Guys I messed up. Trucks scratched from from to back

[Dersch]

Well guys I did something stupid. I took my truck though a car wash that wasn't touchless and now my trucks jacked up. So backstory... I live in st louis and theres only like one car wash here thats touchless and its absolutely garbage. So a few weeks ago I took my truck to this place called water world. Its huge and had a few locations with great reviews. It was honestly the best wash I ever had. Truck shined so nice. So today after a week of rain I took her back through. Got done no biggy. Went to grocery store and came out to notice my truck looked scratched up in the sun light. To my horrors from the windows to the bottom of the doors is scratched from front to back. It literally looks like someone took a tree branch and ran it from front to back a few times on drivers and passenger side. These all appear to just be in clear coat but possibly deeper on a few. Then on the rear wheel wells on both sides there are a few spots that are extremely scratched that are into the paint (finger nail gets caught when running against it.) I'm horrified.

I talked to car wash and filed a claim. The guy there didnt seem super excited about the fact that my baby was scratched to ****. But I should hear back this week about what they are going to do...

Spoke with my insurance. They will file a claim under my comprehensives deductible. They said they'd have the whole truck repainted since to repair it they would restore it to how it was before this happened. 

Anyone ever have this happen?

 

I tried to get pictures but the paint is literally like glass and reflects so well you cant see them on camera. But in person you can. I'll snap a pic of the big ones tomorrow though. 

Edited March 18, 2019 by Dersch

[SSchup]

I never take a chance on a car wash for this reason. Buddy of mine had his new Buick Lacrosse torn up bad from a local car wash, they ended up paying for the repairs. Still sucks though.

[Mike GMC]

This why I NEVER use that kind.  You never know what was in there before you.  Those spinning rag strips can be full of sand, dirt, grease and who knows what.  There is one like that near me.  I spoke to them once and they even told me a story about a pick up with a fuel tank in the bed that leaked and coated the brushes with diesel fuel.  They were basically greasing cars instead of washing them after that.  Basically, I always either wash at home, or use the pay and spray where I can do it my self.

Edited March 18, 2019 by Mike GMC

[RMR]

I would give the areas you can a go with some rubbing and then polishing compound with light pressure. Some may get to a hairline mark.  I have gotten braver over the years with wet sanding and 2000 grit (again real light pressure) followed with polishing. That said, if you can catch your fingernail on it good, neither of these will get it done to your satisfaction. Lastly, I have seen good results with just a re-clear coat and buff on some motorcycle paint jobs I had.  Best of luck moving forward.

[Beer Belly]

Not sure thats from the Car Wash.....don't those things rotate front to back ?......those scratches look like top to bottom movement like putting something in the bed. 

[2016 Sierra Owner]

Just now, Beer Belly said:

Not sure that's from the Car Wash.....don't those things rotate front to back ?......those scratches look like top to bottom movement like putting something in the bed. 

The one we have here in town has brushes that spin front of the vehicle and back. They also have love fiber strips that move up and down against the vehicle as it travels through them.

 

Edited March 18, 2019 by 2016 Sierra Owner
pic upload

[Sierra Dan]

Life is like a box of carwashes...…  you never know what you're gonna get! 

[2018GMC]

Sorry to hear that!

 

If all else falls through, you can get a lot of it out by using a kit like this. I have restored 20 year old paint with fairly deep scratches with their compound and the polisher wheel attached to a drill. It takes a lot of time to do it correctly. Search paint correction on youtube for methods.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G55107-Action-Power-System/dp/B00A4ABF8W/ref=sr_1_5?hvadid=77790510027503&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&keywords=meguiars+ultimate+detailing+kit&qid=1552914213&s=gateway&sr=8-5&tag=mh0b-20

[jerseytaylor]

sorry to hear man. hopefully they rectify it. I was just in STL two weeks ago and used this car wash- was pretty pleased with it. Its a DIY bay that accepts credit cards and has heated water if youre a psychopath like me and washes the salt off the truck in a polar vortex  Maybe something to keep in mind for the future. Just dont use the brush they have on the wall!

3233 S Kingshighway Blvd STL 63139

 

http://theneighborhoodcarwash.com/

 

 

[batman900]

I had scratches like that on my new black 18 just weeks after picking it up. On her first wash I got in the bed with the water hose to get the roof, I accidentally rubbed the dirty hose against the side of the bed and to my horror it looked like your pictures. I used chemical guys scratch and swirl remover first which got most of the scratches out but left micro swirls and haze. Then I went back over it with 3M 6068 polish, that removed the swirls and haze. The 3M 6068 is just amazing, I was really really freaking out after the chemical guys stuff haha, I thought I'd made things worse. I tried using the 3M by itself on some other scratches but it only worked so so. I did it all by hand and went over the areas multiple times which honestly didn't take very long.

 

The result after chemical guys followed by 3M made the scratches disappear by 80-90%. No one can tell anything ever happened unless I point it out at close range and in certain light and even then it's hard to see. Moral of the story is I'd try a couple things before considering a full repaint. It's 5 months later now and when I wash the truck, the areas that had scratches are so un-noticeable that I completely forget about them even after waxing to a mirror shine.

[L86 All Terrain]

I wont even take my truck through a touchless wash. Never mind one of those automatic paint sanders. I know it is not possible for everyone to have their own washing set up in the cities but if you have a garage and warm climates, you would be foolish not to invest in your own set up to do it properly. Now your going to spend $500 to have that corrected properly. 

 

Watch AMMO NYC's videos on washing black paint. Invest in your own set up if possible. Never, ever, ever use a brush style auto wash, nor use the car washes manual brush on your vehicle. If you want flawless black paint, be prepared to spend 4 hours or more on it every second weekend at a minimum. 

Edited March 18, 2019 by L86 All Terrain

[ForestryGuy]

I worked at a  car wash in high school detailing cars and operating the automatic car wash. We would occasionally clean the brushes/fiber strips with a pressure washer but we were also teenagers so you know how that goes. I'd never take my personal truck through one - some are pretty damn sketchy.

 

Sorry you have to deal with that, good luck working with the car wash and your insurance.

[Dersch]

2 hours ago, jerseytaylor said:

sorry to hear man. hopefully they rectify it. I was just in STL two weeks ago and used this car wash- was pretty pleased with it. Its a DIY bay that accepts credit cards and has heated water if youre a psychopath like me and washes the salt off the truck in a polar vortex  Maybe something to keep in mind for the future. Just dont use the brush they have on the wall!

3233 S Kingshighway Blvd STL 63139

 

http://theneighborhoodcarwash.com/

 

 

I never used their manual bays but there touchless is the one I used before. 

 

I use go use the brush automatic washes on my black ram all the time with no issues. Cant believe this happened. 

[HeySkippyDog]

I use the bikini car wash here in Orlando. The manager makes sure each employee actually knows how to detail a car.

And... well... you know. It's girls in bikinis.

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[KARNUT]

The car washers these days don’t use brushes. I’m on a monthly plan and go two- three times a week. My last vehicle was black. In 30 years never a problem. I wouldn’t take a collector car through but my daily driver no problem.


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