Touchless car wash safe?

K

kapk22

New member
Third thread/question.. :)

I use to run my vehicles through a touchless car wash in the snowy winters to get the road crap and de-icer off the paint. One day I was reading on the Lexus forums that the chemicals used in these bags could be harmful to the clearcoat. I have pretty much always had black vehicles, so I am asking you guys if this is true. I figure you would know better than some random Lexus owner.

When I googled it, I found the main concern was the pressure of the sprayers in these potentially causing issues.

As I mentioned in other threads, I have a black 2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. I am really trying to protect the paint as much as possible. My 1990 Jeep is my crawler/toy, just in case some ask why I’m so concerned with a Jeep.

I also wonder if the chemicals used in these bays would remove or damage any ceramic spray coating I apply. Thank You for any input.
 
Probably depends on the specific car wash location. You couldn`t pay me to run my car through one.
 
My opinion (which is only that, and I’m not too bright): I doubt touchless washes hurt or damage your clear coat. They can certainly damage your LSP (last step protection). Most probably have strong chemicals that will wear away waxes and sealants. Coatings and some stronger sealants are hurt less by the strong chemicals (good chemical resistance).

Quite a few members use touchless washes in the winter as it may be more beneficial than letting salt sit on the car for 3 months straight.

and as far as strength of the sprayers hurting the clear coat, I highly doubt it since people use pressure washers all the time to remove loose debris before hand washing. I do t know at what pressure point that water can physically scratch paint, but I’ve never seen a touchless in the northeast come close to worrying me.

Hope this helps and sorry if I’ve made any generalizations that don’t match your experiences. Different places have different ways of doing things.
 
Bill D said:
Probably depends on the specific car wash location. You couldn`t pay me to run my car through one.
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Yeah, it sounds like some use different types of soap etc. according to some posts on here.

When I posted in the Jeep forum, the members said they run them through all the time and it shouldn’t “hurt the black paint”.

Is your reasoning based on the chemicals or,,,?
 
I personally don`t trust the chemicals nor the materials the attendants use to dry the cars with

Besides, I actually enjoy washing my car myself with Accumulator`s extreme method. I never wash when I`m in a rush and therefore find washing to be therapeutic
 
Bill D said:
I personally don`t trust the chemicals nor the materials the attendants use to dry the cars with

Besides, I actually enjoy washing my car myself with Accumulator`s extreme method. I never wash when I`m in a rush and therefore find washing to be therapeutic
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By “touchless”, everything I mentioned was assuming no one physically dries the car, and the only an air dry at best.
 
Around here in my town if you don`t use a coin-op you have to settle for the car wash with attendants with God knows what kind of towels. :(
 
Best case scenario, strong chemicals weaken your LSP and don’t do much damage to the car. The you have to worry about the maintenance to the machinery, someone getting the chemicals right, and of course, that they don’t dry it with terry towels.
 
Bill D said:
Around here in my town if you don`t use a coin-op you have to settle for the car wash with attendants with God knows what kind of towels. :(
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Ah yes, we have a few like that over here and I don’t dare go near. They’re all high school students wiping their sweaty brows with these towels (and that’s probably the least of my fears of what is hidden in them). I kind of admire the owners of these for employing kids and for thinking about the luxury of “towel dry”, but like most instances of non-detailers touching cars it only leads to more damage.
 
kapk22 said:
Third thread/question.. :)

I use to run my vehicles through a touchless car wash in the snowy winters to get the road crap and de-icer off the paint. One day I was reading on the Lexus forums that the chemicals used in these bags could be harmful to the clearcoat. I have pretty much always had black vehicles, so I am asking you guys if this is true. I figure you would know better than some random Lexus owner.

When I googled it, I found the main concern was the pressure of the sprayers in these potentially causing issues.

As I mentioned in other threads, I have a black 2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. I am really trying to protect the paint as much as possible. My 1990 Jeep is my crawler/toy, just in case some ask why I’m so concerned with a Jeep.

I also wonder if the chemicals used in these bays would remove or damage any ceramic spray coating I apply. Thank You for any input.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum, kapk22 --
I bought a new Lexus IS350 once, and that Lexus Dealer had their own touchless car wash in the back parking lot.. It was free car washes for life so almost everyone who purchased a Lexus from them used it..
I never heard of anyone having an issue with the car wash soap, water pressure, or anything...

For sure, any car wash, even the do-it-yourself ones have to use a strong soap solution, so they can get as much crap off the paint in the one pass they are going to get to wash the car...
Yes, that soap mixture is pretty harsh, I know it will take a toll on whatever LSP, coating, sealant, etc., wax, etc.., anyone applies... The good coatings will last the longest for sure..

I have my own pressure washer in my business and I pressure wash (2gal/minute gas powered) every vehicle (hundreds) I Detail first, and I have never hurt the paintwork..

If ANY vehicle with peeling paint goes through any car wash, well probably, when they get to the other end, depending on where the peeling paint is, there may be a lot less of it.. :)
Whenever anyone says the car wash ruined my paint, you have to ask - what was the condition of your paint before you went into the car wash?

I know from my own Lexus and all the others I have detailed, Lexus puts a lot of work into their paintwork and it shows.. I believe they used to hand sand them between coats too..

The prep work you do if you decide to do it, will make a lot of difference in how the vehicle looks and how long the LSP of your choice lasts..

Black vehicles ! Yes !!! I have had many and have an `09 Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4 in that beautiful Brilliant Black Crystal Pearl color.. It still has perfectly clear, flat, glossy paintwork.. :) Have had lots more... Nothing better... Rolling Mirrors... :)
Oh, and I have detailed at least a couple hundred.. :)

Good luck with your research and projects !
Dan F
 
I actually removed paint one time I was washing at a coin op. I really think crappy GM quality control was the issue in my case.
 
I ran my shawdow black 2016 mustang through the touchless in the winters and had no effects on my CqUk3.0 coatiing. Got 1.8 months and it was still going strong.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Bill D said:
I personally don`t trust the chemicals nor the materials the attendants use to dry the cars with

Besides, I actually enjoy washing my car myself with Accumulator`s extreme method. I never wash when I`m in a rush and therefore find washing to be therapeutic
Click to expand...

I too find it therapeutic. It’s just finding the time. I will be making it though. Thank you
 
Stokdgs said:
Welcome to the forum, kapk22 --
I bought a new Lexus IS350 once, and that Lexus Dealer had their own touchless car wash in the back parking lot.. It was free car washes for life so almost everyone who purchased a Lexus from them used it..
I never heard of anyone having an issue with the car wash soap, water pressure, or anything...

For sure, any car wash, even the do-it-yourself ones have to use a strong soap solution, so they can get as much crap off the paint in the one pass they are going to get to wash the car...
Yes, that soap mixture is pretty harsh, I know it will take a toll on whatever LSP, coating, sealant, etc., wax, etc.., anyone applies... The good coatings will last the longest for sure..

I have my own pressure washer in my business and I pressure wash (2gal/minute gas powered) every vehicle (hundreds) I Detail first, and I have never hurt the paintwork..

If ANY vehicle with peeling paint goes through any car wash, well probably, when they get to the other end, depending on where the peeling paint is, there may be a lot less of it.. :)
Whenever anyone says the car wash ruined my paint, you have to ask - what was the condition of your paint before you went into the car wash?

I know from my own Lexus and all the others I have detailed, Lexus puts a lot of work into their paintwork and it shows.. I believe they used to hand sand them between coats too..

The prep work you do if you decide to do it, will make a lot of difference in how the vehicle looks and how long the LSP of your choice lasts..

Black vehicles ! Yes !!! I have had many and have an `09 Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4 in that beautiful Brilliant Black Crystal Pearl color.. It still has perfectly clear, flat, glossy paintwork.. :) Have had lots more... Nothing better... Rolling Mirrors... :)
Oh, and I have detailed at least a couple hundred.. :)

Good luck with your research and projects !
Dan F
Click to expand...

Wow!! Thank you for the reply.

I had a new black IS 350 F Sport with 19” black wheels and pearled emblems. It was a gorgeous car and i was just destroying her in the winter over there. I commuted to the valley every couple weeks for work and had to drive over the pass. The cinders and de-icer was wrecking the paint. I even had additional 3m (or another variant of paint protectant coating) on a good amount. I finally caved in and got the f-150. I always figured the chemicals in the touchless washes was better than leaving the chemicals used on the roads to melt the ice. Since I have moved back to southern Oregon, the winters are nothing like over there.
 
Coatings=crack said:
I ran my shawdow black 2016 mustang through the touchless in the winters and had no effects on my CqUk3.0 coatiing. Got 1.8 months and it was still going strong.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

just googled CqUk3.0 coating. Going to look into this a bit more. Thank you!
 
I`ve never had any issues with any of my car going through touchless car washes. They are a lifesaver in the winter when it`s too cold to wash off the road salt yourself. They don`t get a car totally clean, but in the depths of winter, they are good enough. The underbody spray is a nice bonus.

The ones in my area are normally unattended so there is no worries about someone hitting the car with a wash brush or a dirty drying towel before going through. One on my way home occasionally will have someone on each lane (typically a highschool age boy/girl) working for tips and they`ll swipe your card for you on the automated payment machine (it isn`t easy to reach) and then spray off your car with a pressure washer before going through. They don`t get close enough to be a threat and the water pressure isn`t that strong.

The machines themselves really don`t seem that powerful. Certainly not enough to do any damage. Are the soaps/chemicals strong? Maybe, but I didn`t notice any real degradation of my sealants when I used them, and the coatings I use now don`t seem to be bothered at all. Trim and other plastic bits don`t seem to show any adverse effects either.
 
I`ve posted before about how my experiences mirror those of Desertnate- no problems from the Touchless washes. BUT...the compromised aluminum bits on the A8 did get "foggier" from the chemicals, like "a year`s neglect"-type foggier.

IF the chemicals are mixed wrong, things like that could happen in a genuinely serious way. Likely? Who knows?!? How lucky to you feel ;) I myself don`t worry about it and would run most vehicles through a Touchless, but 1) I`d expect to have to reLSP and 2) "Touchless" shouldn`t require scare-quotes, it needs to be a 100% touchLESS process, nothing/nobody touching it period since before/during/after.
 
I’ve found that with a very well LSPed car that is very lightly dirty I can get away with simply foaming it with a foam gun, letting it dwell, and then rinsing it It renders it completely clean. That’s my version of touchless although the great majority of time I do have to use mitts.
 
Bill D said:
I’ve found that with a very well LSPed car that is very lightly dirty I can get away with simply foaming it with a foam gun, letting it dwell, and then rinsing it It renders it completely clean. That’s my version of touchless although the great majority of time I do have to use mitts.
Click to expand...

Given the right stuff, a Home Touchless can indeed work fine for light soiling. I let mine get dirtier than Bill does and can still get away with it fairly often what with the Lonn Cleaning Gun and the Tornador Black (but don`t expect miracles...!as seen on the Internet!... ;) from that thing). Gotta have a decent compressor for those though, well..at least for the Lonn (Tornador seems happiest at only around 90psi).
 
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