We’ve touched on this subject in previous blog posts (Catch-22: Car Washes Don’t Scratch Cars and Common Alaska Car Wash Myths: Debunked), but we wanted to share a little more on why our modern friction car wash doesn’t scratch cars. We’re calling it— The Great Alaskan Touchless Car Wash Myth!

If you’re not yet familiar with our Sudzy Salmon Car Wash, we are a Hybrid Tunnel Car Wash which is an entirely different system than a touchless car wash, the latter of which you may have heard is “better” or “safer” for vehicles in terms of avoiding scratches. However, that is not the case. In fact, Mercedes states right in their car care manual to “never clean your vehicle in a touchless automatic car wash as these use special cleaning agents. These cleaning agents can damage the paintwork or plastic parts.”

Our machine uses a standardized hybrid process to remove dirt—which is the real culprit behind scratches left on vehicles—and our friction system consists of soft foam cloth spinning at 90-100 RPM in a 5-foot diameter.

We also enlist our Sudzy Salmon team—yes, real people—to use pressure washers in a controlled environment to remove the big stuff, before sending your vehicle through a high pressure wash. Following this, your vehicle will encounter our friction system using foam cloth, which does not hold dirt, before finally getting to the rinse, shine, polish, and dry section. We do this to ensure the dirt film is removed before we apply clear coat protectant, high-end carnauba waxes, or Luminaura to protect your vehicle from the next layer of dirt.

Since the most common pre-existing damage we see on our camera system is loose or broken parts, chips, and scratches, we always ask that you keep in mind the Catch-22 of washing your car— It is dirt that scratches cars. Our machine operates in the same way, every time, and rarely changes, therefore it is important to note of any pre-existing chips, scratches, or swirling that are apparent on your vehicle prior to entering the wash.