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About a year ago, I moved to a place with no hose outlet outside of the house. I've tried to wash the car by hand when I can, but I've ended up taking it to the drive-thru wash more than I should. The result is needing a TON of light scratches removed, especially on the hood. I believe I need paint correction at this point. Luckily a touchless auto wash opened up close-by. While it's not as good, it won't damage the paint anymore. Next time I'll take my chances with salt/sand damage versus the damage caused by these 1,000 grit brushes at the wash.
Here is what the hood looks like. This picture was taken in direct sunlight, so you can really get a good idea. Does this look like the clearcoat is starting to come off? I've had that happen on a car before, and it doesn't look like that to me, but someone else suggested it.
Winter is close, so there's no point in doing it now, but as soon as spring hits I'm taking it for a paint correction service.
Painful to look at that, but I think you are right about the professional touch. This appears to me more than a weekend job. However, if you can get it done before Winter hits it would be good to have the car protected from the harsh conditions
Painful to look at that, but I think you are right about the professional touch. This appears to me more than a weekend job. However, if you can get it done before Winter hits it would be good to have the car protected from the harsh conditions
It's painful to look at in person too haha. I definitely learned a lesson about auto-washes here.
Don't feel bad... I learned the same lesson the hard way on a CLK AMG I had back in early 2000s. Living in Chicago its difficult to wash the car by hand in the Winter. However, my trick is I find a downtown underground garage, slip the attendant $20 on the weekend and hook my hose up to a water spigot to wash it by hand.
Looks rough, but from the pics, and as long as the scratches you have aren't too terribly deep, a skilled detailer should be able to polish out the finish and restore it to near new. Just be sure you go with an established detailer in the area with an outstanding reputation and proven track record.
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Damage to hood paint
