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LW not getting all 3x foam rinsed off

S

soonermajic

Well-known member
I have a 12 yr old LW 4000. Many times on Large trucks, Tahoes, & Suburbans, it does not rinse off all the soap (mainly 3x foam). Any ideas from your guys...?
 
that's what I do. Often times, there is a streak down the middle , that does NOT get rinsed off completely. Very frustrating to the customer, & in turn, me.
 
hey coach,
My machine is set up with one pass of medium pressure after the 3x foam, then spot free.

on mine, i run the 3x on the "wet" side. it helps pretty good but it almost always leaves some foam on the drivers side mirror. It does the rest of the car fine. Mine also does not get off all the foam on the larger vehicles or patrol cars with lights on top.

If you run 2 medium pressure passes it does great but that costs too much for me
 
If it's in the middle of the vehicle, then it sounds like a coverage issue. Perhaps use a wider angle tip on the end of the arm? Does a LW4000 have a rain arch? If so add a pass of rinse water to get that middle section.
 
Agree w/ Jeff. Put a wider tip on 1st one, then slow down the speed on the rinse pass and spot free pass. Speed up the 3x pass to put less TF on the vehicle. Anything that have the rain shields its about impossible to get all of it off. I always tell people with a touchfree its always best to towel dry after wash.
 
Pretty simple in your case... Don't put so much foam on.

Heres some options to work with. 1- speed up the trifoam pass speed 2- Make it runnier by turning down the air and 3 - Increase dilution to the point the colors arent so strong but strong enough. This will have less sudsing and be easier to rinse. .

Even at full speed it still puts on the show and rinses off which is the most important.

Which one or combination of these things you do is all in trial and error, try the easiest and work from there.

You'll have to adjust as you go.
 
I would rather increase the air and cut back the dilution and water but not enough to drastically reduce the show. Lighter, airier foam should rinse easier than heavier, watery foam. It also tends to stay out of cracks or hard to get areas.
 
how bout an hp wax pass after foam then an hp rinse? wax dissipates suds real well

btw; i worked at a car wash before having mine built and the #1 complaint we got at the location with laser G5's was 'unrinsed'. LW 4000's did not have this complaint..
 
Rather than an additional wax pass substituting some Foaming Clear Coat Protectant for one of your trifoams should work. A Foaming Clear Coat Protectant dissipates on its own and should help remove the other two foams.
 
soonermajic said:
that's what I do. Often times, there is a streak down the middle , that does NOT get rinsed off completely. Very frustrating to the customer, & in turn, me.
Click to expand...

Shoot, does your machine have a distance from vehicle setting? Sounds like the arm could be too far from the side of the vehicle.

My Ryko is set at 19", it gets full coverage on the cars and clears the big extended truck mirrors like f250s and duallys.

Then to clarify, is this trifoam wax or detergent? Wax is typical in touchless.

I also hp after trifoam for sure.
 
why don't you just do away with the Pods and run through the spray arch only that's what I done and it covers the car better and rinses better and shines better with a polish instead of Tri color conditioner it also cut my cost way down. I use water saver with carnuba wax then followed with spot free for a premium wash. Many operators I know have done this. I also got tired of switching back and forth from spring/PODS to winter mode/spray arch. Try it see what you think.
 
It sounds like your LW4000 isn't sizing the vehicles correctly. If you are using a Virtual Treadle then you need to check your ultrasonics to make sure they work and are calibrated and the distance from the vehicle is properly set. If you are using a Treadle plate then you need to check the measure eye and reflector to make sure the eye is reading correctly. You should get a minimum of a 2 inch overlap down the middle of the vehicle on all of your spray arm passes. If you have done all of this and you still aren't getting the overlap due to forcing the laser wide for mirrors then you can take the nozzle farthest out on the upper spray arm and use two 90 degree street elbows to move it about 2.5 inches further out.

A note on the chemical, if you are using a conditioner then you will need to slow the rinse pass down to no more than a Speed 5 with the water saver on. Conditioners show better and cost less, but they are basically soaps so they cling more and are harder to rinse off. If you use a polish it is more expensive but can usually be removed at Speed 9 with the water saver on. I prefer the polish, but if you want to use a conditioner look for a low pH version. This will improve your drying.
 
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