I have a 2008 Malibu 2Lt. I need to go to the car wash. In the manual it says do not use car wash with silicone carbine brushes the brushes could ruin your wheels.I never heard of this.Is it safe to run it through the car wash with brushes or not? If not, other then washing by hand which i do not have the time to do.what else is there? Thanks Guys

You could goto one of those places that is a touchless car wash, although it wont get your car as clean.

We don't have any touchless car washes in my area. Thanks for the reply. Would you take it through a regular car wash? Thanks

Very few conveyorized car washes use silicon carbine wheel brushes...unless they haven't been re-equipped in the past 20 years. Most facilities have either eliminated automatic tire/wheel brushes or replaced them with high pressure blasters or cloth cleaners.

Too many cars are knocked off the conveyor by poorly installed or maintained wheel brushes. And, car wash operators are quite sensitive to damage claims...the word gets around.

Very few conveyorized car washes use silicon carbine wheel brushes...unless they haven't been re-equipped in the past 20 years. Most facilities have either eliminated automatic tire/wheel brushes or replaced them with high pressure blasters or cloth cleaners.

Too many cars are knocked off the conveyor by poorly installed or maintained wheel brushes. And, car wash operators are quite sensitive to damage claims...the word gets around.

:D Sorry - Found it really funny that Washboy - Was adding valuable information to a thread about car washes. :D

Thanks for the good info!

Over time, the automatic car washes will create nice swirl marks in the clearcoat/paint and make it look like crap

Hand wash the car for a better cleaning and to keep it looking nice, or try a touchless car wash

Enjoy your car, hand wash it. You will get way better results then a car wash, and don't say you don't have tne time becuase a decent hand wash only takes a half an hour

Enjoy your car, hand wash it. You will get way better results then a car wash, and don't say you don't have tne time becuase a decent hand wash only takes a half an hour
X2 ;):D:D:D

Plus handwashing lets you see any possible damage or anything (like scraches or dents) that you might need to get fixed & what not.

You really get to know the car a little bit better when hand washing it


Plus sometimes those towels at the car wash (when they hand dry it at the end) are used a couple times & could possibly have dirt on them and do more harm than good

Hand wash or touchless!

Plus handwashing lets you see any possible damage or anything (like scratches or dents) that you might need to get fixed & what not.




One time when buying a new car it was too dirty to see if it had any defects so I asked the owner if I could take it home and hand wash it. He offered to have it washed, but I told him if I hand wash and dry it I would be able to spot any marks in the paint.

Plus handwashing lets you see any possible damage or anything (like scraches or dents) that you might need to get fixed & what not.

LOL, unless you know the wife or hubby just took it out and you believe that ignorance truly is bliss.

LOL, unless you know the wife or hubby just took it out and you believe that ignorance truly is bliss.


:D:D: You must be married? :D:D:

One time when buying a new car it was too dirty to see if it had any defects so I asked the owner if I could take it home and hand wash it. He offered to have it washed, but I told him if I hand wash and dry it I would be able to spot any marks in the paint.

EXACTLY!!!

When you're trying to get the car perfectly clean, when handwashing it, you notice EVERY little single flaw

EXACTLY!!!

When you're trying to get the car perfectly clean, when handwashing it, you notice EVERY little single flaw

Sometimes this is a good thing and some times it's a bad thing.....I always cringe when I find the ding in the door from someone else's door or the dreaded runaway shopping cart! :mad:

Sometimes this is a good thing and some times it's a bad thing.....I always cringe when I find the ding in the door from someone else's door or the dreaded runaway shopping cart! :mad:

Yeah...it sucks finding "damage" but it's gonna be there regardless (if it has already happened)

Might as well fix it sooner then later, you know?

I let my wife use the car more than I'd like to admit but when she told me that it was dirty and she wanted to get it washed at one of those bristle washes on the way to work I really lost it. I told her that touchless or hand wash by me only. She asked why?... :(

Would I take my Vette thru a auto (brush) wash? No. Never.
Do I enjoy hand washing every one of my cars? Yes.
Do I have time to hand wash my 2 daily drivers (mine and wifes)? No, not usually.

Problems are:
1- now that we have a kid, there is much less time
2- winter time in Michigan requires a thorough wash every week that includes an underbody flush... Unless you have a nice heated garage that you can do this AND have a good set up to do underbody flushes, it is very difficult to maintain that pace.

That said, I do take time at least once a year to clay bar and wax the daily drivers. My 2000 Grand Prix with 140k miles (currently off the road after we bought the 'bu) on it has been treated this way since new, and it looks great.

You just have to find a good wash joint... ask your neighbors and check out their cars.

Here is my suggestion or my 3 step process during the spring / summer months,
During the winter I only go through the Touchless do get dirt, sand and salt off the car. You're not going to have a showroom look in the winter... at least in NH we're not. I imagine it's going to be the same in MI.

1. Take it though a touchless - you my have to do a google search to find one in your area. Or at least use a pressure wash bay, They get most of the dirt off... The real abrasive stuff like sand, dust, salt, etc...

2. Once this is done, I usually get a bucket of cold water and two sponges (I don't use soap) I start with the top of the car (roof, trunk and hood) and then move to lower parts (doors, fenders, undercarriage) and basically give the car a cold water sponge bath. Rinse the sponges often. I use this method because it eliminates having to hook up a hose, soapy buckets, soapy sponges and, if you just give it a sponge bath after a touchless rinse, the wax will remain on the car from the touchless /pressure wash.

3. When done, dump the water and refill with fresh cold water... Rinse the sponges and and ring them out really good. Go back over the car using the sponge to get excess water off the car (basically dry it). Constantly ring dunk the sponges in the fresh cold water and then ring them out again and continue to dry the car.

This will keep whatever wax was applied at the car wash, but will get the layer of dirt off that the car wash didn't get.

Personally, I only take a car through the full car wash when it's usually 5 years old and probably ready for trade... just cause I get lazy and don't really care any more.
But while it's still new (and being paid for) I usually use the 3 step method mentioned above.