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Chemicals for Touchless Automatics

W

washregal

Member
To wash a car is one thing to clean a car is another - Looking at a couple of products the Assure line - (Zep) and the Lustra line - What is the general consensus when it comes to cleaning on touch-less automatics? Does anyone have a preference?
 
I have tried, and continue to try different company's chemicals. I still like and use Blendco for touch-less performance.
 
There is no one answer for touchless. Every region of the country has different challenges. You might have to try several before you find one that really works for your soils. Blendco is good but expensive if you don't have direct pricing. Different times of the year will also change what chemicals you have to use. Zep/amor all line works pretty well also. I have a good formula that works from me with chemicals from Kleenrite.
 
We have a distributor that really pushes Lustra. Thoughts on them...?
Quest has gotten a lot of pub on here, past couple of years. However, there is NOBODY in the middle of the US who sells that.
 
In looking at a new IBA - all these distributors push different product - I will most likely start with the distributor I go with and try there product for Free with the new unit.. Either Listra or Assure at this point - Blendco however is high on the list - I used to buy direct from Blendco years ago - now it seems they are forcing me through distribution - not that happy about that.

What I have found in this entire experience is you cant always get what you want.. but you find sometimes - that you get what you need.. Hey does that sound familiar.. I really wish that there was a distributor out there that would offer me exactly what I want - wouldn't that be something.. Other than KR - it is really hard to build that partnership in this business IMO!
 
I wonder if there was a good / Better / Best comparison ever done on chemicals put to use for Touchless IBA inverted L machines?
 
I will say that in my area of the country, nothing cleans film as well as an alkaline presoak that is "boosted" by an alkaline builder. This has to be mixed at the point of dilution. You use two different containers, as the mixture is too strong to stay is solution as a one bucket product. I use hydrominders and dual tip eductors.

Blendco is very good at that system but as mentioned can be pricey. If you don't want to educate yourself and spend time learning then a Blendco distributor has the tools to clean. Quest, Warsaw, and Qualchem can also boost. I'm sure there are others. I can homebrew with bulk industrial chemicals for cheap but many people aren't willing to do that.
 
I have been saying alkaline booster injected for a very long time on the form(dual injector on one pass) mail order soap doesn't even offer that and it's not cheap but last. It's the only way to get touchless to clean really good. I use Quest myself. Greg glad to finally see someone else say this besides myself. Thumbs up.
 
I also use dual tip injectors. I use the Kleenrite version of Blendco system. I use a powder mixed in one barrel and a liquid surfactant/booster from another barrel. I use flow meters to control the flow of each rather than tips in the injectors. I can see how much flow of each chemical I am getting and can adjust it very easily. One thing no one ever seems to mention is doing a titration test or PH test at the car to make sure you have the proper amount of presoak. When I had Blendco they tried to get a titration of at least 18 drops using their titration Kit. Blue Coral liked 12 drops or more using their titration kit. I think their drops were a little more concentrated. I found over the years that the Simoniz high PH titration kit that Kleenrite sells is about the same as Blendcos. The kit is only $15.75 and I would recommend that every operator at least buy this kit so you can do comparison tests between soaps. What ever soap you use try to get at least 15 drops or more with this simoniz/Kleenrite kit. ( I like 18 drops or more) Some people use a PH tester which is not a exact but can be helpful. Generally for a High PH solution a reading of 11.5 or higher is needed for cleaning in my area.
 
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