Buff and Dry?

[pjhuzz]

Anyone have any input on the new equipment to dry cars better, like the buff and dry system from Sonny's or
Peco's shammy curtain or how about Hanna's Gleam Machine...
Are customers excited by these additions to your wash?
Assuming they are an added service, is it hard to upsell?
Do you find them worth the money? They seem expensive.

 

[MC3033]

My experience is they don’t do a ton. I would only recommend putting one in if you think your customers are willing to pay extra for that special experience.

The cost, maintenance and tunnel space turn me off. Ive also never seen a buff and dry setup with less then 12 blowers, not sure if it really works with less blowers.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

MC3033 do you actually have one of these? If so which one.
I ask this because the operators I talked to down in Florida loved them.

 

[MC3033]

I do not have any. My experience comes from going through numerous washes with them as well as talking to a few operators

 

[JMMUSTANG]

I feel the same as you. My space is limited and for the cost I could add more vacs or something else.

 

[Dcpagejr]

I'm in Florida and would argue against installing one.
If your going to spend the money use it on a drying system that actually works, and use good chemistry.

 

[jfmoran]

Anyone have any input on the new equipment to dry cars better, like the buff and dry system from Sonny's or
Peco's shammy curtain or how about Hanna's Gleam Machine...
Are customers excited by these additions to your wash?
Assuming they are an added service, is it hard to upsell?
Do you find them worth the money? They seem expensive.

I operated two express exteriors with the Motor City Dry and Shine. We offered it in our top wash only. Customers loved it and yes you can charge a premium for it. If you have the space, I would put one in.

 

[washnshine]

It won’t actually add shine to a car, so the “buff” is a bit deceptive. I personably would stay away because not matter how clean your cars are coming out, the material will get dirty, and since it is not flushed with soap and water like Th a rest of the tunnel, it will stay dirty. And since it is contacting clean and (mostly) dry cars, that is not a good time to hit them with material that could be soiled.

 

[jfmoran]

It won’t actually add shine to a car, so the “buff” is a bit deceptive. I personably would stay away because not matter how clean your cars are coming out, the material will get dirty, and since it is not flushed with soap and water like Th a rest of the tunnel, it will stay dirty. And since it is contacting clean and (mostly) dry cars, that is not a good time to hit them with material that could be soiled.

The MCWW Dry and shine has a self-cleaning option that can be run daily in off hours. It sprays the cloth with water and laundry detergent and then beats cloth against a beater bar to dry it. In the two years I used them and 10's of thousands of cars washed we had no problems with cloth leaving and residue on cars. The bottom third of the cloth on the sides takes the most abuse and may need to be replaced annually (depending on volume). The Sonny's machine has the ability to integrate dryers into it, to dry the cloth, as well the cloth is attached by velcro and is easily removed for cleaning. It's recommended to buy a spare set of cloth and rotate regularly, always having one set of clean cloth.

 

[washnshine]

Good to know. Thanks for posting.

 

[Dcpagejr]

The MCWW Dry and shine has a self-cleaning option that can be run daily in off hours. It sprays the cloth with water and laundry detergent and then beats cloth against a beater bar to dry it. In the two years I used them and 10's of thousands of cars washed we had no problems with cloth leaving and residue on cars. The bottom third of the cloth on the sides takes the most abuse and may need to be replaced annually (depending on volume). The Sonny's machine has the ability to integrate dryers into it, to dry the cloth, as well the cloth is attached by velcro and is easily removed for cleaning. It's recommended to buy a spare set of cloth and rotate regularly, always having one set of clean cloth.

what chemistry are you using if you don't mind me asking?

 

[jfmoran]

what chemistry are you using if you don't mind me asking?

The sites I ran with the MCWW Dry and Shine were using Zep, with the exception of HotWax from Simoniz. You should be able to produce good results with the right dialed in chemistry and wash equipment.

 

[Dcpagejr]

You hit that on the head...
Right chem... and Dialed in right!
Too often operators go with cheap products and and over use at the end of the tunnel which as we know messes up cloth.

 

[jfmoran]

You hit that on the head...
Right chem... and Dialed in right!
Too often operators go with cheap products and and over use at the end of the tunnel which as we know messes up cloth.

Absolutely, you want to get a dry car? It all starts with the right chemistry. You can't dry a car that isn't clean and doesn't have the right surface PH going into the rinse and dry phase.

 

[CAR WASH GUY]

I do have Buff n Dry and it is very pricey, 40-50k for a new Buff n Dry Setup, but If you are willing to go the extra mile for an extra ticket price, then go ahead, it WILL ADD VALUE TO THE WASH.

 

[CAR WASH GUY]

I do also think that you should have Buff n Dry for the top 2 packages, in order to get a better value for the Customer