High Pressure before Presoak

[TunnelVision3000]

Anticipating several points of view on this question but it is still a question for many. Perhaps it makes sense in some areas with harsh winters, salt, sand etc. but I still continue to avoid if possible. Rinsing the car with High Pressure water at the beginning of the tunnel before the wash process? I have seen 100's and 100's of tunnel washes. Some have HP up front, "Most" do not....

Here are some points:
-Covering your vehicle with that much water right up front will Dilute your presoak so it will not be as effective.
-Knocking dirt and sand off sides of car in the winter but what about the summer months when that is not a problem?
-Side blasters or complete arch? tops of vehicles usually are not covered in the same "mung" that the sides are covered in.
-Lots of misting generated up front can create some problems.
-Reclaim? Fresh?
-Perhaps a seasonal application only?

 

[Earl Weiss]

I installed manifold at a couple of washes. (At one I just ran the hose that was for prep guns to it) with nozzle top center and one at each top corner down at 45 degree angle. Loader can turn it on for vehicles that need it.

 

[TunnelVision3000]

Hmm OK so more or less for use only when needed. Not for every car. That is what I am thinking up here in Canada also.

Thank You Earl for your reply.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Hmm OK so more or less for use only when needed. Not for every car.

I had a place with HP for every car. There was a significant extra cost for water and electricity. (Plus cost of Pump and motor maintenance and replacement) If you have a reclaim system that can produce water quality to a level where it can be used for HP, then the water cost will be nominal.

 

[washnshine]

Good topic that I have thought about before.

Another thing that matters is what your “Presoak” is. I usually think of Presoaks as for touchless washing, where you would apply them to the car and then hp wash off. Generally with pretty high and/or low pH’s. If that is the case, then it is best not to dilute with water before - IMHO.

If you are a friction tunnel and are using a fairly neutral lubricating soap I don’t think water on the car before will make much of a difference either way. The foam/cloth and soap will do the bulk of the work anyway.
I am in the northeast and hand prep with hp guns because we get heavy snow/salt ice , sand and mud that I do not want dragging into my wash material. In the summer it lets me get rid of bugs and bird droppings that are stubborn. Also let’s me cool wheels a bit before putting strong cleaners on them.

I guess what I am saying is that if you are using a strong detergent and relying on it heavily for cleaning, the water on the car will make a bigger difference than if you have a milder detergent and plenty of friction.
Lots of friction tunnels I see now have hp towards the end of the tunnel to help rinse all the foam that is put on cars these days- yet another school of thought.

 

[TunnelVision3000]

Good topic that I have thought about before.

Another thing that matters is what your “Presoak” is. I usually think of Presoaks as for touchless washing, where you would apply them to the car and then hp wash off. Generally with pretty high and/or low pH’s. If that is the case, then it is best not to dilute with water before - IMHO.

If you are a friction tunnel and are using a fairly neutral lubricating soap I don’t think water on the car before will make much of a difference either way. The foam/cloth and soap will do the bulk of the work anyway.
I am in the northeast and hand prep with hp guns because we get heavy snow/salt ice , sand and mud that I do not want dragging into my wash material. In the summer it lets me get rid of bugs and bird droppings that are stubborn. Also let’s me cool wheels a bit before putting strong cleaners on them.

I guess what I am saying is that if you are using a strong detergent and relying on it heavily for cleaning, the water on the car will make a bigger difference than if you have a milder detergent and plenty of friction.
Lots of friction tunnels I see now have hp towards the end of the tunnel to help rinse all the foam that is put on cars these days- yet another school of thought.

Good Stuff washnshine…., I think we are on the same page. I see the new friction cleaning especially with closed cell foam requiring a very thoughtful chemical strategy because the foam touch is very gentle. It basically just tickles off what the chemicals are breaking down. I see cars come out of tunnels using the foam and you can often see the finger marks on the sides under mirrors an in the license box (rear) area. You really need to make sure you get good pre soak coverage (front, back especially) and some HP towards the end. I also tend to look at the tunnel in sections. Wash Section - Rinse - Polish area with friction and wax based products and then final applications, sealer/dry agent - spot free and dry. Starting with Higher alkaline up front and lowering the PH as you get towards the end of the tunnel. More or less that type of layout.

 

[chadrpalmer]

My optimal wash:

bug remover
alkaline presoak
grill brush
reclaim hp
acid
friction
polish, wax, etc
rinsing
blowers

 

[TunnelVision3000]

My optimal wash:

bug remover
alkaline presoak
grill brush
reclaim hp
acid
friction
polish, wax, etc
rinsing
blowers

Where are you located, what is your weather like?

 

[br549ms]

We use foam brushes, no mitters. We have no problems cleaning cars. I believe the two most important steps are:
1 - a good hi ph pre-soak a must.
2 - plenty of water to help lubricate the brushes. Can be reject on all brushes or even reclaim on first brush group.

 

[TunnelVision3000]

We use foam brushes, no mitters. We have no problems cleaning cars. I believe the two most important steps are:
1 - a good hi ph pre-soak a must.
2 - plenty of water to help lubricate the brushes. Can be reject on all brushes or even reclaim on first brush group.

Yep, typically how I like to see it. Reclaim water on the brushes works as there is typically a little bit of lubricity which is really important when using foam washing media especially on the wraps..

 

[chadrpalmer]

Where are you located, what is your weather like?

Kansas City....so all types of weather, lol.

 

[Jeff_L]

Check with your chemical supplier, they usually have a chemist on staff who can give you an opinion.

I would suggest hitting a dry car with low pressure pre-soak. If the car is wet first, you could be deleting your pre-soak more and it will be less likely to stick to the vehicle and just run off. However, extremely dirty/muddy cars do come in, so now you have to make a choice. Pre-soak most likely won’t cut through it, so you would need to knock off the heavy stuff, then apply pre-soak.

 

[br549ms]

We do not wash extremely muddy vehicles. We do wash extremely dirty vehicles (road film, tree sap, etc.....) but try to cull the mud swampers. it takes a little while, but the finally get the word out you do not let them in. If you have self prep station, they will fill them with mud. They will fill your pits with mud. When all the mud does not come off, they will try to vacuum it up with the free vacs. I had one guy give us a bad review for this and immediately about 20 of my customers bashed him, stating they were glad we did not take the mud vehicles in. if you do not get a extremely dirty vehicle clean, run them back through after they use the self prep scrub downs.

We put on bug spray when needed, it is fairly wet. Train you attendants to only put it on the bugs and the low pre-soak will work. We have applicator on the entry arch (sign) that can spray the front and give a few more seconds to soak on the bugs, works good.