washing your vehicle

[jez and suze]

i just read wags's post about washing your boat with the new level 5 water restrictions and i was wondering how everyone goes about cleaning their rig after a weekend on the beach.....i try to get to the carwash but unfortunatlly you cant get at the important bits so i have to get up under with a hose.....can we atleast do the brakes and springs???does anyone know of any unspoken loopholes in this situation as my car also doesnt sit high enough to swing a bucket.

[Tangles]

I dont think you can use a bucket for the cars now with Level 5,, it will have to be carlovers,, bet their share price just went up. For the record, i cleaned, cut and polished the Patrol yesterday with one bucket of water... but that was yesterday, today its carlovers...think ill move to Redlands ;D
mike

[monkey76]

The best bet is to use a self serve car wash where you can just use the high pressure hose and bring all your cleaning goodies if you dont want to use there soaps etc. In terms of an under car wash etc from 4wd on the beach most touch free car washes have this facility. If anyone wants a list of car washes that dont use harsh caustic based detergents and that will not harm or scratch the duco on your vehicles let me know and I will e mail or post a list of sites for you.

[jez and suze]

can you actually trust the touch free cleaning bays to get the sand and salt out from under the car?

[Lazybugger]

can you actually trust the touch free cleaning bays to get the sand and salt out from under the car?

If your talking about the maxi wash which includes the underbody spray at carlovers ... the answer is a big NO. I tested this once before after a beach trip (pre water restriction days). I was feeling lazy so took it to carlovers hoping it would do a good job. Next day I was looking at it and while the panels etc were fine I could feel sand underneath in the crevices. So I did what I normally do to clean the underbody which is set up the sprinker and run over it very slowly over about 10-15mins from front to back, I did this three times once near left wheel, once right and down the centre. The end result was probably a couple of kilo's of sand.

I am no expert on carwashing & 4wd care but from my experience if you look under your car (assuming its like my previous pathy and current navara) you will see there is usally plates protecting some of the parts, to help get water out of these there are usually holes about the size of a 20c piece. Sand gets in there a lot easier than it comes out. I think you need constant water at low pressure to move the sand. High pressure just blasts it about. nothing moves sand better than a high bvolume of water and a 1 min shower at carlovers just doesn't get into the places it should.

Again no expert, hope it helps. I am heading up for the Fraser comp in May and at present the plan to wash will involve going to a mates house who backs on to a creek and pumping water out of that.

Best thing to hope for of course is a big storm with lots of deep puddles to drive through.

Cheers

[Poodroo]

I turned up at a local Carlovers and was turned away because my car was "TOO" dirty. Sheesh, it's a 4wd. What do they expect? Get this. He told me that much mud was going to clog their filtration system and he said to go home and wash the bulk off before returning. I couldn't believe what I heard and never returned. I am seriously thinking about collecting rainwater and buying a high pressure cleaner like a Gerni or Karcher and doing it that way. In the meantime I am avoiding salty conditions and my annual Fraser trip is a no go for me this year. :(

Poodroo

[Tuna_Tys]

A commercial Mobile Car Cleaner can still come to your workplace or home and clean your car with a high pressure system under the level 5 restrictions. I have a car cleaning franchise so I am aware of the rules in brisbane and also frequently take my 4wd to the beach and bush, so I understand the need to clean it properly. Just got back from a week at Moreton Island today and like usual there was a fair bit of sand everywhere!

[Ryan.S]

Jez and Suz, I take the boat out every day day in Hervey Bay, i cruise through the laser car wash and use the manual gerni after every trip, costs about 3 bucks at most and you can get in under it yourself so you know it is done properly. Manual is the only way to go in my opinion and why not use someone elses water.

[Tangles]

Poodroo similar thing, after Mt Mee i turned up to wash my car, big sign " No Muddy Cars: or you will be prosecuted.. well i just hosed it down and continued, makes a mockery of a carwash if you cant wash dirty vehicles, geez they charge enough for the privelege,, im actualy thing of moving to Redland Bay area for lifestyle reasons, also be able to wash the car there too.

cheers
Mike

[wags on the water]

A commercial Mobile Car Cleaner can still come to your workplace or home and clean your car with a high pressure system under the level 5 restrictions. I have a car cleaning franchise so I am aware of the rules in brisbane and also frequently take my 4wd to the beach and bush, so I understand the need to clean it properly. Just got back from a week at Moreton Island today and like usual there was a fair bit of sand everywhere!
With these restrictions, do you bring your own water??

[wags on the water]

Poodroo similar thing, after Mt Mee i turned up to wash my car, big sign " No Muddy Cars: or you will be prosecuted.. well i just hosed it down and continued, makes a mockery of a carwash if you cant wash dirty vehicles, geez they charge enough for the privelege,, im actualy thing of moving to Redland Bay area for lifestyle reasons, also be able to wash the car there too.

cheers
Mike
Mike, soon they will tell us we can't wash our boats there either.A guy got the sh!ts with me the other day for washing my boat down. There are some people that wash clean cars (no mud,dirt,bird crap) and they frown, (this was a better word than the one i wanted to use), on you for washing salt off.

Wags

[Tangles]

Wags, you right there, also this water restriction has just made these guys have a business that people need that equals big buck, first thing they will do is try to reduce their services etc ( ie 4wbys and boats), ie i reckon watch out for a slug on washing a 4by and a boat in the coming years.

Also I reckon there will spring up a few dedicated 4by/boat cleaning places . Personally if i had the cash Id set up a 4wby/boat cleaning setup,, only exceptions Softroaders ;D .. if you have a Merc/Commodore knick off go down the road, your not dirty or salty enough;D


Cheers
Mike

[Poodroo]

Apparently the reason some car wash places frown on people who wash their boats is because of the lack of desalination systems. For people who wash their everyday vehicles at these places may well be giving their cars a bit of a salt bath unknowingly. I think I am just going to have to wait for a bit of a rain cloud and get the spray jacket on and wash the car in the rain (if it ever happens):-/

Poodroo

[wags on the water]

Might just have to take up fresh water fishing....two birds one stone.... Wash the car and the boat.. ;D ;D

[NMK]

Could you use a spear pump to get the bulk of the mud/sand off?

ive been told that there can be salt in the spear water but some of my neighbours use it for drinkin since our water is ment to be so clean, would that make it safe then for the car?


Nath

[Tuna_Tys]

With these restrictions, do you bring your own water??

Under the current restrictions we are not required to supply our own water. On average we use 16 Litres per car. Next level of restrictions will be different though.