Best way to wash/detail cobra using a car wash??

[cobra940]

I know there's previous threads on this but here in Calgary they have a bylaw where you can wash your car in the driveway but NO soaps are allowed(including biodegradable.) Basically only water is allowed in the storm drains, going to the car wash is the only way to get suds on my girl.
I know a bucket wash is the best way to go but unfortunately that's not really a option for me due to the bylaw.
Any recommendations when using a car wash??

 

[mavericks-03svt]

That might be the dumbest law I have ever heard of. I mean seriously, no soap to wash your own car at home. All kidding aside, I would move out of that city and wash my own car in the country before putting up with bs like that. I am truly sad for you and your situation in Calgary and can only imagine the misery you must be subjected to living in a place like that.

end rant. sorry.

Besides the above solution to your problem and assuming you are not planning on moving, i would either find a car wash were you can spray soap through a pressure washer at a do it yourself car wash. In all reality car wash soaps are very harsh and in my opinion are bad for paint. How much of a fine is it if you get busted using car wash soap at home? If the fine is not too steep I would say screw it and would be out there at midnight washing it up with foam cannon and all.

 

[Zemedici]

Automatic Car washes are bad for paint. No way around it.

 

[HFBPA889]

My only recommendation is to move....seriously.

 

[cobra940]

Automatic Car washes are bad for paint. No way around it.

I never use automatic car washes, always coin washes with the spray gun

 

[ctgreddy]

Wash your car at the coin operated wash, bring your own soap buckets and wash mits. basically you use your own supplies and the only thing you use at the car wash is the hose. Chemical guys did a youtube video a while back about the best way to do this, what to take with you, best technique for getting the most from your quarters, etc. I'll see if I can find it. Being I live in an apartment in the city this is pretty much my only option for washing my car unless I go to my parents house 1.5 hours away.

Here you go, it's a long video but you can skip a lot of the nonsense parts if you wish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ32CqvgtMA

 

[getTwisted]

I bet there are some dirty cars in your town.

I would wash it at night at your home. Do you have a garage? Is the Cobra just your weekend or Sunday car? if so I would wash it once, get it as clean as possible. Put a good coat of wax on it. Then every time you drive it (assuming you don't drive it much) I would wipe it down with a good microfiber towel and spray detail. If the car isn't very dirty then the detail spray and microfiber are a great way to keep the car clean without adding a ton of scratches to your clear.

 

[cobra940]

Wash your car at the coin operated wash, bring your own soap buckets and wash mits. basically you use your own supplies and the only thing you use at the car wash is the hose. Chemical guys did a youtube video a while back about the best way to do this, what to take with you, best technique for getting the most from your quarters, etc. I'll see if I can find it. Being I live in an apartment in the city this is pretty much my only option for washing my car unless I go to my parents house 1.5 hours away.

Here you go, it's a long video but you can skip a lot of the nonsense parts if you wish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ32CqvgtMA

Great information! Thanks. My best bet is to hit the car washed later on where it's not so busy so I can use this method.
Thanks for this!

 

[cobra940]

I bet there are some dirty cars in your town.

I would wash it at night at your home. Do you have a garage? Is the Cobra just your weekend or Sunday car? if so I would wash it once, get it as clean as possible. Put a good coat of wax on it. Then every time you drive it (assuming you don't drive it much) I would wipe it down with a good microfiber towel and spray detail. If the car isn't very dirty then the detail spray and microfiber are a great way to keep the car clean without adding a ton of scratches to your clear.

I do store it in the garage and it's only a weekend car. Good information. I need to give it one really good detail then just maintain it throughout the year

 

[getTwisted]

I do store it in the garage and it's only a weekend car. Good information. I need to give it one really good detail then just maintain it throughout the year

best of luck. This is how I clean mine. I probably only wash it with water maybe 2 or 3 times a year. Granted, I dont drive it much at all, but the car does still collect dust in the garage, I just stay on top of it and never let it get to dirty.

 

[D-MANN]

I know there's previous threads on this but here in Calgary they have a bylaw where you can wash your car in the driveway but NO soaps are allowed(including biodegradable.) Basically only water is allowed in the storm drains, going to the car wash is the only way to get suds on my girl.
I know a bucket wash is the best way to go but unfortunately that's not really a option for me due to the bylaw.
Any recommendations when using a car wash??

You got me wondering now if Edmonton has this bylaw. I just bought a yamaha pressure washer and some soup from one of out detail shops. I will have to look into this.
I could work around it tho and wash it in my garage since i have a drain in it lol. Stupid law.

 

[cobra940]

You got me wondering now if Edmonton has this bylaw. I just bought a yamaha pressure washer and some soup from one of out detail shops. I will have to look into this.

Hopefully not, apparently it's been a bylaw in Calgary since 2005. Sucks!

 

[R.D.P.]

Not sure why someone hasn't mentioned this - use ONR! You just don't want to start with a really dirty car and use the one bucket method of putting a bunch of microfiber towels in the ONR bucket all at once. I use 10 just so I won't run out. Once a towel comes out of the ONR mix it doesn't go back in. That way each towel that comes out is soaked and ready to go with nothing but ONR and distilled water on it. Super easy to dry the car and buff it out due to no dirty\hard water ever going on the car. Total water used - 2 gallons, plus I pre-spray each panel with ONR mix. No hose, no blasting water into the crevices of the car. I am convinced that for a weekend\garaged car this is the best wash method.

Edit - the reason I say try this method, no hose means no run off, you just end up leaving some wet spots in your driveway that air dry because you are only using 2, maybe 3 gallons of water!

 

[FiveOhJoe]

Would they ever really find out if you did use soap? You could use ONR or Einzsett Perls as a soap since they hardly produce any suds so nobody would know you're using soap.

 

[cobra940]

Not sure why someone hasn't mentioned this - use ONR! You just don't want to start with a really dirty car and use the one bucket method of putting a bunch of microfiber towels in the ONR bucket all at once. I use 10 just so I won't run out. Once a towel comes out of the ONR mix it doesn't go back in. That way each towel that comes out is soaked and ready to go with nothing but ONR and distilled water on it. Super easy to dry the car and buff it out due to no dirty\hard water ever going on the car. Total water used - 2 gallons, plus I pre-spray each panel with ONR mix. No hose, no blasting water into the crevices of the car. I am convinced that for a weekend\garaged car this is the best wash method.

Edit - the reason I say try this method, no hose means no run off, you just end up leaving some wet spots in your driveway that air dry because you are only using 2, maybe 3 gallons of water!

Never even heard of ONR before! Looks like a great product. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[cobra940]

Would they ever really find out if you did use soap? You could use ONR or Einzsett Perls as a soap since they hardly produce any suds so nobody would know you're using soap.

Only if a neighbour ratted me out., then it would just make things awkward. I'm going to look into ONR. Reviews are pretty positive on it.

 

[FromGTtoSVT]

If I was you...I'd go one of two routes

1. screw the law, wash away
2. get a real , true paint correction done....wax, seal and just maintain properly with quick detail wipe downs.

Not sure how often you drive your car, but I haven't washed my car with water in probably 4 years, just been maintaining a paint correction that was done.

 

[mrose75]

Not sure why someone hasn't mentioned this - use ONR! You just don't want to start with a really dirty car and use the one bucket method of putting a bunch of microfiber towels in the ONR bucket all at once. I use 10 just so I won't run out. Once a towel comes out of the ONR mix it doesn't go back in. That way each towel that comes out is soaked and ready to go with nothing but ONR and distilled water on it. Super easy to dry the car and buff it out due to no dirty\hard water ever going on the car. Total water used - 2 gallons, plus I pre-spray each panel with ONR mix. No hose, no blasting water into the crevices of the car. I am convinced that for a weekend\garaged car this is the best wash method.

Edit - the reason I say try this method, no hose means no run off, you just end up leaving some wet spots in your driveway that air dry because you are only using 2, maybe 3 gallons of water!

That's awesome!! Never heard of this stuff. I'm definitely gonna look into this. Thanks!

 

[cobra940]

Not sure why someone hasn't mentioned this - use ONR! You just don't want to start with a really dirty car and use the one bucket method of putting a bunch of microfiber towels in the ONR bucket all at once. I use 10 just so I won't run out. Once a towel comes out of the ONR mix it doesn't go back in. That way each towel that comes out is soaked and ready to go with nothing but ONR and distilled water on it. Super easy to dry the car and buff it out due to no dirty\hard water ever going on the car. Total water used - 2 gallons, plus I pre-spray each panel with ONR mix. No hose, no blasting water into the crevices of the car. I am convinced that for a weekend\garaged car this is the best wash method.

Edit - the reason I say try this method, no hose means no run off, you just end up leaving some wet spots in your driveway that air dry because you are only using 2, maybe 3 gallons of water!

Just ordered some ONR off amazon, looks like this will be the way I wash my girl... Stupid bylaw
Thanks for the heads up on this!

 

[mnewxcv]

definitely go with a rinseless wash like ONR. No runoff, easy to use(I use a bucket of water for rinsing and an empty bottle from a hardware store to mix then spray), and you dont waste water rinsing.