Car Wash Damage :(

[No Biscuit]

Just thought I would add my perspective on some of things mentioned in this thread. I am a manager of a car valet/wash. Not I hasten to add the one referred to in this thread.
I suspect most of the people here (on forum)tend to care more about their cars then the general public as a rule do. I would say that 95% of the cars we wash have no wax/polish on them when they come in. These are also the people that will complain when bird crap or insects mark their paintwork permanently yet totally fail to understand when you explain why its happened and think you are making excuses for doing a poor job.

We wash/valet/detail over 200 cars a week. There is a lot of bad press about car washs, mainly because people use cheap ones, offering a wash for 3.50 and a valet for £9, you get what you pay for basically.

Yes, we use TFR prepared according to the manufacturer’s instruction, but it is used sparingly and as a rule not sprayed over the entire car, however we will also wash the car as specified by the owner. Within limits of course and we have refused what we deem to be unreasonable or obsessive requests.
We also take care and assess each car so that we will not cause damage to paintwork(older red vauxhalls and the like) and if in doubt will not use TFR.
The OP pictures of TFR burn on the window/door trim thingy looks to me like someone not having a clue what they are doing or not paying attention.

And... Dont get me started about lifeshines/supergard/guardX and the like.

 

[markjay]

Just thought I would add my perspective on some of things mentioned in this thread. I am a manager of a car valet/wash. Not I hasten to add the one referred to in this thread.
I suspect most of the people here (on forum)tend to care more about their cars then the general public as a rule do. I would say that 95% of the cars we wash have no wax/polish on them when they come in. These are also the people that will complain when bird crap or insects mark their paintwork permanently yet totally fail to understand when you explain why its happened and think you are making excuses for doing a poor job.

We wash/valet/detail over 200 cars a week. There is a lot of bad press about car washs, mainly because people use cheap ones, offering a wash for 3.50 and a valet for £9, you get what you pay for basically.

Yes, we use TFR prepared according to the manufacturer’s instruction, but it is used sparingly and as a rule not sprayed over the entire car, however we will also wash the car as specified by the owner. Within limits of course and we have refused what we deem to be unreasonable or obsessive requests.
We also take care and assess each car so that we will not cause damage to paintwork(older red vauxhalls and the like) and if in doubt will not use TFR.
The OP pictures of TFR burn on the window/door trim thingy looks to me like someone not having a clue what they are doing or not paying attention.

And... Dont get me started about lifeshines/supergard/guardX and the like.

Thanks for the insight.

Just to say I am not overly fussed about my car's paintwork in general.

Yes I would like it to be nice. But at the same time I am also being realistic about it: I use the car as my daily drive, it's parked in the street exposed to the elements, and in spite of careful parking it gets the odd supermarket dent or bumper scratch due to other careless drivers.

I had the paint mildly polished and sealed twice in its lifetime by professional firms, once in 2010, then again in 2014.

I wash it at the local hand car wash because I need it clean and don't have much spare time on my hands. I know its not best for it and I do accept that over time it might develop swirled marks.

The place I used when the damaged occured is the same car wash where I had it washed for the past 5 years without incident. The manger this time was someone I have not seen before, so it has either been sold or just got a new manager.

They charge £14 for basic 'inside/outside wash and dry', not sure if it's a lot or not.

My only issue is with the damage to the two B pillars and the four window trims. As said I was willing to accept the usual car wash perils, but I wasn't expecting this.

Obviously for the price I am not expecting more than basic wash and hoover.... but what they did was outright negligent.

Yes I could insist and claim off their insurer, or take them to SCC, or just go there and in front of all their customers insist that they put it right. But in the end I did none of the above... it's just a car. Good night ...

 

[zoros]

how can chrome trim be ruined by one car wash?

The funny thing is, detailing only means something to the individual who spent hundreds on his car. Others either don't see the effects (because they are marginal) or don't care!

Only a few cars benefit from detailing: Very dark colours which would normally show up swirls and show cars. Everything else -0 waste of everyone's time (except the detailer of course who wants to make a fast buck).

It's all in the mind.

Always do it yourself (gives you a chance to check the car over) always use foam to lift the dirt before washing and always use micro cloth to wash. A coat of any old wax and voila the car is good to go for another few months between waxes.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Thanks for the insight.

Just to say I am not overly fussed about my car's paintwork in general.

Yes I would like it to be nice. But at the same time I am also being realistic about it: I use the car as my daily drive, it's parked in the street exposed to the elements, and in spite of careful parking it gets the odd supermarket dent or bumper scratch due to other careless drivers.

I had the paint mildly polished and sealed twice in its lifetime by professional firms, once in 2010, then again in 2014.

I wash it at the local hand car wash because I need it clean and don't have much spare time on my hands. I know its not best for it and I do accept that over time it might develop swirled marks.

The place I used when the damaged occured is the same car wash where I had it washed for the past 5 years without incident. The manger this time was someone I have not seen before, so it has either been sold or just got a new manager.

They charge £14 for basic 'inside/outside wash and dry', not sure if it's a lot or not.

My only issue is with the damage to the two B pillars and the four window trims. As said I was willing to accept the usual car wash perils, but I wasn't expecting this.

Obviously for the price I am not expecting more than basic wash and hoover.... but what they did was outright negligent.

Yes I could insist and claim off their insurer, or take them to SCC, or just go there and in front of all their customers insist that they put it right. But in the end I did none of the above... it's just a car. Good night ...

You won't be taking them to court?

Have you no principles man?

 

[markjay]

how can chrome trim be ruined by one car wash?

The funny thing is, detailing only means something to the individual who spent hundreds on his car. Others either don't see the effects (because they are marginal) or don't care!

Only a few cars benefit from detailing: Very dark colours which would normally show up swirls and show cars. Everything else -0 waste of everyone's time (except the detailer of course who wants to make a fast buck).

It's all in the mind.

Always do it yourself (gives you a chance to check the car over) always use foam to lift the dirt before washing and always use micro cloth to wash. A coat of any old wax and voila the car is good to go for another few months between waxes.

Zoros,

My car has the 'Classic' trim (poor man's Merc), so has no chrome.

Both the B pillars and the window trim are made of plastic painted in matt black paint (the rest of the car is Obsidian Black).

Whatever they sprayed on the car that day, seems to have stripped the paint off the plastic.

Given that the car so far survived 10 years of hand car wash without incident, I can't help but thinking that on this occasion they got something very wrong.

If you look at the photos I posted (taken immediately after the wash), you can clearly see that the patch of stripped paint following the pattern of a liquid running down along the pillar.

 

[markjay]

As for doing it myself.... yes that would be nice. But having had cancer, and more recently two (unrelated) operations, plus currently a long term viral infection due to compromised immune system... and a bad back.... I am happy to pay someone to wash my car for me.

As I said I am fully aware of the perils of hand car wash. Yes the lacquer coat will deteriorate over time, and no it is not supposed to be 'detailing' - whatever that mean - but having paint tripped off the plastic trim bits is a first.... and to my mind whole unacceptable.

If you think I should have done anything differently then we will have to disagree on that.

 

[markjay]

You won't be taking them to court?

Have you no principles man?

I have many principles but very little time.... D: so I have to prioritise.

 

[No Biscuit]

how can chrome trim be ruined by one car wash?

The funny thing is, detailing only means something to the individual who spent hundreds on his car. Others either don't see the effects (because they are marginal) or don't care!

Only a few cars benefit from detailing: Very dark colours which would normally show up swirls and show cars. Everything else -0 waste of everyone's time (except the detailer of course who wants to make a fast buck).

It's all in the mind.

Always do it yourself (gives you a chance to check the car over) always use foam to lift the dirt before washing and always use micro cloth to wash. A coat of any old wax and voila the car is good to go for another few months between waxes.

I find my self agreeing with you.

Personally I think Mercedes changed something in 2014. The almost black metal trims under windows and doors seems to mark much easier than in older models. Thankfully it was easy to polish out when we became aware of if it, and have adjusted our wash process to take it into account.
Some of the chrome on newer BMW's is the same.