Microstar

I am eager to try out detailing but one major obstacle is the lack of water access in my apt garage. Because of this, I have always taken my car to car washes.
Certainly not a good idea in the long term when all the swirls and flaws begin to surface

Just wondering if there's any recommendations for me if I intend to wash and detail my car myself?

Yoko

Can you detail your car at the car wash right after you wash your car?

MacSid

Lucky devil, you get a garage. We get street parking over here, and my only option, like you, is to take my baby to the car wash. We have a couple of car washes here that have self-wash, vacuuming and detailing/polishing bays that would allow you to spend the whole day there if you so wish. I'm guessing this concept must exist across the pond too.

Thankfully I have access to two car washes that use felt/foam strips rather than brushes, so no swirls at all on the current and previous cars.

I used to drive back from the car wash, damp-wipe down the car and detail it while parked on the street (it's a reasonably quiet street, thankfully) but have, for a while now, just paid someone to do it for me.

Microstar

We do have self service/coin operated car washes, just that they are wide in the open and the car is under the mercy of the sun !

westcoast550

Contact member Fminus for recos in your area , by the looks of his work he is a real pro and could probably give you and, us ,some real good tipson how to keep the cars looking good.....

MacSid

That's a real shame. I guess the vagaries of the Dutch weather (it's crap) and the fact that a significant majority live in apartments and have no facilities of their own has come into play here - most of the larger car washes in the cities here have large covered spaces for us to work in, and they let you stay for quite a while.

FMINUS

Try using Chemical Guys ONE for a waterless wash. Thats all I use now since I dont get a chance to detail my own cars anymore! Then every other month, get a REAL wash or Detail done.