Car Wash Nightmare.... Just how bad is this?

[iceman978]

Alright folks, here is a cautionary tale and a question all rolled into one convenient post for you. I am a generally clean person (maybe a little cleaner than most as my wife calls me "OCD" when it comes to cleaning) which translates to both my home and my cars. I am the car guy, I love to work on them, detail them and of course drive them. So, each week I wash all of our cars/trucks by hand with the finest AG products and make sure they are spotless. Every 4-6 months (as needed) I strip off the old wax/sealant and reapply fresh coats of both and also spray wax after each weekly maintenance wash. So fast forward to about two weeks ago when we were getting ready to leave on vacation. My wife says "can you check the car to make sure everything is ok before we go to the airport?". I say 'sure' feeling fine as I had checked it just days before (I check belts/hoses/fluids/tires/lights every week) and headed out to the garage. Everything looks good until I get to the driver's side front tire.

I couldn't believe my eyes.....The outside edge of the tire where the tread meets the sidewall had cracked in four places around the tire exposing the steel belts. Now, these are not new tires. They are three years old and have about 40,000 miles on them. I knew we would likely be replacing them in a few months just based on tread depth but never expected this. The tires (up to this point) had been wearing evenly and no such defects were noted on the other three tires. There was also sufficient tread on all four tires and no obvious reason for this failure. So, we headed to the airport (in another vehicle) and left her car at home to deal with when we returned. Upon return, I did my homework on new tires and got the local Honda dealer to match the price I found online for tires as well as the cheapest mount/balance price I found locally.

So we had new tires put on. All good right? Not quite, here's the nightmare part of the story. I NEVER ALLOW ANYONE TO WASH MY CARS BUT ME. There are notes in the computers at all of our dealers that say "DO NOT WASH CUSTOMER'S CAR". I even put notes inside the cars each time they are dropped off for service reminding them not to wash the car post-service. On this particular date I was following my wife to the dealer to drop off the car but got stuck at several traffic lights. This resulted in her arriving several minutes before me and pretty much dealing with the service rep without me. Both of us forgot to remind the rep of the note in the computer, didn't tell him not to wash the car and didn't put a note inside the car.

I admit that this was totally my fault. I was distracted, it had been a long week of vacation and we returned to deal with this as she needed her car for work the next morning. We returned to the dealer to pick up the car and when the porter pulled it in front of the customer area my jaw dropped. My wife then said "Oh, no! They washed the car! Sorry, honey". Upon closer inspection, I confirmed my worst fears that it had been washed in their automatic car wash. I didn't see any new swirls or scratches on the paint (thank god) which I fully corrected about a a year ago. However, the Meguair's Synthetic Sealant 2.0 and the two coats of Collinite 845 I put on there about two months ago appeared to be gone.

My wife insists that the car doesn't look any less "shiny" or "waxy" than it did before and tells me that I am just imagining things. So here is my question: Just how bad is this? I know these swirl-o-matics are bad but did the automatic car wash really strip three layers of protection from the paint in one fell swoop? Do I need to re-apply the coats of sealant and wax or am I just being paranoid? I do everything I can to protect my cars as they are all daily drivers and see many miles per year. Any advice y'all can offer would be greatly appreciated.

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

Originally Posted by iceman978

My wife insists that the car doesn't look any less "shiny" or "waxy" than it did before and tells me that I am just imagining things.

So here is my question: Just how bad is this? I know these swirl-o-matics are bad but did the automatic car wash really strip three layers of protection from the paint in one fell swoop?

Do I need to re-apply the coats of sealant and wax or am I just being paranoid?

If you don't see any swirls and scratches and this was a brush style automatic car wash then count yourself lucky!

Do the happy dance....





Regardless of whether the was was in fact stripped off or not, re-applying a coat of wax is a walk in the park as compared to doing a major detailing session to remove swirls and scratches plus any of the precious, thin clear paint that would be removed in the process.

I say, do a light polishing and re-apply your LSP's of choice and if there are no swirls or scratches then count yourself lucky!


And everyone reading this... learn from this experience and don't take chances, if in doubt, anytime you trust your car with someone else stress to them NOT to wash it.

Even have whoever is in charge look at it and point out to them how swirl-free and well maintained the car is and that it doesn't need to be washed. And the reason for his is because if you don't point it out they won't pay attention and will simply follow their protocol of running your car through the Swirl-O-Matic.


Thanks for sharing iceman978




Roll Call - What's your real first name?

[truckbutt]

Originally Posted by iceman978

Alright folks, here is a cautionary tale and a question all rolled into one convenient post for you. I am a generally clean person (maybe a little cleaner than most as my wife calls me "OCD" when it comes to cleaning) which translates to both my home and my cars. I am the car guy, I love to work on them, detail them and of course drive them. So, each week I wash all of our cars/trucks by hand with the finest AG products and make sure they are spotless. Every 4-6 months (as needed) I strip off the old wax/sealant and reapply fresh coats of both and also spray wax after each weekly maintenance wash. So fast forward to about two weeks ago when we were getting ready to leave on vacation. My wife says "can you check the car to make sure everything is ok before we go to the airport?". I say 'sure' feeling fine as I had checked it just days before (I check belts/hoses/fluids/tires/lights every week) and headed out to the garage. Everything looks good until I get to the driver's side front tire.

I couldn't believe my eyes.....The outside edge of the tire where the tread meets the sidewall had cracked in four places around the tire exposing the steel belts. Now, these are not new tires. They are three years old and have about 40,000 miles on them. I knew we would likely be replacing them in a few months just based on tread depth but never expected this. The tires (up to this point) had been wearing evenly and no such defects were noted on the other three tires. There was also sufficient tread on all four tires and no obvious reason for this failure. So, we headed to the airport (in another vehicle) and left her car at home to deal with when we returned. Upon return, I did my homework on new tires and got the local Honda dealer to match the price I found online for tires as well as the cheapest mount/balance price I found locally.

So we had new tires put on. All good right? Not quite, here's the nightmare part of the story. I NEVER ALLOW ANYONE TO WASH MY CARS BUT ME. There are notes in the computers at all of our dealers that say "DO NOT WASH CUSTOMER'S CAR". I even put notes inside the cars each time they are dropped off for service reminding them not to wash the car post-service. On this particular date I was following my wife to the dealer to drop off the car but got stuck at several traffic lights. This resulted in her arriving several minutes before me and pretty much dealing with the service rep without me. Both of us forgot to remind the rep of the note in the computer, didn't tell him not to wash the car and didn't put a note inside the car.

I admit that this was totally my fault. I was distracted, it had been a long week of vacation and we returned to deal with this as she needed her car for work the next morning. We returned to the dealer to pick up the car and when the porter pulled it in front of the customer area my jaw dropped. My wife then said "Oh, no! They washed the car! Sorry, honey". Upon closer inspection, I confirmed my worst fears that it had been washed in their automatic car wash. I didn't see any new swirls or scratches on the paint (thank god) which I fully corrected about a a year ago. However, the Meguair's Synthetic Sealant 2.0 and the two coats of Collinite 845 I put on there about two months ago appeared to be gone.

My wife insists that the car doesn't look any less "shiny" or "waxy" than it did before and tells me that I am just imagining things. So here is my question: Just how bad is this? I know these swirl-o-matics are bad but did the automatic car wash really strip three layers of protection from the paint in one fell swoop? Do I need to re-apply the coats of sealant and wax or am I just being paranoid? I do everything I can to protect my cars as they are all daily drivers and see many miles per year. Any advice y'all can offer would be greatly appreciated.

As I read this I couldn't help but think that you and your wife are lucky to be alive. It's just a car. Just sayn.

[iceman978]

Originally Posted by Mike.Phillips@Autogeek

If you don't see any swirls and scratches and this was a brush style automatic car wash then count yourself lucky!

Do the happy dance....





Regardless of whether the was was in fact stripped off or not, re-applying a coat of wax is a walk in the park as compared to doing a major detailing session to remove swirls and scratches plus any of the precious, thin clear paint that would be removed in the process.

I say, do a light polishing and re-apply your LSP's of choice and if there are no swirls or scratches then count yourself lucky!


And everyone reading this... learn from this experience and don't take chances, if in doubt, anytime you trust your car with someone else stress to them NOT to wash it.

Even have whoever is in charge look at it and point out to them how swirl-free and well maintained the car is and that it doesn't need to be washed. And the reason for his is because if you don't point it out they won't pay attention and will simply follow their protocol of running your car through the Swirl-O-Matic.


Thanks for sharing iceman978




Roll Call - What's your real first name?

Thanks Mike, I figured that would be the best approach. I'm counting my lucky stars and buying lottery tickets as I dodge a bullet on this one. Just like you, I'm big on the "better safe than sorry" approach, multiple layers of sealants & waxes as well as weekly hand washes. I'll wash it, polish it, seal it and then wax it again just to be sure. The dealers are usually pretty good about it, I always take the multi-step approach with them: The notes in the computer, signs inside the car and telling the rep not to wash it when I turn the keys over. This time I didn't and I accept the responsibility for that. While we're on the subject, Thanks for all you do!

[iceman978]

Originally Posted by truckbutt

As I read this I couldn't help but think that you and your wife are lucky to be alive. It's just a car. Just sayn.

I couldn't agree more Scott. I have seen catastrophic tire failure at highway speeds in person and don't ever want to experience it myself or have a loved one do it either. It just reinforces my belief in checking all vital parts of the car on a weekly basis or every time I refuel my cars (which ever comes first). A little extra protection goes a long way in these cases.