New AVW Wraps taking off license plates...is there a solution?

[ECW]

I am the GM for a car wash (conveyor system) where we installed new AVW blue cloth wraps. Unfortunately, the wraps keeping ripping off front license plates and rear trailer hitch plugs. I have adjusted the air assist to keep the pressure off the vehicle but it becomes a fine line between washing and not effectively washing the vehicles and pulling off plates and plugs. Does anyone have a solution to this crisis? How do I keep this from happening...help?

 

[Earl Weiss]

I don't know if there is a solution. A lot of vehicles have a crummy front plate mount. Couple that with how they are positioned and getting wacked while parallel parking and it's a problem. Erie Brush sells a stiff steal backing plate which will not bend if securely mounted.

You can also make sure the plate level cloth section is single ply with the double ply above it. Another solution might be to replace that level with foam. Have tried to get a brush mfgr to make a filament section that would slide into the C Channel. I wanted that for better wheel cleaning.

So far no luck. Instead the core would have to be in 2 sections.

 

[briteauto]

The cloth is so heavy when wet, it is tough to prevent this. Most tunnel operators I know have gone with foam wraps, or if they use cloth exclusively, they have pulled them back and wash fronts/backs by hand.

 

[MEP001]

Some of the plate mounts are so crummy that our touchless has knocked off a half dozen of them in the last nine years.

 

[robert roman]

My suggestion is to start at the beginning and look for the root cause.

First of all, was the wrap installed by someone with sufficient experience with AVW equipment?

Besides air assist, some wraps have a pivot adjustment that changes the angle of attack, like an airplane climbing to altitude.

Rotational speed is crucial with soft-cloth brushes. Set too slow, less horsepower is applied to surface and less cleaning occurs. Set too fast, more horsepower is applied (greater friction) but the incident of damage tends to increase.

Lubricity is also crucial with soft-cloth brushes. If wraps aren’t properly lubricated, this tends to increase the incident of damage. Best practice is to apply a mild soap solution to wraps while spinning.

A proven alternative to wraps equipped with soft-cloth is foam brushes. Foam is closed-cell and does not absorb water. Thus, foam can rotate much faster than cloth thereby applying more horsepower and accomplishing more work in the same amount of time.

Foam strips will usually break off before car parts will.

Moreover, foam brushes have been shown to brighten/shine the paint as it cleans.

 

[Earl Weiss]

My suggestion is to start at the beginning and look for the root cause.

.

The root cause is crummy often already damaged over exposed front plate mounts.

I have the same issues with hodge and Belanger wraps filament too, as well as AVW.

On another vein the row of cloth at plate height could skip every other row.

 

[ECW]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!!! Much appreciated!

 

[JMMUSTANG]

The root cause is crummy often already damaged over exposed front plate mounts.

I have the same issues with hodge and Belanger wraps filament too, as well as AVW.

On another vein the row of cloth at plate height could skip every other row.

I had the same problem.
Started using Foamy Lube on my wraps, running rpms slower and not as tight against the car. It helps a lot but still have a few come off once in a while.
Thinking about trimming the cloth hitting the license plates. What do you think?

 

[Earl Weiss]

I had the same problem.

Thinking about trimming the cloth hitting the license plates. What do you think?

BVy trimming do you mean making it a little shorter at that level? Mine tend to wear in an hourglass shape over time anyway.

I would remove every third row or every other rown at that level and see how that works. ASlso, over time cloth becomes more "limp" so that might help as well.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Yes I thinking about cutting them shorter.
Have you tried removing every third row or every other row?

 

[Earl Weiss]

Yes I thinking about cutting them shorter.
Have you tried removing every third row or every other row?

Since the wraps are new and cloth gets more limp over time and this section tends to wear, On my Older units I don't think I am having as much as an issue. Make sure the 2 ply cloth row is installed above this level. Top level of bottom portion is good.

I don't have exact percentages, but if 1/10 of 1% of the cars washed (1/1000) or less have an issue the problem is most likely with the car, not the equipment.

 

[briteauto]

You can also retract them enough so the core is not aligned with the center of the vehicle, but rather about 50% off center to either side. You will still get cloth coverage over the center (providing your cloth is not too short), but it will not overlap with the opposing brush and will be less aggressive on flimsy license mounts .

This can be a decent compromise to a full retract and possibly coupled with many of the good suggestions offered by others.

 

[DixieCarWash]

At the wash I worked at we adjusted the wrap offset. Basically they wouldn't meet in the center. For that the mitters handled the front well. Also check the PSI on your air cylinders. Chances are they're applying too much pressure as mentioned by JMMUSTANG.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Also check the PSI on your air cylinders. Chances are they're applying too much pressure as mentioned by JMMUSTANG.

FWIW I have 4 sets of AVW wraps operating at 3 locations. None have air cyinders.

Pressure is controlled by angle set and Spring loaded shocks. They are all set to cover entire front and rear.

 

[Washmee]

FWIW I have 4 sets of AVW wraps operating at 3 locations. None have air cyinders.

Pressure is controlled by angle set and Spring loaded shocks. They are all set to cover entire front and rear.

Does Illinois have front license plates?

 

[Earl Weiss]

Does Illinois have front license plates?

Yes, sadly

 

[DixieCarWash]

FWIW I have 4 sets of AVW wraps operating at 3 locations. None have air cyinders.

Pressure is controlled by angle set and Spring loaded shocks. They are all set to cover entire front and rear.

So I visited the site again and air cylinders are optional. Which in the case of the original post is unknown. If the standard shocks are used the tention maybe a bit high.

My advice would be to take a day early in the morning or after closing use a spring scale and measure the tention on the wraps. If I can recall the wraps need to apply a pressure of 15lbs. Am I correct? Then make adjustments if possible.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I think most of the AVW air cylinder setups are for the retracts. They should not affect the pressure on the front of the car. I guess they could if something was not right.

Tom Hoffman has this "Vaughn Enhancement" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToZJpUJ11JE

You could contact him and check his results vis a vis license plate issues.

 

[DixieCarWash]

I think most of the AVW air cylinder setups are for the retracts. They should not affect the pressure on the front of the car. I guess they could if something was not right.

Tom Hoffman has this "Vaughn Enhancement" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToZJpUJ11JE

You could contact him and check his results vis a vis license plate issues.

I just sent him an email.

AVW invented the wrap around right?

 

[Earl Weiss]

I just sent him an email.

AVW invented the wrap around right?

Wraps were around before AVW which started in 1973. My Hodge wraps may be older than this!

Anyway, while their site has something title "AVW Invented the Wrap-Arounds
" It then says "A.V.W. Equipment Company re-invented and perfected"

I don't know if they were the first to use the "Pendulum Style".