Brushless car wash?

[dhay13]

So we have a local brushless car wash. Works great for wifes car but my dark blue truck is a waste of money in there. Spent $15 the other night just to get the dirt and grime off and it doesn't look any better than before I washed it. In the summer I would rather hand wash but in the dead of winter...car wash will do.

So I have a 2018 2500. My son has a 2021 2500. There is a new car wash that he sent his through and said it looks great but is not brushless. His truck does not have a regular antenna. Anyone here take their trucks through regular 'brushed' car washes and have any issues?

 

[Loudram]

I took my '19 through a "neoglide" touch car wash during the winter for the undercarriage wash to get the salt off. That style uses the neoprene type strips and not a brush. My stock antenna was fine and it cleaned the truck pretty good. However it did leave very fine scratches on the side of my bed one time. I won't take my new truck in there. I now use a touchless about 30 minutes away and only during the winter for the undercarriage wash. It doesn't do a great job but it'll get the salt off. When it warms up, hand wash.

 

[Pull Ya]

A brushless car wash will not clean all the dirt off your truck and if you try to dry the truck you'll scratch the paint. A car wash with brushes will leave micro-scratches on all the surfaces the brushes touch. Generally speaking a car wash with brushes has rightly earned the name "Tunnel of Destruction" IMHO. If they did not cause damage to vehicles, why would they have dozens of signs posted that they are not responsible for damage to your vehicle? I realize that during the winter it is not very practical to hand wash your truck because of the weather, but the best and safest way is to wash your truck by hand using the 2-bucket method.
Jay

 

[Travelin Ram]

Brushless will take off the mud, sand, road salt, and most of the bug guts depending on how dry they are. It just won’t remove the greasy film of petroleum waste that clouds the shine. I use them often in dirty driving because they do remove destructive contamination and I’m less worried about gloss.

When I want to return to shiny, it’s time for a hand wash and fresh wax.

 

[pacofortacos]

I take my black Traverse through the getgo brush car wash weekly.
Took the truck through before, but i don't drive it enough to both with.
Even the brush type won't get everything but it does look better overall. I have never had any damage done to any vehicle, the newer ones are gentler.

 

[Rlaf75]

I use a touch less car wash all the time and it works really good. They aren't meant to be the best wash on the planet. They work great as a maintenance wash if you keep up on it. I hand wash it once in the spring then use the touch less wash as a maintainer throughout the summer. I use it in the winter just to get the salt off underside of the truck.

 

[soapy]

I own several touchless car washes and agree with most everything said on prior posts. My washes will get most everything clean about 95% of the time but not always. Road film after a summer rain storm is the worst to get off. On all my vehicles I keep a good ceramic type wax and they always come clean. Second hardest to remove is the magnesium chloride used on roads in the winter. Not every wash is the same and it really comes down to have the right presoak and the correct dilution for a touchless to work properly.

 

[BWL]

I use touchless all winter. I have had the brushed ones damage my mirror as well as scratch the paint, but that really depends on how dirty the cars that went through before you were. A really dirty vehicle will leave build up on the brushes for the next guy. None of the automatics do a great job, but it's better to me than icing up the driveway trying to wash it by hand and some of the ones around me have corrosion inhibitor added into the wash, which is a nice bonus this time of year.

 

[dhay13]

Maybe I'll just pull my antenna off before going through? Shouldn't be too difficult? Then fold my mirrors in

 

[Loudram]

Maybe I'll just pull my antenna off before going through? Shouldn't be too difficult? Then fold my mirrors in

That's a smart move. It's never happened to me but I have heard of the brushes whipping the antenna around so it hits and damages the windshield.