Touchless carwash vs soft cloth

[dablackgoku1234]

So, which is better?

I hear the *new* touchless carwash from Esso, where the waterjets circle around u is pretty good. Rumors say, as good as soft cloth but without the cons (scratches).

I know the drive thru touchless is garbage, but how does the revolving touchless compare?

[acck]

So, which is better?

I hear the *new* touchless carwash from Esso, where the waterjets circle around u is pretty good. Rumors say, as good as soft cloth but without the cons (scratches).

I know the drive thru touchless is garbage, but how does the revolving touchless compare?

I like Sunoco Ecowash, the Pressure gun will rotate 360 around ur car and it's super clean.

[lumlum1013]

i drive a sport wagon, softcloths & drive-in touchless cannot wash my hatch clean and properly...until Sunoco Introduce the railless touchless, w/ water spray gun circle
around the car..can finally clean my car properly....and since it's railless,
for sure there is no damage to the rims, as sometimes the rails in
other carwash might dent/curbage the rim...

[shutterbug]

I still prefer the soft cloth, although it seems these are becoming a dying breed around the GTA. I find the touchless, new and old always leave a film of dirt behind. Even though it looks clean, if you run your finger over the surface you'll find a nice layer of grime still. There is no way a touchless will ever clean as good as soft cloth since there's always something that will cling. If they increase the pressure too much, you'd be stripping paint off!

[bunga]

agreed on the Sunoco touchless, best touchless wash I've found so far

[weilyan]

I still prefer the soft cloth, although it seems these are becoming a dying breed around the GTA. I find the touchless, new and old always leave a film of dirt behind. Even though it looks clean, if you run your finger over the surface you'll find a nice layer of grime still. There is no way a touchless will ever clean as good as soft cloth since there's always something that will cling. If they increase the pressure too much, you'd be stripping paint off!

i agree with shutterbug that touchless isn't good (tried at Esso). I do find better results at Petro-Canada with its soft cloth and i hardly doubt that those cloth can scrath a car. Even there i find that it's sometimes not thorough clean (especially by the side mirror and under my spoiler). Once i redo my car's body (some rust by the fender) and a new coat of same colour paint (frost white), i think i'll start paying the extra 50% to 100% (a.k.a 5$ to 10$) for a hand car wash and wax at least once a year.

[Bullseye]

Downsides to both, touchless uses loads of chemicals, which can deteriorate your paint, cloth can leave swirl marks over time.

If you really care that much about your paint, have it done by hand by professionals.

[Narci]

Handwash in the indoor heated bays at Shell on Kennedy south of 7 (beside the MB dealership)

[lumlum1013]

i was told that....
the cloths itself will not scratch the car, but
little sand/rock chip gets trapped onto the cloth from the
preivous car.

correct me if i'm wrong plz...

i agree with shutterbug that touchless isn't good (tried at Esso). I do find better results at Petro-Canada with its soft cloth and i hardly doubt that those cloth can scrath a car. Even there i find that it's sometimes not thorough clean (especially by the side mirror and under my spoiler). Once i redo my car's body (some rust by the fender) and a new coat of same colour paint (frost white), i think i'll start paying the extra 50% to 100% (a.k.a 5$ to 10$) for a hand car wash and wax at least once a year.

[TrevorK]

i was told that....
the cloths itself will not scratch the car, but
little sand/rock chip gets trapped onto the cloth from the
preivous car.

correct me if i'm wrong plz...

It will also drag the sand around on your car. So it starts at the front, and drags all the sand/dirt all the way to the back of your car.

[Ben31]

Neither of them...I have used softcloth car washes and I do believe it scratches the car.... a couple of times through a softcloth carwash you may not see scratches but go there often and especially if you have a black car like myself...the scratches are visible....I tried a touchless carwash only once at Esso and did not like it at all.....hence the one time only... ....doesn't do a great job compared to a softcloth......the best way to wash your car is do it yourself....it may seem like alot of work...but its worth it...especially once you wax it.

[kareshi]

have been using Shell's soft cloth and doesn't seem to see problems.. *touch wood*

[bunga]

The Esso touchless that I tried was a huge waste of time, I took my car through it three times and it was still dirty, I gave up after that

The Sunoco touchless does a great job for a drive through wash though, if you don't have the time or patience to hand wash your car, it's a good alternative

Neither of them...I have used softcloth car washes and I do believe it scratches the car.... a couple of times through a softcloth carwash you may not see scratches but go there often and especially if you have a black car like myself...the scratches are visible....I tried a touchless carwash only once at Esso and did not like it at all.....hence the one time only... ....doesn't do a great job compared to a softcloth......the best way to wash your car is do it yourself....it may seem like alot of work...but its worth it...especially once you wax it.

[dablackgoku1234]

I went and tried out Esso's rollover touchless and the results were disappointing. I ran my fingers across my window and there was a film of dust/dirt still there.

Also, Esso's drying blowers suck...I went extra slow yet there were still water marks