Best Car Wash To Protect Paint

Have you been looking at your car and thought that it was time to give it a wash? When it comes to washing your car, there are a couple of options to choose from. The choice is essentially between doing it yourself or going to a professional car washing service. Sometimes if you don't have the supplies, equipment, or just the time, then going to the professionals is the easiest option.

But half the fun of owning a slick car is getting to play around with it, so why outsource something as important as washing?

Regularly cleaning your car inside and out is a must. This you a safer driving experience, while also increasing the resale value and giving your vehicle a longer life. But, do car washes ruin paint? Sometimes the answer is yes.

Each type of car wash has its own pros and cons and could drastically affect the paint on your car. So let’s discuss the best car wash to protect paint. 

The Different Ways To Wash Your Car

When it comes to washing your car, there are four options to choose from:

1. Automated car wash
2. Touchless car wash
3. Professional Handwash
4. DIY handwash

Ok, so ​​what is the best way to protect car paint? You can go to an easy and quick automated touch car wash or an intensive but touchless car wash. However, if you have the time you should wash your car yourself, or get a professional to handwash your car. Hand washing is the best car wash to protect paint.

When it comes to a car washing service, you run the risk of your car not becoming fully clean (and even damaged in the process). You cannot deny that cleaning your car yourself is easier and cheaper than a professional service. Also, you will be aware of what fabrics and chemicals are touching your car’s paint, which could affect the finish.

Hand Wash Your Car

Any expert will tell you that hand washing your car is the safest way to wash your car. However, even with hand washing your car, you want to be careful about chemicals and materials you’re using. The wrong choice could impact the paintwork. For example, certain brushes are very coarse, and using a stiff brush on your car you could swirl or scratch your car’s paintwork.

At home, you can use towels, hoses, and even power washers to wash your car. The best way to handwash your car is to use lots of soap and water and a soft mitt.  A layer of suds which is applied and washed in with a soft mitt will allow the suds to break down any dirt on the surface. While the soft mitt helps to break up and loosen any hard dirt on your car's surface as well.

Once you have done this, then you can rinse and dry your car. At BLO, we recommend using our BLO car dryer, which allows you to quickly and easily dry your car surface. Also, as the dryer will blast water away, it won’t actually touch your car’s paint - protecting your car at the same time while drying.

There is no denying that hand washing your car takes a bit more effort and time. Yet it is a much more gentle process on your car's surface. You are also in control of what happens and how much pressure is being applied. It is also one of the most effective car washes to put in your car.

Hand Washing your car can be done by yourself, or there are professional handwashing services. The professional handwashing services will use similar techniques that you use at home, but they do all the work for you. It often comes down to how much time do you have to baby your baby? 

Automatic Touch Car Wash

As children, a lot of us will remember going to the car wash and watching as our car is rolled over the conveyor belt. Then we would see bright lights and soap and water would be spread all across the car. Cloth and plastic brushes are used alongside water and soap to clean the car. 

An automated touch car wash is quite quick but will cost you a lot more money compared to doing it yourself. Alongside that, the cloth and plastic brushes that are used are quite tough, therefore they are brushing and wiping away any dirt or grime off your car's paint. However, these brushes often leave swirls and scratches on your car’s body. Which then affects the paint and finish of your car. 

The quality of an automated touch car wash can differ, depending on where you go to have your car cleaned. Some car wash owners will spend more money to have more high-quality soaps that will keep the brushes well lubricated. However, even then it's not usually enough to remove all the dirt and protect your car's paint. 

Once your car has been washed, a bit of hot air will be blown onto your car, but that doesn't really dry it. This hot air blows any last of the suds, but it isn't very effective. We would recommend bringing a microfiber cloth to you to complete the drying process slowly, or use one of our car dryers once you get back home.

Touchless Car Wash

Again with the warning, an automated touch car wash can easily damage the paintwork on your car. However, there is the option to go to a touchless car wash, which is less expensive than a touch car wash.

As the name suggests, your car is washed with no brushes touching your car's paint. However, this differs from a touch car wash, in that a touchless car wash uses a high-pressure spraying setup. This spraying system will blast off any debris and dirt that is on your car's surface. This system can easily get the dirtiest car clean without causing a single scratch. You may be concerned that because it is high pressure, this will scratch or affect the paint, but it doesn't touch the paint at all.

Even though this touchless method will leave your paintwork intact, a film is still left on your car's surface. This is much more visible on white cars than darker cars. After a touchless car wash, using a microfiber towel, a wipe with this tool will show you how much grime and dirt is left on the car's paint. 

A touchless car wash may be cheaper than a touch car wash and less damaging to your paint. However, this type of car wash doesn't properly clean your car, and it leaves a film of dirt on your paint. But, after drying your car with a microfiber cloth, wax can be applied to help to solve this issue.

How to Protect Paint on Car

No matter how much experts recommend microfiber cloths and gentle soaps when car washing, too many people still clean anything they find.

Grabbing a paper towel can be tempting, but it can cause real damage to your paint, and affect the look of your car. If you want to know how to protect vehicle paint, the short answer is to not be lazy with your materials. Be careful with what you are using to clean your car. Anything that is too harsh or rough could damage and affect the paint.

How To Protect Vehicle Paint

Washing your car is only the first half of cleaning your car. After it has been washed you need to dry it so that your car looks perfect.

How you dry your car is just as important as how you clean it.

You want to be using soft clothes and ideally microfiber cloths to wash your car. Then, when it comes to drying you can use a microfiber cloth again or a car dryer, that can dry your car quickly but safely without harming the paint.

There is a range of products that can be added after your car wash to protect the paint. One product we recommend is Q² One EVO, which gives your paint long-term protection against the elements. It is incredibly durable and will last for up to 2 years on your car before you need to think about reapplying another coat. A quality tool like this will protect your paint from dirt and grime, and even from the car wash itself.

If you appreciate your paint job, then you need to consider a product like this that will help to protect it and leave you with a pleasing finish and a shine.

There are a lot of paint protection products, including:

• Paint sealant options
• Glass coatings
• Clear paint protective layers
• Ceramic coatings

Whichever you pick, the aim is to make sure your paint lasts as long as possible and looks as good while doing it.

Best Way to Wash Car to Protect Paint

It’s simple: cleaning your car prolongs the life of your car - and makes it better to look at.

Even though you have options, doing it yourself by hand is the best car wash to protect paint. Go with gentle soaps, quality coatings, and don’t forget that drying is the most important and overlooked step.