Convertibles in a Car Wash???

Hey guys

Does anyone know if its safe to put a fabric roofed convertible through a car wash ('97 Saab 900) i understood that the sensors on the car wash were ultrasonic. Wouldn't a fabric roof absorb the ultrasound and not reflect it?????

knee doc

I wouldnt recomend it, but then again I wouldnt put any half descent car through a car wash anyway, it dulls the paint, mine has only been through about 3 times since I had it, all the other washes have been carried out by hand :) as it should be. And my other car wont fit in the car wash! (theres a max limit on tyre width)

Dont be so lazy and wash it yourself!!!!!! Or you can pay a Pikey £2 and he will do it for you.

Normally i do wash it by hand, but its the wheels they take too long to do, and the car washes have those cool brushes on them. Plus they dry it for ya :)

I once took a brand new mazda mx3 i had through a car wash as i was meeting someone and didnt have time to wash it .
The rear screen shattered and showered me and my missis with broken glass and caused nearly 3 grands worth of damage to the car (car wash was working ok).
A convertable could possibly sustain some damage and will definately leak like hell at the least .

urban;)

Ouch,,,,hope you managed to get compensation...

Wouldn't take mine through a car wash either..

The grit that builds up in those things over the years doesn't bear thinking about...

don't put a convertible thru a car wash, that's asking for trouble..

the handbook should specifically state that you need to clean it by hand, mine even says I'm only allowed to clean it by making all strokes towards the back of the car, otherwise it will **** the fabric up.

there's supposed to be something good for alloys, think it's called wonderwheels and it cleans them a treat piece of piss.

actually i need to clean mine soon as it's ****ing filthy!

oh well better get out of bed early tomorrow - bummer!

There are plenty of different products for cleaning alloys, I use the autoglym one. It is a mild acid though and you have to work quickly, don't let it dry. It is brilliant at getting rid of the brake dust stains.

For washing my convertible I do it by hand. I wash it in record time with a soft broom. The broom has never touched any piece of grit at home, and it means I can wash the whole car in about 15 minutes. When I had a coupe before my current car washing with the broom made the whole task a piece os piss, you don't need to lean over/duck under the car to get to all the dirt. I never touch the rear screen, though now it has gone opaque so I'll need to clean it with some rear screen polish (the owners club that I am in sells it, I've also been directed to halfords who do something similar).

And mine's filthy too, I might wash it easily but I still can't be arsed. Even on a day like today :)

wonderwheels is fantastic, but as its acid, don't use it too often!

Cheers Guys
Managed to get some wheel cleaner from local garage, (can't remember the name) but it make your lungs burn so it must be good :D .

Renovointernational do a good cleaning stuff for rear windows, (i dont have that prob cos mines glass and heated :p: ) but i cleaned the roof and brought the colour back and protected it all with their stuff

Check it out http://www.renovointernational.com/

knee doc

Doc I found some of the renovo stuff on the owners club page here (hope the link is ok). Will 30ml be enough for 1 or 2 polishes of the screen? Don't need to clear it more than twice because it is going back next may.

I had a look at the packs on the renovo site, bloomin heck £75 :shock:

Yeah but you can buy the window polish, 100ml for £16.20 on renovos site.

As mentioned i haven't used this stuff cos my rear screen is Glass and heated :)

Yes I know you mentioned it already, now stop your bloomin gloating :)

:D

knee doc I used that renovo screen polish today mate and it did a fine job. Had to be a bit careful about how much pressure I put on the screen, didn't deform it or anything. Yeah, yeah - yours is glass, I know...

;)

You should take yourself out and shoot yourself with a ball of your own shit for even CONSIDERING putting ANY car through a car wash! I'd rather my car in a ditch than put it through ANY car wash! Get someone to do it? yes, fair enough, but NEVER put it through THAT! No way! BTW............best thing to clean glass is T cut then glass cleaner. T cut removes the grime and road film, glass cleaner makes it sparkle. Old skool of thought will tell you newspapers and viniger, which......actually works, if you can stand the smell!

Thanx for that pearl of wisdom Hybrid :D, i can vouch that newspaper works a treat for cleaning glass, i have always used it on glass, you get black fingers but clean glass.

BTW i compromised and bought an electric polisher, its fookin' great doesn't leave any marks and polishes it in half the time, and a 10th the effort :)

You should polish in an linear motion (up and down) and not in a roundy round motiion ;)