Do automatic car washes strip protection?

[SON1C]

everyones wrong, what she needs is nu-finish! withstands 52 car automated car washes, its the once a year car polish! lol

[Gotee7]

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

[SON1C]

Can't be any worse than turtle wax, how was it? lol

[rwright]

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.

[Gotee7]

Can't be any worse than turtle wax, how was it? lol

It beaded for a week. Lol

[dwlinc23]

NEVER go through an automatic wash! IMO

[Capa1970]

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.

[Jossy92]

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.

[Soilsample]

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.

[hondacare]

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.