Do automatic car washes strip protection?

[grambow]

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!

[HawklessDetail]

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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[TornadoRed]

It sounds like she wants a coating.

[grambow]

"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!

[HawklessDetail]

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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[SANTA3013]

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.

[HawklessDetail]

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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[AutowerxDetailing]

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.

[Mike Phillips]

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...

[brlukosk]

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..