How hard are automatic carwash brushes ?

When I wash my car I get scared of touching it too long, because I am fearful of introducing the tiniest scratch.

I can only imagine automatic car wash MF towels touching my car. Idk, to each there own.
 
Plus I have been thinking about getting my interior fully professionally detailed, lol
 
I'm ever afraid of the 'no touch' variety, which I sometimes need during the winter.

Bill
 
Even with silver or white anything that touches your car can introduce swirls or micro marring. And pretty much every car has some swirling or micro marring unless you just polished (and even then we seldom get everything).

The touchless car washes avoid the pitfall of things touching your car, but the soaps are strong enough that they can remove whatever protection you have on your car. I've used one in a pinch in the winter, but try to avoid automated car washes as much as possible.
 
BlackHawk said:
I HAVE A STRUCTURED OPINION AND I NEEDS PICS NOW!

No but seriously, post pics of ur car if its swirl free lol
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That's funny! :xyxthumbs:

But in all seriousness, even when i do a waterless wash sometimes i see tiny little swirls/scratches appear.
 
All this talk of just how safe automatic car washes are reminds me of something.

I have an old friend, "Mike" from the Lexus story earlier this year. Back some 20 years ago (at least) he was in the pressure washing business. He had a big honking machine, 210°, 4500psi, 5gpm asphalt peeling monster. He did fast food joints, gas stations etc.

So one day he's doing this Gulf station, had his truck parked right outside the drive through car wash and was running all his hoses from the faucet inside. Lunch time comes so he walks next door to Mickey D's. Puts out orange cones everywhere, pulls the little chain across the entrance and leaves for a few minutes.

So the station has just one guy working in a cubicle and if you do a 'fill up' you get a token for a free car wash. Sure enough, a guy comes in and gets his fill up, and decides it's a great day for a car wash. Never mind the fact that the car wash is blocked off, chain, closed sign, orange cones everywhere. They (the guy and the dude in the cubicle) decide that he should GET his FREE car wash so they move everything so he can drive in.

Ruh row!!!
Mike starts out of Mickey D's and hears what sounds like a war going on about 50 yards away. The guy had driven in and fired that puppy up and in the meantime it'd managed to catch his main feed hose, one of those big ¾" commercial rubber hoses with solid brass ends and wrap it up in the overhead spinning brush!!!!!!!! Blap, blap, blap, bam, bam, bam, whappp, crack, blap, blap, crack, crack, kablam! Over and over and over it was spinning at probably 250 rpm going up the hood, windshield, roof, trunk, then it REVERSED and did it all over again. :laughing:

Needless to say it knocked the dirt off! :buffing:

Mike just went back inside and busted a gut laughing. The Gulf station had to buy the guy a new car! Oh... and he still go paid. :rollleyes:
 
cardaddy said:
All this talk of just how safe automatic car washes are reminds me of something.

I have an old friend, "Mike" from the Lexus story earlier this year. Back some 20 years ago (at least) he was in the pressure washing business. He had a big honking machine, 210°, 4500psi, 5gpm asphalt peeling monster. He did fast food joints, gas stations etc.

So one day he's doing this Gulf station, had his truck parked right outside the drive through car wash and was running all his hoses from the faucet inside. Lunch time comes so he walks next door to Mickey D's. Puts out orange cones everywhere, pulls the little chain across the entrance and leaves for a few minutes.

So the station has just one guy working in a cubicle and if you do a 'fill up' you get a token for a free car wash. Sure enough, a guy comes in and gets his fill up, and decides it's a great day for a car wash. Never mind the fact that the car wash is blocked off, chain, closed sign, orange cones everywhere. They (the guy and the dude in the cubicle) decide that he should GET his FREE car wash so they move everything so he can drive in.

Ruh row!!!
Mike starts out of Mickey D's and hears what sounds like a war going on about 50 yards away. The guy had driven in and fired that puppy up and in the meantime it'd managed to catch his main feed hose, one of those big ¾" commercial rubber hoses with solid brass ends and wrap it up in the overhead spinning brush!!!!!!!! Blap, blap, blap, bam, bam, bam, whappp, crack, blap, blap, crack, crack, kablam! Over and over and over it was spinning at probably 250 rpm going up the hood, windshield, roof, trunk, then it REVERSED and did it all over again. :laughing:

Needless to say it knocked the dirt off! :buffing:

Mike just went back inside and busted a gut laughing. The Gulf station had to buy the guy a new car! Oh... and he still go paid. :rollleyes:
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GREAT descriptive paragraph!

I was about to the point of spitting coffee all over the keyboard and most of the garage.

Bill
 
That's what I call a full contact car wash :) and we are worried about microfibers putting swirls in paint :)
 
Blap, blap, blap, wam bam thank you mam, snap crackle and pop....

If I had coffee and and my keyboard, it probably would have coffee in it like Bill's lol
 
BillE said:
GREAT descriptive paragraph!

I was about to the point of spitting coffee all over the keyboard and most of the garage.

Bill
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Calendyr said:
That's what I call a full contact car wash :) and we are worried about microfibers putting swirls in paint :)
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erichaley said:
I don't think that'll buff out...
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hernandez.art13 said:
Blap, blap, blap, wam bam thank you mam, snap crackle and pop....

If I had coffee and and my keyboard, it probably would have coffee in it like Bill's lol
Click to expand...

Yep, that was a hard one to forget. ;)

They tried to file suit against him over it (or at least they threatened to). He had flipped the main breaker off as well! With a call from his attorney (or it may have been a friend that they thought was his attorney, I just know it wasn't me) they changed their mind. Plus of course he followed up with a bill for new hoses and fittings, which he received asap.

And the weirdness goes on...

Today Charter showed up to install cable internet (30 mbps). That would be all fine and good, if .... IF I'd ever called them to come install it to begin with!!!!! :rolleyes:

I was talking with an AT&T rep last week, asking if they were EVER going to upgrade my 3 mbps DSL and during his apology (as always) he said he could have my local cable company call me about providing service. I thought that was a bit weird, but what the heck, its just a phone call.

So last night I get a call on my cell from a computer telling me I was setup for installation today. No return number, no person to speak with, just that they were coming. WEE---eeerrrrdddd.

So today the guy comes out and finds out that we've never had cable, so he runs 250' of bright orange cable across my yard just for internet service. When he gets it all up and running I'm asking him what is my account number? What would I use for a user name? What about email? How do I access the modem via IP address? Welcome package? What does all this cost? Can I get cable phone service? What about a router? How much per month? What is the installation fee?

He didn't have a clue, just that he was supposed to be installing it and the number was assigned to my cell phone. WTF?!?! So as he was leaving I got another automated phone call with a survey of their services. With my not so glowing responses I was fairly quickly connected to a person IN NEBRASKA!!!
Did I say WTF?

So once I got to talking to this guy, Jeremy (oddly enough the AT&T guy was a Jeremy as well) he started looking in their system and sure enough, no record of me ever calling, OR them calling me! The entire work order and installation was setup via an automated system. "That isn't supposed to happen" he said. Then he starts to tell me it's $39.99 per month and $39.99 installation. Oh heck naw... that ain't gonna' happen. I pulled up their site and its $29.99 so THERE! ;)

So he talks with his supervisor, free install, $29.99 per month. OK now, what about cable phone service? He doesn't know, I need to talk to their internet department. Who the heck is this? You guys called me, REMEMBER!

So he sends me to yet another department, I start trying to tell the story to a girl there. She asks what my account number is? What account number? What is the phone number? Oh, you mean my CELL PHONE, or my home phone? When did I order the service? Uh, I didn't, but I'll keep it for 30 days to see if I like it, being as your guy already installed it.

Mainly mam, I want to know how I should be signing on to my ACCOUNT, so that I can setup my email? Then you'll need your account number and user ID. EXACTLY, and what pray tell is it so that I can start setting it up? Well it's tied to your phone number sir. Which one, my cell or my home? The OTHER guy said he was changing it to my home number. Then it may be tied to your address.

About then, her line goes dead.

Anyone see my problem here?

So as of now I have a cable modem, with a wire running across my family room and pretty fast internet service. (upstairs) But still no way of knowing what my account is, what number they've assigned it to, what they plan on doing with this 250' of cable snaked through my yard. (Because there is NO WAY IN HELL they are going to trench it into my yard.) Much less how to access my super duper fast new Charter Internet email services. Oh, and the OTHER cable tap is half the distance away, and does NOT include drilling under my driveway and running across my yard, just that the guy didn't SEE IT when he was here! :eek:

Speed tests are freaking awesome though! :dblthumb2: D/L'd 111mb video of my daughters wedding in less than SEVEN SECONDS!
 
Well I would not use their email server if you are not even sure to keep the service. Just use what ever you were using before. Email is totally separate from connection. They surelly provide you with an email service with your account but you don't have to use that one.

As for account number, it's only really useful for billing. Cable internet is a direct LAN connection, so you don't have to use any account number and password to use the service.

But I will agree on one thing, they are pretty messed up ;) How can a company big enough to provide cable internet service be so screwed up?
 
Good grief Tony, that IS the true definition of a total "cluster f###!"

Geeze, I really don't like dealing with 'THE cable company.'

Bill
 
I don't have cable/satellite.

I have internet

I also have Netflix. Plus on the internet everything is free... (No comment)
 
Well I went to the local office today, (22 mile round trip) and got my account number. The one that NOBODY would tell me over the phone or via chat. Then the "pass code" that they said the local office would give me, the office said I'd have to CALL TECH SUPPORT to get! :eek:

OTOH, when they provisioned my modem, they surely told it to make me happy. :) I'm testing, (behind a D-Link wireless router) 38+ to 43+ down, and 3.7 to 4.6 up. Considering I'm paying for 30 down, 3 up that's pretty schweet. :D
 
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