and grinding the dirt into the paint.
I won't even take my cars to the manual car wash

There's nothing wrong with using a pressure washer, it's more harmless than washing your car by hand (without a washing it first with a hose/pressure washer).

[Steeler]

Originally Posted by Westersund

There's nothing wrong with using a pressure washer, it's more harmless than washing your car by hand (without a washing it first with a hose/pressure washer).

Sorry, don't agree. I have seen paint removed with 1800 psi pressure washer.

I recently had my front bumper resprayed and the body shop warned against any hi pressure water for at least 2 weeks.

[Westersund]

Originally Posted by dbarton62

Sorry, don't agree. I have seen paint removed with 1800 psi pressure washer.

I recently had my front bumper resprayed and the body shop warned against any hi pressure water for at least 2 weeks.

If the clear coat have started to peel it sure will keep on peeling it. This doesn't apply to stone chip, only to a bad paint job. My family have washed their cars with pressure washers for at least 20 years and none of us have ever peeled any paint. You can't go too close though, 2-3 feet is fine.

The reason why your painter warned you about using a pressure washer the first 2 weeks is because the paint needs to cure properly before you can stress it. After you've painted a car you shouldn't use chemicals cleaning it for about 2 months, that's what I was told last time I had something painted.

[Steeler]

Originally Posted by Westersund

If the clear coat have started to peel it sure will keep on peeling it. This doesn't apply to stone chip, only to a bad paint job. My family have washed their cars with pressure washers for at least 20 years and none of us have ever peeled any paint. You can't go too close though, 2-3 feet is fine.

The reason why your painter warned you about using a pressure washer the first 2 weeks is because the paint needs to cure properly before you can stress it. After you've painted a car you shouldn't use chemicals cleaning it for about 2 months, that's what I was told last time I had something painted.

No worries
I don't use high pressure

[MZHammer]

I use the automatic touchless washes all the time with my roadie. 5 years of doing so, without issue. Probably average @ 2 washes per month, April though October.

[wasupdu]

I take my Z4 through an auto wash in a pinch, albeit VERY rarely. I enjoy hand washing the cars assuming the weather cooperates. My CLS, on the other hand, sees an auto wash 2-3x per week in the winter. Start from scratch (no pun intended) come spring and I'll do a full detail to eliminate the minor damage that has been caused to the paint. I figure this is better than leaving the salt on the car for months on end. You should see the amount of salt they dump around here regardless of the amount of snow. Black cars frequently look white if not maintained frequently.

[jdoublehcubed]

makes sense if you live in a salty-winter area AND you don't have a cloth top.

[yousefnjr]

Hand-washed her myself until the drought became really bad here. It's forced me to a place not much better than in the OP I believe it's $160 fine if the water cops catch you lettin loose in your driveway

[Twixboy]

Originally Posted by yousefnjr

Hand-washed her myself until the drought became really bad here. It's forced me to a place not much better than in the OP I believe it's $160 fine if the water cops catch you lettin loose in your driveway

Sorry to hear that. I was in the Bay area last week and couldn't help but notice how packed all the car wash places were. The water ban makes sense. One way around the water ban is to fill your bucket inside the tub and use a rinseless wash like Optimum No Rinse. Just wipe and dry.

We actually have a water ban here too, but only from 9am - 5pm.