Is it better not to wash your car every week? (Your Thoughts)

hernandez.art13

hernandez.art13

New member
Apr 8, 2013
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Hello my AGO friends, well the car has not been washed in about 2 months, the culprit is down below. Since the 2nd SoCal Meetup, due to busy schedules on both ends. Well since it is a holiday today and we were both available we decided to detail the car once again.

I foamed it up with Optimum Car Soap and my foam gun
rinsed the car
then 2BM.

For the wheels and tires, I used the new DUB wheel cleaner and IMO it took to long and the results were not that great. It started to dry up and then I just used some Meguiar's APC to re wet the the wheels and then agitate the wheels like normal.

They think I'm nuts for having an OCD of applying wax to the wheels after cleaning them, well until they saw the results. I used my one of my dedicated wheel waxes (Meguiar's Ultimate Paste Wax)

Tires were cleaned with Meg's APC and brushes and the tires dressed with Meguiar's Hyper Dressing at 1:2 (it's my new go too for customer cars)

I did the windows and an interior wipe down plus door jambs.

I used Meguiars Express Spray Wax to top the previous coating and waxes.

The car's hood is opti coated and it still sheeted water like day one, the Mothers Synthetic Wax held up just as good too.

So I was thinking that the car will be swirled up and would be somewhat harder to wash then a regularly maintained vehicle like most of ours here. Well the car cleaned up really well and like stated above it still sheeted water and to my astonishment it was swirl free!

So me and my uncle were talking and he said well maybe it's not best to wash your car every week, aside from bird bombs and other worst case scenarios, because the car cleaned up so well and is still swirl free, maybe because the cars paint doesn't get touched as much? What are you guys thoughts (the only drawback would be that your driving in a dirty looking car lol)

Also the wheels are chrome so I wasn't going to use my D143 so that is why I went with DUB wheel cleaner, but felt that APC would have done the same thorough job and for a lot cheaper, plus you don't have to wait.

Picture Time!!!

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After about 5-6 minutes of waiting....

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And final results, tires dressed with Hyper Dressing and chrome wheels sealed with Meguiar's Ultimate Paste Wax. (I see the increase in gloss, so I do think waxes do add a level of gloss)

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Mothers Synthetic Wax still going strong

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Opti Coated hood and just like day one and swirl free!

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Also I would like to thank allenk4, that day of the SoCal meet up I went inside real quick, I then come outside and allenk4 was doing the interior! lol I had said we weren't going to work on the interior so we could just focus on the exterior, plus I didn't think any members would really want too, so I go back outside and allenk4 is detailing the interior! I wasn't going to stop him so I let the man finish his work. Well my uncle goes and gets his car detailed (car wash detail places from time to time) and he said his interior has never looked and been detailed so great since that day. 2 months later and he still brought it up!!! I unfortunately didn't capture any of the interior detail work that was done, but my uncle Paul was just like "wow it looked great!" so thank you allenk4 and of course all the other members that put in work that day....,

Thanks everyone for looking and feel free to share your thoughts on not washing your car every week to keep it swirl free. (not for business just our own personal vehicles, except our cars have to look presentable as Detailers. So it's a double edged sword I guess one could say) lol

Thank for looking, reading and commenting,

Art :props:
 
Rarely washed cars typically have less swirls, but tend to have a dull look to them over time from neglect. Once a month would be a good medium if you can stand having a car dirty.
 
It makes sense to not wash as often if maintaining a swirl free finish and a swirl free finish ONLY is what you're looking to achieve.

The reason that I personally wipe down, QD, or rinseless wash at least once a week is to keep the shine going. I'm sure that's an obvious reason for many of us but from the swirl free standpoint, it is introducing an opportunity every time I touch the car to induce defects.

I also believe that removing contaminants and other topical obstructions from my paint regularly that are NOT the occasional bird bomb and whatnot will prevent certain contaminants from being just topical to embedded. Then ensues protection failure, claying, polishing etc...

My point is that if you are a consumer of this industry and you have your vehicle done by an enthusiast such as a fellow AGO member, then it's a great possibility that you didn't have the time to begin with, let alone now to wash your car regularly. If the detailer did an adequate job of protecting the vehicle, there shouldn't be a need for weekly/daily washing therefore saving time therefore doing what the consumer initially wanted.

If you have the skill and ability to maintain your vehicle, keep it protected, and most importantly have the enthusiasm that many of us here have, then why not wipe down/wash your car regularly? For whatever reason you enjoy taking care of your car, it's always worth it.
 
Its better to wash your vehicle every week/weekend for the fact that your moisturizing your paintwork helping it live a little bit longer from the soap, waxes and all the products you use also it helps detect etching, scratching even to problems with your brakes thought only set back is you are swirling your paint therefore if you don't have a paint-coating I think every other week is the proper time frame for washing your vehicle(every weekend for wheels) cause you reduce the amount of swirls over a years period thus its easier to polish out once spring/summer come and less products used
 
The car is still looking good. I'm out in So Cal like you and on my daily I wash it every 2-3 weeks.
 
Thanks guys, I guess if the car is Opti coated like the hood is then washing it less frequently could reduce the chances of introducing swirls into the paint because one is touching the paint less frequently. And since the coating is "permanent" per se. Then one shouldn't worry as much of having the paint becoming dull like say if the car was just waxed.

These coatings (I've only tried opti coat) are great they are very easy to apply and in a way it almost seems like you are saving time, money and cost of product usage.

I corrected my Dodge's paint about 6 months ago and I just spray wax it about once a month now. I strongly suggest others start using coatings like opti coat. They are great...
 
I give it a good wash one per month and 2-3 times foam lance/power wash touchless wash / month. I dry with a slightly damp DP Rinseless, stuff is amazing.
 
Another good thing about not washing your car is that it makes the sealant last. I don't wash my car in the winter. I used some old Turtle Wax sealant (I realize that I'm making a big admission here, haha, but I hate to waste stuff) on it on Dec 12, 2013, then washed it for the first time on Apr 10, 2014. The car beaded water.

The problem with not washing your car is that a clean swirled car looks better than a dirty swirl-free car.
 
I just think of it as the paint is hibernating or resting for it's next wash when the car is opti coated, even though mine are about once or twice a week haha. I don't like seeing my car dusty :D

I wonder if using spray waxes like Meguiar's Express Spray Wax increases the longevity of a sealant, like say Meguiar's Ultimate Paste Wax. :dunno:

Also I noticed that when I sprayed Meguiar's Express Spray Wax to the Opti Coated hood it added a level of gloss. Not a significant amount but IMO it did and since we are always chasing the shine...

So others say there is no need to spray wax coated panels, who knows maybe there isn't a NEED to do it, but it does add gloss to the paint and I like to think of it as:

Protect the paint with the coating
then
protect the coating with a spray wax (plus it adds gloss)

in this case Opti Coat with Meguiar's Express Spray Wax or Optimum Spray wax does add gloss... so there....

^ I'm like Chet because I also said it to the class lol (not the turtle wax part :D ). So I Art Hernandez recommends using a spray wax on coated paint :bat:


lol

Art :welcome:
 
What good does it do to have great looking paint...
if it's gonna be hidden by a boatload of crap!

:autowash:

Bob
 
I can't imagine going once a month washing my car, that's insane. Unless the weather is an issue, I wash my car twice a week and/or wipe it down almost everyday with rinseless made up as a QD.

I understand the touching the car and increasing the chance of swirling but my previous car had NO swirls and I washed it a lot and never polished the car even because I got it from day #1 and rubbed on the car a lot and washed it a lot.

WASH YOUR CAR!

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
 
I travel 500 miles to and from work each week so I must wash it every weekend unless there's no rain, if not I use a rinse-less wash daily.
Few times I missed a week or so, the paint felt rough, loaded with contaminants.
Why it's important to keep it protected.
 
During the non winter I wash all three of my vehicles once a week, at worst every 10 days. During the winter I wash/blast them off once a week at worst, aim for every few days depending on the salt. Blasting them off with just the power washer at the DIY does great, especially with a sealent underneath.
 
I also have a very difficult time with not washing mine weekly. I like having my car look it's best all the time. But...

I don't think that is Art's question. Is it physically better or worse for your paint/coating/sealant/wax to wash frequently? I always thought that if the dirt, crud, road crap, environmental (and "biological") fallout etc is left to not only dwell on your paint but actually build up, the torrential and sometimes violent downpours we get here in FL will work all that debris up into almost a gritty, very fine wetsand type of effect degrading your LSP quicker.

I am like Klasse Act in that i have refined my wash and dry technique so as to avoid altogether the reintroduction of swirls. But does my frequent washings reduce my LSP more or less than leaving it dirty and washing less often? Good question.

Unfortunately i will not and simply cannot do a durability test of both for the fact i cannot drive a dirty car. You guys understand and are maybe the only ones that do it seems!!!
 
Yeah I'm still going to wash my car every week or 2. I was just surprised to see my uncle's car swirl free after not washing it for 2 months since the second SoCal detail meet up.

So I guess aside from worst case scenarios not washing your car will give you a swirl free finish. If it was swirl free prior to not washing it. (But that's no fun lol)

Also if your vehicle is opti coated then you can probably stretch the time of it not being washed.
 
Well my view on this is: Touch the car as little as possible. So if it's really dirty, do the full wash with what ever steps you do when you want to wash.

If it's only dusty then power washing then quick wax or quick detailer.

It's it's clean and you feel you need to work on the car, quick detailer or quick wax.

Damage comes from contact, so the more frequently you wash, higher the chances of introducing swirls and scratch even if you are super careful. A grain of sand can hide anywhere even if you take the most insane precautions.
 
I wash mine
at least once a week , and more often twice a week . my car sits outside 24/7. I will not drive a dirty car.
 
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