Anyone gone through a car wash yet?

[Coloradonatives]

Be careful with your soft-top. I have been warned that the cleaning chemicals, as well as blowers used by many carwashes, can damage the convertible top fit and fabric.

Who warned you?

 

[DrewBronc21]

Car washes will cause swirls and scratches. Ceramic coating may help a bit and a hand wash only helps but any specs of sand or debris in a wash mitt is going to swirl or scratch. My previous cars all went through car wash and it shows. My current car is going on two years old, ceramic coat and only month wash by foam cannon and two bucket method in my driveway and paint looks great but there’s a trade off because it’s a pita to wash your car yourself all the time. Not convenient. I may break down soon, especially during winter and take it to a hand wash place

 

[Gatlinz]

I enjoy washing my own cars, there is something i find peaceful and calming about it.A little annal also,I'll make sure that it won't rain for at least the next 4 days. It does take time but the end result is worth it. I have my obx bronco a week now and debating on paint sealing. Have not washed it yet.

hey, did you ever decide to seal the paint?

 

[VelocityBrew]

I plan to run mine through the touchless weekly.

 

[RyanRallyX]

Foam cannon? Do tell , manufacturer/ web?

I would absolutely recommend spending some time on this site: https://www.chemicalguys.com/.
I love their stuff. They even have some terrific videos about how to wash, wax, clean wheels; everything.

Take a look at their cannons and find a cheaper one on Amazon; otherwise I say you can't go wrong with everything else they have.

 

[Steve62]

Anyone gone through a car wash yet? I know in the past there was some issues with new f150s having parts ripped off in car washes. Not interested in being the guinea pig this time. I have a 4 door And a MIC top.

I went through a car wash for the first time today. 4-door soft top Big Bend. No issues except for dog hairs inside. I have a stubby antenna which I left on. Again, no issues.

 

[VelocityBrew]

I went through a car wash for the first time today. 4-door soft top Big Bend. No issues except for dog hairs inside. I have a stubby antenna which I left on. Again, no issues.

Touchless I'd imagine?

 

[mbagne]

Many Bronco owners will be installing (have installed) PPF, and in those cases hand washing is always preferable. High-pressure water and blowers, as well as automatic spinning brushes can shorten the life of PPF if used too often, and in some cases can cause peeling or bubbles from the high pressure.

 

[Steve62]

Touchless I'd imagine?

Yes. I've seen every high end car imaginable go through this carwash. Figured if they didnt mess up Porches and MBs and the like, my Bronco was safe. And I asked my dealer about it and they said no worries as well. I just did the most basic wash, no wax or anything.

 

[Mjolnir21]

hey, did you ever decide to seal the paint?

I decided to do it myself. Using "Adam's ceramic spray coating". Did some research and got it from Amazon(of course).. Received it yesterday. Waiting on some decent weather. It will be time consuming. I will take before and after pics and whe i figure how to down load pics i will post.

I enjoy washing my own cars, there is something i find peaceful and calming about it.A little annal also,I'll make sure that it won't rain for at least the next 4 days. It does take time but the end result is worth it. I have my obx bronco a week now and debating on paint sealing. Have not washed it yet.

 

[Area51outerbanks]

I took my Sasquatch Soft Top through the car wash today. No issues or leaks. Nice and clean after.

As mentioned before, I have been doing that with my Wrangler soft top for years with no issues. My only hesitation was the Sasquatch wheels. I had been off roading today so thought see if it would work.

I asked the guy running the wash and he said he’d done wider wheels than mine, and had already done other Broncos (I’m in metro Detroit). I may get their membership so I can hit it once a week.

Is it a touchless?

 

[Swordofthemorning]

I have no problem hand washing my vehicles ,however I find it hard to believe that a rugged off road vehicle is not capable of handling an automatic wash.

 

[AK SNO RIDER]

The thought of so many of you using a brush wash on any car is really bumming me out. Freakin brush washes shouldn't even exist. You are literally paying them to fuck up your car.

Touchless washes are generally okay but if you have a soft top I wouldn't be shocked to see soap still in the fabric, like someone else said the rinse cycle may not be able to get it totally out, and commercial soap isn't pH neutral like your home stuff is. The MIC top makes me nervous only because of all the quality issues we've seen. Most touchless washes don't use a crazy amount of pressure - around 1000 psi - less than your typical household pressure washer by a fair amount, so they aren't going to damage your rig under normal conditions.

 

[Mjolnir21]

I enjoy washing my own cars, there is something i find peaceful and calming about it.A little annal also,I'll make sure that it won't rain for at least the next 4 days. It does take time but the end result is worth it. I have my obx bronco a week now and debating on paint sealing. Have not washed it yet.

hey, did you ever decide to seal the paint?

Yes. Did it last week. Used Adam's ceramic sealant. The whole process took about 3.5 hours. These pics. Don't do it justice.