The Car Wash

**LRC3** · 12-31-2014, 01:52 PM

This is nothing new to MANY of you, we've all heard these stories but to sit and watch first hand, was just brutal!

I pick up some tires on Black Friday for the wife's Maxima and this morning finally get a chance to swing by the shop for the install. Directly across the street is a drive thru car wash. So like most dudes we stand outside watching the install but I find myself fixated on the car war place.

OMG man, OMG!!!

After the brushes in that place put your paint on its death bed, the 4 dudes outside certainly pull the plug on the life support system!

There using what looks like white terry towels to dry cars, fail! And I say fail because I never seen them change there drying towel. Maybe they did but I certainly didn't witness it.

Then the armor all dude wipes down the rims, honest enough, but then proceeds to help dry off the car, WITH THE SAME RAG!!

The cherry on top was a black GMC Envoy, it got the VIP treatment! After cleaning the car, and I use this term loosely, it comes out the black hole. I assume the customer was unhappy be Hes pointing at spots missed, or what have you. Then all four dryer dudes grab spray bottles w/orange liquid and go to town. Poor Envoy, bc they way where SCUBBING this paint, God only knows what it looked like up close. Remember, I'm across the street!!

Granted I've learned more in 3 months about detailing then I ever thought I would or care to know but I assume car wash places like this are what keep you PROFESSIONALS in business.

I do know this, that car wash place it making a mint bc at least 15 cars got ran thru there in the 30 mins I was watching and there WAS a line!! I'm not mad, I'm jealous I don't own that place....

**runrun411** · 12-31-2014, 02:21 PM

Just try to explain to the guys working there that the brushes scratch. SMH.

**Kamakaz1961** · 12-31-2014, 02:59 PM

It is a "cringe worthy" experience to see!! The sad part is that most people are oblivious to the damage that place is causing! They need to get out of the Matrix and take the Red Pill (or was it the Blue one)?

It is cool to see what all detailers see. You are good at what you do when it comes to detailing. Another "Artist"!

Happy New Year!!

**conman1395** · 12-31-2014, 04:04 PM

I used to work at one of these. We spray the car down first and then it has 15 air dryers. Once a week, we clean the pit. Maybe once ever 3/4 weeks we clean the brushes. The slimy layer of dirt, grit, and rocks in the bottom side of the brushes which aren't really possible to clean without removing (which we didn't) was so bad it makes me feel bad. Really curious how the "Scratch free guarantee" works. Although every person we had was swirled up so they couldn't tell.

**Southern Stang** · 12-31-2014, 05:50 PM

You should see our detail department here at the Mazda dealer. You guys would cry.

Most of the service washes don't even get rinsed first. Brush comes out of the bucket directly onto the dry car. Rubbing the dirt around oh so sweetly lol. And on top of that half the time there are big spots they miss. To top it off they dry with whatever cloth they have. Besides a dirty nasty shammy. I actually just pull the nicer looking cars that customers actually take care of that I can see around and park them after I'm through servicing them. There are still a few speed and miata owners out there that take care of their babies

**dlc95** · 12-31-2014, 07:05 PM

On Dec 18th, 2013 I took ownership of a very small car was in Michigan.

It was located in "mud country", and try as I might to power was all the mud out of every nook and cranny was literally impossible. As such, the slurry would drip on to the paint and get ground into the paint.

As fortune would have it, the polar vortices ended up killing my business, and I was never ever able to recover. In July I defaulted to the former owner (just got served with a lawsuit yesterday), and went back to the wash I used to work for.

My boss installed some of those old school plastic bristle brushes on our 18" lower rocker panel brushes. It's unreal being in the paint restoration interest on one end, and retail car washing on the other....

**MikeC** · 01-28-2015, 10:13 PM

A little late post I know, but I had to tell of the MB dealership that sends all their new cars to the car wash across the street. Then the guys go to town drying top to bottom with terry cloth towels and slap the tire shine on with a pressurized brush. Just to drive away and sling it all over the freshly swirled paint!