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Effective SS Presoak

washnshine

washnshine

Well-known member
I’ve been looking for a self serve presoak that has some cleaning power so that customers who choose, can actually get a simulated touch free wash by hand if they prefer and their vehicle condition warrants a wash that doesn’t need a hard scrubbing. Putting it in the hands of the customer, I don’t want anything corrosive and I also don’t want to just water something down to make it safe. I figured that it does not need the potency of what a touch free IBA may need because customers can go over a troubled spot, add more chemical, dwell a little longer, get closer with the hp gun etc. I’m wondering if this will work or if anyone has something similar. It has a pH of 12, uses sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) but is non corrosive and not DOT regulated as such.

 
washnshine said:
I’ve been looking for a self serve presoak that has some cleaning power so that customers who choose, can actually get a simulated touch free wash by hand if they prefer and their vehicle condition warrants a wash that doesn’t need a hard scrubbing. Putting it in the hands of the customer, I don’t want anything corrosive and I also don’t want to just water something down to make it safe. I figured that it does not need the potency of what a touch free IBA may need because customers can go over a troubled spot, add more chemical, dwell a little longer, get closer with the hp gun etc. I’m wondering if this will work or if anyone has something similar. It has a pH of 12, uses sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) but is non corrosive and not DOT regulated as such.

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Sodium Hydroxide is corrosive.
 
OurTown said:
Sodium Hydroxide is corrosive.
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Yes - the substance itself is, but depending on the concentration of it in the total presoak, as well as other substances, some presoaks are deemed corrosive and some not. It’s how strong the percentage is. There is sodium hydroxide and lye in soaps we use for personal hygiene, but concentration is key and that is what makes them safe on skin.

If the chemical is labeled corrosive for the DOT category 8 and the shipper has to charge the hazardous material fee, that is a different level than if the chemical is not in that class.

I have had ph neutral mitter and wrap lubricating soaps that have sodium hydroxide in them- this is used as a pH neutralizer in smaller quantities, and the detergent itself is nowhere near corrosive as it exists as a whole chemical.
 
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I use JBS Storm. I does need the HazMat shipping but it is very concentrated so it lasts a long time at a busy SS location.
Don’t tho k this product or any product will give you the touchless in a SS bay effect that you’re looking for. The impingement for a SS bay just isn’t the same
 
We use National Automotive Chemical's "Stars" for our SS presoak and our IBA. It works very well on both. We buy it direct from them and it doesn't look like KR sells it.
 
Earl Weiss said:
You have to exercise caution if using any product that can be harmful to a car's finish, Skin or eyes when the customer using it as opposed to a tunnel or IBA.
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There is some risk to that of course. Letting the general public have unguided 24/7 access to a pressure washer seems dangerous to me but nobody seems to talk about that.
 
Kleen trac 3 works well. Right now it's all system polymer. My test is pre soak, high pressure wax jbs ceramic spot free let it air dry. Windows, mirrors tip for clean &spot free. An when it rains you notice , don't need wipers.
 
I often use my touch free presoak, just at a weaker solution. Cleans much better than most SS presoaks and have had no issues. I often do the same thing with my tire clean, I just add a green dye. Been doing that twenty years or longer and have had no real issues.
 
OurTown said:
There is some risk to that of course. Letting the general public have unguided 24/7 access to a pressure washer seems dangerous to me but nobody seems to talk about that.
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Perhaps because by limiting the pressure to a certain amount we reduce the potential risks.
 
I've been having good luck with the Kleen Rite Summer Breeze (5 gallon, not the ultra concentrate one linked above) delivered through low pressure lines and a splatter gun. People seem to get a kick out of using the foam gun, the presoak seems to cut through a lot of our road grime and oil, and it takes 2-3 minutes for them to coat the car so it bumps the in-bay time a bit.
 
DJWashCo said:
I've been having good luck with the Kleen Rite Summer Breeze (5 gallon, not the ultra concentrate one linked above) delivered through low pressure lines and a splatter gun. People seem to get a kick out of using the foam gun, the presoak seems to cut through a lot of our road grime and oil, and it takes 2-3 minutes for them to coat the car so it bumps the in-bay time a bit.
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Summer breeze is the complete opposite of an effective presoak, it does basically nothing. It's foam, color, and scent
 
Keno said:
Summer breeze is the complete opposite of an effective presoak, it does basically nothing. It's foam, color, and scent
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Hasn't been my experience so far, but you do you...

It clings and drags, which is what you would expect. Coming from the professional detail world it behaves very similar to other cannon applied soaps.
 
We used summer breeze for several years, as soon as i switched to McClean, and by that im saying the next day, customers were asking what we changed as the chemicals were leaving cars cleaner. We switched the Tire Cleaner as well to McClean. It is a dual chemical setup but i like the fact that i can adjust strength and suds independently based on the seasons to help give that little extra punch.
 
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