Car wash or hand wash - which is better?

The fact is that the car has to be washed regularly. It's not just about a well-groomed appearance, but also about maintaining the value of your car. But which type of washing is the best? Whether in the car wash or by hand, opinions differ. We will show you the advantages and disadvantages of each. 

Our expert opinion first: If you want to wash your car as gently and thoroughly as possible, you should opt for hand washing.

Car wash in the car wash 

If you wash your car in the car wash, you primarily save time and effort. It's an easy and convenient way to clean your car. But that usually doesn't bode well for the paintwork! Coarse dirt from the car in front often gets stuck in the rotating cloths and brushes of the car wash systems. This inevitably causes unsightly scratches and swirls (round fine scratches) in your paintwork. These quirks are not always immediately visible and so many car owners do not even notice it - especially if you have the car treated with hot wax after washing. The wax fills in the scratches and conceals them optically. At first glance, the paintwork looks clean and smooth, but if you take a closer look, you can see the sanding marks on the paintwork.

If you decide to use a machine car wash anyway, you should consider the following:

• One before going to the car wash prewash with a high-pressure cleaner to remove the coarsest dirt in advance. This is how you prevent scratches from dirt particles. With the automatic car wash you can hardly remove stubborn dirt that has been stuck for a long time. 
• Areas that the brushes of the car wash cannot reach should then be cleaned by hand.
• Then wipe your car dry immediately with a microfiber drying cloth so that you don't have unsightly water stains on the paintwork and the windows. 

Hand car wash 

The gentle alternative to the car wash is hand washing. Especially with older cars, whose paintwork is no longer so resistant and is already damaged, you should go to the washing mitt and bucket to grab. If you want to wash according to your own ideas and tailor the care to your car individually, hand washing is the right thing for you.

You have to plan more time for this, but in the long run it is easy on your wallet and the body. If you enjoy spending time with your car and attach great importance to the look and quality of the washing result, you will probably opt for manual washing.

If you use a self-service wash bay, you should definitely make sure that you have a protective cover for the washing brushes offered there. Because the same applies here: The dirty brushes leave scratches on your paintwork. The high-pressure cleaner also harbors dangers for the paint. Holding the spray too close to your car can damage the paintwork. Keep a distance of approx. 50 cm between the water jet and the paint.

It is also important to wash out your washing gloves, microfiber cloths and other washing utensils thoroughly after each wash in order to avoid damage caused by stubborn dirt particles in the next wash.