Tri-Gloss in SS Bays - Is it worth it?

[Andy]

Anyone have tri-gloss in their SS bays? Are customers using it? I'm trying to figure out if it's worth getting for my new wash.

Thanks.

 

[bigleo48]

Hey Andy,

That's been covered many times over, including what kind to get. You can search for it and read through them. IMHO, if you want all the options, yes, but ROI could take years. So I would first invest in other more utilized options, such as presoak, tire cleaner, spot-free rinse, air-shammee, shampoo vacs, glass front vender or even a petwash.

BigLeo

 

[Waxman]

I think it would make the bays way too slippery.

 

[Gabriel]

I am afraid there is not much glitz in this economy. Run a clean shop and build customer loyalty. That is my investment idea of the day.

 

[rph9168]

If you are building a brand new wash or financing a renovation I think a tri foam gun is a good idea. Customers seem to like it and if it is working right it takes a lot of water to rinse off the foam. To add it to an existing wash out of pocket as another function I would consider the ROI on one. They are fairly expensive as an add on and the chemical cost is a little more than some of the other functions already described.

 

[MEP001]

A great many of our customers use the tri-foam gun, probably one in five. I run the Simoniz product with a UV protection, cost is $65 per 5 gallon pail, three of which lasts about 8 months. It's not a wax or a soap, so the floor doesn't get slippery. When customers have their kids with them, the kids will beg and plead to see it applied to the car because of the show (I programmed a PLC to overlap the three colors so I get red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, back to red). I set the chemical a little on the generous side which means more rinsing. Yes, the system is expensive, but the payoff is well worth it.

 

[coincarwash.ca]

I also use the triple foam polish. I use the Kleen-Rite chemicals and it works great. It rinses off quickly, so customers like it. It comes out like shaving cream and smells like cherry and it's contageous......other customers see it in use and they have to use it. The ladies and the kids love it.
Many customers comment on it and said they have never seen it before.
I would not build another without.

 

[Ric]

I also use the triple foam polish. I use the Kleen-Rite chemicals and it works great. It rinses off quickly, so customers like it. It comes out like shaving cream and smells like cherry and it's contageous......other customers see it in use and they have to use it. The ladies and the kids love it.
Many customers comment on it and said they have never seen it before.
I would not build another without.

I see your in Canada. How does it do for you in the winter months? What type of freeze protection do you use?

 

[coincarwash.ca]

During the winter it doesn't get that much use, but on sunny days in the winter it gets used quite a bit. I run it through my weepmiser....uses quite a bit of weep water because of the size of the gun hole.

 

[MEP001]

I don't bother with a freeze protection on it here - we get very few freezing days, and when it's that cold all they use is high pressure anyway.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Would it be that hard to build your own pumping station for tri-foam? What would be involved in doing it?

 

[MEP001]

The only part that's remotely complicated is the controller. I've built about 50 systems using a PLC for switching the colors, but you can buy a timer that switches between three colors. Cost is the same. There's the usual pair of solenoids for each bay, three tanks, a pump and three solenoids to feed it chemical. I've used both Flojet and Procon pumps, and the changeover time between colors is about the same. In theory you could save the three tanks and use three Dosatron or similar pumps.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

What are the benefits of using a PLC versus a timer? I already have a three tank setup and the solenoids, so I basically just need to figure out how to do the color changeover.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Anyone have tri-gloss in their SS bays? Are customers using it? I'm trying to figure out if it's worth getting for my new wash.

Thanks.

I've had tri gloss for 6 yrs. If I had the chance to do it over I would have installed dryers in each bay.
The 3-5 gallon buckets last me almost one year.
The people that do use it like it though. Getting the rest to use it is a challenge.

 

[soapy]

I switched my trifoam systems out to dispense RainX in the bays instead. I was not getting much use of the trifoam. You can buy systems from Kleenrite or Etowah valley for not much money if you want to add trifoam.

 

[MEP001]

What are the benefits of using a PLC versus a timer?

Only the programmability. The timers I've seen don't overlap the colors at all, so you only get 3, and seems like it might briefly cavitate a Procon pump. I set up one system for someone who only wanted 3 colors, and I delayed the pump for one second to prevent it pulsing on and off when the knob was spun past it, plus overlapped the change by a tenth of a second, all to protect the pump/motor. It may have been overkill, but it couldn't hurt and cost nothing extra.

I also set the color rotation to run all the time in the background, whereas the timers always start on the first input which means you'll use more of one color than the rest.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Soapy any better luck with the Rain-X?
I hadn't thought about switching over to Rain-X.