Flash car wash

[viperdave]

Flash car wash

Anybody got one?

Have been considering it for the winter months when drying is a blob and I just want to get the worst off with minimal effort.

So anyone got any thoughts on them, tried one of heard a horror story of it wrecking the paint?

Obviously i would do it properly in the summer with a full zaino wax when its going to last more than a mile before getting a coating of winter grime.

[YarisSi]

There is a story about them being used on rally cars on 4car. The guy sounded impressed.

[parrot of doom]

Hand washing my car is good exercise.

I rather enjoy drying it off with the old chamois and then polishing it.

No thanks.

[scruffy]

parrot of doom said:

Hands are good exercise... I rather enjoy drying it off with the old chamois and then polishing it.

Whoooaa there Pazza, settle down!!

[docevi1]

parrot of doom said:

I rather enjoy drying it off with the old chamois and then polishing it.

I found the trick was to wash with slightly soapy water, rinse with plenty of water from the chamoi and then dry with said chamoi and wipe down with a MicroFibre towel

[beanbag]

I find that wet 'n wax stuff is pretty good. I used it all the time and it leaves no streaks and gives a great finish so long as you use a good cham! AutoGlym cloth is best.

Mind, their claim to 14 washes per bottle is a bit of a myth. More like 4!

[jjustin]

I've been using one of these for a while.
My one is called "Mr. Clean Auto Dry" and I got it in the USA:
www.homemadesimple.com/mrcleanautodry/index.shtml

I didnt know they'd started selling them here under a different name.

It's actually very very good. It comes with a special shampoo that you use to wash the car with a sponge as normal but once you're finished, you twist the dial on the top to get a spray of deionised/filtered water to rinse the car down with so it dries spot free without having to get the chamois out.

There's not much pressure when the filtered water is coming out and it's more of a light mist and you have to go over your car as if you were spraying new paint and take your time, but it gets into all the shut lines and grooves so you don't need to worry about 'dirty' water dripping out of somewhere like your mirrors afterwards.

The standard filter that you get with it only lasts a couple of washes if you're lucky, so you'll need to stock up on those and keep an eye on the colour of the filter through the little window (brown means it needs changing) and change it regularly.

My one is from the USA so it needs a US size hose pipe and the one in the pic on the 'Flash' website looks like the same so it may need an adaptor of some kind?

It's also handy to wash motorcycles etc with as you can't really chamois all the nooks and crannies and you get dried water marks normally, but you don't have that problem when using this.

[viperdave]

jjustin said:

I've been using one of these for a while. My one is called "Mr. Clean Auto Dry" and I got it in the USA: www.homemadesimple.com/mrcleanautodry/index.shtml I didnt know they'd started selling them here under a different name. It's actually very very good. It comes with a special shampoo that you use to wash the car with a sponge as normal but once you're finished, you twist the dial on the top to get a spray of deionised/filtered water to rinse the car down with so it dries spot free without having to get the chamois out. There's not much pressure when the filtered water is coming out and it's more of a light mist and you have to go over your car as if you were spraying new paint and take your time, but it gets into all the shut lines and grooves so you don't need to worry about 'dirty' water dripping out of somewhere like your mirrors afterwards. The standard filter that you get with it only lasts a couple of washes if you're lucky, so you'll need to stock up on those and keep an eye on the colour of the filter through the little window (brown means it needs changing) and change it regularly. My one is from the USA so it needs a US size hose pipe and the one in the pic on the 'Flash' website looks like the same so it may need an adaptor of some kind? It's also handy to wash motorcycles etc with as you can't really chamois all the nooks and crannies and you get dried water marks normally, but you don't have that problem when using this.

Looks like the same thing to me, MR Clean and Flash are both Proctor and Gamble.

I agree with the comments about cleaning it properly with a full wash and wax and I don’t mind the effort in the warm and when its going to last more than a mile, believe me I have £100 worth of zaino products just waiting to be applied. But when it’s about 3 degrees out and practically impossible to dry the car because it’s so cold, after the third car I’m frozen. So something that makes it a quick and easy wash in the winter is what I want. I was just concerned if it was a gimmick and didn’t really work very well. But sounds like its great.

I was asking as Sainsbury’s have a promotion on them at the moment, although the real cost will be in the refills I’m sure, so that alone would probably ensure it only gets used when I really don’t want to get the shammy out.

[cinque]

How much are these things?

[viperdave]

Sainsbury’s has the starter kits on promotion for £19.99, not sure of the cost for the refill though.

But yes that’s exactly it, for when it needs doing but don’t really want to.

[rosso rebel]

This thread is quite timely - I've been trying to find some kind of additive for my karcher for this very job! I'm visiting a couple of stores this afternoon, so i'll keep an eye out for this product! Not sure that i'd use the shampoo (currently use maguires) but really want it for the final rinse without the white spots.