Do automatic car washes strip protection?

grambow

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I have a friend who just purchased her first brand new vehicle and wants to keep the paint protected. She is not concerned with a show car shine as much as she wants a layer of protection from things like bird poop and tree sap.
She asked me to set her up with the basic equipment needed for a very basic wash and wax (seal). I recommended several products from AG for washing and Collinite 845 for a durable sealant. She explained that she plans to only hand wash her car before she seals it. The rest of the time, she will be going through and auto touchless car wash (every 2 weeks or so).
I have always kind of felt like auto car washes are likely to strip whatever protection you have as they need to use harsher chemicals to get every car “clean,” although this is merely a theory. What are your thoughts on this? I think I can get her to hand wash more often but realistically, I don’t see her forgoing the auto washes permanently. Thanks for your insight!
 
From my experience it does strip the protection maybe not all at once but it definitely cuts the durability time in half vs hand washing but depends on products used over seen klasse sealant go 12-16 washes


Protection is only as good as what's under it!!!!

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"Protection is only as good as what's under it!!!!" Are you saying her protection will be diminished if she does not clay and polish? There's no way she's going that far. HA!
 
Pretty much from my experience regardless what she decides to use proper prepping of the paint is always a good idea for a good bond to the surface. Kinda like doing a full compound and Polish and not clay baring I'm sure your pad will pick up something somewhere and make some nasty pig tails .....but I'm not saying g u need to do it all the time but I'd use a sealant just my 2 cents

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Not only do they strip protection, they can also cause chips and scratches. I will not drive my truck through any auto wash. I always wash mine by hand, year round.
 
Isn't that the truth hate to see the damage a auto wash does after your following a steelmill truck through ouch..........

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Automatic car washes use several chemicals that are going to be working against the paint's layer of wax or sealant such as highly concentrated soap, detergents, drying agents, etc. It's basically the last thing I would recommend for anyone who wants to keep their paint looking nice, even if they plan on using a touchless wash. Imagine how strong the chemicals have to be for a touchless wash to actually dissolve all the dirt off your paint. It's obviously going to be dissolving some of your wax or sealant off in the process.

Check the Ph levels on some of the common conveyor/automatic car wash soaps. It's ridiculous. Some of them are almost as acidic as wheel cleaner. Then it gets rinsed with an alkaline drying agent or whatever but I still wouldn't want that junk all over my car.
 
Sometimes it helps to put things in extremes...

Will taking your car through an automatic car wash add more wax? Or add more protection?


What's the opposite of adding?

Anytime anything touches the surface the possibility exists to at a minimum micro-abrade the surface. This can be thought of as wear-n-tear...



:)
 
I really wish that they had a touchless option where you could select a more LSP friendly wash. Especially if your finish is already polished and sealed/waxed.

Something like a PH neutral foam pre-soak, pressure rinse and air dry. I'd run my car through all the time to get rid of dust/pollen..
 
everyones wrong, what she needs is nu-finish! withstands 52 car automated car washes, its the once a year car polish! lol
 
everyones wrong, what she needs is nu-finish! withstands 52 car automated car washes, its the once a year car polish! lol

That's hilarious! Sad thing is, before I knew better, that is what I waxed my 84 Z28 in all the time. Ugh
 
Can't be any worse than turtle wax, how was it? lol
 
If it's a touchless car wash then invest in Duragloss #105 Total Performance Polish and Duragloss #601 Polish Bonding Agent. It lasted 9 months on our new Regal before failing in full on the front bumper and partially on the trunk. The car was exposed to road salt, touchless car washes, and hand washes with zero boosters for 6 months. After that it was boosted once a month (3 times) with Duragloss Aquawax before I stripped it.

Of course you can go the coating route as well.
 
I use DG 501 and will go through a touch less automatic car wash between 2-8 times in a 6 month period and the vehicle is still beading when I strip it to apply more DG and Collinite 845.
 
I have used a car wash maybe once or twice in the past 5 years when circumstances resulted in severe surface contamination that had been baked on during a 2 week heat wave + water restrictions.

I took it to a new gas station with the latest wash technology and went with the cheapest wash to avoid the extra cleaners, brighteners.

I used the minimum options to get the job done. Just wanted to remove the baked on bugs.
Afterward, I still had protection (with good beading,etc.) and did a full detail a week later when the heat subsided and I had time.

IMO, the harm caused by the baked on dirt, bugs was worse than the wash. The touching by the car wash seemed better than the continued touching by the contaminants.
 
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I use a touch less wash for my truck.
I use onr and quality microfibers to dry afterward.

The chemicals are harsh.... I had poor results from 845 durability, but wgdgps holds up very well.
 
I stay away from automatic washes. The pressurized spray may be too harsh on your paint. You don't know the condition of the equipment being used in the car wash station. The owner of the car wash uses inferior products and is only concern with profit. He may wash his cars at home, because he don't care about yours. Maybe a guy that worked in a construction site decided that his truck needed to be waxed just before you arrived. The gamble is just too great.
 
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