Car wash damage at LUV car wash?

[amill94]

The chips are from stones/debris. The swirls are probably from the carwash or other poor washing habits. As I'm sure has been said itt, carwashes are never a good idea if you care about your vehicle. The harsh chemicals and agitation they use are not good for your paint and seals.

 

[HighHP]

The tips of the nylon car wash brushes scratch the paint on all cars. The swirls are very apparent if you look for them. My local touch-less car wash gets 98% of the dirt off. They have two guys at the entrance with pressure washer wands cleaning the car of dirt and bugs. They then spray soap on the car with wands. Then you go thru the wash line which again applies soap and various rinses. This cleans the toughest of dirt and bugs, mostly, and leaves NO swirl marks. For most observers, the TRX is spotless clean. However, some minor dirt and bugs remain as observed by the close looking meticulous viewer.
The small chips on the OP's TRX are not car wash caused, they are road rash from the tires.

 

[KingRexTRX]

Bringing it to the body shop on Monday and getting it fixed and then after it's fixed, only being washed by myself from now on. What is the best film to use to cover these areas?
I bought the Weathertech mudflaps, what are the rest of you running? My kids know better than to mess with the machinery so I can't blame them. Two weeks ago, I did go down a tar and chip road here in PA but it was less than a mile at 35 MPH? IDK

 

[IdahoKTM]

It has to be the chip seal. When I see that crap, I turn around and find a different way through. The speed limit for chip seal here is 25 MPH and even that slow, your paint gets hammered.

 

[OZ_TRX]

Bringing it to the body shop on Monday and getting it fixed and then after it's fixed, only being washed by myself from now on. What is the best film to use to cover these areas?
I bought the Weathertech mudflaps, what are the rest of you running? My kids know better than to mess with the machinery so I can't blame them. Two weeks ago, I did go down a tar and chip road here in PA but it was less than a mile at 35 MPH? IDK

I have weathertechs and haven’t had any issues. Some ppl say they are too rigid for serious off-roading, but I haven’t had an issue with them. As far as film, I have xpel ppf on the whole truck. Not necessary to wrap the whole truck, but I’m anal when it comes to paint protection. You could have a shop put film on the areas that are most prone to chips and call it good if you wanted.
Edit: also a good idea to get some fixed running boards if you don’t already have some. I hear small rocks pinging off the bottom of mine when I drive on dirt roads. If it weren’t for the running boards, those rocks would most likely impact my rear fenders(a small portion probably still do). Flaps, boards, and ppf to keep her looking like new after every hand wash/detail.

 

[cgr]

xpel ppf is the best route, expensive but worth it imho. Plus side, after ppf if you want, run it through the car wash at will or hand wash - your call.
Chris

 

[RAMona]

Didn't read most of the replies but looks like all the chops are from rocks. Mine started getting some so I had PPF installed. Even the PPF gets hammered when you're offroading hard. Also, I added the offroad running boards and that has been a game changer for bedside protection. Scratches, those are likely not from the car wash either unless that section was covered in dried dirt, which will scratch when their scrubbers run across it.

Hire a shop to wrap that section with vinyl then throw PPF on top. Will look like new

Hi @Dudebro Which running boards do you have? Thanks

Black paint is unforgiving. Its almost like you have to wash the truck before you wash the truck. Id like to say i learned the hard way but im sure i will make the same mistakes again. With black paint your system has to be 100% on point. ppf and ceramic, etc are almost must haves if you want to keep a black vehicle nice.

Also learned that no matter what you touch the paint with, if it has been in the sun, at all, there will be fine scratches.
I would love to have the perfect wash set up but mine is far from that.

 

[Dudebro]

Hi @Dudebro Which running boards do you have? Thanks

Black paint is unforgiving. Its almost like you have to wash the truck before you wash the truck. Id like to say i learned the hard way but im sure i will make the same mistakes again. With black paint your system has to be 100% on point. ppf and ceramic, etc are almost must haves if you want to keep a black vehicle nice.

Also learned that no matter what you touch the paint with, if it has been in the sun, at all, there will be fine scratches.
I would love to have the perfect wash set up but mine is far from that.

I just have the ram off-road style running boards. The go rhino ones would work the same I’m sure. They catch a bunch of rocks. I added mine like 5k into truck ownership and it’s a massive difference.

 

[RAMona]

I just have the ram off-road style running boards. The go rhino ones would work the same I’m sure. They catch a bunch of rocks. I added mine like 5k into truck ownership and it’s a massive difference.

Thank you Dude. That is what came on my truck. Im not an off roader but there is plenty of crap on the roads here, esp in the winter. I think they might be working. I dont have mud flaps and so far so good, two winters in.

 

[Pressnell Auto Detailing]

Anybody have damage from car wash on their TRX? I think that LUV car wash damaged my truck. I joined the LUV membership club at a newly opened location by me and used the car wash a total of 5 times. This time yesterday I went to go through the wash and there was a shaking at the end. After going through, I went to check the truck over and noticed these little nicks on the wheel arches and the plastic piece around the wheelwell.

I go back around and tell the guy that I think the machine damaged my truck and showed him and his supervisor the damage and they said that can't be from the machine, if it was it would only be a swirl mark or two.

What do you guys think? I installed mudflaps from day one and never had this before I joined the carwash club with LUV. I don't race it and I don't go down gravel roads.

I have been detailing cars for almost 8 years now since high school and had my own business for 4 of those years. I would strongly consider a touch less wash if you need it. The fact is a lot of those washes are set up for smaller or midsize commuter cars. Our trucks need special treatment so I would highly consider taking the time to set an hour aside every week or two to keep the paint and black plastics in good shape just washing it yourself. Chris Fix has a good video on what all you could need but if anyone has questions on cosmetic care let me know also. My truck is PPF filmed and ceramic coated. Definitely worth the investment with such an expensive vehicle in my opinion.

 

[Termite]

OEM running boards, Weathertech mud flaps and clear ppf on the fenders. A lot of dirt roads and virtually no chips on the black paint in 19k miles.

 

[RedEyeTRX]

Definitely rocks thrown up by your front tires.
I am guessing, either no running boards or you have retractable running boards???
You can get that kind of rock damage from hot/loose pavement, Chipseal roads and or hot tires picking up rocks on the road. Its interesting you only "found" the damage after the car wash, but that is not car wash damage. "Elementary my dear Watson, Data Data Data....I cannot make bricks without clay"

 

[ParadigmDawg]

The carwash did this to my TRX. I sold it and got a 392 Wrangler and now the carwash has done it again and it's never even been to the carwash.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

The carwash did this to my TRX. I sold it and got a 392 Wrangler and now the carwash has done it again and it's never even been to the carwash. View attachment 131559View attachment 131561

Looking back at these pictures hurts my stomach. At the time I blew it off like it didn't bother me but it really did. I have done that trail many more times in my Jeep and didn't as much as hit a single tree limb and in the TRX, Iwas at times hitting the actual trees. Luckily the ADD front bumper was knock most of them down where I could get a tire on them.

 

[JTR]

Weathertech, automatic running boards, and black metallic paint here and my paint in and around and below the fuel cap on both sides looks like it has been hell and back. It’s just normal operation with stones and rocks flying with my setup and not driving in a metro area where rocks are rare. Anyone driving primarily rural areas know that rocks are everywhere. It doesn’t mean you’re driving on gravel roads all the time, it just could be that gravel roads and driveways intersect your paved roads and you will always pick up and shoot rocks that get into the paved road. I’m probably going to look into line x or a complete paint job and ppf at some point.

 

[WildSioux]

Holy Shit Maybe you guys should stop buying black vehicles. Look at all that parasitic drag. You must like being the slowest TRX color. White FTW

 

[84 Sheepdog]

The factory running boards, steps, whatever they are called...stick out enough to really help protect that area. I've been down a lot of unpaved roads at high speed and don't have a single nick in the paint in that area (knock on wood). I also did the Tyler Potter mod to tuck them up against the body which may help protect the side of the truck even more. I might still put some PPF on there after reading this thread though. LOL

 

[RAMona]

The factory running boards, steps, whatever they are called...stick out enough to really help protect that area. I've been down a lot of unpaved roads at high speed and don't have a single nick in the paint in that area (knock on wood). I also did the Tyler Potter mod to tuck them up against the body which may help protect the side of the truck even more. I might still put some PPF on there after reading this thread though. LOL

What is the Tyler Potter mod? never mind, found it for a jeep anyhow.

 

[84 Sheepdog]

What is the Tyler Potter mod? never mind, found it for a jeep anyhow.

Yep, probably the same thing for the Jeeps. Just drill new holes in the bracket to raise the steps and fill in the gap. If you do this I'd suggest either using a drill press or mag drill to drill the holes. I used just a regular handheld drill and it was not easy to drill through those brackets since they aren't completely flat.

 

[timinnd]

IMO, zero chance that is from a car wash. I can't even begin to think how a car wash could that. Let alone in just that isolated spot. Rock chips.