Car wash scratched my paint

You didn't read how it happened, huh?... Well, you should.

It had very little or nothing to do with bringing a black vehicle to a car wash.

If the OP had a red truck, do you think he'd have no issues???

 

All metallics have clear over them. Solid colors do not.

 

I had a black truck with fender flares. It would constantly show fine scratches on the flares. If the scratch remover doesn't work, get a magic eraser and lightly buff the area (lightly) if you over power it you will dull your metal flake. This will work but be very careful. Make sure to put a solid coat of wax over it. They also make waxes now for black cars. They work great.

 

Yikes. Genuine sheep skin or synthetic chamois shouldn't do that. I use waffle weave drying towels from Griot's, no issues yet but I'll keep an eye out. I've been using them on other vehicles for years with no issues.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/micro+fiber+drying+towel.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=

 

fucking sucks dude...

when I picked up my truck, the salesman who delivered it to me says "want me to show you how the keyless entry works?" so I said sure...10 seconds later he sticks his hand under the handle while holding a handful of keys and scratches the side of my truck. It buffed out very well with the exception of one tiny spot, but I was still pissed.

On a side note...I'm thinking about buying a pressure washer. Is this the best way to wash a truck while avoiding paint damage? Does it get it clean enough? Is handwashing better? Are there any drawbacks?

Thanks

 

That is my understanding also. Thank you.

 

Still can not believe that people think taking their car or tuck to a car wash is a good idea. Those things are for junk cars or lazy people, I would rather my car be dirty and washed by me in a few days than take it to a car wash.

 

Sorry to hear about your issue at the car wash. I own a chain of car washes. All hand. Hecho de mano baby!

We always pressure wash the cars that have anything from a film and worse on them. I would have sent people home if an employee did anything other that first pressure wash that crap off. We use a three bucket two mitt system with grit guards but it doesn't stop everything. We are set up to do our best at preventing this with the tools and system we use and in the high volume environment we operate.

I will say we get grief from time to time from customers blaming us. It's always the washes fault right? We wouldn't know that a customer that said we scratched their car had a friend rooster tail mud on their car before they arrived. And if they told us after blaming us we are always now "looking for any excuse". I will say that we look at the video and you can see where the employee touches the area scratched and many many times you see the mitt does not go in the same direction of the scratch and many other things from our experience that show it was not our fault.

Another thing that happens is everyone's cars are dirty after a front and so everything is "reset" as we call it so here they come. They haven't looked at their car in weeks. We tell them they are ready to go and, naturally, they inspect their car to make sure they got what they paid for and BOOM there's a scratch and we did it. If we are at fault, we have the best paint repair company in town. We don't have many problems but when we do we have the process down pat. From the guy trying to rip us off to the times we are at fault.

I'd follow everyone else's advise and stay away from that or similar places. Hand wash only.

I hope it gets worked out. Autopia.org is a great place to learn how to properly take care of your car and autogeek.net sells some great stuff and has really good tutorials for some quick training instead of reading.

 

Some people don't have access to a water hose, the room to store buckets, detail jazz and the like. I live in a small 3 room apartment in a projects building. Not much I can do but take it to car wash with a hand wand.

 

So for people that live in areas with below freezing temperatures for half the year, how do you suggest they do it by hand?

I agree to never take it through one where something touched the truck, but for me in the winter I have little option but to take it through a touch-free car wash.

 

Where do you live, Siberia ? I have pretty much the same weather here as you do. Even though the winters are cold, all you need is one hour where the temps are above about 40-45 degrees, a pair of aquarium gloves, and a few layers of clothes (make sure your outer layer has no zippers or buttons).

 

As for the black paint having clear coat... per many internet articles I've read, 99 percent of modern vehicles have clear coat. And per the body shop guy I spoke to, it has a clear coat. What would be the logical reason not to clear coat a solid color ?

 

Your case is pretty much dead, if you didn't get a copy of that video.

 

Good luck dealing with the car wash owner. He will deny till the day he dies. Youll be lucky if he gives you a free detail from them, which you dont want them touching your car anyways.
I took mine through a wash 2 weeks after owning it cuz i was lazy that day. Huge mistake!!
I purchased a pinnacle kit shortly after getting nowhere with the owner.
Luckily it was just the clear coat.
Everything scratches the clear coat tho, bumped my recycling bin off it, oh look, a new scratch.
Good luck brother. Take good care of your new truck and detail it yourself

 

I also live in canada and right now i take a bucket n glove to the hot water coin do it yourself pressure wash by my house.
I fill my bucket with their hot water, then soak the truck with the pressure washer, then wash it with my own soap, glove n bucket.
Then put 3 more bucks in an rinse fallowed by a quick dry before it turns into an igloo.
People waiting in line dont really like me when they see this but i dont care cuz its my baby

 

Been painting auto's and aircraft for years and every urethane coating can be buffed out whether it's single stage or base coat/clear coat. Solid or Metallic base coat colors all get clear coated. As far as I know, all auto's come clear coated. $.02

 

I would never ever suggest someone pressure wash dried mud into a brand new black truck at 2,000+ PSI. That's incredibly dangerous and I would recommend changing your rules. There's a time and a place for that technique, but you can't possibly do that safely all the time no matter what. I respect your own business operation and decision making, but that's objectively not safe.

Find a legit detailer in your area, someone very good. Describe the damage and get a quote. Bring that quote to the car wash and make them pay it. Turn your phone on video mode and record every conversation with them, and specifically get them admitting fault. If you can, ask to record the film they showed you as well. This will solidify your compensation in case they try to weasel out. I dealt with this kinda issue probably every day of my professional car-wash-life. Some legit, some were hallucinating or scamming me. I've even had guns pulled on me and death threats weren't uncommon. I've been there and done that my friend, I know your frustration haha

Good luck!

 

Go wheel it like you should get pinstripes down both side and get over it? It's a truck not a lambo

 

Good advice but before you start recording conversations without asking the other party, research the law in your state to see if you're permitted to do so.

http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations

 

Not everybody views their truck as a work or off road vehicle. You may not care about the paint on your truck but many of us do.