Tire shine machine help

[dewey9876]

I am looking to add a tire shine machine to my tunnel operation. I was looking into the new rotating sonnys machine but I decided not to go with the rotating brush because of added expense of hyd unit or electric service to operate the unit.

So I am looking at:
1. the sonnys/simonize with foam pads- (has some new improvements)
2. Motor city super shiner
3. Belanger Dura shiner

Thoughts and advice? Yes I have searched this subject just looking to get some new info.

Thanks in advance

 

[DavidM]

Are you adding tire shine as a new service or are your hoping to move a hand applied service online?
My experience has been that the automatic tire shiners will not satisfy customers who are used to having it done by hand.
I have a Sonny's/Simoniz with most (all?) of the upgrades that I would like to sell. It hasn't worked as well as we hoped.

David

 

[Earl Weiss]

Went to the vgas show a few years back and decided to try the Viper Shine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDnc0kToMtE&list=UU2oDMe1Aklko_tcNnsQJJaA&index=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDnc0kToMtE&list=UU2oDMe1Aklko_tcNnsQJJaA&index=9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIRDy2z_xn8&list=UU2oDMe1Aklko_tcNnsQJJaA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msw2Tc0WKis&list=UU2oDMe1Aklko_tcNnsQJJaA&index

After 6 months I bought machines for 3 more locations.

Upsides - No Moving parts. - Very little maintenance. (No pads or bearings) Once in a while a clogged jet. With 4 machines in place for several years I have now replaced a few of the floor switches which are off the shelf units available from Sonny's and KR, as well as 4 or 5 Solenoid valves. , No special electrical. Replaced a flo jet pump or two over the years.

Requires a 110 Volt live outlet for the PLC and a 110V controller activated source. (1 Function only for the machine but you'll need another function open for menu sign. Your tunnel sign can run off the same function and the machine. Costs about $10,000 less than the other machines.

Downside is 50 cents per car application. I have heard some people go as low as 10 cents per ar at high volume sales locations with other units where the pads stay moist. Also heard a couple raint days can cause issues with getting pads moist again. I know of 1 or two people who replaced the viper because of lower cost of application with other units but they were applying 20,000 a year. So, one or 2 used ones might be available.

 

[dewey9876]

This will be a new service.

Earl I must say when watching the video I was not that impressed with the coverage and what looks like inconsistency. BUT the final video of end results look great. Is there any wiping of the product after the wash? What product doe you use with that machine?

 

[iwashcars]

That's funny i was just about to post the same question. I'm looking to add a tire shiner to a site that has been doing hand applied tire shine forever. I went to look at a Belanger Durashiner last week and was not impressed. The product got all over the rims and left a them streaky. I'm not sure if they all do this as this is the only one I've ever seen in action. I'm going to look at the Sonny's/Simoniz one tomorrow. I'm trying to find the new Sonny's one but there are not any near me to look at..
Any feedback on either of the Sonny's ones would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Paul Vallario

 

[Washmee]

After 5 years of fiddling, adjusting, modifying and testing different products, I finally gave up last fall and removed my Sonny's tire shiners. No matter what I tried, my customers were never satisfied with the final results. If you are running an EE with no labor they might be good enough. If you have labor at the exit end you would be better off applying by hand. Since I went back to hand applied my sales are up by 50%.

 

[Earl Weiss]

This will be a new service.

Earl I must say when watching the video I was not that impressed with the coverage and what looks like inconsistency. BUT the final video of end results look great. Is there any wiping of the product after the wash? What product doe you use with that machine?

No wiping. Use the Viper Shine product. I kknow several guys with the belanger unit that use his product.

The key to the application is 4 pairs of jets each side. One in each pair hits bottom center and the other its about 15 degrees to the rear of bottom center. Uses about 1oz per tire. Applied to the wet tire and the roll distribues it.

I would not ever try to sell it to th guys with low profile - like one inch of rubber from the weheel to the ground - tires. But they are few and far between.

 

[my2cents]

By the time you replace foam pads in the course of a year or two, The hyd./elec needed for a rotating brush would be a push in cost. A bristle brush should last a number of years and give an excellent tire at about 2 oz. per car. Ive seen this on both a PECO , Macneil and Sonny's bristle brush with a relatively thick product. Don't be afraid of some initial cost for long term gain.

 

[newtunnel]

After 5 years of fiddling, adjusting, modifying and testing different products, I finally gave up last fall and removed my Sonny's tire shiners. No matter what I tried, my customers were never satisfied with the final results. If you are running an EE with no labor they might be good enough. If you have labor at the exit end you would be better off applying by hand. Since I went back to hand applied my sales are up by 50%.

I'm with you. Had the Belanger unit for three years then sold it. We also hand apply and customers now vist us because of the hand applied tire shine. No extra labor.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Maybe I am not as fussy as Newtunnel and Washmee, but when I read posts like this it just makes me happy that I have the Viper.

Yep, perhaps more cost per car than other units, but lower up front cost, much less maintenace cost, and about as eadache free as any piece of car wah equipment I have ever had.

 

[Dean Taylor]

If you have a water reclaim system, be sure any product you introduce for tire shine is compatible with your system. Some products are full of silicon and do not fair well with some reclaim systems.

 

[dewey9876]

If you have a water reclaim system, be sure any product you introduce for tire shine is compatible with your system. Some products are full of silicon and do not fair well with some reclaim systems.

Yes I do, The viper with the amount of product it uses scares me for this reason. Not sure if it is silicon based or not.

 

[Washmee]

At the carwash show last year I stopped by the Viper booth. They told me they don't even manufacture the system Earl uses anymore. Very low sales because it uses too much product.

 

[Dean Taylor]

There are some water based tire shiners that do a pretty good job and don't mess up the reclaim system.

 

[newtunnel]

Every time I see a tire machine in a tunnel I also see (slick/dirty) concrete, tire shine sling on a clean car. THEY DONT WORK!!!!!!! Tires/rims come in all shapes and sizes.

 

[Earl Weiss]

At the carwash show last year I stopped by the Viper booth. They told me they don't even manufacture the system Earl uses anymore. Very low sales because it uses too much product.

FWIW just got off the phone with Dan at Viper Shine. Needed another Drum of product.

The above statement is not correct. He still makes and sells the viper. He will tell you thatif you are selling 30,000 applications a year it may make economic sense to use another machine. (He is a distributer for another mfgr machine as well.)

As far as reclaim goes, most operations do not reclaim from the area where products like Waxes, sealers, rain X and drying agents are applied because of the issues. The Tire shine application be it Viper or other is usualy ion that same area.

As far as whetehr it works or not i think the video I posted speaks for itself. Other units works as well. The ICA show will be in Chicago next year. if any attend you are welcome to visit my plaace(s) . As far as issues with dirty concrete etc., i don't think it is much worse than the discoloration I get from the drying agent.

 

[dewey9876]

ok, now I may now be back on board with the sonnys rotating tire seal machine. I was told from a rep at sonnys that I can t-off my conveyor hyd pack. The negative is the brush will rotate whenever the conveyor is on but it rotates very slowly not fast like a tire brush. This will save the space and cost of another hyd. pack.

 

[my2cents]

You can add a hydraulic solenoid to the powerpack if you have an open output in your controller and even though the powerpack is running another device, the brush will only come on when that output is activated.

 

[Earl Weiss]

ok, now I may now be back on board with the sonnys rotating tire seal machine. I was told from a rep at sonnys that I can t-off my conveyor hyd pack. The negative is the brush will rotate whenever the conveyor is on but it rotates very slowly not fast like a tire brush. This will save the space and cost of another hyd. pack.

Did the rep ask and did you provide the specs for the power pac to make sure it has the addittional flow capacity?

 

[dewey9876]

Did the rep ask and did you provide the specs for the power pac to make sure it has the addittional flow capacity?

Yes. I have all sonnys equipment, it was a sonnys rep. He said I can do it as long as it is a 10hp hyd pack that is dedicated to the conveyor.