# Hard car wash place - Marred!



## sunnydude959 (Jan 3, 2014)

I am absolutely steaming with fury.

I took my car down to a hand car wash thats run by our European neighbours (that live quite far down the road, keeping with the metaphor).

I've been using them for a number of years, but they recently changed hands so there's a new lot - including one smart a** fly who thought it was a brilliant idea to run down the side of the car and really quickly dry it like a hyper monkey, in attempt to make his colleagues laugh. I then told him off, but as cheeky and arrogant as these lot are, he took it with a pinch of salt.

Unfortunately, my paint isn't anywhere near as thick skinned as these people are, their actions of which led to light marring.

Its hard to take a photo of these marrs, but the best way to describe them is that it looks like you've just wiped the panel with a damp cloth - but instead of being tiny lines of water, they're actually scratches (is this called Haze by the way?). They are fairly faint on a cloudy day like today, but when the sun comes out…. yeah. I can imagine that it will look horrid.

I wonder if SRP'ing the car will remove these marrs? Theres no way I can do the whole car with Scratch X, I'll break my arm (I don't have a DA). How many coats of SRP should I apply? I don't want to be too aggressive on the paint (I don't want to take off too much clear coat) - as I think of clear coat as my insurance for future marks.


Sunny.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

You've done the impossible by using a hand car wash for years without a problem, bit like defying gravity.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Our European neighbours getting the blame again. 

I'm must have missed the day that our own workers became the epitome of quality, effort and care. 

Half of our European friends would embarrass the life out of our own.


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## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

You're not going to get any sympathy from me  best break an arm then all the best :thumb:


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## Jord (Apr 3, 2012)

I can see this thread not going the way you intended


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Sorry to be flippent by why don't you wash and detail your OWN car, whats the point on you being on this forum then, sorry to say but there is only one person to blame.


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## hobbs182 (Jul 10, 2013)

Oh dear...


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## PETER @ ECLIPSE (Apr 19, 2006)

take it back these guys are offering all sorts of services now im sure they'll mop it for you the whole car for £30


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

Just to help a little:

SRP will do a fair job of masking the scratches as it is filler heavy.

It is highly likely that if you continue to frequent these dens of iniquity, the strong cleaners (often TFR) they use will remove the SRP pretty quickly.

It is also highly likely that further scratching and marring will occur, so don't waste your time with scratch X


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## Steve (Mar 18, 2014)

Right without tearing you apart which really youve come to the right place to be ripped.
So really kick yourself in the **** for going to a hand car wash.  

Knowing what I know now i wouldnt let any hand car wash touch anything. including a milk float.

However you seem to have learned to get on here and ask for help. To be honest SRP will just hide it and it will come back over time.
I would personally say it would need machine polishing attention and some love with the right equipment and chemicals and she will shine again.

People on here will help but please prepare to be told off for using a hand car wash.
( no pun intended)

Get reading on here and get your credit card out :thumb:


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## badly_dubbed (Dec 11, 2008)

not sure what you expected for a corner car wash.......?


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

pay peanuts you get monkeys

in fairness to them theyre not there to provide an ultimate luxury wash for fussy folk , just a quick wash over for those that are too lazy to do it themselves


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## Scottien (Jan 3, 2006)

You took it to a hand car wash and expected them not to destroy your paint? Is that seriously what you're saying?

They're about mass quantity, they get as many people through as possible to cover their costs, they don't really care what kind of finish they do on your paint. As long as it "looks" okay under their sun shades then it's fine.


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## muzzer (Feb 13, 2011)

This is why you dont use hand car washes, kerr (i think) was spot on when he said it isnt exclusive to eastern europeans though.
Anyway, treat this as a learning experience and use it as a kickstart to learning how to detail your own car.


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## Wilco (Apr 22, 2010)




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## _Steven67 (Apr 8, 2014)

Do it yourself next time then, it will be the only way you get a good wash and the way you want it to be.


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Wilco said:


>


:lol::lol::lol: I am on my second bucket of pop corn.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Popcorn GIFs are old.

This guy is cooler.


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## boromfccup (Mar 24, 2011)

lol car wash


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## BRYHER (Aug 19, 2008)

:lol::lol::lol:Wilco followed by soul boy 68, topped off by kerr's easy chair animations just ripped me up :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

MOVE ALONG NOTHING TO SEE HERE! :detailer:

LOL Michael


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

BRYHER said:


> :lol::lol::lol:Wilco followed by soul boy 68, topped off by kerr's easy chair animations just ripped me up :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
> 
> MOVE ALONG NOTHING TO SEE HERE! :detailer:
> 
> LOL Michael


:lol::lol::lol:tears to my eyes and my sides are hurting.


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## Naddy37 (Oct 27, 2005)

I can see this thread rapidly going down the pan.....

OP, oh dear.

I could tell you about my local Tesco Hand Car Wash, but it'll make you spit with fury just how good they are, and how much they go out their way to clean the car properly.


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## blackS2000 (Aug 4, 2010)

Kerr said:


> Our European neighbours getting the blame again.
> 
> I'm must have missed the day that our own workers became the epitome of quality, effort and care.
> 
> Half of our European friends would embarrass the life out of our own.


Not the first time I've heard this ! or variations of the same theme !

I'd like to ask a question ?

In general is our country flooded with " eastern europeans " , from an "eastern European country" that they have left because they have made "their own country " so profitable and its inhabitants so well off that they wish to share their highly desirable skills to the impoverished ,poverty stricken locals so that we too can aspire to the "" epitome of quality,effort and care ""

Or have they come here because MOST of our indigenous population , over the years , have built a country to be proud of and would ""embarrass the life ""out of most European countrys .


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## Naddy37 (Oct 27, 2005)

blackS2000 said:


> Not the first time I've heard this ! or variations of the same theme !
> 
> I'd like to ask a question ?
> 
> ...


It's because some Brits think it's below them to set up a hand car wash on some dis-used petrol station, work their butts off 7 days a week and charge something like £5 per wash. They'd much rather claim benefits and sit on their fat lardy butts.

IMHO of course....


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## blackS2000 (Aug 4, 2010)

Would you !

And I'm not getting into an argument about benefit cheats caused by this and previous governments !

The only benefit cheats I know of feature on TV ,including eastern Europeans .

Every body who frequents these pages knows the downfalls of visiting the local "hand car wash" .

It gets my " goat " that this country and its people get S**t on at every opportunity , yet half the worlds population wants to live here .

There is no country in the word that can "embarrass the life " out of this one.


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## Naddy37 (Oct 27, 2005)

blackS2000 said:


> Would you !


No, but only because you'd get people like the OP........ 

But then, I'd do it right, as we all would....


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

And if you look at some of the OPs posts you can see his 2012 6 series black Beemer, which he appears to want to keep in tip top condition but when seeing a EE washer behaving like a "Hyper monkey" on his precious paintwork he takes dramatic action......"tells him off".

There have been a spate of very weird posts just recently.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

blackS2000 said:


> Not the first time I've heard this ! or variations of the same theme !
> 
> I'd like to ask a question ?
> 
> ...


Is it flooded with them? Are you sure you aren't exaggerating that a little? The UK has always been a country of high immigration.

Do you complain about the amount of black or Asian people who have integrated into the community?

You walk around certain areas in the richest city is Britain, London, and there is that many foreign people you often wonder if you are in the UK.

The richest place in Scotland is Aberdeen. 1 in 6 people in Aberdeen were born outside the UK.

It is only a small percentage of the population that makes the money for the rest of the UK. Take London out of England and the oil money from the North Sea, what would be left of the UK? Most of the UK is subsidised by the minority. Hardly the glowing country of we're all in this together.

Still a large percentage of the UK live below the poverty line. Look at a large percentage of Ireland, North England and the West of Scotland. There is some places that nobody would want to live.

Unemployment is very high in certain areas and all you hear is them moaning they can't find a job. However they don't even look further than their own doorstep to find a job.

I know a lot of these Eastern Europeans, mostly Poles, and they have all made the move to Aberdeen to better their life. They aren't here to sponge. They work and and pay more tax to the UK economy than most other people in the UK.

Of course they are here to better their life. They were only earning about £800 per month at home, but things are much cheaper. Of course if they have the chance to come over here and earn five or six times as much, of course they will.

They've moved to an area with the sole intention or working hard and making a better life for themselves.

I forget how many xenophobes have made the comments that "they are stealing our jobs". No they aren't. Aberdeen has a 1% unemployment record and none of the oil companies can get skilled men.

I've been in Aberdeen over 4 years now and companies are still advertising the same jobs after all that time. Yet I keep hearing people all over the UK they can't find a job, but these Eastern Europeans are willing to uproot their lives to provide their family a good living.

If they are getting jobs in high unemployment level areas, that's likely because they will do a better job. I know a lot of bosses who actually do think they are harder workers.

We have a lot of Poles and some are very good, some are average and some are poor. Much like workers from our country.

Most of them are genuinely decent guys too. Often more intelligent than their UK equivalent.

Also let's not forget that we have loads of Brits abroad living off other countries. How many people do you know that have gone off to live in The US, Canada, Australia or the hordes that go over to Spain, Portugal, Greece etc and live off the tourism over the summer and sponge off their equivalent of the social for the rest of the year?

I just think too many people are very short sighted and ignorant.

Then they'll go off in their superior "German" cars that was built or built using lots of parts from Eastern European countries. Made by the same Eastern Europeans they keep going on about as it they are completely useless at everything.

I do laugh at how little some people contribute to this country and take the morale high ground when it comes to the Eastern Europeans. 
You simply can't lump them into the same category of being useless and wasters. We have more than our fair share of them too.


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## 204driver (Aug 27, 2008)

I've never got the connection of being on a detailing forum and using a hand car wash and then moaning that your car has been damaged??!!

Would someone on a cooking forum say they've just had a tesco value ready meal and it tasted like crap??!!


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Kerr said:


> Popcorn GIFs are old.
> 
> This guy is cooler.


Brilliant :lol:

Slating those coming here to earn a better living yet there's plenty of Brits that are buggering off to Australia and Middle East to do the same thing.

TV documentaries, as entertaining as they are, aren't really made to give you a balanced view of a situation either.


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## Rundie (Oct 2, 2007)

neilos said:


> It's because some Brits think it's below them to set up a hand car wash on some dis-used petrol station, work their butts off 7 days a week and charge something like £5 per wash. They'd much rather claim benefits and sit on their fat lardy butts.
> 
> IMHO of course....


Or.........maybe we'd get caught not paying taxes and being part of organised crime activities to earn extra cash ?? :thumb:


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Kerr said:


> Is it flooded with them? Are you sure you aren't exaggerating that a little? The UK has always been a country of high immigration.
> 
> Do you complain about the amount of black or Asian people who have integrated into the community?
> 
> ...


How the hell do you get the time to write these very loooooooooong posts?. It's almost like a biography. :lol:


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

Soul boy 68 said:


> How the hell do you get the time to write these very loooooooooong posts?. It's almost like a biography. :lol:


I may have said something similar along those lines a while back, however when Kerr does write, it is with great thought and consideration to the topic, you my friend respond with little other than :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

DW caters for the intellectual to the banal........don't knock it.


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## Coopertim (May 20, 2012)

Damn, it would really chap my ass too buddy, unfortunately you've vented on the least appropriate place and won't find much sympathy. Look forward though and look to rectify it with the help of others rather than the situation that caused it


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

S63 said:


> I may have said something similar along those lines a while back, however when Kerr does write, it is with great thought and consideration to the topic, you my friend respond with little other than :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
> 
> DW caters for the intellectual to the banal........don't knock it.


I don't mean to knock it and it's just my sense of humor, you either except that or not.the trouble with this forum is some things get taken out of context, I try and keep my post short and to the point, I wish I had the time to write a long post but don't get the chance.


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## sunnydude959 (Jan 3, 2014)

You know what? I shouldn't have really bothered posting. I didn't know that I was commiting a crime going to a hand car wash, in fact I was always under the impression that this was much better than a machine wash.

I'd much rather pay £5 than break my back doing it myself. Yes, it's lazy, but I do have much better things to be getting on with. So why am I here on detailing world then, you ask? Because I want my car to be reasonably shiny; not shiny and amazing to another detailer, but shiny to most people.

On to this European issue, as this thread seems to have turned into a pre-EU-election debate. I very much admire those who are willing to do some physical work for a £5- my only objection was this one idiot who tried to be funny at the (minor?) expense of my paintwork. But I understand that if I pay a £5, I cannot expect a luxury car wash.


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## andystevens (Dec 12, 2011)

Kerr said:


> Our European neighbours getting the blame again.
> 
> I'm must have missed the day that our own workers became the epitome of quality, effort and care.
> 
> Half of our European friends would embarrass the life out of our own.


Probably because nearly all of these nasty hand car wash places are run by that lot & they care not about your or my car just there to make as much money as possible (legit or otherwise) then clear off.

Why anyone uses these is still beyond me!!


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Soul boy 68 said:


> How the hell do you get the time to write these very loooooooooong posts?. It's almost like a biography. :lol:


It takes a few minutes to write a post. The guy asked me a question that really couldn't be answered in two sentences.



Soul boy 68 said:


> I don't mean to knock it and it's just my sense of humor, you either except that or not.the trouble with this forum is some things get taken out of context, I try and keep my post short and to the point, I wish I had the time to write a long post but don't get the chance.


You need to get a faster pair of fingers then.

That's what a forum is for, communicating with other. Lots of people spend large amount of time to construct huge entries with lots of pictures for others to see. Lots of people spend a lot of time having general chat and chit chat.

I don't mind entering a debate and if I've got the time, I will make an effort to post.

My posts look a lot longer that they really are as I choose to space them out.

Not sure who's biography you've read. Must have had a short life.


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## andystevens (Dec 12, 2011)

sunnydude959 said:


> You know what? I shouldn't have really bothered posting. I didn't know that I was commiting a crime going to a hand car wash, in fact I was always under the impression that this was much better than a machine wash.
> 
> I'd much rather pay £5 than break my back doing it myself. Yes, it's lazy, but I do have much better things to be getting on with. So why am I here on detailing world then, you ask? Because I want my car to be reasonably shiny; not shiny and amazing to another detailer, but shiny to most people.


With all due respect it will never be shiney going to those places. It might be the first time you go there or rather 5 minutes before hand (under the dirt) but repeated visits will dull the car & only the placebo effect make the car seem shiny.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

andystevens said:


> Probably because nearly all of these nasty hand car wash places are run by that lot & they care not about your or my car just there to make as much money as possible (legit or otherwise) then clear off.
> 
> Why anyone uses these is still beyond me!!


These nasty car washes existed long before "that lot" came to this country.

There is still a lot of our people working at these washes too who equally don't give two hoots.

Who knows if they are legit or not. It would be pretty brash to set up a wash on a main road and hope nobody twigs it is an illegal business.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

Soul boy 68 said:


> I don't mean to knock it and it's just my sense of humor, you either except that or not.the trouble with this forum is some things get taken out of context, I try and keep my post short and to the point, I wish I had the time to write a long post but don't get the chance.


Yes things do get taken out of context and on a forum like this it's sometimes difficult to know when one is laughing at you or with you, a lot of hard feelings would be avoided if people didn't reach for the :lol: so readily.


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## pinch (Oct 30, 2011)

sunnydude959 said:


> You know what? I shouldn't have really bothered posting. I didn't know that I was commiting a crime going to a hand car wash, in fact I was always under the impression that this was much better than a machine wash.
> 
> I'd much rather pay £5 than break my back doing it myself. Yes, it's lazy, but I do have much better things to be getting on with. So why am I here on detailing world then, you ask? Because I want my car to be reasonably shiny; not shiny and amazing to another detailer, but shiny to most people.
> 
> On to this European issue, as this thread seems to have turned into a pre-EU-election debate. I very much admire those who are willing to do some physical work for a £5- my only objection was this one idiot who tried to be funny at the (minor?) expense of my paintwork. But I understand that if I pay a £5, I cannot expect a luxury car wash.


£5? Most of us 'hobbyists' would laugh at a neighbour offering a fiver for a wash. Like many things in life you get what you pay for. If you are indeed lazy, have much better things to be getting on with ( realistically if you really do, then popping into the local hand wash is probably an interference with your busy schedule ) and that you want your car to look 'reasonably shiny' then look at a local valeter. I've looked myself and a decent 2BM, towel dry, proper wheel clean, glass inside and out, vacuumed inside, liquid wax and dressings is in the region of £35-50, 1.5-2 hours work, whilst you are getting on with 'much better things'


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

So here's a thought... ( and I fully accept I may well get hammered for this as it is against the grain of DW and all it promotes  )

We already have a " _Detailing on a budget thread_ ", how about starting a " _quick wash and turnaround thread _" for those occasions when the car is grubby and we really just don't have the time to get all the kit out and do it properley, but we really want to improve it somehow.

Using quality gear and good technique, I am wondering what we could achieve when the power washer isn't available or would take too long to set up. What could you actually achieve in the time it takes to drive it down to a " hand wash " and back ? or do you seek out a half decent petrol station jet wash in your area and chuck some spray bottles of good stuff in your boot?

Pump action sprayer with pre-wash or a gilmour type foam lance with quality wash n wax in it for example ?

Or is it as quick to prep 2BM ?

Or is this a really stoooopid suggestion ?


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## The Doctor (Sep 11, 2007)

andystevens said:


> With all due respect it will never be shiney going to those places. It might be the first time you go there or rather 5 minutes before hand (under the dirt) but repeated visits will dull the car & only the placebo effect make the car seem shiny.


Spot on. I won't say much other than your view is 100% correct and you are being kind them here. I have to deal with these guys and I know what they use for mainstream cleaning and I wouldn't let them wash a wheel barrow never mind my car!


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

£5 buys you little in the real world.

Businesses have to make money. The time you factor in all the costs £5 equates down to a few minutes.

We all know that keeping a car clean takes time and dedication even before adding product cost.

People should know how far £5 goes before they start. If they did do a good job, people higher up the scale would be out of a job.


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## Kash-Jnr (Mar 24, 2013)

sunnydude959 said:


> You know what? I shouldn't have really bothered posting. I didn't know that I was commiting a crime going to a hand car wash, in fact I was always under the impression that this was much better than a machine wash.
> 
> I'd much rather pay £5 than break my back doing it myself. Yes, it's lazy, but I do have much better things to be getting on with. So why am I here on detailing world then, you ask? Because I want my car to be reasonably shiny; not shiny and amazing to another detailer, but shiny to most people.
> 
> On to this European issue, as this thread seems to have turned into a pre-EU-election debate. I very much admire those who are willing to do some physical work for a £5- my only objection was this one idiot who tried to be funny at the (minor?) expense of my paintwork. But I understand that if I pay a £5, I cannot expect a luxury car wash.


:wall::wall::wall::wall::wall::wall::wall::wall::wall::wall::wall:

Try washing it yourself, you'll appreciate the "detail" that gets overlooked at any hand wash, £5 to £50.


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## Mumbles (Nov 7, 2011)

sunnydude959 said:


> You know what? I shouldn't have really bothered posting. I didn't know that I was commiting a crime going to a hand car wash, in fact I was always under the impression that this was much better than a machine wash.
> 
> I'd much rather pay £5 than break my back doing it myself. Yes, it's lazy, but I do have much better things to be getting on with. So why am I here on detailing world then, you ask? Because I want my car to be reasonably shiny; not shiny and amazing to another detailer, but shiny to most people.


No crime but you have to understand that this forum is mostly people with wild OCD and patience to rival mother Theresa.

I find it hard to understand your point of view. You say you don't want to break your back washing the car but then you are willing to spend the time fixing the mess the cheap car washes do by polishing out the imperfections, the polishing in my experience is by far the more back breaking and time consuming of the two tasks.

Why spend hours of hard work getting it to shine just for it to get trashed by the £5 car washers and then you'll have to do all the hard work again. You'd be better to do the hard work once and then have a careful maintenance wash to keep it nicer for longer.

Chris


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