Any good car handwash in the town?

[conandoyle]

I was a yearly-membership customer at Kings Auto, but I'm thinking of switching now because I kinda have enough with their service.

Wondering any car wash that will wash the underbody, and wipe the exhaust pipe?

[v_tec]

[conandoyle]

Originally Posted by v_tec

[IMG]hcom/wp-content/uploads/Eco-friendly-car-wash.jpg[/IMG]

lol I can wash my car myself in summers without any problems, but the winters are just too chilly to wash...

[roastpuff]

Sensha-ya in Richmond!

[Cillu]

+1 for Sensha-ya, they do a fantastic job.

[Limitless]

If you go to Sensha-ya, make sure you don't have any accessories on the dash. I had a model 370z on top of my dash in the corner, and they somehow managed to break the rear windshield and rear windshield wiper on the model. When I asked the owner about it, he pretty much just told me that it's my fault for having anything on the dash in the first place because it's not meant to have stuff on there -_-

They also give a shit ton of swirls on the car, two or three guys with 2 gloves each, single dip of the glove going all around the car without rinsing. My other friend had his N sign on the back of his Fiat, and they didn't take off the N but rubbed pretty hard on top of it causing some scratches since there were debris in between the N sign and the car.

But, I don't really know of a good handwash place that doesn't swirl up your car. Probably the best idea would be to go to a friend's place with an underground parking lot to wash during the winter if you're afraid of the cold, if you do care about your car's paint.

[Dragon-88]

No such thing as a good hand wash. They're all there for quick turnaround. Its a business they want cars in and out as fast a possible. In which, you then lose the quality of car washes. Which is why when you wash your own car you typically spend a minimum of 45min-1hr+.

If you want a good hand wash, get it detailed. Plus once detailed, hand washing is much easier as everything just beads off the car.

I do a claybar 1-2 times a year.. Keeps the car nice and shiny and washing is that much easier.

[smoothie.]

do it yourself, rinse the car well before washing, clean the mitt as often as possible.

a good sealant/wax every year, and quick rinses turn out decent on my car.

[Limitless]

Another good option is to do wax your car every maybe 4 months or so, more frequent if you're less lazy. After that I'm sure going through a touchless wash will get rid of almost all of the grime on the car without scratching the car at all. Washworld is a pretty good touchless place, does the underbody of the car too

[SpartanAir]

I use Ultrashine at Main and 2nd in Vancouver. Been going there for a couple years now, the owners are nice to me and always make sure I'm happy. After a wash I'll go over it and point out any spots and they rush over to make sure it's ok.

Plus they often have Bentleys, Porsches, BMWs, Mercs, even Rolls Royces in there getting detailed.

But my new parking spot under my building has a hose attachment right in front of it, so I don't go there much anymore; I get to wash my car myself whenever I want

[conandoyle]

Originally Posted by Limitless

Another good option is to do wax your car every maybe 4 months or so, more frequent if you're less lazy. After that I'm sure going through a touchless wash will get rid of almost all of the grime on the car without scratching the car at all. Washworld is a pretty good touchless place, does the underbody of the car too

I actually wax my STI every month on my own. The only issue with wax is that the wax can be easily washed off by the car shampoo in the following wash. So once I get waxed, i will have to tell the guy just rinse the car without using the soap.

[xjc11]

Goldstar Auto in Richmond

[jinxcrusader]

I second sensha-ya.
But every once in a while I'll do a thorough clay and wax, spending maybe 3-4 hours on the whole car including the interior.

[Nomomo]

I'm done with kings as well very inconsistent

[TOPEC]

Originally Posted by conandoyle

I actually wax my STI every month on my own. The only issue with wax is that the wax can be easily washed off by the car shampoo in the following wash. So once I get waxed, i will have to tell the guy just rinse the car without using the soap.

i dono what kinda wax u use but proper car wax dont get washed off by regular car shampoo, unless ur using acid. a proper layer of wax will last 6-12 months

[godwin]

Well acid might do the trick eventually but dish soap eg is base and it will get the polymer / wax off.

If you are picky go to Ken @ Autowerkes?

I find using a foam gun makes things a whole lot easier.

Originally Posted by TOPEC

i dono what kinda wax u use but proper car wax dont get washed off by regular car shampoo, unless ur using acid. a proper layer of wax will last 6-12 months

[BoostedBB6]

Originally Posted by TOPEC

i dono what kinda wax u use but proper car wax dont get washed off by regular car shampoo, unless ur using acid. a proper layer of wax will last 6-12 months

There is no wax on the market that can last more than 6 months in our climate. Regardless of what it says on the bottle, a wax is comprised of heavy fillers and glossifier.
If you want protection from wax, every 3-4 months it needs to be re-applied. If all you do is wax, then you will soon end up leaving crap embedded in the paint, which will also cut down how long the wax lasts.

If you want a coating that will give a nice shine and last more than 3-4 months you are looking at paint sealants or coatings.

If you go to the hack job wash places around Vancouver, expect your wax jobs to last no more than a month or two (depending on how frequent you wash). The soaps they use that I have seen at many, are not for car washing. They are a generic soap that in fact strips off the wax and any coatings on the car. And like others have said, they use the same dirty wash tools on each and every car, no rinsing, no 2 bucket method, just quick. End result is a car that had no dirt on it, but now has swirls, scratches and no coating on the paint.

[BoostedBB6]

Chemical Guys KORE_B - KORE R4 Paste Wax, For Dark Colored Cars

$1500 wax and still only a "up to" 6 months coverage.

Wax = shine and all about the glossy look
Sealant = protection and durability.

You can always layer the products. Do a coat or two of sealant and follow it up with some wax for an extra bit of pop.

[Mike.L]

Do it yourself, those people washing your cars make minimum wage and are likely just young kids who don't care about your car, will wash and clean it as quickly as possible and will not own up to any damage so they dont get into trouble.

[a00755836]

once you get people to wash your car, once you get home, youll look at all places the person missed.

personally, i think around $25 is a waste of money to wash inside/outside. i realize it's a waste of money when i went to toyota for just a tire rotation and it only cost me $20. i rather save my money on more important things like maintenance services than getting a person to wash your car.

[ts14]

I have a couple of good guys working behind my shop as detailers, used to work for senshaya. Should give them a try!

[BBMme]

senshaya gets my vote

[RevYouUp]

Yea, go for Senshaya if you HAD to choose. However, you'll still get swirls as every hand wash place is about efficiency. Washing it yourself is the best bet if you care about your paint.

I just can't stand swirls, I just laugh when I see an expensive car with a crap load of swirls. Especially black cars that have so many swirls to the point where the paint looks gray