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Does going through a car wash regularly actually mess up your paint?
Posted on 8/18/25 at 6:09 pm
Posted on 8/18/25 at 6:09 pm
I always have heard this but is it true?
10
Posted on 8/18/25 at 6:22 pm to thadcastle
Yes, creates bad swirls in paint.
Posted on 8/18/25 at 6:30 pm to thadcastle
In my experience, yes
Posted on 8/18/25 at 6:37 pm to thadcastle
Both my wife's car and my truck are black. We pay the monthly fee for unlimited washes. They get washed at least once a week. Going on 2 years, no blemishes noticed. ??
Posted on 8/18/25 at 7:48 pm to thadcastle
Yes. If you care about your paint do not go through the car wash. If swirls don’t bother you then it’s a fast and convenient way to get a semi clean vehicle.
Posted on 8/18/25 at 8:57 pm to thadcastle
They’re not good for it. They basically just rub dirt around and create micro scratches. Then the people after dry it off with a semi dirty towel and spray on a layer of silicon to make it shiny for a couple hours.
Posted on 8/18/25 at 9:21 pm to KingRanch
The brushes themselves do not swirl the paint, the dirt on them however does. There are are handful of well run automatic brushed carwashes in the country that won't hurt your paint on most days... but they will at some point get dirt and grime from a vehicle and start swirling paint until it is corrected.
Posted on 8/19/25 at 8:16 am to armsdealer
quote:
The brushes themselves do not swirl the paint, the dirt on them however does.
I don't know what kind of 1990's carwash yall are going through, but the one I go to doesn't have a single brush in it.
Posted on 8/19/25 at 8:44 am to thadcastle
I went through the carwash at a minimum once a week, sometimes more, for about 5 years. Not a damn thing negative happened to the paint on my truck, and it still looked brand new 5 years after i bought it.
I was using whatever the one is on Siegen, whitewater i think. It's changed names 3 or 4 times it seems.
I was using whatever the one is on Siegen, whitewater i think. It's changed names 3 or 4 times it seems.
Posted on 8/19/25 at 8:54 am to thadcastle
My truck is ceramic coated and I go through a soft touch car wash weekly with no issues.
Posted on 8/19/25 at 11:49 am to thadcastle
Used to but newer car washes have better equipment that doesn’t do the swirls.
Posted on 8/19/25 at 11:52 am to thadcastle
Haven’t really ever noticed or experienced this. But I also try to hand wash or use a touchless wash as much as possible.
Posted on 8/20/25 at 12:17 pm to Homey the Clown
quote:
don't know what kind of 1990's carwash yall are going through, but the one I go to doesn't have a single brush in it.
If you’re going through a brushless car wash then the “soap” that’s being used is very acidic in order to “clean” the paint. That will destroy your clear coat over time.
Posted on 8/20/25 at 12:28 pm to NewIberiaHaircut
quote:
the “soap” that’s being used is very acidic in order to “clean” the paint. That will destroy your clear coat over time.
Over how long of a time? I've been going to the same one for 7 years with no issues
Posted on 8/20/25 at 1:00 pm to poppa1254
quote:
Both my wife's car and my truck are black. We pay the monthly fee for unlimited washes. They get washed at least once a week. Going on 2 years, no blemishes noticed. ??
You 100% have swirls in your paint. There is really no way around it. You need to hold a light up to it. A clean black vehicle should looks almost like a mirror with a very good reflection. Swirls will divert the light in different directions. It's not a major deal and can be corrected with buffing the vehicle. High shine waxes can get mask it since they fill in the tiny scratches in the clearcoat. But waxing alone wont "fix" it only mask it.
Posted on 8/21/25 at 12:21 pm to thadcastle
Find a touchless car wash
Posted on 8/21/25 at 1:17 pm to BigBinBR
So my truck doesn’t have car wash swirls because of the wax?
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