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Peeling Paint in the Bays

TJ_DOT

New member
Hello,

We have recently upgraded our cash with brand new color schemes. Unfortunately, the color inside the bay started to peel off. We did touch up but the issue seems to be happening again.

Can someone suggest a permanent fix to this problem ? Should we be using any specifc paint that works better for the bays in the carwash. Attached pics for your reference.

Thanks,
TJ.
 

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There is no permanent fix that involves paint in car wash bays. You'll get the best life out of proper prep and using a good quality oil-based paint. You'll still be painting it every couple years.
 
Unfortunately it appears that you painted over glossy paint and the new paint isn’t going to stick over the glossy paint. Painting the walls in a car wash is BAD practice, as it never lasts. You could put a piece of stainless steel diamond plate behind the spring loaded gun holder. A more permanent thing to do would be to cover the walls with Extrutech paneling over the bay walls.
 
There are several ways you can go, regarding painting wash bays. The problem is that none of them work. We had the best results with latex epoxy on unpainted brick. Painting over existing crappy paint…you’re just chasing your tail.
 
There are several ways you can go, regarding painting wash bays. The problem is that none of them work. We had the best results with latex epoxy on unpainted brick. Painting over existing crappy paint…you’re just chasing your tail.

We used latex epoxy above 8 feet. Up to 8 feet we used FRP. We plan on replacing the FRP within a year or two to make our 1968 built self service concrete block car wash more brand-new-ish.

Even after KleenWall washing the FRP & probably any other similar plastic it eventually starts to look old IMHO. Above 8' ... it is surprising how well & still new looking the latex epoxy still looks after 15+ years. We were extra diligent about how we prepped the last time we painted above 8 feet. I just looked at it & I am not seeing any flaking like we has when we use a non-latex epoxy paint. The white paint when rinsed clean ... reflects "car washing useful light" much better than fancy colors etc!
 
I had my best luck in the past with latex. Maybe since it is water based it just works better with moisture while drying? Just a guess.
 
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Unfortunately, covering in plastic is your best long term solution. I agree with MJ that the areas over 8’ stay pretty clean. I installed a stripe 10’ from the floor so that I wouldn’t have to replace entire 15’ panels. If covering an entire wall isn’t an option, I’d recommend going 8’ and painting the upper portion.
 
There is no permanent fix that involves paint in car wash bays. You'll get the best life out of proper prep and using a good quality oil-based paint. You'll still be painting it every couple years.
I concur. Oh the joys of self service wash bays. Lol
 
You need to look at industrial coatings and not paint. A properly maintained coating will last 15-20 years.

FRP looks terrible after just a few years and I would not recommend.
 
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