Sherwin Williams Car Wash Paint?

[Bubbles Galore]

I was just wondering if anyone has heard of this stuff? One of the car dealerships near me just covered their single car wash bay with it. It definitely looks impressive. I might give it a try in a few of my bays come spring time. From what my friend told me, I should be able to do four bays for what 1 bay of Extrutech would cost me. I know it makes more sense to use extrutech, but I am trying to save money and still brighten my bays up. If I could get 5 years out of it, I would be ecstatic.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

"If I could get 5 years out of it, I would be ecstatic."

Ain't gonna happen. In Florida you may get 5 years and it will look like crap for the last two. In Michigan it will begin freezing off the walls the first winter.

Check out my SW epoxy in Ky.

Did everything just as instructed on new construction. On a repaint...no freaking way!

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I tend to agree with you, but....I have the MSDS for the coating that they are trying to sell me and I checked them against the MSDS for the epoxy coating that they have been selling to carwashes and they are quite different. I might just do one and see what happens. They could be selling me a bill of goods, but I am being told this has been formulated specifically for carwashes and high moisture areas. For the price, it won't kill me to do just one and see.

 

[Jim L.]

I heard the same stories 10 years ago…no paint can hold up to a car wash. Horse hockey. When I built I had a SW salesman make recommendations as to what coatings to use in the bays. The SS bays are brick so we used a clear brick sealer. The Auto is block so we used 2 coats of an epoxy block sealer followed by 2 coats of a 2 part polyurethane paint. Granted the auto no longer looks new, but I have yet to recoat. The area near the undercarriage get the dirtiest and gets cleaned with Nu-Wall and JBS wall cleaner. These products have taken the shine off the paint and some of the top layer of paint has started to peel in a few spots. The rest of the bay looks great for its age.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

The moisture is not the problem, it's the freeze thaw cycles. Ask him to show you this stuff on a wash that's been through a few Michigan winters.

"I heard the same stories 10 years ago?no paint can hold up to a car wash."

Hell, shoe polish would probably stay on in Florida!

 

[Jim L.]

Pat

No sense being a smart ass about this. I’m just trying to share what has worked for me with Bubbles.

BTW - It was 25 degrees the past 2 nights here in Fl.. Granted we don’t get severe winters, but it does freeze down here.

 

[Patrick H. Crowe]

Paint at your own peril in most areas which have freeze/thaw cycles. When it fails you'll probably be told the cause was "INADEQUATE PREPARATION OR AMATEURISH APPLICATION".

Sure, could be. I was a painting contractor for years. SW is good at BS and their customer service stinks, flat out disrespectful. Another contractor I know got threatened by SW with legal action when he wrote letters telling peers of their failed product and abominable, magolmenical customer service.

Ask the salesman to put the guarantee in writing. Ask for 4 years, no peeling. Then invite him and his "chemists" to supervise your preparation and application as frequently as THEY see fit. You'll never get it. Especially so of you expect SW to NOT simply provide more of the same failed product but to have THEIR folks apply the replacement, at their cost.

Short form: In most cases paint, especially SW in my experience, and most ss washes are a terrible, failed combination. FRP's, other wall coverings vastly superior.

SW, please rely with EVIDENCE of actual washes, painted 3+ years ago, where the paint is still sticking. Pigs fly!

Patrick H. Crowe

 

[Bubbles Galore]

So much anger

I will probably try one out and see what happens. I wish I had the money for FRP right now, but it just isn't in the cards.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Pat No sense being a smart ass about this.

I know, but sometimes I just can't help it...sorry. I know I have the right to remain silent. The ability is where I am lacking.

 

[Louise]

I used Sherwin Williams on all of my bays - new construction, followed the directions to the letter, let cure for 30 days. I WOULD NEVER DO IT AGAIN.

The paint is peeling in the auto bays and we tried to repaint in the s.s. bays and the fresh paint peeled right off.

I have never heard of this paint working as advertised.

 

[madscientist]

agreed! i had terrible results with this product......terrible results, immediately, mind you.

 

[Reds]

I'm not sure which SW product you are talking about, but I used a block sealer and SW Sherlastic (put on by a local professional painter). Painted entire wash inside and out in June of 2005-That's 3? years ago when it was new. It's not uncommon to see -15 during the winter. Last winter we had 10 straight days below zero. Carwash also went thru a flood that lasted 3 or 4 days - (5' of water in the bays). My paint is still sticking to the walls. And tomorrow I will try to get a picture of it. Granted, it doesn't look like new, but in my automatic bays it is sticking tight. I have to look to find a spot that is peeling. My self serve bays have a few small places that are peeling. Maybe due to me knocking 2" of solid ice off the walls during cold spells. I suspect that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to prep the walls so they would absorb and hold the paint as well as new block. But the original paint worked good and I would use it again. I will definitely try to get a picture in the morning and post it.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Looking forward to seeing some pics.

 

[Reds]

Looking forward to seeing some pics.

I've got some pics, but am not sure how to post them. I have a new (1day old) computer and don't have anti virus installed yet so I am afraid to go onto a site like PictureTrail to try to setup a link to my pictures. As soon as I figure out how to do it I will post them. Hopefully sometime today. Pics are of IBA. My SS bays are froze up due to heater issues, and walls have ice on them. As soon as i deal with this nightmare I will get some pics of the SS walls.

 

[Red Baron]

We just spend $1,000 per bay for Extrutech, not including labor to install it. It looks very good but diesel pickups leave a nasty mess from their tailpipe that is tought to remove.

For about the same money we put porcelain tile at the other wash and it was a much better decision. I chose a color that was very close to the tan grunge that used to build up on the FRP that was there before, and it has worked out great - about 2 years now and they look good.

We chose Extrutech on the newer wash because the walls were painted and I knew I'd have to get the paint off for tile to stick, but I'm wishing I'd done that.

 

[rph9168]

Extrutech comes in colors but I don't think tan grunge is one of them.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Extrutech comes in colors but I don't think tan grunge is one of them.

Actually it is. If you go to the Extrutech site you will see a "tan grunge" wall with a red stripe. That's my wash, which was done just less than 3 years ago. It's getting dirty, but it's not very noticeable.

 

[mjwalsh]

Bubbles,

We tried Sherwin Williams. Columbia Paint's 2 part water based epoxy worked better. Having said that---- following some of my fellow operators'(Galen & Wally) suggestion to put in FRP over 8 years ago was one of the better things we have done. We just went 8 feet up the wall with the FRP & above that we used the Columbia Water Based Epoxy Paint. It was a winning combination from the standpoint of our northern climate car wash (since 1968) experience. We have lightweight concrete 8" x 16" block construction.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Well....it looks like I am going to be saving my pennies and doing a bay at a time with FRP. If I had new block, I might think about paint, but I have 20+ years of buildup. I don't see anything good coming from that.

Thanks!

 

[Reds]

If anyone wants pics of painted walls please email me and I will email them directly to you. I have never posted pics on the internet and am not comfortable nor familiar with doing it. My paint has held up well since it was put on a new block wall. But I am ready for a repaint this spring (4 years after original paint job) and am concerned about getting paint to stick to old paint, vs. new block. I'm actually skeptical so I am not sure what I will do. Maybe try a test patch as soon as the weather breaks.