Why you’re probably ruining your car with every wash

There’s no question that modern paints look fantastic. The depth of colour, the fleck finishes, the clear coverage deep enough to dive into. It’s a far cry from your dad’s VB Commodore that came from the factory looking like the paint was a tin of cold-gal that was applied with a broom.

But with this modernisation of paint, a more modern approach to washing our cars is needed. We can’t rely on the borax, water and dishwashing liquid we may have grown up using anymore.

We need something a little more gentle, a little more well planned – something that won’t leave that luscious paintwork looking like it's been attacked with steel wool.

Heading down to the local automatic or self-service car wash is undeniably fast, convenient, and generally fairly cheap. However, it can also end in tears if you’re not careful, or even just a bit unlucky.

You see, the brushes that wash your car can hold small (or sometimes large) bits of grit, especially if the person before you used a particularly sandy or muddy 4WD.

You rock up, head on in and before you know it, those particles are doing their best impression of abrasives on your duco. 

Yep, next stop Paint Gouge City, with stop-offs at Swirl Mark-ville and Micro Scratch Town. What's more, there’s usually so much soap being dispensed that you can’t tell you’re messing up the paint until it’s too late.

While you can usually polish the damage out, at that point, you’ve lost most of the time and convenience of going there in the first place.

You can also bring your own sponge to the self-serve, soap up your vehicle, then use your own grit-free cleaning cloth, but some premises won’t allow outside products to be brought in, and you’re running the risk of being asked to leave.

Still, if the self-serve is how you like to clean your car, that’s how we’d be doing it.

Fun fact: Some Mercedes-Benz's (and possibly other marques') manuals specifically say to avoid touchless car washes. They reference that the chemicals used can damage paint and plastic parts.

And that’s the risk you run with a touchless wash in a nutshell. Due to the lack of agitation, they run harsher chemicals to provide a similar level of cleaning.

While this is not always a negative, the danger to plastic trim pieces and any coatings above the paint, such as protective sprays, wax and even clear coat, is worth considering. 

Again, their main selling point is the timeliness and convenience, but realistically, there’s only one way to wash your car to avoid damage. 

The tried-and-true method for washing your car without risking damage to the finish is the two-bucket method.

You’ll need a hose, your favourite car wash, a microfibre wash mitt (ideally, any washcloth will do as long as it’s clean), a chamois or microfibre drying towel and – as the name suggests – two buckets.

Bonus points if you buy an inexpensive grit guard for the second bucket. This is best done on a sunny day with the vehicle parked in the shade. Start off by hosing off most of the dirt and debris from your car and giving it a good old rinsing.

In one bucket, have your car shampoo solution and in the other plain, clear water (it helps if the two buckets are different colours). Use your mitt to wash the car from the top down, so the dirtiest lower panels are done last, dipping into the soapy bucket.

Then the mitt is rinsed off in the clear bucket before being dipped back into the still-clean, soapy bucket. Any dirt or grit picked up by the mitt will be left in the clear bucket and won’t contaminate the cleaning solution. 

Keep it going until all panels and the wheels are done, then rinse off again with the hose before drying the vehicle off with your chamois or drying towel. 

Safe, effective and cheap. Exactly what we look for in a car washing system.

Matte paint, applied judiciously to the right vehicle, can look amazing. However, it does require a slightly modified washing method. Or rather, slightly modified products.

Matte paint is especially susceptible to damage from automatic washes and will require a matte-specific car wash to avoid damage.

Waxes and polishing compounds should also be avoided, and a matte-friendly spot wash should also be used for things like bird droppings between washes.

Beyond that, the two-bucket method will work the same. It may also be worth using a matte-safe ceramic coating, if you’re the fastidious type, to make washing a touch easier in the future.

In the past 15 years as an automotive journo and 35-plus years of inveterate car-guy antics, Dex has worked across numerous titles and has even occupied the occasional editor’s chair when nobody was watching. He spends his downtime doing engine swaps (plural) on the nature strip out front and also once ripped a handbrake spin into a perfect car park. His parents remain indifferent.

Read more about Dex Fulton