Calling all AMB Color Owners: To Auto Car Wash or To Not Auto Car Wash

[Sojourner]

I'm old and broken down. So to the car wash I go. No issues after 1 year (once per month) with touch on my AMB. But maybe, in addition to being old, I'm also blind.

Sponsored

 

[HammaMan]

Thanks for the info. So that wet sand is the same as paint correction? And it's only cutting into the clear coat? How many times can this be done before you hit color coat?

This vid right here has the most useful information regarding paint / finishing of anything I've ever seen. It's not a detailing vid as they're starting with a clean surface, they're just giving you knowledge. Wet sanding can clean up a clearcoat removing less material than compounds while providing superior results. Watch and learn.

 

[BUCKETCOWBOY]

I take my 2023 stx v8 thru an automatic wash weekly, NBD

 

[JJSnell]

I'm old and broken down. So to the car wash I go. No issues after 1 year (once per month) with touch on my AMB. But maybe, in addition to being old, I'm also blind.

LOL Good point... friend of mine bought an 8k TV when they first came out. Im like, "You even have eyes good enough to see that?" Heheh

The movies\shows I do see in 4k you can see the pores of the actors skin... thats a little too much really.

 

[tjtennispro]

I take my 2023 stx v8 thru an automatic wash weekly, NBD

that’s going to look bad in 3 years. I’ve got a subscription to a hand wash only place. Truck looks fabulous as do my other cars. Love it.

 

[Micho523]

I personally will never use a swirl machine. The dealer did prior to me purchasing and it took a full two stage paint correction to fix it all.

After paint correction and graphene coating

 

[3DogKnight]

I have a 2023 AMB Tremor (v8 of course, thank you for asking), that is coming up on its one year anniversary.

So far she’s never seen an automatic car wash (the kind with the spinning brushes). Or put another way, I’m the guy with a great looking truck that is usually dirty.

I don’t have the time, or inclination to hand wash her very frequently. It’s not just lethargy, it’s also cold here a lot. Given this, I take her to the touchless car wash bays, which do an “okay” job.

However, my first wife has a membership to the local chain of Gas & Washes, so she takes her SUV in about once a week, or at least 3 times a month. So her ride is always looking great. Her SUV is silver, and I think metallic, but I don’t notice any swirl marks…..I only notice a great looking clean ride. I’m jealous.

So have any of my AMB brethren frequented these spinning brushes of doom? If so, whats your finish looking like? Still happy with the way things look? Any regrets?

Ok I'll admit I don't keep up on things much but what is an AMB color?

 

[Micho523]

Ok I'll admit I don't keep up on things much but what is an AMB color?

AntiMatter Blue

 

[JJSnell]

Ok I'll admit I don't keep up on things much but what is an AMB color?

LOL, I had to look it up also and was like... "Oh _____, I should know that, my truck is AMB...."

Duhh derr....

 

[3DogKnight]

LOL, I had to look it up also and was like... "Oh _____, I should know that, my truck is AMB...."

Duhh derr....

I just dope-slapped myself. For the third time today.

 

[staying_tuned]

I'd bet money that any AMB truck that has been through more than a few washes with scrubbers will be thrashed from a swirl standpoint but you wont see them from 10' or perhaps even 5' away unless the lighting is just right. Get close though with a light and bang, you'll notice an endless sea of fine swirls which in turn hold onto dirt and necessitate more trips. The materials are indeed softer but it's what they hold onto that scratches your paint, especially at high-volume washes. Ask an attendant if you can go run a strip from the scrubber through your hand. Once grit is embedded it doesn't matter how buttoned up the operation is. They are destroying clearcoat daily.

Others have mentioned going ceramic, this along with paint correction and clay beforehand will yield a finish that you can run through a touch-less carwash with incredible results because not much sticks to a properly corrected and ceramic coated vehicle. The key is correction though, have someone use a light compound, de-iron and clay, THEN ceramic. Any legitimate ceramic applicator will know this though. A half-assed DIY ceramic may last 3 to 6 months but if you either take it to a specialist or you can run a D/A and have the time, they'll last years.

Because it has a ceramic coat I just foam cannon it down, let it sit for about 5 minutes then shoot all the clumps and whatnot off. I then soak it again and pressure rinse and it looks new. No buckets, mitts nothing.

Folks mistake ceramic coating as some high-maintenance or over-the-top treatment but most do it so they don't have to spend time (or money) messing around washing all the time. The ceramic lets you just pressure wash it down 95% of the time. The exception being months-long caked on bugs or tar or just 10k+ miles of thin grime between washes.

We recently sold our jeep gladiator that stayed caked with KY clay, just a pig really. Its had 50k of the hardest over-landing our family has done. Here are a few sale posting shots of the paint. The truck has been to 46 states, trapped during the washout at yellowstone for weeks, buried in mud so many times I lost count, lived in the woods for months and so on. Sarge Green is notorious for showing imperfections. I corrected and coated the paint upon delivery and ever since it's just a foam cannon and pressure spray away from showroom clean.

 

[staying_tuned]

Beautiful results, so much color fidelity surfaced, nice truck!

Sponsored