Do you run your car thru an automatic car wash? I have been taking a close look at cars that were exclusively washed in an automatic car wash, and the paint doesn't appear to be scratched and actually in good condition. I have generally avoided car washes for newer cars I have owned in the past for fear of paint damage, but the more I look the less I see any damage from them. Any thoughts?
Automatic Car Washes
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You can worry about paint damage from the car wash or some drunk totalling out your car or some one keying it. Anything is possible. I used to take my 92 Toyota 4x4 through the free with a fill up gas station for years . I got to watch it get totalled by being rear ended. If you remember the value of most vehicles drop like a rock as soon as you pay for it. so just maintain it and use it.
During the summer I hand wash my car, in the winter I use a touchless car wash, it gives good results. The old brush car washes were horrible, I would see small hairline scratches everytime I used it.
Originally Posted By: FirstNissan
During the summer I hand wash my car, in the winter I use a touchless car wash, it gives good results. The old brush car washes were horrible, I would see small hairline scratches everytime I used it.
This is my regimen too. Except when I had the older cars. For those I'd use a touch wash since it cleans better than a touchless. As long as my car wash is spraying under my car in the winter months I'm OK with it
During the summer I hand wash my car, in the winter I use a touchless car wash, it gives good results. The old brush car washes were horrible, I would see small hairline scratches everytime I used it.
This is my regimen too. Except when I had the older cars. For those I'd use a touch wash since it cleans better than a touchless. As long as my car wash is spraying under my car in the winter months I'm OK with it
I think just about all of the automatic car washes around here now are brushless, so there's really no chance of having something scratch your paint. In a way though, I miss the car washes with the brushes, it just seems that sometimes there's dirt on my car that will just not come off without something rubbing the dirt. Most of the time I use a self-serve car wash, maybe a few times a year I'll go to an automatic car wash.
I'd never use an automatic wash that uses anything that touches my vehicle. I just can't stand it.
I run mine through a touchless that also sprays underneath when it is below 40 degrees, and bucket wash it on the driveway when it is above 40 degrees.
Mine sits in a garage as well.
My neighbor and I have the same vehicle, same model year.
He never washes his, and it sits out on the driveway all of the time. His started to rust completely through this spring. Seven years old. At least I now know where to start looking for any problems with rust on mine!
However, mine is still fine. I'm apparently doing something right.
I run mine through a touchless that also sprays underneath when it is below 40 degrees, and bucket wash it on the driveway when it is above 40 degrees.
Mine sits in a garage as well.
My neighbor and I have the same vehicle, same model year.
He never washes his, and it sits out on the driveway all of the time. His started to rust completely through this spring. Seven years old. At least I now know where to start looking for any problems with rust on mine!
However, mine is still fine. I'm apparently doing something right.
I think the new closed cell foam brushes that are in the newer wash systems are OK.
With that said, I think the worst automatic washes are the in-bay/rollover units that use little or no soap at all. My local dealers have these units (and they even open them to the public to use) and I think that's where the problems come. Also, sometimes the attendants dry your car with dirty rags, which also cause a lot of scratches. IMO, I think the drying causes more of the scratches than the wash itself.
Therefore, I usually only use the tunnel washes that soap the car multiple times and occasionally, the touchless washes. The full-service car washes with the long tunnel washes seem to be the best. I just stay away from the gas station and dealer ones altogether.
With that said, I think the worst automatic washes are the in-bay/rollover units that use little or no soap at all. My local dealers have these units (and they even open them to the public to use) and I think that's where the problems come. Also, sometimes the attendants dry your car with dirty rags, which also cause a lot of scratches. IMO, I think the drying causes more of the scratches than the wash itself.
Therefore, I usually only use the tunnel washes that soap the car multiple times and occasionally, the touchless washes. The full-service car washes with the long tunnel washes seem to be the best. I just stay away from the gas station and dealer ones altogether.
A little OT, but story I was thinking of recently:
Shortly after graduating HS back in the late 90's I got a job at a carwash that was attached to a full service gas station. My job was to spray the cars with a bug-off solution that would help the bug splatter come off the front, windshield and mirrors of the cars that came to the automated carwash. The container I had to use was a small 4 litre pressurized container, with a wand atachment at the end.
I had only been working at the carwash for about 3 or 4 days, when one particular morning I had run out of bug spray. i had called someone at the front to give me a hand as I wasn't sure which container to dispense this bug-off solution from and when nobody came to help me after several requests from a bunch of punk-assed retards, I went into the storage room and started dispensing the closest solution I could find.
Later that day my GF brought her 91 Sprint (Geo metro) to get it washed and I used the same solution on her car, that I had been using all day on numerous other cars. I sprayed her mirrors, windshield, and hood with the solution.
After my shift was done, I met up with my GF and noticed her windshield was VERY blurry...like water had been sprayed on the windshield, but was permanently etched into her windshield.
I scrubbed and scrubbed her windshield trying to get that solution off, but with no luck I had to give up. Turns out I had sprayed her car and several other cars with an industrial grade asphalt cleaner that had also bleached and left marks on the paint that looked like a bottle of bleach had been dumped on the car.
She ended up getting a new windshield out of the deal. There were sooooo many ppl. who got free paint jobs, new windshields etc. all because the staff at the carwash was too lazy to help me out. I quit shortly after this incident...I thought it was pretty funny to be honest, considering it was a big oil company who was paying the bill.
Shortly after graduating HS back in the late 90's I got a job at a carwash that was attached to a full service gas station. My job was to spray the cars with a bug-off solution that would help the bug splatter come off the front, windshield and mirrors of the cars that came to the automated carwash. The container I had to use was a small 4 litre pressurized container, with a wand atachment at the end.
I had only been working at the carwash for about 3 or 4 days, when one particular morning I had run out of bug spray. i had called someone at the front to give me a hand as I wasn't sure which container to dispense this bug-off solution from and when nobody came to help me after several requests from a bunch of punk-assed retards, I went into the storage room and started dispensing the closest solution I could find.
Later that day my GF brought her 91 Sprint (Geo metro) to get it washed and I used the same solution on her car, that I had been using all day on numerous other cars. I sprayed her mirrors, windshield, and hood with the solution.
After my shift was done, I met up with my GF and noticed her windshield was VERY blurry...like water had been sprayed on the windshield, but was permanently etched into her windshield.
I scrubbed and scrubbed her windshield trying to get that solution off, but with no luck I had to give up. Turns out I had sprayed her car and several other cars with an industrial grade asphalt cleaner that had also bleached and left marks on the paint that looked like a bottle of bleach had been dumped on the car.
She ended up getting a new windshield out of the deal. There were sooooo many ppl. who got free paint jobs, new windshields etc. all because the staff at the carwash was too lazy to help me out. I quit shortly after this incident...I thought it was pretty funny to be honest, considering it was a big oil company who was paying the bill.
There is no paint damage because almost all automatic car washes today are TOUCHLESS!!!
Oh and by the way, you may have heard that we have landed a man on the moon!!!
Oh and by the way, you may have heard that we have landed a man on the moon!!!
Originally Posted By: Beagle2000
There is no paint damage because almost all automatic car washes today are TOUCHLESS!!!
Oh and by the way, you may have heard that we have landed a man on the moon!!!
Maybe in Canada, but here in the US, most car washes are friction. In fact, some industry guides have said that due to advances in brush technology, more car washes are going back to friction.
There is no paint damage because almost all automatic car washes today are TOUCHLESS!!!
Oh and by the way, you may have heard that we have landed a man on the moon!!!
Maybe in Canada, but here in the US, most car washes are friction. In fact, some industry guides have said that due to advances in brush technology, more car washes are going back to friction.
Maybe in California Critic, but most are touch free around here. Out of the 12 local stations I usually use, two have anything that touches the car. The remainder are touch free units. This varies based on the type of car wash (such as gas station versus full service car wash etc...).
I also think the discussion depends somewhat on how well the equipment in question is maintained.
I also think the discussion depends somewhat on how well the equipment in question is maintained.
Originally Posted By: FirstNissan
During the summer I hand wash my car, in the winter I use a touchless car wash, it gives good results. The old brush car washes were horrible, I would see small hairline scratches everytime I used it.
+2 Exactly what I have been doing. The only thing is that I hear rumors that the soap used by some automatic car washes are strong enough to strip wax and sealant. I'm going to test that theory this winter.
During the summer I hand wash my car, in the winter I use a touchless car wash, it gives good results. The old brush car washes were horrible, I would see small hairline scratches everytime I used it.
+2 Exactly what I have been doing. The only thing is that I hear rumors that the soap used by some automatic car washes are strong enough to strip wax and sealant. I'm going to test that theory this winter.
I know our carwash soaps are now super concentrated to lessen the costs of shipping, so it's even more important to dilute it properly. Our Presoak will dry out your skin quickly even in diluted form due to the high pH.
Originally Posted By: MNgopher
Maybe in California Critic, but most are touch free around here. Out of the 12 local stations I usually use, two have anything that touches the car. The remainder are touch free units. This varies based on the type of car wash (such as gas station versus full service car wash etc...).
I also think the discussion depends somewhat on how well the equipment in question is maintained.
there is a chain of places here called Shammy Shine that are fantastic. yes, they do have brushes but I've never had any issues.
I tired a new 'touch free' place once and it was hardly any cleaner than before it went in! never again...
Maybe in California Critic, but most are touch free around here. Out of the 12 local stations I usually use, two have anything that touches the car. The remainder are touch free units. This varies based on the type of car wash (such as gas station versus full service car wash etc...).
I also think the discussion depends somewhat on how well the equipment in question is maintained.
there is a chain of places here called Shammy Shine that are fantastic. yes, they do have brushes but I've never had any issues.
I tired a new 'touch free' place once and it was hardly any cleaner than before it went in! never again...
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
I'd never use an automatic wash that uses anything that touches my vehicle. I just can't stand it.
I run mine through a touchless that also sprays underneath when it is below 40 degrees, and bucket wash it on the driveway when it is above 40 degrees.
Mine sits in a garage as well.
My neighbor and I have the same vehicle, same model year.
He never washes his, and it sits out on the driveway all of the time. His started to rust completely through this spring. Seven years old. At least I now know where to start looking for any problems with rust on mine!
However, mine is still fine. I'm apparently doing something right.
excellent comments
I'd never use an automatic wash that uses anything that touches my vehicle. I just can't stand it.
I run mine through a touchless that also sprays underneath when it is below 40 degrees, and bucket wash it on the driveway when it is above 40 degrees.
Mine sits in a garage as well.
My neighbor and I have the same vehicle, same model year.
He never washes his, and it sits out on the driveway all of the time. His started to rust completely through this spring. Seven years old. At least I now know where to start looking for any problems with rust on mine!
However, mine is still fine. I'm apparently doing something right.
excellent comments
Originally Posted By: Beagle2000
There is no paint damage because almost all automatic car washes today are TOUCHLESS!!!
Oh and by the way, you may have heard that we have landed a man on the moon!!!
Still think that all automatic car washes damage paint if used long term even if touchless. Strong cleaners, wheel damage from car carriers, sloppy wipe-downs, stuff ripped off and even door dings.
There is no paint damage because almost all automatic car washes today are TOUCHLESS!!!
Oh and by the way, you may have heard that we have landed a man on the moon!!!
Still think that all automatic car washes damage paint if used long term even if touchless. Strong cleaners, wheel damage from car carriers, sloppy wipe-downs, stuff ripped off and even door dings.
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