Balboa Avenue, San Diego
Soft Touch Wash
Belanger SpinLite wheels, ShineMitt media and a Turbo Dry finish, built so the paint never meets anything harsh.
What a harsh tunnel does to clear coat
Paint doesn't get its swirl marks from water. It gets them from grit. When a tunnel drags stiff bristles across a car that still has sand and road film on it, every bristle becomes a sheet of fine sandpaper, and the scratches show up as a haze in the sun.
That's the worry most drivers carry into any automatic wash, and in San Diego, where the sun lights up every flaw in a dark clear coat, it's a fair one. The fix isn't skipping the wash. It's choosing a tunnel built so nothing hard ever touches the paint.
Illustration of two amber soft touch wash wheels over a wet tunnel conveyor
How does the Balboa Express tunnel stay gentle?
The tunnel runs Belanger SpinLite wheels that turn at about one third the speed of traditional equipment. Slower wheels mean less force on the panel, and the ShineMitt media on them carries over 4x the touches and 9x the cleaning and shining tips of traditional media. The wash is thick and sturdy yet gentle, like a hand-wash.
Silver and above start with the Double Foaming Pre-Soak, so loose dirt is already floating before any media reaches the paint. The car then rides through, and Turbo Dry blows the water off on the way out.
The quiet matters too. The wash is easier on pets sitting in the back seat, and there's an in-bay light show for kids and passengers. Questions about a specific vehicle? Call (858) 495-9274.
Spot free rinse and the plans that include it
The last thing a wash can do wrong is leave water behind. The Spot Free Rinse uses reverse osmosis water, with the minerals taken out, so droplets that dry in the San Diego sun don't leave white spots on glass or paint.
Every plan includes the Soft Touch Wash, Turbo Dry and Free Vacuums. Bronze is exactly that. Silver adds the Double Foaming Pre-Soak, Bubble Bath and Duo Tire & Wheel Scrubber, and Gold adds the Spot Free Rinse.
Soft Touch Wash is part of every Balboa Express plan, from Bronze up. Call (858) 495-9274 or see the plans.
Next stops after the tunnel
Prices and the first-month offers are laid out on the plans page, and the tunnel runs on solar power and reclaimed rinse water, which the solar and water page explains.