Lesson learned: No car washes.

Sorry to hear that. I'm paranoid enough to always wash my car myself.

 

That sucks but never let anyone wash ur car not even the dealer..

 

That stinks, sorry about that.

I don't let dealer wash it either, except when new. I don't care how soft those big brushes are, don't want them marring the finish.

Another good thing about washing your own car is you get to see all of it in detail. I discovered a fine 4" scratch on my driver's door down low. Wouldn't have noticed it otherwise. Nu Finish Scratch Doctor helped somewhat.

Even if I couldn't bucket and hose wash the car at my own pace*, I would probably look into the 'Optimum No Rinse' type of wash method.

* - speaking of those cheapo coin op places where you pull in and pressure wash your car. I wouldn't use a place like that. Pressure washing probably shoves water in places it otherwise wouldn't get, plus you're rushed to get in and out. blech.

And to prevent door dings, parking out far and walking has served me well for over 3 years. Knock on wood

 

I know the risks of the automated car wash. I've read not only this post but other horror stories.

But during the winter? At my age? I simply cannot get out and wash by hand. For the winter months? I'm almost forced to look at automated car washes.

I've tracked down 2-3 in my area that I feel good about their maintenance. I always drive it in myself. So far? Maybe I've been lucky, and I always keep wax on the vehicle before and after car washes..but so far no damage.

Yeah, it's a risk. But so is hand washing. You miss a contanimate that get's stuck in a wash mitt? You can scratch your vehicle yourself. Albeit I admit hand washing allows more self control and minimizes the risk.

I don't know, but I like to keep my vehicle clean, and when the tempature and will chill drops to near freezing levels? It's either let the vehicle just get dirtier and dirtier, which is not good for the finish, OR use a automated car wash. I choose the lesser of the two evils.

 

Have you tried Touchless Lazer Leveled Car Washes? You pull into a building, park your vehicle and watch the water jets clean your vehicle. Then it waxes and wind tunnel dries your car. The high pressure never damaged my sports car, which had an open/ventilted carbon fiber hood which you can see into the engine bay.



I also had a similar story where my sports car front bumper was halfway torn off due to the rails. Long story short the car wash was not liable for the damage due to their properly displayed warning sign stating "Not liable for damages from vehicles with added "not from factory parts".

 

^^^ I only go to the brush less car wash place. Learned my lessons too.

 

There might be a business model for house visit car washing: somebody who shows up, uses your hose and driveway, maybe brings his own buckets sponges and brushes.

I too loath carwashes, haven't been through one in about 30 years. My rationals:

1. Paint chips, scratches and so on will not be detected, or dealt with, in an automated system. They'll just sit there, wash after wash, rusting.

2. It is really a cosmetic treatment, that misses the corners, does not get wheel wells and that sort of thing clean.

3. There's a possibility of damage.

4. Door and trunk/hatch jambs and interiors will not be cleaned properly.

5. How do carwashes deal with a Prius, which can't be off and in neutral? Not sure I want to know.

 

You can get scratches just as easy even if you hand wash. I'm also learning 'the hard way' that car washing takes a lot of time, prep and proper materials to complete correctly. My past three vehicles have been white and didn't seem to show scratches. Now I have a brand new black Prius and scratches are going to happen no matter how hard you try to prevent them. I just ordered $100 worth of Zaino products and am looking forward to working some of the scratches out, or at least doing a good job at hiding them.

 

The worst swirl marks I've seen are caused not by car washes but rotary polishers used by "professionals," usually on black Mercedes and other luxury cars brought in by their unsuspecting owners, only to be brilliantly revealed when the glaze wears off.

 

A freshly washed black car looks soooo good - for about 10 minutes until the dust starts to settle again. Z-5 was my black Vette's best friend.

 

Should know soon. I've ordered:

Z-AIO
Z5
Z6
Z7
and some fluffy blonde borderless towels.

I spoke w Zaino rep and was going to order more but he said this was all I needed. Nice folks working there.

 

Good choice. On black cars, three coats of Z5 is better than two coats of Z5 and one coat of Z2 as I've found Z2 too reflective and takes away some of Z5's depth. Z5 gives a much richer and deeper finish on black.

 

I really think the trick, if you have a Black Vehicle, I've owned two, to avoiding scratches and swirl marks, is to maintain a sacrificial and protective layer of wax.

I'd NEVER go through a automated car wash, if I felt my vehicle didn't have minimum of protection still in place in the form of wax or sealent.

Anytype of washing creates risk. I think the best you can do is try to minimize.

I love a Black vehicle. But my next vehicle? Probably isn't going to be black. I'm just getting too old and tired to put in the effort it takes to keep looking good. I need a little more visible durabilty.

There was a time when I did not mind, and even enjoyed the washing and waxing...those moments are coming less frequently...

 

Some people never learn. Back in the day i had a neighbor that had a dodge can't remember the model but a big 4 door. It had a metal radio antenna on top of the right front fender . He takes the new car to the brush car wash that snaps off the antenna that gets tangled up in the brushes and smacks all down the length of his car. After this happens 3 times he says i'm not going back to that car wash. GEEZE beam me up scotty.

 

You'll find the Zaino stuff smells good going on and the feel of the paint afterwards is addictive.

 

I'll have to try Zaino sometime, but it's going to be a long time 'cause got lot of other stuff to do.

Even on a not so dirty car, it's the lower panels what land the most dirt on the mitt.

>> If you can't see the dirt in the mitt or sponge you have, throw that sucker away and get something you can easily see the dirt on. How else will you know to rinse it or flip to a clean side and do a little more?

Common sense, but I'll bet more than a few keep wiping with hidden dirt on a dark sponge.

 

A layer of wax isn't going to protect against improper washing as it'll just scratch through the wax. Best just to do all your washing yourself.