even touchless car washes are not trustworthy, no matter what they use or say, dont trust them unless you drive a ford, or you just dont care to mess up your car. you should always have some sort of wax on the car, every 5-7 months if you dont detail it, the wax is usually disolved by then and its time to wash, buff, and rewax. if there is wax on the car, take a nice soft cloth and you should be able to wipe the dirt right off, or simply spray it off with water...light shower. if you want a good long lasting wax for the winter, find a local detail product warehouse...ie auto magic or car brite...and ask for pure carnauba wax...
http://www.toponemall.com/xwutsrpnecba.html...like the top item on that page. dont buy some weird off brand though...it'll be crap worthy. pure carnauba will hold up all winter long through salt, snow, mud, road tar...and if it doesnt, its not pure carnauba. after winter strip of that wax with a hot bath for your car, literally hot water, it takes wax off real easy, and apply a softer wax. the carnauba is really only used during the winter months, it doest stand up to heat very well. i own a detail shop, so i know this for fact, not just talking out my butt.
what products do most of you all use here anyway? i was thinking about maybe selling some of the products i use over the net, pro-detail chemicals, got to love 'em!