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Road Film

wash12

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Good question. We actually use meg nozzles on our inverted L washes but have just switched to pmeg nozzles that are giving a bit more impingement. Also we have heated our presoak and added injectors for the chemicals. We are now getting the best clean possible imo with an inverted L. The heat made a big difference!
What a pmeg nozzles? I never heard of these and can't seem to find them online anywhere?
 

wash12

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Thats were im kinda at 99% come out great just the occasional white devil , but with i slight agitation comes right off. Just erks me to have that white car come out with a bit of film usually back 1/4 panels were exsahust hits
o well good luck
its snowing here $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
What wash system are you using and are you going lo then hi or hi then hi or what order and dwell time?
 

mac

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It is somewhat refreshing to see some operators FINALLY realizing the touchless machines simply do not clean all that well. Think about this. Many of the machines you see at gas stations are touchless and no one, repeat, no one, takes care of them as well as operators here. Just how well do you think those things are cleaning? People know this, and when they go by your wash, they see the same machine. I never have this issue with the Istobals that I sell.
 

RealScott

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It is somewhat refreshing to see some operators FINALLY realizing the touchless machines simply do not clean all that well. Think about this. Many of the machines you see at gas stations are touchless and no one, repeat, no one, takes care of them as well as operators here. Just how well do you think those things are cleaning? People know this, and when they go by your wash, they see the same machine. I never have this issue with the Istobals that I sell.
HAHAHAHAH that's a good one Mac... yea there's never been a discussion on here about a problem with cleaning on a friction machine. Your head must be inserted someplace dark... LOL
 

mac

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well real scott, thanks for that refreshing and helpful contribution to the discussion. For whatever reason you seem to have missed my point entirely. My point is that the majority of people here are the better ones in the industry. Their washes are nicer, clean better and probably make more money. So when these operators have a hard time getting consistent cleaning results, that says a lot to me. I also find it amusing in how brave some people can get when they know they may never have to meet me personally.
 
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I run a 4000
sometimes i run soapy's secret recipe on a blue tip and it gets the road film
i put first pass on with blue tip, 2nd pass with red tip, dwell 15 sec

at the moment i was using trying another brand with two passes of red tip both hph
droped the 1st pass to a green tip and 2nd pass red tip and films off *just didnt have enough kick for that special white devil*

i tried low and hi with a booster for a year or so but the metal and bay walls always had white scum from the two chemicals mixing. So i tried the secret recipe and actually thought the cars were coming out cleaner and somewhat polished. Im at my wash all the time so i mess around with things because im a reverse engineer .
Only problem is mixing and use alot but the cost is pennies compared to some of the super super concentrates that take up no space and use a tiny tip that gets clogged and doesnt really clean at the recomended 500:1 ratio that they claim, another problem the real strong ones never have any show to them and i ended running on giant tip just to make em show and using up the chemical.
Curious of what any other 4000 guys are running tip size

Seams like when I use a name brand it cost me around 50 cents or more for a double pass high high, or low high, secret formula less than 20cents to turn into a foam bath that will clean anything

on my auto I been messing with the wax this week or super poly as that call these days
im on a orange tip hydroflex, it breaks the water pretty well at about .45oz per car or less but that was $145 for a 5 gallon bucket
my old kr kleen seal did just as well if not better on same tip

on my self serve just peachy on a orange tip on hyrominder 506 shows and smells great

while were at it on my presoak hyro506 I run presoak at white tip with my reps soap and the secret and sauce and get the same results
any magical presoaks out there actually running on a yellow tip, most are usually 60:1 but thers no cleaning or show
 
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Greg Pack

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It is somewhat refreshing to see some operators FINALLY realizing the touchless machines simply do not clean all that well. Think about this. Many of the machines you see at gas stations are touchless and no one, repeat, no one, takes care of them as well as operators here. Just how well do you think those things are cleaning? People know this, and when they go by your wash, they see the same machine. I never have this issue with the Istobals that I sell.
Well, Mac although true that touch free can't clean everything that comes in they can clean the "regulars" just fine. There are still customers that insist on touch free. At one site I have a touch free and a combo machine, and overall site usage is still greater for the touch free. Having said that, if I was going to have one automatic only it would be a friction unit, provided all the local C stores didn't have them too. Touch frees do take work to optimize cleaning- I can't imagine a c store managing one properly.
 

mac

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Greg you are right on about C store touchless washes. They get serviced maybe twice a month by someone that has to do 8 or 10 more that day.
 

washnshine

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Operators comment on white or black cars with film left after a tf wash, but that only means it is more visible on those colors, and they are leaving film on all cars. The same soil doesn’t clean differently on different colors.

I no longer have any tf machines, but a quick wipe on the hood, fender or rocker area with a light colored towel after a wash will remove some level of film most of the time.

I know some customers want tf and it is good that they can be served by the quality operators on this forum who tweak their chemistry to maximize tf effectiveness.

I have problem areas on some cars with friction, but in my opinion customers tend to be more forgiving/understanding when there is an obvious recessed or awkward area that was missed, which is what you can see from time to time with friction. When I had tf machines, it was harder to explain to a customer why a widespread area of a car had a haze of film on it.

But if you are cleaning tf and have happy repeat customers - keep doin’ it!!

Happy Thankagiving to all!
 

APW

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I would love to have friction machines, but then I would have to have an attendant. I asked a fellow operator in another town that installed a friction machine the first of the year how they liked the machine and if they had any damage claims. She said they've had several people with fishing poles hanging out the back get caught up in their wraps, several people claim it left swirl marks, and one guy with a whip antenna that got his truck beat to pieces. She still said they loved the machine and are glad they bought it. There are pros and cons to both. My next site I plan to build will be dual automatics. One touch free and one friction.
 

OurTown

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I asked a fellow operator in another town that installed a friction machine the first of the year how they liked the machine and if they had any damage claims. She said they've had several people with fishing poles hanging out the back get caught up in their wraps, several people claim it left swirl marks, and one guy with a whip antenna that got his truck beat to pieces. She still said they loved the machine and are glad they bought it.
What machine did they buy?
 
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