Automatic Car Wash

[cjaama]

I think we’ve all been beaten over the head with the fact that automatic car washes damage paint particularly causing swirl marks. I’m hoping to get some unbiased, experience-based responses as to whether that is true with modern car washes.

For the most part I’ve used touch-free washes in the winter (although in my research, the heavy chemicals in the soap used are said to potentially damage paint) and hand washed the rest of the year. However, I’ve had a couple leased, white cars in recent years and since I have found the touch-free washes to not thoroughly clean the cars particularly for what they charge. So I have occasionally gone to the regular (friction) automatic washes. There is a chain in my area that has updated all their locations over the past few years and claim to be “soft touch”. They definitely seem to be a marked improvement over what they were years ago.

So my question is, can anyone speak from unbiased experience and not hearsay whether modern car washes cause paint damage?

All the information I’ve found is coming from car wash owners or detailers who seem to be biased or people that are just operating under what we’ve been told for years.

Sponsored

 

[TJ2018]

For about a year we recently had an all you can eat (or in this case wash) for about $40 a month at a place called H2Go. As far as automatic car washes go it was great! However as with any touch-type car wash you will inevitably get some minor swirling on your paint. Some of that depends on how often you wax the vehicle but there will be some wear that may be more obvious on darker colors than light. It was a compromise I was willing to make for convenience.

However, a few months back we ditched the auto car wash and have gone "waterless". It takes about the same amount of time as driving to the car wash, washing, and coming back (about an hour give or take) but is MUCH kinder to the paint, MUCH easier than washing with a hose, and protects the paint with every wash. I'm able to go 2 weeks between washes before I even start to notice dirt. (note: heavy dirt, mud, etc should be hosed off prior to waterless washing).

But back to your question... automatic car washes are better than they were but IMHO are still somewhat a compromise. But it was a compromise I was willing to make until I found something better.

 

[cjaama]

There's an unlimited car wash program here too, which I'm interested in. If they had one for the touch-free I'd be all over it.

 

[TJ2018]

There's an unlimited car wash program here too, which I'm interested in. If they had one for the touch-free I'd be all over it.

I used touch free extensively but they don't get clean (ooohhh... look who knows so much... it get's it only mostly clean)*, only used as an in-between hand washes. The touch type did a GREAT job cleaning and had a whole bunch of bays to vacuum and finish drying (whatever the blowers and drying brushes missed).

I'm not a big fan of touch free as the main washing method... just doesn't work that well.

*bonus points for anyone who gets that movie reference

 

[cjaama]

There is nothing better than a clean Jeep in the whole world...except a nice MLT. Mutton, lettuce, and tomato

 

[toeshark]

However, a few months back we ditched the auto car wash and have gone "waterless".

What product are you using?

 

[TJ2018]

I get this from Amazon. Works really well at keeping her clean.

 

[Keeper]

I have never had a problem.

 

[cjaama]

Since posting this I came across a post in the Facebook group where someone said their left taillight came off in an automatic carwash and someone replied it has happened to a couple people. Just an FYI. I still plan on using them to get me through winter.

 

[Bri01]

Since posting this I came across a post in the Facebook group where someone said their left taillight came off in an automatic carwash and someone replied it has happened to a couple people. Just an FYI. I still plan on using them to get me through winter.

I've been using an automatic car wash since I purchased the Jeep in January. Since I don't have access to wash the car myself in the winter, I need a way to keep the salt off the car through the winter months especially. They dump a lot of chemicals on the roads here during the winter and I don't want it eating away at my paint. I have not had any issues. No noticeable scratches and no parts falling off. I pretty much have been taking it once a week since I enrolled in a monthly plan. I may cancel for the warm months, but it's been very convenient so far.
Plus I just added a lift and 35s and it still goes through the wash without any difficulties.

 

[JeepSmash]

There's nothing different in "modern" car washes that can keep it from potentially scratching or swirling your paint. Those same brushes that just beat the mud off the truck in front of you are now working on your Jeep. Some are better than others but the risk will always be there. No matter what it's going to make swirls it just may take a while to become noticeable. If that's your only option the best course is to just do or have someone do a detail once or twice a year and buff em out. There's always the risk of a rock being stuck on one of those brushes whipping around at 100mph on the side of your Jeep. It's probably not common but I wouldn't take an expensive car through unless I had to.

Touchless car washes aren't much better. I'm not sure if it's the chemicals or perhaps some sort of alcohol base to help dry the water but they dry out your rubber and plastic and do a shit job at actually cleaning the car.

If you want to do it yourself quickly, rinseless wash is the way to go. A bucket of towels and a bucket of water with rinseless soap is all you need unless it's covered in mud.

 

[WXman]

It depends on the wash. There are LOTS of different type of equipment used in various car washes. My town has two car washes, one is touchless and the other has a special type of brushes that are designed not to scratch paint. The brushes actually look like long strips of synthetic leather or vinyl. Neither of these washes has ever damaged one of my vehicles.

If the Jeep is really dirty, a touchless wash is pretty useless. There has to be some kind of touch in order to scrub off the road grime, salt, dirt, etc.

Also, some touchless washes use very harsh chemicals. These, over time, will cause all the Tupperware parts on Jeep Wranglers to fade from dark grey to light grey in color. So watch out for that.

Whenever the weather is warm enough, I prefer mild soap and water in the driveway at home.

 

[Bricazo]

I have a different question on this topic.. Anyone know how wide the tracks are? Just put my new rims and tires on and the tire are 11.5" wide. Anyone have any experience with this. Living in the Northeast its just way to cold to wash it in the winter to get salt off.

 

[Rcash609]

I had used an automatic car wash here around where I live. I’d been through it at least a dozen times. On Friday evening May 27th me and my son went through it and we got there right before closing. It was the kind where you pull in put the vehicle in neutral and don’t touch the steering wheel or brake pedal. We get about half way through it and the big rollers with the blue chamois like things on it that spin and wash the vehicle were doing its thing and it just felt like it just took the whole side of the Jeep out it. It just didn’t feel right not like all the other times we’d been through it before. Well all the sudden the car wash shuts down. We are still halfway inside it. And one of the workers comes up and he’s holding my driver side tail light. I get out expecting to see just the whole side of the Jeep ripped out. But we looked over everything and the only thing that it did was rip the whole assembly out. Well I was in shock a little bit still and processing what happened. After we looked it over we drove the Jeep out and they rinsed the remaining soap off and took my number down and said the manager wouldn’t be back in till after Memorial Day. The worker assured me they would take care of the damage that it’s their policy if the vehicle was within a certain number of years old and as long as it wasn’t aftermarket parts that had been damaged. I tell the worker I will find out the price of a new tail light and get one ordered and they can just reimburse me. He said that should work what’s interesting is I go to the dealership I bought my vehicle at to get prices. The parts guy looks it up according to my vin he said it would be around 165 dollars. I said thank you I’ll get back with you. I go to the dealership closest to me where I live and the same part was 125.00 tax and all. So that makes me wonder. Does each dealership just charge what they want. I got the part put it in myself. Took the receipt and broken parts to the car wash. They reimbursed me. The only thing I can think of is there’s a small gap between the light assembly and the body of the Jeep that those ribbons can get caught on. So just beware.

 

[Kevin’s Rubi]

My niece and her husband own a company that manufactures automatic car wash machines. He drives a Porsche SUV and she has an R8. I asked him if he uses automatic car washes and he said that he did but only one where his equipment was used. He also gets them detailed often. He has one at his factory but they just test with that one. At first I thought that if it's good enough for $100K plus vehicles it should be safe. Then I thought first, he gets his vehicles professionally detailed so any swirl marks are taken care of at that time. Second, hell he can and does replace their vehicles every couple of years. And finally, what else is he going to say; no way, my equipment sucks? So it may be an apples to oranges comparison between my hard earned Jeep and his pocket change luxury vehicles. He gave me a 20 wash card for a place close to me and I'm about 10 washes in. I polish and wax regularly and haven't seen any problems with the paint yet.

Sponsored