Car Wash Forum
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Self-Serve Interior
- Thread starter Llama
- Start date
Earl Weiss
Well-known member
Why not FRP? Stainless is expensive and most anything else will rust.
I've never seen metal panels at a wash but in my mind stainless would be the only long term metal option. All wall coverings will require occasional cleaning and. I love my extrutech PVC panels and wouldn't consider anything else unless you are in a low income neighborhood with vandalism, then FRP or just paint would be my choice.
Waxman
Super Moderator
I have a metal Kirby building. My interior bays are the ribbed metal panels. The only place they really get rusty is at the bottom. I have remedied that by cutting narrow pieces and screwing them over the top down near the bottom. Looks good for about 5 to 7 years and then starts to look crummy again but just at the bottom. I find the metal walls to be quite durable and the paint actually holds up well with the exception of the very bottom. I would consider leaving them up off of the floor a few inches and that would probably keep the rust at bay a little longer.
Do you know the pH of your presoak in the SS bays? The only materials that seem to last in our bays are some plastics, stainless steel, and hot-dipped galvanized steel. Aluminum might be okay but our old touchless IBA had an aluminum track that was corroding away after many years. We run our presoak pretty hot for SS though. (against many people's opinions) We are 5+ months with our new PVC panels and so far no dents or holes.
