3x foam polish or detergent & pricing

[soonermajic]

What would be best: 3x foam conditioner, detergent or polish, applied before your Rain X, Weather X, Storm Shield etc...?

Also, what is the cheapest 3x foam out there? I can't find where this stuff does anything except let us add $1 or $2 upcharge.

 

[BBE]

if the 3x foam is conditioner then no it doesn't really do much other than look very colorful. If it's a polish though it will get the car starting to break before it even gets to the drying agent/hot wax etc.. polishes aren't as vibrant though...

 

[washnshine]

BBE is correct.

Especially if you are going to apply a super sealer or hot wax, the polish product is totally unnecessary. Rain X, hot wax, etc, bead a car very well - as good as anything we have now, and applying a triple foam before them will not make a difference.

IMHO, tri foams are obsolete with the chemistry we have today in the lava products and hot wax. Problem is that there are probably not too may operators who can start removing services and expect to charge the same amount for their wash packages. We have offered it for years and hang on to it because it is a service customers are used to seeing.

 

[soonermajic]

I have an IBA, & offer RainX as a hp rinse, immediately after the 3x foam. However, my customers really like the 3x foam. I know it does nothing, but am looming cor the smartest & cheapest 3x foam, to be added just b4 the Rain up rinse. That is followed by SFR & Dryers

 

[soonermajic]

Any ideas on 3x foam, just before hp RainX rinse? Get 3x foam detergent, conditioner, or what? I only want color & smell...& cheap! LOL

 

[Greg Pack]

Detergents and cheap foamers are usually anionic, and waxes/CCPs are cationic. Theoretically they don't play very well when applied directly on top of one another. I prefer to use foaming wax products from the same manufacturer of the premium CCP, A lot of manufactures have a line of products designed to compliment each other.

I will continue to offer polish. My signs say it's a polish. IMO To give them colored foam is not ethical if its being advertised and sold as a polish.

 

[carwashireland]

You will struggle getting a coloured foam as a detergent. When the dye is mixed with alkaline it massively reduces the colour. So if it says "colored detergent" its crap. The product would have zero cleaning ability and only used for lubricating brushes.

 

[robert roman]

Do the consumer a favor. Be different and quit fooling them that the tri-foam you sell contains more than soap and maybe a little silicon.

I started polishing cars over 40 years ago. Polishing requires an abrasive. There are no abrasives in tri-foam. Same goes for conditioner. It’s a play on words.

I can say I’m conditioning my car by first spraying water on it to wet surface, big deal.

“….it is a service customers are used to seeing.”

Motorists in the N.E. are used to seeing a lot of potholes too. That doesn’t make it right.

I’ve never seen tri-foam sold in auto parts store or used by other types of vehicle washes.

Quite frankly, brush material in use today (foam, micro) alone does more to shine surfaces than chemical like tri-foam does. Every wash selection comes with brushes.

 

[soonermajic]

Robert, I'm not sure if you know this or not, but My IBA is a touchless. That means there are no brushes.
Once again, as the thread states: I am looking for the best idea to use on my 3x foam, which is applied right before hp RainX rinse. Followed by SFR then dryers.
Anybody have some good advice on this.

 

[carwashireland]

Yep. Scrap the tri foam and add lights to color the foam. Easier and faster to rinse, less chemicals and a better show!

 

[PEI]

The JBS Glowfoam shows extremely well, has a strong cherry scent, doesn't stain, and is very affordable. It is a conditioner not a polish. I highly recommend it for what you are looking for.

 

[robert roman]

Bottle of hair conditioner has contents label. Do a little research and you can gain some understanding of how conditioner works based on its ingredients.

“It is a conditioner not a polish.”

Ingredients in related SDS are ethanol, 2-butoxy, ammonium salt, and surfactant.

Can you back up your claim or can someone else please explain to me how this product actually “conditions” a car?

As for touch-less, I agree. Dump tri-foam for single foam and light show.

 

[PEI]

Conditioner does not condition the vehicle. The term is an industry specific term. It is strictly for show and can be used to help get a higher price for a wash. Soap companies are the ones that name products as conditioner or polish. Neither does what the name implies, but this is a forum for insiders who know that.

While we are primarily in the business of selling clean, shiny and dry, we also are selling an experience. A successful car wash generates an emotional response in the customer. The emotion is what converts someone from being just a customer into being a fan. This response comes from not only a clean car, but from the smell and visual that is experienced in the bay.

In full disclosure, I do not personally use 3x foam, instead I offer a colored foaming product that helps to break water from the vehicle. My soap company calls this product a polish. That said, what was asked was what was an inexpensive 3x foaming product. That is what I answered.

 

[PEI]

Soonermajic, if you don't want to call your 3x foam a conditioner or polish, then with Glow Foam you can put up black lights and just call it Glow Foam. The product glows under black light making the color even more vibrant. Just a suggestion.

 

[soonermajic]

PE I, that is an excellent idea!
I was just looming cornadvice, on what might work "better before my go RainX rinse.: 3x detergent, 3x polish, 3x conditioner, & which would have the strongest smell & brightest color. If it would help the process somewhat,that is a bonus.

 

[kentadel]

I mix a little blendco hph (1-2 drops alkaline) in with my tri foam conditioner. Still get great color and coverage. Do the same with the foam brush in self service.

 

[water guy]

Wow Incredible

 

[carwashireland]

Sooner what machine is this?

 

[soonermajic]

LaserWash 4000