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Texas Results Substantiated by Munich Study

The Technical University of Munich has carried out an impartial scientific comparison test in association with Mercedes-Benz to establish the exact ranking of hand washing versus machine washing of vehicles relative to damage to
paintwork.


To make the test as realistic as possible, typical family sedans were used -
with a few hundred miles on the odometer. It was stipulated that each car was to
receive the equivalent of one year's wash stress (about 25 washes) - some cars
by hand washing methods, others by automatic car washing equipment. To make the
test as realistic as possible, and to give both the hand washers and the
automatic car washing equipment something to get clean, five test vehicles were  
thoroughly coated with a mixture of street dirt, under-fender dirt 
accumulations, oily water, and thawing-salt residue. This test mixture, 
inspected under a microscope, contained grit particles measuring between 0.5mm  
and 1.0mm which are enough to damage the toughest paintwork if not carefully
removed.


The Hand  Wash
Without having been told the why's or the wherefore's, four men
were given the chore of washing four of the test cars by hand. Each person
was to do as thorough a job as possible. Since there were four people
involved, and since each person used their favorite "tools", together they
presented a cross-section of various hand washing techniques commonly
used by average car owners.


So the marathon carwash began. The four men showed up in four different
sections of town enthusiastically sponging and lathering their test cars as if
they were their very own. Bystanders could see one man hard at work in a  
do-it-yourself self-service type of car wash with high-pressure water  
facilities; another was busy at home with the garden hose and a water  
spray-brush. One man scrubbed away utilizing a bucket, a sponge, and a garden  
hose. One, to the horror of the environmentalists, and in defiance of local  
regulations, washed his test car at a lakeside.


The Automatic Wash
As the alternative to the perspiring hand washers, automatic car washing equipment
was used to wash the fifth test car. To keep the test above board, the test vehicle arrived unannounced during the hours when the car wash was open for business. The car was washed along with other cars.


The Examination
To measure the extent of paintwork damage, microscopes were available. However, pure reflecting microscopy, as well as electron microscopy results merely in a
visual picture of scratches. A comparable measure of true depth cannot thus
be achieved. Consequently, a method of analysis was used which could
determine the exact depth of the scratches and grooves, namely, the
interference-microscopic analysis method.



This method allows the glossy surface, with all of its irregularities to appear like a relief map. An interference band is created and corresponds to the contours. Band distances are 0.27 of one thousandth of a millimeter, thereby allowing even the tiniest grooves and scratches on the gloss to be accurately measured and compared.


The Result
The comparison tests produced results of which every car owner should be aware. Automatic car washing and hand washing have completely different effects on
automobile paint.


How does the paintwork of a car appear after 25 washes - equivalent of a
year's worth of washing?


The results are depressing, at least to the car owner who, up to now, has
firmly believed in hand washing.  The deepest scratches after hand washing had a
depth of more than one tenth of the paint surface. Under the microscope, the
paintwork looked like a cratered landscape. The paintwork was deeply scored and
scratched - the result of dirt and trapped sand particles.



In hand washing, invariably too little water is used. Even with a garden hose  
and a sponge technique, small sand particles lodge themselves firmly in the
fine pores of the sponge or wash mitt and cannot be removed even by good
rinsing.  Such particles work on the paint surface like sanding discs.
Furthermore, the hand washings produced a tangle of uneven scratches in the
paint surface.


By comparison, the surfaces of the test vehicle washed with automatic car
washing equipment appeared different. Compared with the hand washed surfaces, it
was remarkably smooth, with many very fine markings virtually parallel and
uniform – less than .0003mm - the result of evenly moving and rotating cloth
pads and curtains. The machine-washed surfaces were in very good condition after
25 washes.


Wash a car by hand or by machine, in either case, it looks immaculate right
after the wash. The sophisticated test described suggests that looks are
deceiving: The paintwork on a car washed by automatic car washing equipment is
in much better condition than one washed by hand - even though the car owner
lavishes tender, loving care on their vehicle.


Eventually, either by force of habit or because the car finish looks dull,
the weekend hand washer resorts to the lengthy and back-breaking chore of
applying abrasive rubbing compound or similar pastes and liquids to their
vehicle. This process indeed restores the luster to the finish. Such "pampered"
cars naturally appear to have just rolled out of the showroom. The proud  
motorist forgets the long hours with the rubbing compound, and is probably  
unaware that the reason for all that work (to get the scratches out) was their 
energetic hand washing procedure on previous weekends.


On the other hand, the motorist who uses the services of a professional car
wash with their automatic car washing equipment subjects the paintwork of their
vehicle to the thorough, but gentle action of cloth pads and curtains which
treat their paint job with tender, loving care. Knowing that the car finish has
to have some protection against the ravages of the chemicals in the air and to
also provide a barrier of protection against bird droppings and other contaminants, this car owner will periodically apply a coat of wax to their vehicle. At that moment, their car looks as if it had just rolled out of the showroom.


In comparison, although both cars after washing and other treatment will look
pretty much the same, a car is actually treated better (especially concerning
the paint finish) by machine washing at a professional car wash and the
application of wax than a car washed by hand (with the resulting need for the
application of rubbing compounds, etc.). However, in the process, the car owner
who utilized the services of a professional car wash has saved a great deal of

time, labor, and effort.

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