Auto car wash with wraps?

[JamboF4]

Ok, don’t want to touch off a big argument - wondering if anyone has had success using auto (and not touchless) car wash with wrapped vehicles?

The reality of our life is I use an auto car wash 1-2 x per week and will continue to do so. Just don’t want to spend on a wrap if it wouldn’t last in the wash.

The only threads here and on a few other car boards all focus on detailing and bucket wash etc. We occasionally use mobile detailer, but for the week in, week out washing - it’s a quick run through the car wash.

Is anyone else as crazy as me and willing to admit it (with the car wrapped?)

“Wrap” and “Car Wash”…non sequitur.

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[Seano]

Thanks, everyone - appreciate the feedback.

This pops into my head every once in a while because I really like the matte wraps.

But, as previously stated, handwashing the cars is just not going to happen.

 

[Dark-Fx]

My truck is wrapped (obviously) and I run thru a car wash 2x's a week. Hasn't really bothered me. I have the wash "swirl" but unless you are close you don't really notice. I'm not going to car shows, so - meh.

I can tell from here.

 

[LivingInKaos]

I can tell from here.

I'm sure you can. It's an offroad rig, there are stripes and other stuff in there too. It still pops though.

 

[SwampNut]

I have matte PPF and was told by the installer that it can handle anything the paint could handle and it has a ten year warranty, so I've run it through the auto car wash about once a week for last 6-8 months or more with no issues.

Do you have ceramic over the PPF? And if so, know which one?

Clear coat is a lot harder than PPF

That's why the clearcoat scratches more easily. Most people don't understand the concepts of hardness and flexibility relative to the potential damage source. PPF is resilient, and even comes back from offroading pinstripes where paint does not.

I've got a friend with a matte wrap and over three years of using the same automated wash that I do, and no issues. I'm going to keep taking my truck there when it comes back with the wrap. Life is too short to deal with hand washing, or to drive a dirty car between having time for that.

 

[waitingonanr1s]

I use touchless, but no way on earth I'd run a car - wrapped or unwrapped - through a brush wash.

 

[SwampNut]

I use touchless, but no way on earth I'd run a car - wrapped or unwrapped - through a brush wash.

First, it's rare to run into a brush wash at all any more. So I assume you really mean the cloth strip type, not an actual bristle brush. I'm the opposite, I've had a car damaged by the ultra high pressure of touchless, but not with the cloth strip drums.

 

[waitingonanr1s]

First, it's rare to run into a brush wash at all any more. So I assume you really mean the cloth strip type, not an actual bristle brush. I'm the opposite, I've had a car damaged by the ultra high pressure of touchless, but not with the cloth strip drums.

They both exist still (I see both relatively frequently) - you'd be surprised at the shitty car washes in some parts of the country. Even with the cloth strip ones, you're at the mercy of the car wash owner maintaining the wash and the debris coming off the cars who used it before you.

High pressure touchless can be an issue as well, especially when it comes to damaging PPF or wraps. If you're not going to hand wash only, then it's best to find a touchless one that you know doesn't cause damage and stick with that one as much as possible. That's been my detailer's and ppf installer's advice.

 

[Rivian Owner]

Ok, I'm going to play devil's advocate here for a second:

Soooo, just something to consider, you can get a protective film for the windshield which I presume is similar plastics to the PPF material. From what I've learned about the windshield film is you don't want to run the wipers without a lubrication (washer fluid, or rain) the film can be scratched, and the projected life of the windshield film is at best a couple of years. Whether brush or the cloth strips at the car wash, they are abrasive and with grit and grime on the vehicle they will have a tendency to drag the dirt across the PPF or the wrap material. So my question is, how is it that the windshield film is susceptable to scratches and the other films aren't reisitant to scratches? Perhaps because you are looking through the film the scratches are more evident? Also, if the films are "self healing" and the materials are similar then why won't the windshield film self heal?

Just to be clear, I have PPF from TWraps that I've been very happy with, and I both hand wash and when I don't have time or I'm on a road trip, I use a car wash. I was also planning on using the windshield film from TWraps until I got hit with a big rock on the windshield and I'm waiting for my appointmet at the service center to get it replaced, at which time I'll add the film.

 

[twraps]

Ok, I'm going to play devil's advocate here for a second:

Soooo, just something to consider, you can get a protective film for the windshield which I presume is similar plastics to the PPF material. From what I've learned about the windshield film is you don't want to run the wipers without a lubrication (washer fluid, or rain) the film can be scratched, and the projected life of the windshield film is at best a couple of years. Whether brush or the cloth strips at the car wash, they are abrasive and with grit and grime on the vehicle they will have a tendency to drag the dirt across the PPF or the wrap material. So my question is, how is it that the windshield film is susceptable to scratches and the other films aren't reisitant to scratches? Perhaps because you are looking through the film the scratches are more evident? Also, if the films are "self healing" and the materials are similar then why won't the windshield film self heal?

Just to be clear, I have PPF from TWraps that I've been very happy with, and I both hand wash and when I don't have time or I'm on a road trip, I use a car wash. I was also planning on using the windshield film from TWraps until I got hit with a big rock on the windshield and I'm waiting for my appointmet at the service center to get it replaced, at which time I'll add the film.

Great question. My guess is that the micro scratches on the body are just not as visible as the ones on the windshield. They will still happen, and the film will still self heal to some extent but you are a lot less likely to ever notice them. Of course, it depends on everyone's own level of OCD... I used to be very OCD about everything, but I've been a father for 10 years now + add 2 cats and 2 businesses to it, and you either go crazy or you start accepting that some things will not be perfect, so even if I have a few imperfections here and there I genuinely don't care, but if someone does, touchless car washes would be a safer bet for sure.

PS For the record, even if I have to turn on my OCD, I still don't see any scratches on our cars... Perhaps they haven't been wrapped long enough though but with my R1S I've been through 2 off-roadings (one with decent amount of bush scratching on the sides) and countless car washes...the film still looks perfect to me.

 

[roketdog]

More pix of final product? What color/PPF is that? Color looks awesome.

Yes, I did.

My wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee is wrapped. It is the first vehicle I have ever had wrapped and I didn't understand the consequences until after it was done. It looks beautiful, but it must be hand washed. I did the same research you did, AFTER I got it wrapped. And I got the same results you did.

After about a year of washing it by hand (or just neglecting it) I got fed up and ran it through a car wash. It didn't cause any peeling probably because the wrap guy did such a good job wrapping around the edges. He disassembled much of the body to get it wrapped properly.

After the automated wash it looked good but when looking carefully I could see tiny scratches on the surface in some areas. After a few washes I imagine those tiny scratches accumulate and make the finish look dull.

So I have not run it through again. But I did just get it detailed and he buffed the surface, removing all of the tiny scratches. It looks new again. Going forward I plan to have it detailed yearly.

Coincidentally I just discovered a local car wash has a touchless option on the screen, which I am definitely going to test out in the near future. If that works, it will be what I do in between yearly details. Otherwise, I am just going to bite the bullet and wash it by hand. Grrr.

 

[mkhuffman]

More pix of final product? What color/PPF is that? Color looks awesome.

It would be better if PPF, but it is standard vinyl.

We have received a lot of compliments regarding the color. It is very similar to a color found on a stock GC. The difference is we didn't wrap all the gray parts. We left the top black, and the bumpers original gray. I think it looks a lot better with the contrasting gray and dark red.

 

[JCRiver]

Do you have ceramic over the PPF? And if so, know which one?



That's why the clearcoat scratches more easily. Most people don't understand the concepts of hardness and flexibility relative to the potential damage source. PPF is resilient, and even comes back from offroading pinstripes where paint does not.

I've got a friend with a matte wrap and over three years of using the same automated wash that I do, and no issues. I'm going to keep taking my truck there when it comes back with the wrap. Life is too short to deal with hand washing, or to drive a dirty car between having time for that.

Do you have ceramic over the PPF? And if so, know which one?



That's why the clearcoat scratches more easily. Most people don't understand the concepts of hardness and flexibility relative to the potential damage source. PPF is resilient, and even comes back from offroading pinstripes where paint does not.

I've got a friend with a matte wrap and over three years of using the same automated wash that I do, and no issues. I'm going to keep taking my truck there when it comes back with the wrap. Life is too short to deal with hand washing, or to drive a dirty car between having time for that.

I do not have ceramic over the PPF

 

[SwampNut]

I went through the first of many car washes to come, with my brand new @twraps PPF. I admit I kinda held my breath at first, LOL. But a friend with PPF on his Model Y uses the same wash several times a week, and three years in, the car shows no wear or issues.

I love how many people in this thread and others claim that they know the washes will damage PPF, in the face of years of people proving that's not true. Genius.

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