Are Automatic Car Washes Bad for Your Car? The Honest Answer.
You've seen the swirl marks in the sun. You've wondered if the quick tunnel wash is doing more harm than good. Here's the straight answer from a detailer, including the parts that don't make us look good.
Automatic washes have a real place. They also have real limits. Knowing the difference saves your paint and your money.
The three kinds of automatic wash
Tunnel washes with brushes or soft cloth. You ride a conveyor through spinning brushes, cloth strips, and dryers. Fast and cheap. The cloth touches every car that came before yours.
Touchless washes. No brushes. High-pressure water and stronger soaps do the work instead. Nothing rubs the paint, but the chemistry has to be aggressive to make up for it.
In-bay automatics. You park, and a gantry moves back and forth over the car. These come in both brush and touchless versions, so the same tradeoffs apply.