Old age and detailing.

[mdricko]

You can easily get away with just the ‘Protectant’ as long as you clean the item thoroughly. If there’s tons of Armor- all on it fir example, then I’d get the cleaner too. But then again AA doesn’t last long.

West Marine carries it as well

I have not touched it in 2 years since i bought it. So No Armor All or anything by me. We actually have West Marines fairly close.

 

[Socalramfan]

I have not touched it in 2 years since i bought it. So No Armor All or anything by me. We actually have West Marines fairly close.

I would anticipate (2) applications if it’s been untouched for that long

 

[Aircommuter]

My wife washes and waxes the vehicles and she owns a Flex buffer. She is only 71 though.

 

[Squeaks]

Cleaning the window hand crank meant you were finished washing your ride!

 

[FXLRRAM]

I'm 52 and let someone else do it twice a year.
I'll take care of the regular washes.

 

[fastlife509]

You are missing a chance to use critical muscles in your body. I hope you get exercise in other ways!

Yes I do exercise regularly, but some jobs I prefer to hire out.

 

[Dave Haddon]

Interesting points on drive thrus Cheechdogg..will avoid with new Warlock when I can..

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

Interesting points on drive thrus Cheechdogg..will avoid with new Warlock when I can..

Thank you, I really hate them, it took 1 year for the clear coat on my civic hatch back to start peeling from going through those car washes, many different types too. Since then I have never done it again and always tell people, don't put your vehicles through them, sometimes all it takes is one dirty felt curtain to have a rock stuck on it to completely ruin your vehicles.

If you can't detail your at least maintain your vehicles every 2 weeks, every week is better, have a detailer do it for you. You can find a cheap but very good detailer who can maintain your vehicles with proper products.

It is very much worth it to pay someone $40-$50 a week for a barebones, vacuum, wipe down, wash especially if they are mobile and come to your house. Those hand carwashes charge that much and do much less, for my customers I do something every week with the maintenance washes, one week I will do the carpets, another the seats, head liners the next ....

But STAY AWAY from drive thru washes !!!! lol

 

[quickster2]

"it took 1 year for the clear coat on my civic hatch back to start peeling from going through those car washes"

If your clearcoat peeled you had other issues with the paint layering system than a car wash. Not defending drive throughs, but peeling paint is an inner-coat adhesion issue.

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

If your clearcoat peeled you had other issues with the paint layering system than a car wash. Not defending drive throughs, but peeling paint is an inner-coat adhesion issue.

Clear coat can get damaged very easily especially if you don't keep the surface cleaned from contaminants that can eat away the clear coat ... you can have the best clear coat on any vehicle and if bird waste sits on it long enough it can ruin it in less than a month, fact !!!

As a detailer I am pretty sure I know what I deal with, how to deal with it and how to help my customers avoid clear coat failure ...

Morning dew when evaporating in the sun can easily ruin the clear coat, sprinklers, the hot engines cooking the dew with the heat on the hoods is the #1 cause of clear coat failure on vehicles the last 15 years and mostly due to low quality paint, paint jobs and failure to keep the vehicles surface clean from contaminants ...

 

[quickster2]

I'm not challenging your experience CheechDogg. Most of your comments are on point. Various forms of surface damage yes. Peeling paint per your comment no. Just don't want to mislead folks. Take care.

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

I'm not challenging your experience CheechDogg. Most of your comments are on point. Various forms of surface damage yes. Peeling paint per your comment no. Just don't want to mislead folks. Take care.

Peeling paint and peeling clear coat are two different things .... I never mentioned peeling paint .... I don't mislead folks especially when it comes to the surface of their vehicles ....

 

[quickster2]

"Clearcoat failure, clearcoat peeling" per your comments. Neither would be caused by the car wash is my point. If either phenomenon occurs, it would be due to a failure in the paint layering system. If you had a problem with the layering system (including prep, the paint itself, the oven cycles, etc.) then a car wash might exacerbate the problem as would a pressure washer. No more comments from me on this. I hope everyone realizes I am just trying to help.

 

[Octane]

Peeling clear coat has been a problem since the polyurethane was first used.Im curious now as to how well the water based paint holds up in a few years

 

[quickster2]

Peeling clear coat has been a problem since the polyurethane was first used.Im curious now as to how well the water based paint holds up in a few years

Water born basecoats have been in service for more than 25 years in various vehicles, but not all. I know of no water born clearcoats in use by any high volume auto OEM.

 

[Octane]

Water born basecoats have been in service for more than 25 years in various vehicles, but not all. I know of no water born clearcoats in use by any high volume auto OEM.

Yes.
My local body shops use waterbase paint and say it's as good as the old stuff.Twenty five years ain't that long in "saving the planet" lol.One shop I know just started using waterbase in the the last 3 years or so.

 

[Socalramfan]

Just a side note...... Interesting at how a 40 year old original paint on a Mzb I have can hold its own and stand up to any new paint job. Wonder how today’s paint will look in even 1/4 of that time.

Just a thought

 

[Octane]

Just a side note...... Interesting at how a 40 year old original paint on a Mzb I have can hold its own and stand up to any new paint job. Wonder how today’s paint will look in even 1/4 of that time.

Just a thought


View attachment 483038

Imo American oem paint has always been lower quality

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

"Clearcoat failure, clearcoat peeling" per your comments. Neither would be caused by the car wash is my point. If either phenomenon occurs, it would be due to a failure in the paint layering system. If you had a problem with the layering system (including prep, the paint itself, the oven cycles, etc.) then a car wash might exacerbate the problem as would a pressure washer. No more comments from me on this. I hope everyone realizes I am just trying to help.

Believe what you want to believe lol ... it's been proven .... just the cleaning solutions they use at these automatic car washes is enough for them to eat through the clear coat if your finish is even contaminated and already deteriorating .... These clear coats are so thin which is why washing a car with dish soap is so bad for them, dish soap has abrasives that act as sandpaper, pair that up with all the contaminants you are brushing away you can get a mixture equivalent to 800 grit sandpaper ..

Now imagine the brushes at these car washes, you know they don't clean them every day or every week for that matter, you have all kinds of crap on those brushes, curtains, what ever else they use to "brush" off the grime off your vehicles ... all that is "sanding" away at your clear coat ..

But hey, another one that doesn't believe lol ... a local chain of car washes out here already has a class action lawsuit against them for this very matter, will it hold up in court, probably not, but fact is automatic car washes are bad for you vehicles simple as that ...

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

Just a side note...... Interesting at how a 40 year old original paint on a Mzb I have can hold its own and stand up to any new paint job. Wonder how today’s paint will look in even 1/4 of that time.

Just a thought


View attachment 483038

This is when base coats and clear coats where actually quality and could probably withstand a nuke !!!