We get this question every week at the front counter: how often is too often? The honest answer depends less on the calendar and more on where you park, what you drive on, and what your paint is currently protected with.
The short version
- Daily driver, no coating: every 2 weeks
- Daily driver with ceramic coating: every 3–4 weeks
- Weekend / garaged car: every 4–6 weeks
- Coastal suburbs (Cronulla, Maroubra, Bondi): add one extra wash a month for salt
Why under-washing is worse than over-washing
Most paint damage we see isn't from washing too often — it's from leaving contaminants on the panel. Bird droppings, tree sap and bug splatter are acidic. Left in summer sun, they etch the clear coat in 24–48 hours. A weekly rinse and a proper fortnightly hand wash beats a monthly 'big clean' every time.
Signs you're due
- Water no longer beads cleanly across the bonnet
- You can feel grit when you run a clean finger across the paint
- Wheels are tinted brown from brake dust
- Windscreen smears even after wipers
What about automatic washes between hand washes?
Don't. Brush-style automatics drag grit across your paint and create the swirl marks we spend hours polishing out. Touchless washes are gentler but still rely on harsh chemistry. If you can't get a hand wash, a rinseless wash at home with two clean microfibres is the safer fill-in.
"Cars don't get scratched in the wash bay. They get scratched in the wash bay they shouldn't have gone to."
Build a rhythm
Most of our members settle into a fortnightly hand wash with a quarterly interior refresh. It keeps the car protected, keeps the paint correctable for years, and removes the 'I should really wash my car' guilt loop. Pick a day, book it in, and let it run on autopilot.
