How The Fk Does This Happen!?!?! Help!

[harks]

Okay guys this is an emergency.. i washed my car thismorning at a wash it yourself place, i didnt dry it on the spot as i was going to polish and wax it this arvo, NOW i go out this arvo to polish the car and the pain is FKED, like proper ruined. the clearcoat has almost completely been eaten (in 6 hours) and into the paint.

the only difference to how i would usually wash was i used their under car high pressure clean, however its supposedly just water..

have a look at this.. after a coat of polish!!!!

Front right quarter

Car roof. that has literally just eaten the paint job..

so uhhh, i dont know what else to say.. WTF?

[harks]

ohhh and this is what it looked like not too long ago

For its age the paint was IMMACULATE. im absolutely shattered.

[L33SH]

I'd be contacting the car wash place and asking wtf is in their products

[chus13]

Dude thats f**ked! Sorry I can't help at all, but if it has eaten through the clear coat there is nothing that you can do.

Have you rang them up/gone back there?

[harks]

i..

want..

to...

cry....

theres no way i could put it back on the car wash though. you use coins and they can jsut deny it!

i guess its good im insured, would they do a respray on something like this?

im genuinely shattered right now

[chus13]

Have your tried using a clay bar? Clutching at straws I know, but it might get some of it out.

They would have camera's at the car wash I would think. Its definitely worth getting back in touch with them. If it has happened to you it would have happened to others seeing as you rarely see someone chamois their car after washing at most car washes.

I feel for you dude, the paint looks immaculate in that other picture. Hopefully you can get it sorted out.

[Hadouken]

Ok, first take a breath, this is not as bad as you may think.

What has happened is you left water on your car whilst it baked in the sun. Terry showed us just recently the high pH level of water and unfortunately this just loves to eat japanese clear coat.

How do I know this is rectifiable? I went to a skid pan on sunday last week and my car baked in the sun with concrete water on it. One of the worst.

What I had to do? Take my random orbital buffer and with a lot of sweat I got the marks out. Do you have one? If you dont then find someone with one or go and get a professional detailer to do it.

Clay bar is not going to do shit, yes it has eaten into your clear, but by the pictures, it has not gone all the way through, this is a good thing.

Just never leave your car wet and in the sun. The soap you used would have been a contributing factor. I would imagine that it would be as bad as washing with dishwashing liquid.

[harks]

hmmmmm, although my car was't in the sun, i came back and parked it undercover on base..

and alot of those appear to be straight through to the paint i can physically feel the deptch of the hole,

ill investigate this orbital buffer though!

[harks]

double post.

Edited February 16, 2014 by harks

[Hadouken]

if only you were in kuttabul here in nsw. I wouldve been able to tell you straight up if your f**ked.

But i can tell you that you will get most of it out. Definitely not by hand. Its either you buy one for $300, or you pay someone $300. Only thing is if you have one then you can always use it.

Ah yeh, you can feel it ofcoarse. But Ive dealt with much worse

[junkie]

Hard to say from the pictures but the roof looks like water spots which is a light etching but can be removed. The guard I can't really tell... Call a pro detailer you'd be surprised as to what they can fix without repainting and at a decent cost. Its probably due to the chemicals in those places, its all designed to be quick and easy but with overly strong products that can mess up your paint, plastic trim and wheels. you are much better off washing the car yourself, or at least bring your own car wash and just use the high pressure water, then dry the car shortly after as driving a wet car home will attract dirt and dust that you will rub into your paint when polishing or waxing

[GTR-N1]

If you don't have a dark sh!tbox to test it on...

I would quickly go back to that establishment with a friend and video yourself collecting a sample of their detergent

> try it on an obscure part of your paint whilst filming

> exchange your phone details with others present, in case they suffer the same

> see if it does the same thing once more to your test panel

> proof supplied to DFT

[89CAL]

That just looks like water marks to me. High calcium in the water I think? Don't quote me. Something in the water.

I used the bore water at my parents house once to wash my car, never again. Left water marks everywhere and had to buff them out.

I wouldnt stress and go starting shit with the place that where you washed your car, listen to Hadouken's advice, Mine was similar to that and it just buffed off (with a mechanical buffer and some good polish) From memory, hand polishing didnt achieve a great deal. Just take it to a car detailing place and at least ask their advice. Honestly I dont think its that bad, might be a good excuse to blow $200-$300 on a full detail to have it looking like brand new

[Anfanee]

That will Buff right out. Easy. Don't sweat dude.

Just in future clean the car yourself with products you can trust.

[Sklyn]

Damn, scary moment! And very annoying!! Hope it comes off nicely for you...

In regard to using the coin op, wash your self places. Is it worth using the clearcoat or spotfree rinse?

or are you better to just use the pressure rinse?

I ALWAYS chamois before leaving.

and I note that you should do it at home with your own stuff, but that's not always a practical option.

[NISSAN GTR]

Yes, it seems to be high calcium water stain from the car being left in the sun to spot dry .

Should never use a hand car wash or let tap water dry on the car . Good lesson for everyone else

Use a MF cloth , carry one of these EVERYWHERE .......

Edited February 17, 2014 by NISSAN GTR

[ARTZ]

just don't wash at carwash...driveway with a bucket and hose ftw......high pressure not really needed unless covered in mud..

[dyl33]

Pretty sure these type of places recycle there water and it's never clean. I avoid them

Edited February 17, 2014 by dyl33

[AMR33]

Ok, first take a breath, this is not as bad as you may think.

What has happened is you left water on your car whilst it baked in the sun. Terry showed us just recently the high pH level of water and unfortunately this just loves to eat japanese clear coat.

How do I know this is rectifiable? I went to a skid pan on sunday last week and my car baked in the sun with concrete water on it. One of the worst.

What I had to do? Take my random orbital buffer and with a lot of sweat I got the marks out. Do you have one? If you dont then find someone with one or go and get a professional detailer to do it.

Clay bar is not going to do shit, yes it has eaten into your clear, but by the pictures, it has not gone all the way through, this is a good thing.

Just never leave your car wet and in the sun. The soap you used would have been a contributing factor. I would imagine that it would be as bad as washing with dishwashing liquid.

So will he have to use polish or any other product also?

[harks]

Wow thanks for the replies guys!!!! Was a hella scary ordeal as I had never had that happen before!!

I spoke to the place and went back, they just denied everything and said something got on it between leaving the wash and parking.

N e how tried some different strength polishes and it IS Buffing out, Kind of... the first product I usedc when I flipped out wasn't a very strong cut... So thinking ill need to invest in an orbital polisher... I'm a little worried about how the clear coat is going to take it. I'm concerned I won't get it back to 100% but I'm hopeful now

I feel a little sheepish now... Lesson learnt to ALWAYS dry post wash!!!!

Any tips for using an orbital buffer??