Dennis ~ My Sweetie Poo!

Now I'm a little worried ... does it hurt your paint to go thru the brush kind? Why do you say that?

 

Only problem I ever had was bending the corner of my license plate. I installed a Harley Davidson heavy duty frame over my plate and never had the problem again. I think the car washes are afraid on me now.[8D]

 

I was taking mine thru the local carwash weekly (the rag strip type or whatever you call it - not actual brushes) and I discovered thatit scratched the heck out of my front "chrome" (plastic) grill over time. I mean BIG scratches! Luckily the finish began to peel off mine so I got a new grill...ONLY touchless for me from now on! Plus I now have the G-Style roof rack cross bars so I'm real nervous about that in a regular carwash. Not worth messing up $250.00 worth of roof rack.

 

Yes Paige my main squeeze[sm=smiley31.gif][sm=Awwww.gif]..The brush and rag drag kind of washes are brutle on the finish, just like Sarah said...They are full of grit and grime from the last 5000 cars thats been through before you...Especially the whirling brush type, itwill pin stripe the finish something aweful.

 

Dennis, I fixed this for you

 

Let me add to my previouspostandclarify (since someone inquired)...the grill was replaced under warranty because the finish was peelingoff (began lifting from the top underside starting at the seams- so was not damage from carwash)As I am sure most of you realize -it is merely plastic with a silver finish over it (it does scratch very easily as well - mine were BIG scratches - almost looked like perhaps a mechanic could have gouged itwith belt buckle or something while leaning against it working on it and coincidentally I noticed this shortly after I got it back from the head replacement)...Nevertheless, I will stay away from anything BUT touchless carwashes from now on also AND I would suggest everyone keep an eye on this (peeling)... <sorry for all the edits lol>

 

You guys are correct. NEVER take it through a car wash where the brushes, strips, etc. actually touch the truck. You will get scratches. In the winter, it's always good to go through a touchless just to keep the dirt off. But remember, the cleaners in the touchless car washes will have a tendency to remove your nice wax job.

I am lucky to have a heated garage and a decent car wash across the street from me so I drive over there, pull in a bay and spray it down. While it's still wet I drive back home and park it in the garage where I can chamois it off and do the tire dressing, etc. Only costs me $2 and all is happy.

 

You should have posted that post 5 hours ago.
For the first time since I own the H3 I have it washed with a brush carwash.
Well, I'm whithout rear license plate since then[:@][:@][:@].

 

Just another word of caution....wheather brushless, or brushed(?), most cities have strict regulations about waste water treatment from run off, draniage, etc.. Most car washes recycle the wash water and run it through a filtering system to get around the regulations. Make sure that your facility is being maintained properly, or you arewashing your vehicle withdirt and chemicals from all of the previous customers cars and trucks. Even though the facility may be brushless, 2000 psi of sediment contaminated water is not much better. Be cautious.

 

Sorry, I slept in this morning or would have posted sooner to save your plate!