Timeline for Do I really need to wash the outside of my car?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
23 events
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| Jun 17, 2020 at 8:15 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
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| Aug 23, 2016 at 8:43 | comment | added | FarO | I feel this answer is partly based on opinion. For example, salt and bird poop should be washed away to avoid corrosion, and this is known. However, dust and everything else do nothing to the paint. No reason to take them away. And the comparison with a t-shirt is moot. Now, if the answer had included waxing as advantage of washing, I would understand: waxing adds a protection layer that can increase life of the clear coat and fill scratches/chipped marks. | |
| Apr 29, 2016 at 17:24 | history | edited | Bob Cross♦ | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 25, 2016 at 22:04 | comment | added | Alexus | I would also add that waxing your car once a year will keep your paint shiny and much easier to wash and reduces the amount of rockchips you get :) | |
| Mar 21, 2016 at 22:48 | vote | accept | George | ||
| Mar 15, 2016 at 19:05 | comment | added | chilljeet | @NickC yes! infact they are hygroscopic as well which means they'l readily absorb water from air (even in seemingly low humidity). And ENOUGH to dissolve in it. That earns it the bragging rights of having the property of 'deliquescence'. | |
| Mar 14, 2016 at 14:43 | history | edited | Bob Cross♦ | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Mar 8, 2016 at 10:26 | comment | added | Nick C♦ | @PeterA.Schneider Salt, when dissolved in water, makes a great electrolyte. Exactly what you don't want in contact with something made of mild steel... | |
| Mar 8, 2016 at 8:05 | comment | added | Rory Alsop | That said, I drive Subarus now, so I do a lot of off-road. So I wash them once a month, strip and repaint the wheels once a year, and never detail (to me that is a waste of effort, as I don't care about the looks of the cars - I just don't want them to rust) | |
| Mar 8, 2016 at 8:03 | comment | added | Rory Alsop | Peter - this is categorically wrong. I grew up in the Orkney Islands: even worse for salt than the US Northwest! Washing cars was essential. Unwashed cars would rust through in 8-10 years, both through salt remaining on the car's surface and cracks, but also through salt and water being held against the surface by dirt/mud/etc. You wash to get all the salt off. | |
| Mar 7, 2016 at 18:13 | history | edited | Bob Cross♦ | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Mar 7, 2016 at 16:49 | comment | added | Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2♦ | @PeterA.Schneider - But you are. Even if it is in refuting what he's said, you're making claims against him. Again, if you would like to write your own answer, I'd love to see it. | |
| Mar 7, 2016 at 16:47 | comment | added | Peter - Reinstate Monica | @ᴘᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 I don't have any answer. That shouldn't keep me from observing that an answer lacks substance. Bob is making claims; I'm not. I'm seriously not sure about the subject. It's most likely complex; most likely there is no one answer that fits all circumstances (cf. my comment to Zaid below the OP). Bob's answer can be summed up (he has summed it up) as "because you wash your shirt, you should wash your car." That is not a substantial answer. | |
| Mar 7, 2016 at 16:41 | comment | added | Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2♦ | @PeterA.Schneider - Please, if you feel Bob is in error, write your own answer with links/refs to support your claims. I think the community would prefer to see any evidence you can support. I'm looking forward to what you have to say. | |
| Mar 7, 2016 at 15:22 | comment | added | Peter - Reinstate Monica | You mean you cited a reference or evidence? | |
| Mar 7, 2016 at 15:07 | comment | added | Bob Cross♦ | @PeterA.Schneider none of the points in your comment are correct. | |
| Mar 7, 2016 at 14:43 | comment | added | Peter - Reinstate Monica | A coat of salt should actually protect the paint from abrasion. This answer doesn't make much sense to me (nobody doubts that it looks cleaner washed, but the answer fails to corroborate the claims that washing extends the life of the paint with any even faint evidence or reference). It is possible that leaving the salt on makes the metal corrode faster, but it's equally possible that getting salt solution in all the cracks often (by washing) does harm as well. | |
| Mar 7, 2016 at 8:48 | comment | added | Ben | I live in the NE as well and it's generally the under carriage that suffers the worst from not being washed. You'd be amazed how many cars look OK but have holes in the frame or holes in the floor pan. | |
| Mar 7, 2016 at 1:48 | comment | added | Bob Cross♦ | @JasonC sounds like an opportunity to do some A-B testing. I have concrete evidence that washing my wife's car pays dividends. In contrast, I'm pretty sure that she would be significantly less impressed if I explained "it'll just get dirty anyway." | |
| Mar 7, 2016 at 1:27 | comment | added | Jason C | @Bob I'm not arguing. I just meant that, anecdotally, I can think of at least one case where the finish held up well on an unwashed car. Fwiw. Btw, I'd wash my car every day if it smelled like BO when it was dirty, or if it was always touching my skin, or if the coffee ring on the roof made my hygiene questionable to the opposite sex. | |
| Mar 7, 2016 at 0:38 | comment | added | Bob Cross♦ | @JasonC actually washing will reduce the risk of corrosion because physics and chemistry. If you don't want to wash your car, there's no law that says you have to. Just like your shirt, which likely cost a lot less than your car. | |
| Mar 6, 2016 at 20:12 | comment | added | Jason C | You know, though, I live in the NE USA as well. Salty winters, birds, sap. Aside from the windows, I literally have not washed my car in roughly 9 years (and it's parked outside on city streets); rain and snow wear the worst of it away, and I can't justify washing it since it gets dirty again within a day or two. The car is 15 years old and the only spots of rust on it are in areas around physical damage to the paint. Washing won't keep gravel from busting through the finish, though, and won't keep corrosion from happening on bare spots. | |
| Mar 6, 2016 at 19:59 | history | answered | Bob Cross♦ | CC BY-SA 3.0 |