Driveway auto washing is broadly considered a wholesome concept for the ones who care about their vehicles. However, it is amongst the worst things to do to your automobile’s finish.
University Research Confirms Hand Washing will Harm Car Finishes
Landmark research by Technological University of Munich, in relation to Mercedes-Benz, proved automatic car washing to be superior to driveway washing in preserving car finishes. Subsequent testing done by the Construction Research Center at the University of Texas confirmed the findings.
Within the Mercedes tests, 25 washings were performed on identical brand-new model sedans with pristine factory paint jobs. Prior to each wash, the test cars were coated with a mixture of under-fender accumulation, street dirt, thawing-salt residue, and oily water. The grit particles inside the mix were heavy enough to destroy the toughest paint surface.
The hand washings were done by average vehicle owners who were unaware of the purpose of the tests. They were asked to get their vehicles as clean as they could using the washing supplies of their choice.
Hand washing’s sandpaper effect
For the tests, researchers utilized electron microscopes, which had the ability to record the depth and density of abrasions to 0.27 of 1,000th of a millimeter. Following twenty-five hand washings, microphotography uncovered a crisscross, dense scratch pattern on the car finish, penetrating 10 percent into the paint’s thickness. Underneath high magnification, the scratches made “sandpaper” patterns that were attributable to the act of small dirt particles inside the pores of the sponges and rags used.
Unable to perform under pressure
The tests also proved that regular household garden hoses did not have the ability to produce enough hydraulic pressure and water volume to get rid of all detergent residue from the car’s finish.
Positive reflection on automatic washes
The machine washes were conducted under real-world conditions, unannounced ahead of time, at a commercial, modern car wash. Following 25 visits through the automatic car wash, microphotographs of the car’s surface displayed no indication of the tangle of deep scratches that developed during handwashing. Particularly within the Texas University tests, machine wash “reflectiveness readings” were 300 to 700 percent greater than hand washing.
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