Most self cash washes don’t technically allow buckets but that’s why I go at odd hours. I typically use a brush/ bucket. I pre soak isn’t something I own as I have a pressure washer for the rest of the year. I should do the entire touchless wipe down. Going to try that maybe more often
I see a lot of comments about self-serve bays that don’t “allow” bucket washing. The reason is because it holds up the stalls and the car wash owner doesn’t make money if you aren’t using their high pressure sprayer. I’ve seen people not only bucket washing, but drying in the bay, and I don’t blame the owners for wanting to keep the potential PAYING customers moving through. But keep in mind most of these facilities are seldom continuously supervised and they all have dead times when nobody is waiting behind you. Most likely the worst thing that can happen to you if you break the rules is some “Karen” playing the role of Car Wash Cop.
Agreed. I've spoken to self-service managers in the area and they're generally ok with a bucket wash if there's no one waiting. I'd still need to use their pressure washer, so there's at least some money spent.
Yup. One went under near me, BMW with felony tinted windows in every bay. 0 fsgiven by the Karens, just drive an 10 minutes to the other one, it's a buck more, so no waiting. Now the BMWs are there.......PS make sure you spray the tire shiney on the rotors to make them shiney too.
The reason is car wash has water purifier , every single soap must be purified by the water purifier, NO soap must go into the nature. This is the Law in Italy at least. So if everybody uses they soap, ( i saw people using dishwashing soap too immagine that ) the purifiers cannot do theyre job properly. And can get damaged long term. If i was the owner, i wouldnt like people ruining my job cuz they use soap not allowed.
Wow! I wish I'd seen this video before washing my car today. Ironically, I also washed it at a car wash. However, my wheels and tires didn't look as well as I'd liked, despite bringing my own wheel and tire brushes. Now I understand why you sit, Pan to wash your wheels and tires. It's A LOT of work to REALLY get them clean. Or I should say, FOR ME to REALLY get them clean!! Since I had to do my wheels and tires in my yard, I had to contend with the wind and the continual dropping of my microfiber towels on the ground! Thanks to the wind and dropping towels, I used most of the clean towels I had today. My interior was pretty clean, but my exterior was rather dirty. HAD to get my baby clean before the week began. After actually using many of the cleaning steps that I've seen you do in your videos, I have an even DEEPER regard for the work that you do!! Thanks again for posting!
Glad to see you are learning a lot by watching all my videos. I have 1000 videos on my channel so far, with new ones added twice weekly (Saturday and Wednesday).
I really need to apologize as 2 months back i said it was absurd to expect people to wash their own cars when they may not have a house or garage. Since then, I've learned a ton and now do my own using a variety of techniques and supplies. Even learned that when it's below freezing to dry immediately after each panel or risk your rinseless freezing on the car. Also, if your car is crusted in salt, a few spraydowns of rinseless breaks the crust down and leaves only a film that easily gets washed away with your sponge. So, thank you for getting me started on my journey.
Really excited to see this video- I'm planning on going to a self service place to wash my car for the 3rd time ever in a couple days and have been learning about detailing to prep and research some supplies in advance so I can try some new skills (I wanna try adding a decon step this time!). I live in an apartment complex and it doesn't make much sense for me to go over to a friend or parent's house for access to a hose because I have a sleep disorder and am pretty much only awake at night (not really enough light to wash a car and I'd need to be quiet, plus they'd have to be okay with me being there while they sleep), so I'm excited one of the few 24h places left are self service car washes! Gonna be there at like 3am washin my car lol. Really appreciate the video, this is perfect timing!
Nice video! I had to use the self cleaning wash recently. I am bringing my own products and only paying for rinsing. My method is as follows: 1) Wheels 2) Pre soap 3) Rinse (charged once) 4) Contact wash GFM 5) rinse again. (Charged twice) Next time I will try with rinsless wash instead of a contact wash. This will definitely reduce the cost. Thanks
Thanks so much Pan and Chelsea! This is very timely for me because I just received my rinseless wash and found a self-serve car wash. Now I’m just waiting for the temps to get above freezing…
You are so welcome! How did you discover my channel by the way Cheryl? Welcome to my channel. You discovered one of the biggest car detailing channels on RU-vid as we surpassed 980,000 subscribers and we have over 132 million views! I have been detailing for 26 years and I love to share my knowledge and passion with my viewers. You found the right channel to help you learn everything about detailing.
Thanks for watching. How did you discover my channel by the way? Welcome to my channel. You discovered one of the biggest car detailing channels on RU-vid as we surpassed 995,000 subscribers and we have over 135 million views! I have been detailing for 27 years and I love to share my knowledge and passion with my viewers. You found the right channel to help you learn everything about detailing.
Thanks for giving us permission to use a car wash. lol. I’ve stayed away for years, but it’s pollen season here and it’s good to know a self wash can be used if necessary. As a weekend warrior, it’s taken awhile to realize perfection is not attainable…do the best I can and learn to balance time, cost, and practicality. Keep up the great content.
I always recommend to use the pressure washer first after spraying tires and rims, like you said. Then you can start using a brush and soapy water to remove the traffic film of your rims. Much safer method especially when you have gloss black or matte rims.
Im in NZ. Unfortunately most self serve car wash bays (especially at my area) dont allow external fluids and ban buckets. This allows them to make money by forcing me to use only their products while other unattended car wash places that do allow eventually close down or degrade due to lack of finance for maintenance.
Great collaboration #PanTheOrganizer and #A2D ! So many things needed to wash a car in the winter. I am so fortunate to be in a tropical weather country. Rinseless is all I need for a weekly, bi-weekly wash.
Great video Pan and Chelsea great tips. I have been doing it for many years hauling my 2 buckets, leaf blower and bag with towels, i do not miss going up and down 3 flights of stairs, lol.
This is as far as I know the case here in Norway, I have never heard of a manual/self service car wash that allows the use your own chemicals and equipment to an extent that will allow you to anything like what is shown here.. at least as far as commercial and publicly available services.
I use the same method of going to those self car washes, but I bring all my materials and four buckets, two large and two small. because here in the Bronx 🗽it is $6 for 8 min. In the first 8 minutes I do the rinse less and store water in the two large buckets and I use the small ones to wash the wheels and one for the car. and after rinsing the wheels with the stored water. Then I wash the car with my things, I put the last $6 to rinse the car and the floorLiners. Sometimes I need more money but I don't exceed $20. Sometimes some Karens show up but I try to go late at night or early in the morning when not many people go.
Great video. My biggest concern with this is the amount of time you spend in a wash bay. I've tried to do this in my hood and it can take about 10-15 extra minutes if I'm bookin' it. And boy oh boy do I get the stink eye from anyone that shows up and waits for me to finish up.
I always go to a self service station. This is my way to do it First spray the car with a pre rinse, I use valetpro citrus Then I rinse my car with the waterlance. After it I use a ik foamer with brake buster and clean my wheel en tires with it. I also use a bucket with water and some soap I first foam. Then rinse tires and wheels, but also bucket and brushes and foam up the soap in my wash bucket. After it wash my car, 2 bucket method. And rinse of. Then dry with dream maker and a towel. Then whipe inside the doors, dry the wheels and tires. Then clean the windows and do some dressing on my tires. Then I clean the interior or just only remove the dust inside with a microfiber.
@attention2detailswchelsea yeah it is, but my car always looks good. I use always 3 buckets. It's only hard to get the water from 3 stairs to the car. The whole wash and filling the buckets takes me 3 hours
would it be frowned upon if I go to one of these places and bring my new EGO 765cfm blower with the EGO factory short tube attachment? I love this little monster because it's as powerful as a tornado. :) (EGO needs to pay Pan a commission because I bought it based on his advice.... decided to skip the Metrovac blower) 👍
What i do is in the Super COLD days of winter. I go to a All Water wash and pick the basic wash. Reason being is it has the undercar wash so i can get that Nasty Salt off. And the doors close so u inside. Then i come home and do a waterless spray wash. But at the DIY when its warmer. I just wash the brushes off real good for my tires and lower panels. I Never use the brush above the mid point on my car. I apply ceramic coating every season change. So, its right b4 winter and b4 summer. Since 95% of the time its jus me in my car my interior stays factory fresh all the time...
Minnesota, went to multiple self washes here and when I bring my own soap or buckets and mit, the owners will tell you to stop. I once got told to leave for using two bucket. I now do use a pump foam sprayer mix with ammo anti salt, and adams mega foam then spray it onto my car letting it soak and break down the dirt and salt before going into a touch free car wash. That's the only option I have without getting the owners upset.@@PanTheOrganizer
Good luck finding a self-wash in a city that will allow you to do all this while the timer is not running, or dealing with whoever comes up behind you and starts whining. Waiting around til slow times…?? We playing twilight golf? Anyway I tried a few times and gave up 😢.. I found a hose connection at the apartment complex and made friends with the maintenance guys instead 🤞
Question, I live in apartments so can't hand wash here so I go to self washing place and every single time I'm done and dry my car on the side doors there's always residue left. Seems like I didn't wipe those areas but I do with extra wipes. So why would this be?
Unfortunately the one we have here in Greater Montreal won’t let you use your foam sprayer though you are paying. So rude and stubborn. Then for drying in a parking or outside in winter here .. 5-10 min is out of the question water will be freezing on the car or we will freeze. This is good in the fall or early spring
Thanks for watching! Welcome to my channel. You discovered one of the biggest car detailing channels on RU-vid as we surpassed 980,000 subscribers and we have over 132 million views! I have been detailing for 26 years and I love to share my knowledge and passion with my viewers. You found the right channel to help you learn everything about detailing.
Oh yes absolutely. She had apologized and it wasn’t something she intentionally did. I can forgive and turn the page when I see a genuine person that is mature enough to realize when they did something wrong. We have spoken and obviously met in person and she really is a great person and we get along fine. I want to see her succeed on RU-vid as she is deserving.
@PanTheOrganizer or @attentiontodetailswchelsea I noticed she used the ceramic gloss to coat and use as a drying aid while drying. Is this product still okay to use as a drying aid on a non-coated car? Or do either of you have a product that you recommend to use?? Thanks!
Yes you can use it on a car that has no protection on it no problem. It can even be used as a drying aid on a wax, sealant or ceramic coating. Ideally on a coating.
With rinseless washes, you don’t use a blower. You use a microfiber drying towel. You don’t want to be blowing all the dirt around at high speeds with a blower. As even though it’s encapsulated, the dirt is still on the paint.
It's never recommended to wash your car in direct sunlight. Do it in the shade, as late as possible in the afternoon, or very early in the morning. Same applies for any detailing chemicals you use. If you have absolutely no choice to wash your car in direct sunlight (we always have a choice), use a pH neutral soap and work section by section. This is a good soap for those who have to choice to wash their cars in direct sunlight: amzn.to/3K7FY32 It can be used both in the foam cannon (or in your case, foam gun as you have a garden hose) and in the wash bucket for the contact wash.
@@PanTheOrganizer Thanks for the feedback. I understand tge sunlight thing but my options are limited. Will try to do in low sunlight when possible. You're channel is awesome.
LOL I can't do a video just for one viewer... Videos are super long to produce. Let's do this. You buy it, you review it, and then you tell me if it's worth my time. ;)
I don't like this video, let me explain why. Here where I live, in Italy, self-service car washes don't let you use your own products. Absolutely prohibited. Then every single car wash has its own water purifier, required by Italian law. @Pan The Organizer
Many carwashes in U.S. say u cannot bring buckets. I can't speak to quality of products or pH balance. I will use all of their products, but I bring multiple wash mitts. I leave the sprayer going on water, but leave it in It's holster. This way they can't get mad, because I'm continuing to pay. It's not cheap, but I'm getting the dirt off and minimizing the scratching of the clearcoat/paint.
For the most part it’s the same in the US. Proprietors don’t want you in the bay if not using their stuff. I’ve done what she’s talking about but only when the car wash was empty. Like maybe an early Sunday morning.
@@und_ac same! I live in a small town in canada with strict restrictions on no home car washing and all the car washes don’t allow us to bucket wash since we don’t pay for the time if the water is off.
I've been doing this for years during the winter months, however, I go during off peak times, as they do frown upon you bringing your own bucket, and cleaning tools and products. Great video, I will check out your channel Chelsea. Thanks to you Pan for sharing your platform with a fellow detailer. 👍
Thx Pan and Chelsea for doing this video! I’m in Toronto Canada and my car during the winter months is filthy….now I will go in the off times and have a happy car again !!
It was a pleasure to have you on my channel Chelsea! You did such a great job explaining things in the video. I wish you continued success with your channel, you deserve it!
This is my method at the coin wash - 2 buckets with my own soap, mitts, towels and brushes. Fill both buckets up with their water; one with my own soap - then I rinse vehicle. That's about $3-4 right there only using the water and I turn it off. I do the traditional 2 bucket wash on the car first, and then I wash the wheels last to preserve my rinse bucket water. Car is now fully washed, I empty my buckets out and pay for the water again and rinse the buckets out on their wall mounted matt hangers. Rinse the car off and turn the water off. Another 3-5$. Now its time to dry the car apply whatever on it and enjoy. So about $6-10 spent using ONLY their water.
Some self-service car wash have rules that you can’t bring your own tools and chemicals. Got a warning once when the owner was doing maintenance on site. It’s understandable, they make profits by clock and that won’t happen if we just using their water source for 2 mins.
When I was a kid, I always looked forward to being an 'adult' so I could go to the car wash with all of the quarters I needed to use every single option at the self serve car wash.... Now I know better so I never got to use all of the options... Ignorance was more fun haha
I know I know this was already mention- but as someone who lives just 1 state over from her? I am 33 and been into cars and detailing since I was a teen- And I can tell you for a100% fact- coming from some one who never lived in a house with a garage or space to home wash? there is not a single self wash location that will allow you to touch your car with anything else then the hose they provide lol. I have seen people ban from self wash for just trying to clean there wheels while still paying for there time..... I 100% support the self wash owners as it makes sense - but This video should have really left all that extra stuff out and just show us tips and tricks to use a self wash with ONLY what they provide...
That could be an idea for a future video. But this one was more targeted to detailing enthusiasts who want to go the extra mile. We're all a bit OCD hehe. Have a good weekend!
Maybe these self-wash owners will introduce a flat rate per hour fee just to use the bay. 🤔 I would definitely be interested in that in the cold months.
There is actually a concept for that In Chicago called the Bays where You can pay and wash your car in their heated indoor garage. Wish I could open one here in Lancaster
Yeah, instead of taking five steps, why would you not bring a bucket and a mitt $3 rinse wheels tires and floor mats mitt and bucket of soap $3 rinse pull out and dry
Quick spray of Touchless around the vehicle, rinse off, go home. Under 10mins. Given we're charged a flat rate for time, I'm probably saving Morrisons some money as I'm not using any chemicals at all.
This is the way. No need to bring buckets at all. Just pre-spray with BH TL in a pump sprayer, let dwell for 5 min, rinse off. Pull out, dry with a leaf blower in a parking spot. Drive home and finish with a quick rinseless wash. Done. It's seriously the quickest and most efficient wash you can do.
This lady was in my backyard all these years and I never knew of her. How bout that. No longer in PA though, thank God no more cold n salt. Great vid and I'm always at my local car wash following pans methods just with my pump sprayer, water, chemicals and preferred safe sponge. Nice to see it from another perspective!
@PanTheOrganizer I know you are about the scientific process as much as I am. I'd be curious if you did some sort of scientific methodology to prove your point of "touchless automatic" washes being bad Are they really as bad as you say they are? It's not that I don't believe you, but you usually provide more scientific evidence. It would be really cool to see things like the PH of soaps they use versus some of the pre-washes we use. Also, the dwell time is much shorter than the prewashes. How many touchless washes does it take for you to really see degradation of plastics, ceramics etc.? Some of this technology is so new I'm surprised how the community knows so much about the long-term effects. As always. I'm a big fan and look forward to great content.
I’ve never been to a self service car wash that has allowed you to bring your own stuff. I mean you can go at 2:00 am in the morning without being hassled about it, I guess.
Yeah this isn’t acceptable at any of the self washes I’ve been to. I’ve seen the attendant get into an argument with a customer over this type of stuff before. I had also have had them be super passive aggressive towards me when doing something similar
I own commercial car washes and yes what we call "bucket washing" is frowned upon. Let me give you a similar situation: Imagine going into a restaurant with only six tables at lunchtime, ordering a soda, and then leisurely eating your lunch out of a bag that you brought from home. Meanwhile other customers who actually intended to buy a lunch walk in, and since all six tables are full they leave and go elsewhere to eat. Most people wouldn't consider this acceptable but for some reason it's considered OK to essentially do this at a commercial car wash. These facilities can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions to build. Expenses at mine are huge, including utility bills in the thousands of dollars every month. It's nothing personal, we're trying to make a living and people occupying the bays without the meter running can cost us a lot of lost revenue from others that don't mind paying for the service.
Very good video for people like me who detail their vehicles at home but don't have a heated garage for the cold weather. Really useful information for keeping our vehicles clean but not damaged in the process. Since following Pan I am fastidious about getting rid of what I call 'slime' from winter conditions. I live in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada. Thanks again Pan. You rock!
I'd love to do this, but in Switzerland, you'd get kicked out for bringing your own washing gear into the self-wash bays! I wish they made a good foam attachment I could snap onto the ends of the public wands. The foam systems they use here are horrendous!
This is wht im talking about. showing love to other car channels. No hate, im in the fitness industry and there's not a lot this kind of love so Pan I respect u more for doing this
Thanks man. When I started on RU-vid, nobody was helping nobody in the detailing channels world. So I promised myself to help others if my channel ever blew up. I keep my promises. 👍🏻
How did you clean the door jambs and areas under the tailgate? I like one of Pan's previous pro tips of using a rinseless wash to clean the door jambs.
Great topic as most folks don’t have the time, equipment, and facility to do a full detail wash. However, I’m not sure of how realistic this approach is for most folks. I really can’t imagine taking your own tools, soap to the self serve wash but most unrealistic is that a person would have the luxury of time to do all of that as all the washes around here are lined up with customers. It would cause an angry mob. Now having said that, I agree 100% with this approach as the best way but I’m just saying that I’m not sure of how realistic it is. Great alternative if possible. 👍
Every1 is saying and will continue to say that bringing buckets and hand washing is not allowed. Now This option is not cheap, but if u keep the sprayer on rinse, and put it in the holster, technically u r still paying for service and they can't do crap. Find Diy's that are practically abandoned, and like others have said go at off-peak times. Owner's would prefer to have $3-$5 than zero.
those are a lot of supplies. how does one use all of them and get a good clean wash in a short amount of time when here may be several people behind you wanting to wash their cars too. Isn't there a time limit to use those bays?
Great tips and all, but not sure how it is in the US but in canada Quebec specifically i have never encountered a self served car wash that will allow you to bring your own stuff. I have already been expelled once lol
I have the gear to do a driveway wash in the summer, BUT what is the hazards of a Canadian winter without washing at all -versus- 2 or 3 touchless automatic, or contactless pay-n-spray.
In my place they have big posters with a list of rules at the carwash and some sort of guardian roaming around making sure people respect the rules... BUT, I have a portable battery operated pressure washer, is not powerfull but does more then enough for rinsing off chemicals like prewashes and iron removers before going with my rinseless. I live in a condominium, the parking spot is pretty small and I have some stairs to do so it is a bit of a workout but I'm ocd enough to do this 😆and by doing this, I only have to go at the carwash when the car is super muddy and I need more pressure
All the self serve car washes here do not allow hand washing! Ive been confronted by the owner who gave me a warning about hand washing. Im curious if any Self serve actually allows hand washing?
I think ours just ask that you be mindful of others and I tried to be as fast as possible. Even if you can’t wash in the bay once in the vacuum spots i finish there vs in the bay
I was wondering what your thoughts are on Icon Rocklear? They say it's better than ceramic and all that. It's something I'm considering because I have a new car and it has to stay outside all year in Michigan. Is it too good to be true or is it something you recommend? It's a lot of money for me and I don't wanna make a bad decision. Thanks Pan, love your channel!
I never tested their products. All my top recommendations are in my popular car detailing products awards here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KRv7vKsuliQ.htmlsi=xX7XNsDfn0Qr-TeQ Welcome to my channel. You discovered one of the biggest car detailing channels on RU-vid as we surpassed 980,000 subscribers and we have over 132 million views! I have been detailing for 26 years and I love to share my knowledge and passion with my viewers. You found the right channel to help you learn everything about detailing.
That's cool because normally I'm always having to "beat the clock". But in this case you've done some of the work both before and after using the actual machine there.
Thanks Pan for sharing info on these useful washing techniques and for hosting knowledgeable guests. I like to hand wash my car on a weekly basis. Sometimes, if the car gets dusty(it's all glossy black), I'll bring it to the automatic car wash with a 1 gallon pump sprayer filled with a 128:1 Opticoat No Rinse solution. I spray it on, let it dwell for 5 minutes and then use the pressure wand to blow a high pressure stream of pure water nearly parallel to the surface. This gets the car looking like new and then I blow dry it with my battery powered leaf blower.
Great collaboration video Pan! Chelsea really knows her stuff. I've been following her for years on other social media platforms. I'm also glad to see "real-world" cleaning, especially being in PA with having salt, road grime, and other things on paint that tend to make detailing in the winter particularly tricky.
Is there such a thing as a WINTER car soap? Something that breaks down (desalinates?) the film from salt/MgCl2/cacl2 AND rinses well from very cold water?
Yes. This: bit.ly/3u2KsmZ That is great for removing mineral buildup and water spots too. But it can strip waxes and sealants (safe on ceramic coatings) so be careful. Also, this is not recommended for regular weekly washes. Just once in a while for those deeper cleanings. For weekly washes, stick to pH neutral soaps. I hope this helps!
@PanTheOrganizer In a market already over-saturated with product choices, I think an easy-rinse, film busting general use winter soap & foamer remains an unexplored option for anyone in or above the rust-belt. Prob similar to your recommendation I already use Adam's Strip Wash which is declared "Ideal for Salt Film Removal During Winter Months" I may be starting a side-hustle applying lanolin-based underbody coatings later this year and was considering Adam's Strip Wash may be a very good pre-wash/prep product before coating (or re-coating every three years.) Keep up the good work Pan - Paul, your neighbour in Toronto@@PanTheOrganizer
Wonderful in concept. Completely impractical in reality. I love spending time detailing my car in the summer but winter in Colorado (and any other place that routinely gets snow and grime) is more about survival. Self serve car washes have lines of impatient people and loading up so much stuff when you just want to get the grit and grime off your car (fully knowing that it will rain or snow within the next few days) is just not worth it. Here is what I do on a a weekly basis (or at least when I know there is a few days of decent weather which will be worth getting the grit off the car. 1) High pressure water to get the caked on dirt 2) Foam spray on entire car 3) high pressure soap wash of entire car 4) Use the brush on glass ONLY (not on the paint) 5) High pressure rinse 6) spot free rinse (mostly for the glass 7) leave. It takes 10-15 minutes and while it doesn't get the car shiny, it gets the muck off and I'll repeat this every week. My car is graphene ceramic coated and in the summer it shines for 6 straight months and has ZERO swirl marks. Yeah, its not perfect in the winter but that's the joy of living in a snowy winter environment. Come April in Colorado, I will do a 2-3 hour full detail and then maintenance washes until winter comes again in late October.
Thanks for the video, i learned some things ! BUT i don't really understand why you would want to go to a car wash to do a rinceless wash method... I mean... if you go to a car wash, it would be easier and faster to use a dedicated shampoo, like meguiars car wash for example, you just have to put it directly on a microfibre mitt , you do the whole car, then you rince. It's wayyy eaasier imo. Instead of preparing of bucket with rinceless diluted product. No? don't get me wrong, i LOVE rinceless method and i also use it a lot, but not at a car wash.
Really good method. But still some people will still use the car wash, even explaining to them that is going damage their multiple thousand dollar investment. I guess they are just lazy lol
Hi Pan. Any tips/videos on a compact travel kit? Her kit is more comprehensive than what I would throw in a trunk or in a duffle bag. A kit that can be supplemented by a self serve car wash? Maybe one just power rinses their vehicle and then pull out for a no-rinse clean/detail. Or even possibly stand alone kit (a-la no rinse car wash) Maybe something like: Spray on car wash (maybe Griots) Interior cleaner Tire detailer and applicator Glass cleaner Bug cleaner And various microfibers and a couple of brushes. Thanks.
