Hand car wash damage to car

steveo3002

Little_John wrote: »

If it works I would love some of this wax, infact strull do you know what wax they used to restore your clear coat?

I will buy a pot of it if it works. anyone want to buy my pots of dodo juice and zymol waxes so I can buy this new clear coat restoring wax.

ive got some magic beans for sale if your intrested?


:rotfl:

Chris_4536

Good afternoon all,

My name is Chris, I have been pointed in the direction of this thread by a member on Detailing World.

I do not wish to discredit anyone on here but I strongly feel there are some points which need to be clarified.

1) There is no need to be abusive, arrogant or offensive to any person on an internet forum. This is a place where we all come to seek information, help and advice. It is not a place where you can log on to and proceed to call a person you have never met various childish and inappropriate names.
Such action IMHO warrants a ban of some sort. If you cannot conduct yourself in a satisfactory manner whilst in the public domain; you should not be allowed access in the first place.


So now moving onto the matter in hand.

The condition which has occured on the OP's vehicle is known as Clearcoat Failiure (in the US style) or as is more commonly know in the UK; Lacquer peel.

If we fire up our good friend and trusty search engine www.Google.co.uk

The first link we stumble upon is this one below;

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32896.asp

And to take an extract of text to examine further;

Marie_A._Stroman wrote:

What Is Dead Clearcoat or Clearcoat Failure?

There are many, many paint finish conditions for today's automobile. One major irreparable condition (besides rust or corrosion) is DEAD CLEARCOAT OR CLEARCOAT FAILURE. While this topic is rather obvious to most every detailer, there ARE people out there who have no clue that their clearcoat is what protects or bonds the base coat or the paint's color. As sad as this may seem, we will come across potential clients who have no clue that their finish could very well be FINISHED! Too often, while I am detailing a vehicle outside my home or at a client's home, I will get someone driving by who is interested in having their vehicle detailed and they expect the same reuslts. I no longer have clients whom I don't work with regularly. What really gets me is their vehicle has (probably) never even seen a waxing, let alone a simple car wash! Some don't even HAVE any clear coat thinking that dull look can be cured with wax! Why do some people totally neglect their vehicles and then bring them to detailers expecting some huge miracle?! (I know all of the detailers of the world know exactly what I am talking about.) Anyway, if your clearcoat is dull gray, white or chalky, chances are you have clearcoat failure or dead clearcoat and your only remedy is to see a paint specialist. In other words, you'll need to have your vehicle painted (again). While this is very unfortunate, clearcoat failure can be avoided by simply washing and waxing your vehicle at least two to three times a year. There are many people who believe that waxing their vehicle is time consuming. There are two implements that can speed up the process of waxing and they are Microfiber Towels and Spray Wax! Microfiber saves the time of constantly buffing--trying to remove streaks. Spray wax is easy to use by simply spraying on, wiping to a haze and wiping off! It doesn't get any easier than that! Not only will you get the job done faster, but you will have protection from the elements that can cause irreparable damage to your vehicle's finish. It's like putting a protective armor on your vehicle. This is why I always recommend taking any steps and measures to protect your paint's finish--your vehicle will also have better than average value at trade-in. I hope this helps someone who should know this very important information. For more information on clearcoat conditions, visit www.autoint.com. The people at Automotive International KNOW how to help you preserve and maintain a healthy paint finish. As always, please drive safely and keep it clean and shiny! Peace! -Marie

This image shows clearly a classic example of clearcoat failiure;



If your paint looks like this, sorry- it's damaged beyond a simple coat of wax.


Now the above text may refer to clearcoat failiure through neglect and poor routine maintainance. However, it does reinforce the bare basic facts;

- Metallic, pearl-based and most soild paint finishes are all applied to the vehicle with a clear protective layer over the top. This is seal in the paint finish and provide a uniform, optically perfect glossy layer.

- If a vehicle is sprayed with a metallic base coat and not laqcuered, it will appear dull or flat.

- If part of a vehicle suffers from loss of clearcoat, it will leave the underlying base colour coat exposed and there will be a noticable difference in appearance.

- The only remedy for such a condition is to have the vehicle or affected areas re-finished. This often requires a proffesionals attention as it is very difficult to acheive correct matching or blending of both the colour base coat (owing to the presence of the metallic flakes and / or pear 'flecks') and seamless blending of the clearcoat with the existing paint finish.

- Just to reiterate, it is not possible to repair such areas of failiure with;

- A wax or synthetic sealent.
- A combination paint cleanser and protectant (also known as an All-in-One or "AIO") Such as Autoglym Super Resin Polish, Klasse AIO or Turtlewax Original.
- A traditional rubbing compound, these are designed to blend repairs on single stage paints (i.e no lacquer is used or required in the final coat)
They are too harsh to be used on clearcoated vehicles and will leave 'marring' in the clearcoat, leaving it dull and flat.

- Modern polishes from the likes of Menzerna, 3M, Sonus etc.. are all designed to remove defects from the clear coat of vehicles and leave a high gloss finish. They can not be used on vehicles with clear coat failiure as the user would be simply polishing the base coat and no improvement would be made to the appearance of the affected area.

And finally, to the OP, I'm very sorry to hear about the damage caused to your vehicle.
Generally speaking, pressure washers are safe to use on a vehicles paint. They are infact one of the safest methods of removing dirt and grit particles from a vehicle. This is down to the fact that no physical contact is made with the vehicle during the initial stage of the wash process.
This will minimise the risk of inflicting 'swirl marks' into the paint during washing. I mean, imagine taking a cloth, rubbing it in some gritty dirt on a path and then rubbing it all over your shiny paint!
This is what happens when the correct pre-wash stages are overlooked.

But anyway, If the car wash caused damage to your vehicle, photograph and log affected areas and make contact with the company and make it clear that they caused the damage and you are seeking reimbursement to repair the damage.

Thankyou for you time,

Best regards,

Chris

sturll

Mine wasnt like that, it was almost like when it rains and it leaves little marks on the car.

Obviously it wasnt rain or water marks, but whatever it was it could be chipped away further.
It was waxed and sorted.

Chris_4536

Sorry sturll, would you happen to have a photograph of the damaged clearcoat on your vehicle?

I am still confused, why do you think that a wax can replace clearcoat?

All the evidence produce states that it is not possible.

Chris_4536

perhaps this is similar to your condition?

sturll

Yes thats exactly how it was, but the 'holes' looked a bit smaller.

Like i said, i took it to Audi and they told me to take it for a wax. I did just that and it has been sorted ever since.

Chris_4536

If the clearcoat on your vehicle has / had chipped, peeled, flaked, failed, ran away...

you have clearcoat failure.

Cure?

Respray.

Chris_4536

sturll wrote: »

Yes thats exactly how it was, but the 'holes' looked a bit smaller.

Like i said, i took it to Audi and they told me to take it for a wax. I did just that and it has been sorted ever since.

Sorry but a hole is a hole.

If there is a hole in your CC, there is CC missing.

This means you have CCF.

:money:

Chris_4536

Do you have any before & after pictures of the vehicle Sturll?

What 'wax' was used?

Where did you take the vehicle to be 'waxed'?

sturll

I think really we need the OP to wax his car, or a small part of it and see if he can back up my claim.