"Hand Car Wash" is a specialty of the Full-Service and Detail car wash systems. The highly automated car wash gets a personal cleaning touch when employees take a professional hand to shine your car. This personal touch ensures that no part of your car goes unnoticed by the machines and that no tiny particle of dust or slime sticks on to your car. Your car will come out sleek and shiny. Hand washing is a highly specialized and exclusive service that caters to a customer’s personal preferences for a car wash.
Hanna’s Hand Wash system, for example, has employees lined up in the conveyor inside the wash tunnel. When the automobile enters the conveyor, employees use hand-held high pressure wands to prepare the car for the wash and then clean the top and sides of the car. Only the bottom of the car is cleaned by their automated Undercarriage Applicator.
The Ace Hand Car Wash of Huntington Park, California, provides a range of detailing services for specific vehicles and to suit the requirements of individual owners. Their specialized services are highly client oriented and include washing, waxing, buffering, tinting windows, removing stains, and vacuuming carpets.
Services of the Bubbles Car Wash includes their Carpet Shampoo, which airs out carpets and cleans them with special chemicals; Tar and Paint Over Spray Removal, which is a special service that cleans even minute foreign particles on the surface of your vehicles; and half a dozen other specialized services.
Lake Car Wash has four types of hand car wash services, each of which comes with specialized features. Their Deluxe Hand Car Wash, for example, offers vacuuming the interior and dressing tires in addition to hand washing and waxing of the surface and the windows, while their Turbo Hand Wash comes with two coats of waxing, air fresheners, and undercarriage cleaning.
The Westbury Personal Touch hand car wash also has different combinations of car wash services to suit unique customer requirements. Their services include undercarriage washing, hand washing, body glossing and leather conditioning. They charge an average of $15 to $50 per car wash.
What is the best product to use as a car wash? The correct answer is use what you like the best. There are some drawbacks to certain products and advantages to others. Dish detergents (Ivory Liquid, etc.) may be used, but realize that these products are designed to remove animal or vegetable fat from fired ceramic. They look at your nice coat of wax with the same hungry eyes. If you enjoy washing and rewaxing weekly, then dish detergent is for you. Wax retailers love people who use Ivory Liquid (they send the Ivory Company Christmas Cards every year).
If you prefer to have your wax last a lot longer, you may consider using a product that is specifically designed for automotive use. The quality products are based upon detergents instead of soaps. Most soaps are manufactured from rendered animal byproducts (the stuff the dog food people reject). They contain trace elements that can actually damage your paint. These trace elements are the same goodies that leave a ring in your bathtub. The exception is soaps manufactured from plant fats. (These leave mold in your tub - just Kidding)
Quality car washes/shampoos (same thing - most cars don't have hair) are usually pH controlled, contain gloss enhancers and some even have small amounts of water-soluble wax for good measure. Use only enough car wash to break the electrostatic/ionic bond between the dirt and your car. Start with a clean large bucket (preferably plastic - if you kick the metal bucket, Mr. Paint Chip rears his ugly head); add a small amount of the car wash and fill with cool water. Avoid hot water, as it will soften the wax. Read the directions on the car wash bottle and try reducing the recommended amount by half. I use less than a cap full in 5 gallons. The more car wash, the more wax you remove. Try to avoid powder car washes as the undissolved granules can lodge under your sponge or wash mitt and scratch the paint surface. Make sure that your car is in the shade and the paint surface is relatively cool. Rule of thumb #1: If you can comfortably hold your hand on the hood, you can wash/wax the car.
Spray the car with a gentle spray to thoroughly wet the surface. Don't use a 200 P.S.I. fire hydrant spray, it isn't needed and may grind the surface grime into the paint and cause scratches. Some of the concours purists will not use a nozzle on the hose at all. Start at the top of the car and work down. Rewet the top; gently wash the top and then rinse. Move onto another section, such as the trunk or hood. Rewet this area, wash and rinse. Continue on down the car, completing a section at a time. This way, the car wash does not dry on the paint.
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