Automatic mechanical car washes are all over the place, on practically every corner and as an add on to many gasoline stations. While gasoline retailing has shifted over the years from being full service with a service station attached to being self service with fast food establishments and convenience stores attached. Automatic Mechanical car washes still serve as the primary profit center for some of the larger self service gas stations on the busy main streets.
While an automatic car wash is certainly interesting to watch especially as a child, the amount of damage a mechanical car wash can do on the spot or over time should not be ignored. I realize that for most people when they hear an auto detailer say to avoid a mechanical car wash they think it’s sort of like the self service vs full service gasoline debate. Where if you have money to burn you might hire someone to pump your gas for you, but for the most part it’s not a required service that as a consumer you would be willing to pay a premium for. I am very much on the side of the do it yourself route over a mechanical car wash. Here are a few reasons why you want to avoid high volume automatic car washes.
High speed mechanical equipment can cause physical damage
I can’t tell you how many times people have said that their car was ruined by a mechanical car wash and they were not covered for the damages. This heavy equipment can remove antennas, center caps and trim off of your car or the vehicles in front of you in the line and use it as shrapnel to cause even more damage in some hard to repair places such as the roof. One vehicle I’ve seen that was especially bad was a very new Dodge Challenger Scat Pack with a tennis ball sized dent in the top of C Pillar. The cost to repair the damage was so high in fact that the owner ended up trading in the vehicle and I hope is staying away from mechanical car washes.
Dirty brushes and caustic soap
Even if you are lucky enough to not have any hard to miss physical damage, there is still clear coat damage occurring every time you take your car through as the dirt on your vehicle and other vehicles in front of yours are being cleaned or damaged by the same set of brushes that are often not properly cleaned between washes. Maybe if I had a mud truck with a too far gone paint job with some caked on mud I would choose to take it through the mechanical car wash to get some of the hard to remove stuff off and imbed it into the brushes for the next person to have that debris whipped down the side of their car or truck and I hope they wouldn’t have a paint job they care about or they may be in for a surprise.
When a car or truck comes out of a mechanical car wash tunnel often it looks good enough because it’s still mostly wet and the soaps used seem to add a nice shine, but I am almost convinced the soap these high volume mechanical car washes use is designed to attract all kinds of road debris to cause your vehicle to start looking dirty again on the exterior in a week or so of regular use. These soaps look very foamy and have all kinds of cool colors, but in actually making your paint look good and remain protected is another story entirely. On some black vehicles especially it’s amazing how cloudy the finish can look after extended exposure to automatic mechanical car washes.
These debris and dirty high speed brushes will also cause scratching and swirling that you can really see on darker vehicles once you wax them. To avoid the need for a paint correction service it is advised that your regularly wash your vehicle with a proper car wash and wax shampoo such as Meguiar’s Gold Class.
You might think that a paint job damaged by a mechanical car wash cannot be remedied, but that is exactly what paint correction is intended to do. Tallahassee Auto Detailing specializes in full service vehicle detailing and polishing. We offer professional paint correction services which help remedy faded, swirled or oxidized paint. Paint correction is the process of professional removing damaged clear coat and enhancing the existing material underneath. There is only so much paint correcting you can do before you start to burn through the clear coat and paint so it’s advised that you seal any corrected paint and clear coat finishes with either a ceramic coating or a regular waxing schedule.
Why you should have some form of paint protection on the finish of your car
The final step in retailing many high end vehicles is to have it professionally detailed with some sort of paint protection applied to the finish to give it that true show room shine and protection, but soon after rolling off the showroom floor it’s the new owners responsibility to keep up with not only the mechanics, but also the detailing and paint protection.
Vehicles that are routinely driven are exposed to various different elements and paint protection from a quality wax, sealant or ceramic coating not only works to enhance the shine, but also provides important protection from the sun baking containment’s into the clear coat and paint. Tree sap that has been baked into the paint over an extended period of time can be nearly impossible to remove with signs of it being their before, but with a paint protection barrier from a quality wax or coating the removal of these containment’s will be much easier and much less likely to show damage.
America is great in having retail stores packed with thousands of different products, many of which are used to accomplish a similar end goal. Paint protection for you car is no different and it’s sometimes hard to understand what you should have a car detailer apply or what you should pick up in the car care section of your local big box store, auto parts store or online storefront. Here are few popular forms of paint protection for your car, truck, van, suv, RV, boat or motorcycle.
What is a spray wax?
There are many types of spray waxes, quick detailers or hybrid ceramic spray waxed for your car or truck. These products can be quite easy to use and add a nice final shine to a professional car wash, but they don’t stand up very well to the elements such as rain storms, in fact a good rain storm can wash these way off the flat surfaces especially. Although if you are willing to regularly wash and reapply these products it might be a good choice for you.