Agreed. However, there is a newer (5 years old) high end car wash about a mile from my house. I live in suburban Chicago so there are very few pickup and work trucks in my area. In addition, this is a high end car wash so its mostly yuppies and soccer mom's in the Escalade's, etc. Anyhow, my brother-in-law brought his 3 months old 5 series BMW there last year and there must have been a rock or grit of some sort in the brushes as his car came out with huge scratches. His car looked terrible and needed to be fixed by a professional. For that reason I never go through any car washes. I only do it by hand. I figure it is better to be dirty for an extra week than have do deal with scratches, etc.

Adam

 

Alevine,

Let me ask you a question? Was the scratch all the way down the side of the car(as in start from the front bumper to the rear of the car) or just a few inches down the side? The reason why I ask is I get blamed for the same thing at our wash. I hear.. HEY THOSE SCRATCHES AND MARKS WEREN'T THERE WHEN I CAME IN HERE. I then ask the customer how did they get there? Mind you- there about 2-5 inches long and only one or two on all different parts of the car. Never the same area. They say- a rock or something must of been in your brushes and it scratched it. So here's what I say. Well since the scratch is only a few inches long and not all the way down the side of the car theres no way my brushes could of done it. The brushes stay in contact with the car from the front to the back, if there had been a rock in the brushes there would be a mark all the way around the car. IN OF STORY... I keep my cars clean and I make sure there not getting scratched, but there always seems to be something on them that I have no Idea where it came from. Just food for thought...

 

I thought long and hard before I posted the above as I know many people are happy with higher end soft brush washes and I don't want to offend anyone. In my brother-in-laws case the scratches were down the entire passenger side of the car. The manager admitted it was their fault (& paid for the repairs) and said it does happen on an infrequent basis.

Adam

 

I realize that there are times where one needs to take their car to a car wash...heck I do it myself. However, whether it's the washing mechanism or the guys finishing up the cars, no car wash is going to no create light swirls and scratches in the paint. To KWIKSS, for every one of the meticulous car washes like yours, there are probably 100 others that do more harm than good. It's the simple case of buyer be ware. If you do your homework, you can find places that do a great job...but it's up to you to find them.

And some adivice...this bugs me so much. If you paid $9.95-$19.95 for a wash, don't expect the tar to be removes, the paint scuffs on your wheels to be polished, that's small scuff on the bumper to be polished, that little smudge on the window to be cleaned, etc. I don't get. There's always somebody that doesn't get the fact the you just paid $20 bucks for a WASH...not a DETAIL.

 

You really do get what you pay for. There are times where it is the lesser of two evils, but there are lots of rewards for doing it yourself.

I know that with every detail that we do, we try and educate the customer as much as possible on how to properly maintain the finish that we provide, because believe it or not, we aren't just out here to take your money. We care about the cars that we work on, and their continued and consistent care. That's why we are here on the forum, to help educate and help everyone to keep their finish as good as possible.

So for the car washes, be they pressure washes at a gas station, or with a wand where you stick in quarters, or one where they do everything for you, I recommend looking at them as a temporary and infrequent solution for the real enthusiast. Your car may be clean when you are done, but when you take the time to do it yourself, you see a lot more in that reflection than just gloss and depth, you also see accomplishment.

 

My pressure washer is a Craftsman 6hp, ( max ) 2500 psi, 2 GPM. Like I said, it has a tank for soap or detergent and a attachment for making the soap foam.
I olny use most gentle attachment but I'm not sure what the PSI is. I really don't use it very often for cleaning my cars. I use a hose and regular spray handle. There is a car wash and for $.75 you get 2:45 of time to spray your car. That is more then enough time for me to get the heavy stuff off after a rain or snow drive when I don't have time for a hand wash. I do this at lease 1nc a week because it is so cheap.

 

I have YET to find a touch car wash that does not inflict micro scratches (swirls) from the brushes. I too a near perfect paint polished car to a Brand New car wash, I was the 10th car in, came out and fine scratches all over........ I was going to polish out the car for the upcoming winter sealant, so no big deal. Repeated washes like this will create huge issues later.

Cheers,
GREG

 

Fine scratches are hard not to get out of any car washing out there. Unless you spend all day foaming the car, spraying it off and repeating. Here's a study of Hand washing VS Auto Washing. http://bubblescarwashanddetail.com/r...shing_Cars.pdf

 

That study is absolutely comical. I wouldn't expect anything less from the "International Carwash Association"

i'll wash my own thanks.

 

Hand washing with proper knowledge and procedures will always be superior to ANY automated car wash... PERIOD

 

Sure, an "average Joe" might pick up whatever nasty wash mitt and bucket he can find and wash his car, and in that case, it's probably a toss up. But a person who has decent supplies and techniques is going to do a more thorough and safer wash than the vast majority of car washes.

There will be exceptions on either side.

I, myself, might use a touch-less car wash once or twice a year to help get off winter crud, but the real washing is done by hand.

 

This "study" is biased and doesn't say how the home washing was done, no methods or materials discussed. This is not a study but a promotional tactic without merit.

While I know your in the business of automatic car washing this would be a great article for the common folk, however it is not properly done. True fact that washing your car at home can do damage, but since the speed of automation is much great the damage can be greater, and usually is.

I can hand wash at home and NOT flog my car. One trip to a touch car wash with dirty miters and brushes will flog a car very badly, and people, once educated will see this easily. My 9,7,5 year olds can spot cars with swirls or improperly detailed car.......its all about education and caring.

Cheers,
Greg

 

YUP you've got to consider the source... this is like Burger King or Mcdonalds trying to tell people not to make their own hamburgers because their product is better. Both burgers will get you full, satisfy your appetite but in the end the products are very different than if you made it yourself with premium ingredients.

That article is laughable at best and I can't believe it was used to try and give credibility to their argument.

Sorry... not drinking the koolaide on this one

 

Car Wash induced scratches the washing and drying process combined.



This is what it should look like after taking it to a professional.

 

Nice to see you aboard Greg.