Automatic car wash ever wreck your paint?

I went through an automatic car wash a while back and later i noticed my paint felt rough like sand paper. There seems to be this rough coating on my paint now, that I couldn't even hand wash out. It will compound out, so now I have to compound my whole truck.

It feels like I parked I under a sappy tree, but I drive from my garage to my work garage, so I can only trace this to the "wax" at the car wash.
It also beads up pretty well when it rains, so I am really thinking it is the wax from the automatic car wash.

I have never had this problem before. Have any of you?

 

I think that over time the more and more you use the automatic car washes it will wreck your paint. Some of them use a lot of chemicals and detergents in their car washes to get them clean right then. I found that on my last car that I would do the automatic car wash twice a year and when I got it out, yeah it looked clean but it felt rough.
Since I've got my Tacoma I have never put it into an automatic car wash. I find it better to use the wand car washes. I only use the water, not the soap because who knows what crap is in their soap too.
If I were you, get a good wax in when you can. Try to get all that crap off from the automatic car washes. I doubt that you're gong to do any damage with doing it one time. But I'm sure that over time that it's not going for your vehicle.

 

I ALWAYS use a 100% hand wash car wash.

Automatic car washes or car washes with brushes and/or rollers can contain sand or other abrasives they pick up from other vehicles on the brushes or rollers.....acts just like a power sander on your paint

 

It is most likely paint contamination and not from the car wash. My paint gets that same sandpaper feel as well. The rough texture that you are feeling comes from all the pollution and contaminants in the air. These small particles bond to your paint over time. Try claying your Tacoma first. I wouldn't recommend using compound. Compound is usually used in cases of severe paint/clearcoat damage. You can really mess up your paint with compound if you are not careful.

 

There are trash automatic car washers and there are very good reputable ones. I would go through the good ones in my area regularly.

 

automatic car washes use a very harsh soap on paint, the reason it felt like sand paper is because the car wash soap removes the dirt but it also removes the wax and then the paint has nothing to protect it... always do a hand wash

 

Just go to a different car wash. I have done lots of auto washes on lots of different cars/trucks. Never had a problem.

 

being a paint correction specialist.. stay away from those places.. nothing but damage. i love when a guy brings me his wife's trashed paint because she likes to run it through the wash...

and by the way... 90% of the water at those places is recycled... I worked at one for about a month when i was 16. owner had us dump a 55 gallon drum of Adam's VRT in the pit because it went bad... sooooo needless to say, your paint got a bit of recycled tire shine also! the only fresh water is at the beginning when you are entering the wash, and the bit at the end with the "spot free rinse"

or the time we had a ford ranger go through and the over head brush grabbed a dog leash out of the bed and proceeded to dent the fuck out of the next customers 350z that was all custom (shouldn't have been bringing it through a wash either)

 

I honesty was too trusting of the automatic car washes. I should know that the consumer always gets screwed in this capitalist loving country.

I ended up using hot water, soap and a nylon mesh rag to scrub the mess off my truck. It was keeping me up at night!

Not sure what it was, but I didn't like the way it felt on my truck. Thankfully it is gone. Now for a nice hand wax and all will be right again.

Darn car wash!

 

I'm more worried about the chemicals. There is a new car wash being built locally. I may bring the truck through it during its first month or so, while the brushes are new. Other than that, no. Hand wash.

 

Depends on how anal you are.

Plain old dirt hurts the paint too.

If you are letting your paint build up two months of dirt because you "don't trust the car wash" you're not doing it any favors.

Yeah, if you're keeping a show quality finish, stay away.

But if you just want "looks nice," well clean beats dirty every time.

 

I am more concerned with the softer plastics like on the tail light lenses taking a beating than my paint. Happened in my MINI. Ran it through an automatic wash and it scratched the shit out of my lenses. Paint was fine.

Hand wash only for me now. Damn truck is three times bigger to wash than my MINI!

 

Hand wash only. Done in sections and dried immediately to eliminate water spots. All I use are microfibers that get washed after every use.

 

There are good auto washes out there. You just have to experiment (preferably with the wife's car) to find them. I do a very good wax and sealant coat every 6 months, hand wash every month, and use the auto washes in between just to remove the light dust from off-roading.

 

Ever take it through a hand wash? I've never done it because I don't trust the minimum wage hooligans with my code 3 equipment and high powered weapons in electro-locks.

 

I've been giving my cars a weekly wash in the winter for years without issue. Touchless only, though. Would never take my vehicle through a soft cloth or brush wash. Then hand wash in the summer.

 

Our guys are told to keep their eyes on the car while it is being washed. We have never had a problem......yet.

 

Ooooo, a macho racist troll, isn't that nice....

 

I've used automatic car washes for 40 years with absolutely no damage.