PSA: Do not use auto car washes

[Black Tire]

Originally Posted by raptor87

Much prefer the topless wash but will accept touch less when it's not available

Agreed, but only if the topless are female.

[burnt toast]

Originally Posted by mact

Maybe if I took my car mudding. There's a difference between heavy dirty brushes smacking your car and spraying water.

you've entirely missed my point. a strong jet of water + dirt is not much different than soapy/dirty heavy felt strips scraping dirt and grit across your paint. google the issues people come across with touchless washes - if the jet of water is strong enough to blow off stock emblems, it's powerful enough to blemish your paint - assuming dirt gets directly under the jet of water.

Originally Posted by Cameronghanson

+ with a good coat of wax or opticoat...all that shit should be easily and cleaned removed with no issue. If it did bother than paint probably shouldnt drive it in the rain...or snow...or light wind...in fact probably better to just not drive it.

a good wax will provide microscopic layer of protection, regardless of how thick you put it on. sure you can layer it, but waxes (carnuba or synthetic) have a life span. protection? yes. ultimate shield vs grit? no. i don't have experience with opticoat, so i cannot comment on that. but i did mention the strength of the chemicals used; how will your paint protection hold up against the strong solvents used in car washes? if a simple polish can easily remove the topmost layer of clearcoat from a car, what can these mystery chemicals in carwashes do?

i dont know about your area, but my area's "touchless" washes use very high pressure water jets.

i am picky about my car's finish. worth it to me? yes. worth it to 95% of people? hell no. i understand and i am ok with it. just throwing out other viewpoints. but in five years my paint will look pretty damn good with minimal swirl marks/spiderwebs, even without a paint correction/polish job.

Originally Posted by n2oinferno

After how long of being in service? Don't underestimate the power of just plain water flowing into cracks and crevices and doing damage over time.

about three years at the time when i was working there.

the asphault under the rain gutters did not show any wear whatsoever. and keep in mind i live in the seattle area. there is much more rain water at higher speeds hitting the asphault under the rain gutters than the amount of soapy water runoff from the prewash bay throughout the course of a year.

[burnt toast]

Originally Posted by KitoBRZ

The scratches are down to the metal. Thankfully the owners of the carwash aren't dirtbags and they're working with my insurance company to get my car fixed! I won't have to pay for it. I went back there and double checked that there were no signs stating they weren't responsible for damage (not that it matters, that is completely admissible in court because of state laws)

thats great news from an unfortunate situation. hopefully you will have your car back to its pre-damaged state in no time. i doubt most car washes would accept responsibility, especially with the economy the way it is right now. report back on how things go, if you would.

[mact]

Originally Posted by burnt toast

you've entirely missed my point. a strong jet of water + dirt is not much different than soapy/dirty heavy felt strips scraping dirt and grit across your paint. google the issues people come across with touchless washes - if the jet of water is strong enough to blow off stock emblems, it's powerful enough to blemish your paint - assuming dirt gets directly under the jet of water.

I'll respectfully disagree with you and post the first thing that came to mind after reading your argument.

[ame]http://youtu.be/2HQaBWziYvY[/ame]

[David-Fermani.com]

Originally Posted by burnt toast

you've entirely missed my point. a strong jet of water + dirt is not much different than soapy/dirty heavy felt strips scraping dirt and grit across your paint. google the issues people come across with touchless washes - if the jet of water is strong enough to blow off stock emblems, it's powerful enough to blemish your paint - assuming dirt gets directly under the jet of water.

Huge difference! 1 uses abrasion and the other doesn't.

There are no reports (to my knowledge) of a jet of water causing damage to a paint whether it's dirty or clean. If you can supply a link, I'd be happy to check it out.

Opti-Coat is impervious to chemicals and environmental contaminants. It's totally unlike any wax or sealant. If your car is coated with it, the chemicals from a touchless wash will not harm it or the finish below it.

[RandomHero]

This:

Originally Posted by mact

I'll respectfully disagree with you and post the first thing that came to mind after reading your argument.

Sandstorm : your argument is invalid.

[David-Fermani.com]

Originally Posted by KitoBRZ

I took my BRZ to the car wash and it destroyed my roof.



I don't know if you can tell by the photo; but there are two 24 inch gouges in the roof and one lateral gouge from the bar that drug across my roof.

My insurance company is fighting with the owner of the car wash and I am unsure of what the outcome is!

The car wash did not even clean the car correctly! It looked like it was trying to clean a pickup truck or something, it missed the hood entirely and scraped the hell out of my roof.

This is what I get for being lazy... gah! Just wash your BRZ by hand!

I see vehicles damaged at car washes all the time. The key is to have good documentation and report it immediately to the wash management. Keep us posted on what happens.

[Clembo]

When I was in shipbuilding we used water jets to cut high strength steel up to 4 inches thick. So, no automatic carwashes of any kind for me. Although I would consider the 'topless' one provided they did it by hand!

[n2oinferno]

Originally Posted by Clembo

When I was in shipbuilding we used water jets to cut high strength steel up to 4 inches thick. So, no automatic carwashes of any kind for me. Although I would consider the 'topless' one provided they did it by hand!

You're going to compare a 77000 psi water jet cutter to a 1000 psi car wash?

[HunterGreene]

Originally Posted by KitoBRZ

The scratches are down to the metal. Thankfully the owners of the carwash aren't dirtbags and they're working with my insurance company to get my car fixed! I won't have to pay for it. I went back there and double checked that there were no signs stating they weren't responsible for damage (not that it matters, that is completely admissible in court because of state laws)

Glad that the owner is manning up and you are getting the paint fixed. I still wouldn't go to his places ever again, but I woudln't go out of my way to badmouth him either.

Another thought: Make sure it is your shop of choice, and not his. Or if it is his, make sure, 100%, that they do a good job. You shouldn't be able to see any remnant of the scratches when they are done.

Originally Posted by Clembo

When I was in shipbuilding we used water jets to cut high strength steel up to 4 inches thick. So, no automatic carwashes of any kind for me. Although I would consider the 'topless' one provided they did it by hand!

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the water pressures for those applications are a bit higher than what you will see coming out of an automatic carwash.

[Mac1235]

Originally Posted by Clembo

When I was in shipbuilding we used water jets to cut high strength steel up to 4 inches thick. So, no automatic carwashes of any kind for me. Although I would consider the 'topless' one provided they did it by hand!

The difference between a water jet that cuts 4 inch thick pieces of steel and the water jet used in touchless car washes is staggering. This is like comparing a firecracker to a nuclear bomb, they're orders of magnitude different. I am seeing a lot of people on this thread who are "picky" about their car's finish but have never heard or tried opticoat. You must not be that picky.

Go to a good opticoater and they will clean your car professionally, repair any paint issues you have, and put opticoat on and then you can go through thousands of touchless car washes with no problem at all. In fact, if you would just go get opticoat this thread and argument wouldn't be valid. Good luck and god speed.

[n2oinferno]

To the comment before that says they won't do anything because of signs posted, etc.. I've seen such signs, and I think they're always referring to some kind of add-on part or antenna that the owner forgot to remove. When I was working for the state we put the cars through the auto washes because, hey, fleet cars. There was a guy with a Jeep in front of me, and it tore the tail light right off. Within minutes the manager was on the phone with the local GM dealership getting him a new part and arranging to have it installed.

[Cameronghanson]

Originally Posted by David-Fermani.com

Huge difference! 1 uses abrasion and the other doesn't.

There are no reports (to my knowledge) of a jet of water causing damage to a paint whether it's dirty or clean. If you can supply a link, I'd be happy to check it out.

Opti-Coat is impervious to chemicals and environmental contaminants. It's totally unlike any wax or sealant. If your car is coated with it, the chemicals from a touchless wash will not harm it or the finish below it.

Haha thank you! Basic laws of chemistry and physics will support this.

[mact]

Originally Posted by Clembo

When I was in shipbuilding we used water jets to cut high strength steel up to 4 inches thick. So, no automatic carwashes of any kind for me. Although I would consider the 'topless' one provided they did it by hand!

lolwut

That has got to be one of the most illogical statements ever.