Automatic Car Wash vs Hand Car Wash
“What’s the best way to wash your car, automatic car wash, serviced car wash or by hand?”
This is a question we asked ourselves at the beginning of our journey in developing the Greased Lightning car care product range. All options have their pros and cons but we think there is only one real winner!
We’ve put together some pros and cons, take a look and see what you think:
- Automatic Car Washing
- Serviced Car Washing
- Hand Car Washing with our hero product, Showroom Shine
Automatic Car Washing
PROS
- Super quick clean, maybe 10 minutes if no queue
- Convenient if in a rush
CONS
- Aggressive acids are often used, which can damage paintwork over time and negatively impact the environment
- Between £5-£10 a time
- Poor results: Never removes all dirt
- Can scratch the paintwork
- Leaves water spots
- Dried bird droppings rarely removed
- If the sensors are not calibrated correctly anything protruding from the car (eg. Wing mirrors) could be damaged
- Brushes being used may not be very clean to start with
Overall this method is great if you’re in a rush, it’s quick and easy, but is it worth the possible damage and poor results? Approximate cost is between £5-£10, a reasonable cost if you have little time but expect distinctly average results.
Serviced Car Washing
PROS
- Fairly quick job, approximately 15min for the outside
- Offer outside and inside cleaning
- Convenient if in a rush, queue dependant
CONS
- No control over choice of products. Aggressive acids are often used to the detriment of your car and the environment
- Cleaning equipment, such as cloths can be dirty if the focus is on the volume of cars they can clean, meaning they’re used repeatedly
- Expensive - £10-£15 a time
- Can you expect care and attention to detail?
- Can be long queues
Humans are always going to get a better result than the brushes and machines used in automatic car washes. It’s still an easy option, you’re not doing the cleaning, but you have to queue, wait and pay a lot for the service at £10-£15 each visit.
Hand Car Washing with Showroom Shine
PROS
- It’s your car, you can give it the care and attention to detail you need to
- Great value, only £1.50 each wash
- Showroom Shine cleans, shines and adds a layer of protection to your car
- That layer of protection makes it easier to clean next time
- Creates the best showroom shine finish
- You can clean on your drive, on the road, on holiday, you don’t need a water supply and you don’t need to travel to the car wash
- No water necessary (unless your car is really really dirty and you need to shift some of it first)
- Environmentally friendly, no nasty chemicals and reduces water usage
- No water spots
CONS
- Does require some manual work
- Typical cleaning time, approx. 30 mins. Quick and easy to use but not as fast as the other options.
We think this is by far the best option. All you need is a bottle of Showroom Shine and 2 microfibre cloths and you’re ready!
Showroom Shine is really easy to use, so doesn’t require hard work from you at all. And whilst it’s 15 minutes longer than the other two options, the results are worth it considering you can do it at your own convenience, no queuing, and with the best results.
Even better?
One bottle of Showroom Shine can clean up to 10 cars for £14.99, or £1.50 each time. Compared to using an automatic car wash 10 times (£70) or using a serviced car wash on 10 occasions (£150), we think there’s a pretty clear answer to: “What’s the best way to wash your car?”
Give it a go, purchase your own bottle of Showroom Shine with two microfibre cloths today and start saving time and money.
2 comments
Jul 11, 2022 • Written by Jim C
Showroom shine is the best by far, and I use it whenever I can. The finish is far superior and it lasts well because it leaves such a slippery surface, dirt has a job to stick. I don’t like cleaning the wheels particularly, but using World-Class Wheels helps take the hard work out it and adds to the overall appearance.
Jul 11, 2022 • Written by Michael Lee
My experience getting that nice finish
You set up hose pressure washer,
Add their chemicals and spend best part of 30minutes soaking the car , then I mop off excess water then out with the polish wait then buff up to finish best part of an hour. Option two.Now let’s drive probably a mile or more and normally wait behind 2 or 3 in front car cleaned not polished drive back £15. Option three greased lightning spray lightly over car and buff to finish with micro cloth at home on drive 40 minutes on average.no water no polish no journey no waiting.no contest thank you greased lightning brilliant product.
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