They went through a local touchless car wash under the impression touchless being safer for the paint, not realizing the aluminum trim would become oxidized effectively. They will be hand washing it going forward I believe.
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MY Door Trim Discoloration
- Thread starter jeffpaz
- Start date
Adding another data point:
I did a touchless wash today and ran into trim discoloration. For me, a dot of WD-40 on a microfiber cloth cleared it up.
I think this works for only some, and the methods that work aren't uniform across the board because many of these places use different chemicals. Just find a place that works for you, and find a suitable remediation method (if necessary). I agree that cars at this price point need to handle this better, but it is what it is.
Fortunately, following up with WD-40 after a wash is a 1-2 minute task in my case, so it's worth it for me.
I did a touchless wash today and ran into trim discoloration. For me, a dot of WD-40 on a microfiber cloth cleared it up.
I think this works for only some, and the methods that work aren't uniform across the board because many of these places use different chemicals. Just find a place that works for you, and find a suitable remediation method (if necessary). I agree that cars at this price point need to handle this better, but it is what it is.
Fortunately, following up with WD-40 after a wash is a 1-2 minute task in my case, so it's worth it for me.
dgaultiere
Member
Just happened to me today. Took the Model Y (Sep ‘20 delivery) to a touch less wash in Bend, OR and sure enough I had the same streaky discoloration reported by others. I’ve only ever hand washed the Y before this so of course the one time I get lazy it would come back to bite me!
After reading this thread, I tried WD-40, followed by Weiman stainless steel cleaner, and then finished with a spray wax. The WD-40 alone seemed to remove all the streaks but to be safe I followed with Weiman. The trim looked perfect at that point but I figure it couldn’t hurt to do a quick wipe with a spray wax to wipe off any residual cleaner residue and leave a paint-safe finish.
So far this seems to have resolved the issue for me, but I’ll report back if it returns. I may give the car a hand wash tomorrow as well just to make sure any remaining residue has been removed.
After reading this thread, I tried WD-40, followed by Weiman stainless steel cleaner, and then finished with a spray wax. The WD-40 alone seemed to remove all the streaks but to be safe I followed with Weiman. The trim looked perfect at that point but I figure it couldn’t hurt to do a quick wipe with a spray wax to wipe off any residual cleaner residue and leave a paint-safe finish.
So far this seems to have resolved the issue for me, but I’ll report back if it returns. I may give the car a hand wash tomorrow as well just to make sure any remaining residue has been removed.
Peelz
Budding EV fanatic.
Finally found this thread. I remember seeing it before the delivery…
I do not have the time or space to hand wash the car often enough. And to be truthful… I used to detail cars for a living so if I can avoid it I do lol. Once a year kids and I do it and wax them. They’re garage kept.
With the knowledge of this Trim issue, I had asked my wife to be careful of which car washes and “premium” packages we wash it with. Touch less for sure, but buy the cheapest you can get that has a dryer. No foams or waxes.
well, she’s having a full-on love affair with the car and has washed it at a touch less 5 times in 3 weeks. I’m certainly not going to tell her not to care about it… What can I say, the blue is gorgeous lol. We have this discoloration but I expected it. I’ve been using a maguires trim protectant on it, but I noticed it was a coated. metal…after reading, I am going to turn to the stainless wipes. Those things work wonders on the oily spots on the fridge lol.
I’d like to add a note about the dissent towards Tesla here.. I think it’s unnecessary Internet hate. Because, my VW Jetta trim looks like dog turds and I’ve been Unable to restore it-period. Just live with it. (It also has weird panel gaps) So May wanna settle down on the complaining. Instead, Get a rag and go enjoy this bad ass car.
I do not have the time or space to hand wash the car often enough. And to be truthful… I used to detail cars for a living so if I can avoid it I do lol. Once a year kids and I do it and wax them. They’re garage kept.
With the knowledge of this Trim issue, I had asked my wife to be careful of which car washes and “premium” packages we wash it with. Touch less for sure, but buy the cheapest you can get that has a dryer. No foams or waxes.
well, she’s having a full-on love affair with the car and has washed it at a touch less 5 times in 3 weeks. I’m certainly not going to tell her not to care about it… What can I say, the blue is gorgeous lol. We have this discoloration but I expected it. I’ve been using a maguires trim protectant on it, but I noticed it was a coated. metal…after reading, I am going to turn to the stainless wipes. Those things work wonders on the oily spots on the fridge lol.
I’d like to add a note about the dissent towards Tesla here.. I think it’s unnecessary Internet hate. Because, my VW Jetta trim looks like dog turds and I’ve been Unable to restore it-period. Just live with it. (It also has weird panel gaps) So May wanna settle down on the complaining. Instead, Get a rag and go enjoy this bad ass car.
It's the soap that is likely doing this. The soap is "harsh" compared to stuff at home or what detailers use because you have to adjust the pH a lot to both acidic and basic levels to try and remove all the different things on cars (road tar, tree sap, bird droppings, bugs, etc). If you look up the soap a lot of these washes use, you'll see the listed pH on them and it's not as close to 7 as you would think they would be...
There’s probably no way around this unless you find some “gentle” wash place or something that specifically avoids using pH adjusted soap and instead will probably rely on pressure and volume of water to do the cleaning… ultimate it’ll probably still be worse cleaning performance than the touchless and those are already usually worse than the kind that touch the paint.
The best hybrid method I can think of for people that don’t have the room at home or access to a parking spot at home with a hose would be to go to a self wash bay but bring your own bucket and soap. Hand wash the car with that and just use the bay as a parking spot and the pressure washer for the water pressure. You’re still likely running the risk that the water isn’t filtered real great and has some sand in it which will act as a sandblaster against your car, but it probably won’t look really bad, especially if you’re already used to touchless car washes.
The other option, ironically, would possibly be getting a chrome delete done to the black trim. The physical vinyl wrap used during the chrome delete will protect the actual trim under it. If something happens to the chrome delete you can just remove it and have it redone…
Touch-free carwash chemistry - Professional Carwashing & Detailing
When operating touchless wash systems, it is especially important for equipment to use chemistry specifically developed for touch-free cleaning.
www.carwash.com
![angus[Y]oung](/tmc/data/avatars/l/141/141264.jpg?1620160343){kind=avatar}
angus[Y]oung
Active Member
Coincidentally, this video came up in my YouTube feed this morning and is quite apropos:
Peelz
Budding EV fanatic.
Can confirm. The wellman stainless steel wipes work perfectly. It only takes one for the whole car. Just be careful, use a steady hand.. it’s streaky for the windows and paint.
I’ll add a coat of wax to the trim, and Will continue use of the wipes when it gets splotchy.
easy peasy! and doesn’t detract from my feelings on the car.
I’ll add a coat of wax to the trim, and Will continue use of the wipes when it gets splotchy.
easy peasy! and doesn’t detract from my feelings on the car.
So glad I found this thread - just ordered Wieman's wipes and I'm glad to hear that they are not completely ruined. It's funny that only some pieces of my trim are affected - right next a badly affected piece is a piece that is completely unaffected. I wish they would use the same material all the way around, but I understand supply chain and cost concerns require multiple vendors for similar parts sometimes.
I've been having the same issues with the window trim on MY. I only hand wash it and use Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner. Anyone have this with the rear bumper trim? I've never backed in to anything and it kind of looks similar, but I'm assuming that it's all plastic.
Peelz
Budding EV fanatic.
that part of the trim is plastic. the stuff i think this is talking about is around the windows. get a rainbow look. like oil on water. different issue
that is 100% wax mark in plastic..
Thanks. I have never used wax on my car but I will check it out. Here is the issue I am having on the trim around my windows.
Attachments
Peelz
Budding EV fanatic.
Peelz
Budding EV fanatic.
So. update Tons of Rain came to the midwest, and the stainless steel wiped trim had SOME discoloration return. I spent a few hours last weekend and gave the car its first detail, just using a light spray wax. I used that on the trim and worked a treat. so far through 4 days of rain, its stayed black.
dgaultiere
Member
Ok reporting back. I drove the car around for about a week after the WD-40 plus Weiman treatment. This included a few stints of parking it outside in direct sun & 100 degree heat. The trim actually looked fine after this.
I went ahead and gave the car a good hand wash and made sure to go over the window trim a few extra times to try and wash off any residue. After rinsing and drying there were several spots where the discoloration was noticeable again. This time I went over all the trim with a TurtleWax Speed Compound. I rubbed it on firmly and then buffed it off. I’m not certain if this removed the discoloration or just covered it up, but it looks good again. I’ll report back again after my next wash.
Schulz1983
Model Y LR AWD: Matte PPF, Vossen HF-1
For everyone on this thread, has anyone tried to ceramic coat it? I ceramic coated mine when I bought it and have used touch free a couple times. I typically wash at home. Mine still looks new so I don’t know if it is the ceramic coat or our ph in Missouri washes isn’t as high.
What you are using for washing the car is likely causing it. What product are you using?
Good day all...
I've owned my Model Y since August 2020. I have used the same touchless carwash since day one. I've had bad "rainbow" effects on the trim.
I just bought Chemical Guys Orange Degreaser. After one treatment it looks WAY better. It's not perfect yet but I figure a years worth of washes may take a few applications.
It's definitely annoying but not the end of the world I guess. I did buy my own car wash for at home so I will only have to use their carwash when it's winter.
I've owned my Model Y since August 2020. I have used the same touchless carwash since day one. I've had bad "rainbow" effects on the trim.
I just bought Chemical Guys Orange Degreaser. After one treatment it looks WAY better. It's not perfect yet but I figure a years worth of washes may take a few applications.
It's definitely annoying but not the end of the world I guess. I did buy my own car wash for at home so I will only have to use their carwash when it's winter.
Have used Chemical Guys Snow Foam and hand washed. Tesla is a year old and trim looks like new. Never had any discoloration
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