Car Washing Horror Stories

**imported_Grouse** · 10-01-2006, 10:34 AM

I was asked to help out TWC with 6 cars they had trucked up from CA. on an open trailer. Originally they were going to be dropped off at my house for me to prep last week. The Hauler decided he needed a 3 day layover in portland, where he parked his trailer under pitchy Doug fir trees.

When they arrived in seattle they were laden with pounds of dust. I had to wash, wipe down, and do minor clean up at the venue on 6 cars.

3 M3`s, 1 b5S4, 1 MkIV GTI, 1 ist Gen IS 300.

My optimum no rinse wash had not made it here, Stupid UPS. So i had to was them as carefully as I could. I was able to avoid doing disasterous damage to the cars, IE swirling. I can not say as much for the truck hualer who nearly took off the body kits on all 3 of the M3`s and the GTI. On top of that he wore his dirty filthy gloves and left swirling hand prints on the car.. Sigh.. WellI did the best i could in the time i had given.

I ended up using a 2.5 gallon pump srayer and car wash soap. My optimum no rinse was not here yet. I washed all but 1.5 cars in 80* heat outside in the sun, in a parking lot.

I washed 18"-2ft sections at a time. 6 cars ate up about 200 towels. Yeah there was a bit of marring on the full black bmw. But a whole hell of alot less than if the TWC group had went to town with detail spray and MF.

After the cars were washed, I hit them with PB`s spray and wipe to remove any residue. The black, and cobalt blue metalic. Got two coats of PB`s spray and wax. to hide some of the swirling and give it depth.

The rest recieved about 3 hits of Spray and gloss from PB. There was no tire dressing in the venue. Litterally it was a venue rule and fire marshal rule.

Go figure. So, Lot of the tire were washed with the 2.5 and then when no one was looking had non spray tire dressing rubbed on and off.

PB`s bold and bright, and 1* VRD

**deadlock32** · 10-01-2006, 04:58 PM

Originally Posted by incoherent

I once came across my brother-in-law "waxing" his car with WD40. After he noticed me look at him like he was a retard, he says "It makes the water bead.." I smiled, and left.

there is actually something more to this story, though its only somethings detailing vets would do... and im pretty sure your B-I-L is a vet.

**bkodama** · 10-15-2006, 01:53 AM

I have fond memories of my very first new car in high school- a candy apple red Chevy S10 Blazer. I recall washing it regularly with dish soap using a hard bristled shower brush. As horrifying as it is to think of using such a brush on car paint- I also wonder how anyone could possibly use such a brush for its intended purpose, on their skin! Might as well scrub your back with a garden rake. Of course, this regimen was followed by Armour All on the interior plastics, and Windex on all the glass with paper towels ("I wonder why are there streaks everywhere? And how come there`s so much dust? Hmmm...")

To give my S10 that extra bit of attention, a couple times I`d apply OTC Turtle Paste Wax. The applications were met with some disappointment- results were inexplicably, less than stellar, despite tons of elbow grease! Go figure. Also, I figured this Turtle Wax thing was some kind of scam- the red paint was rubbing off onto my large bath towels as I scrubbed it in! I eventually gave up Turtle Wax attempts, and soon thereafter discovered the convenience and economy of using gas station squeegees for quick car paint cleanups whilst filling a tank of gas. But that`s another nightmare story!

Years later, I know better. I wish I could go back in time and detail that first car, it would be a great challenge to undo all that had been done.

**I.A.S.** · 10-15-2006, 03:02 AM

every day i drive by these car wash place/autospas and see the minimum wage workers goin to town on some high$$ vehicles with a high speed 10" buffer....it just makes me wanna cry!

i would like to get a hold one of these vehicles to exactly how much damage they have put into the paint.....

**fdizzle** · 10-15-2006, 10:37 AM

I spent 6 hours polishing my fathers 03 champagne chevy silverady. Looked better than new. The following day I noticed a large bird dropping on the toneau cover . . was late for work so I decided to let it stay there and fix it when I got home.

I got home, and the bird dropping was gone, and in its place were small surface scratches and swiril marks. I found my father and asked "Dad - what happened to the bird poop on the truck ?"

He replies " Oh I used a paper towel and some windex - man it came off really easy " :grrr

There went another 30 inutes to fix that mess . .

**BlueLibby04** · 10-15-2006, 01:39 PM

Hahaha, this is awesome! Some really great and funny stories I must say...

Now for my story.. I could sit here for 5 hours typing and probably not tell all of the stuff Ive seen done to cars. Lets just say I use to work at a dealership.. In the detail shop..

I was around 15 the first year I started there and was already a big Meguiars fan.. My brother introduced me to it at a very early age b/c thats what he used on his cars and taught me most of the stuff I know today. After reading and doing ALOT of research, I probably know more than he does now. I will say that anything I write after this was b/c I didnt care about the cars at the dealership. I have never done anything of this nature to my car or anyones` car I have personally detailed. Anyway, my best friend and I would always pull a car into the bay and see how fast we could wash and dry the car. I believe we got it down to 8minutes.. We would spray the car off as fast as we could, probably leaving tons of dirt on the paint.. We would spray something called "pink cleaner" ALL over the paint to help "break up" some of the dirt. The pink cleaner was only supposed to be used on tires and fender wells. We would then take old brushes with broken down bristles and "wash" the car. After spraying it off, we would find our chamois laying around on the tire shine coated floor and dry the car as quickly as we could.. Perfection! :woot2:

**acrbill** · 01-08-2007, 01:05 AM

I am bringing this back from the dead since I found it during a search and read the entire thing.

When I was around 10-11 I would help my ma wash her Blazer. This is about 1988 and the Blazer was a 78. She would bring out the bucket we used to mop the floors with and add some dish soap to it. We would wash it with old towels and since there was come flaking rust toward the bottom of the 1/4 panel it was inevitable that the towel would pick some up and scratch the rest of the body panels. In hind sight I remember the paint looking like a cracked desert floor. I don`t think they used lacquer in 78 but if my memory serves me it sure looked like a text book example of lacquer checked paint. That dish soap is really rough on paint.

I used to wash my cars with the brush at the self service wash. I used to let the guy dry my car with an oft used bath towel.

I have been a member of this site for a while now, I don`t post much since I have nothing much to add and there is plenty of info here to keep me busy for years to come.

I really have to say that everyone should do their best to point out possible destructive behavior being inflicted by someone.

Lastly, The absolute worst "detail" job I have ever come across is on my 98 Expedition.

I bought it over a year ago and it has the worst hazing, hologram , swirled , spider webbed paint I have ever seen. It is a dark metallic red color. The dealer must have went to town with an orbital set to warp speed.

I never worked up enough nerve to attempt to fix it. I have no doubt that I am looking at a 3-500 job to get it corrected by a professional ,so as soon as spring hits here in Chicagoland I am going to spend several days with a PC and the best available polishes and wax. It will be my first actual detail of flawed paint.

All thanks to this thread. God only knows how many people have cringed at the condition of my paint.

BTW I have spent over 10 hours on washing/detailing during the first month of owning my new Toyota so I am not completely worthless.

**99torchredvette** · 01-08-2007, 01:17 AM

....and then there was the time when my grandmother used floor wax on her `58 Chevy!

Strange, but true!

**imported_GregCavi** · 01-08-2007, 01:33 AM

Great Stuff!! Very entertaining!

Greg

**BMW335i** · 01-08-2007, 01:46 AM

Where I live, people rarely, if ever wash their cars themselves. 95% of the cars go to the swirler. People think I`m crazy for washing my car, ha!

**vapore0n** · 01-08-2007, 09:09 AM

Originally Posted by BMW335i

Where I live, people rarely, if ever wash their cars themselves. 95% of the cars go to the swirler. People think I`m crazy for washing my car, ha!

and people think im crazy for washing my car in winter

Planning on claying and applying a new coat of #26 just for winter.

**macfan** · 01-08-2007, 09:45 AM

over the summer i got to watch my neighbors teenage son wash the new black altima with a kitchen sponge. on top of it all it was super hot that day and the kid would hose down the car and then walk into the house, then come back out and hose it again, walk back into the house. it was killing me.

**Oreilly907** · 01-09-2007, 10:08 PM

I watched a guy "foamy-brush" a black Ferrari 360 Modena at the coin wash a few months ago. It still hurts to talk about it.

**silvergray** · 01-09-2007, 11:06 PM

Ohh. Dear God. Poor Ferrari!

**velobard** · 01-10-2007, 04:53 AM

Originally Posted by acrbill

When I was around 10-11 I would help my ma wash her Blazer. This is about 1988 and the Blazer was a 78. She would bring out the bucket we used to mop the floors with and add some dish soap to it. We would wash it with old towels and since there was come flaking rust toward the bottom of the 1/4 panel it was inevitable that the towel would pick some up and scratch the rest of the body panels. In hind sight I remember the paint looking like a cracked desert floor. I don`t think they used lacquer in 78 but if my memory serves me it sure looked like a text book example of lacquer checked paint. That dish soap is really rough on paint.

I wouldnt blame the dish soap, my first guess is a bad repaint.

Lastly, The absolute worst "detail" job I have ever come across is on my 98 Expedition.

I bought it over a year ago and it has the worst hazing, hologram , swirled , spider webbed paint I have ever seen. It is a dark metallic red color. The dealer must have went to town with an orbital set to warp speed.

I never worked up enough nerve to attempt to fix it. I have no doubt that I am looking at a 3-500 job to get it corrected by a professional ,so as soon as spring hits here in Chicagoland I am going to spend several days with a PC and the best available polishes and wax. It will be my first actual detail of flawed paint.

I wish you luck, if the damage was done with a rotary and it`s that bad it may take a rotary to correct it. At the least, consider getting a 4" pad and backing plate for your PC. Be prepared for a challenge, LOL.