Window mask

[Jager]

We are new to the wash world. We have a Laser Wash G-5. We are using an acid wash and a akalyd. The brand was Luster from the Soap dist. who does the repairs . He has been here several times and still the mask.
we are locaed in Buffalo NY. We need help to solve this issue. What type of soap recomendations and settings. If there is a cleaning agent out there that works for anyone with the same type of weather conditions we have that has found a product that has worked for them we are willing to try anything at this point. We are now dealing with two more Mobile quick marts that have the same G5 and we have to do better. Any sugestions on the soaps or settings would be greatly apriciated

 

[Waxman]

More soap? Different soap? Those are things to try. Each wash and soil type are different.

Make sure your water is soft and hot enough.

Make sure your dwell times are adequate.

A decent distributor and/or chem supplier should be able to help you as much as this forum, just because each wash is unique and what works the ball$ for one operator may be bunk to another. Good luck.

 

[termn8tr]

We have been using Turtle Wax HP 03/5 frictionless detergent with our Oasis XP unit. We have 2 passes with the same product. 1.5 oz per pass, heated at 115 degrees, soft water, dwell time is 1 minute 15 seconds. Results are excellent. Located 5 minutes from Detroit MI. low/high ph didn't work. Switched over to 2 passes of high ph and the quality of the wash is incredible.

 

[PEI]

The first thing to do is to have your distributor come check your setup and water conditions to make sure it is all properly set up. You should not be the only one in your area with this problem. If they still don't have an answer then, talk with your Lustra Distributor to see if your acid has a suffactant in it. If not, then ask about their Wipe Out Boost. If it does, then you might want to consider turning down the tempurature on your soap water. Turning the temperature up makes the acid work better, but turning it down allows the suffactant to do more, like break through oil residues on the car so the acid can better do its job. If your distributor was not aware of all of this, then look for a new distributor.

 

[Gabriel]

Try some new and different chemicals. Most chemical companies will give you a trial sample. What you are experiencing is not necessary or acceptable. Don't wait because your reputation is being determined each day. The public will quickly decide if your are better or worse. I would try Blendco, been using them for 10 years with great results. Act quickly.

 

[briteauto]

Is your distributor the one from Rochester? I know they do tons of Lasers and like the Lustra line. I am in Western New York too and would recommend taking a look at some of the products that a guy out of Olean deals with.

I don't think I can use names on this forum, that is why I am being vague. If you know who I am talking about, you might want to give him a call. If not, feel free to email me and I can fill in the names.

Just to clarify, I am not a distributor and am in no way tied to one.

Good luck.

 

[washworks installations]

as brite auto said you COULD try another brand but then your starting from scratch. Keep on your distributor! They want to make it right and keep your business. On the G-5's check the soap heat tempurature and also the speed of the unit. In the winter many operators will speed up the passes to increase volume because the cars are so much easier to clean. Don't throw in the towel just yet. Lustra is a repetable product and many operator's have success with it, let your distributor take a few more cracks at it. As I am told the first (acid) pass is what cleans the windows and chrome. That's the application i would be checking first. Those G-5 injectors on the pump station can take a beating from acid based soaps sometimes, check the tip there and maybe the o-rings to make sure its not sucking any air. Taking these apart is not a daunting task but can be trickey so make sure you can take your time.

 

[Waxman]

Yeah, I agree. Make sure all your delivery apparati are properly working; foot valve, hose, injector and tip (and lp pump!).

Then check water; temp, hardness.

Dwell times are critical as is speed the hp is applied. I like my wash on the slower side for quality purposes and high perceived value.

 

[Jager]

G-5 Window mask

Thank all of you for the help. I will begin the process now of going through alll of these sugestions one at a time. I'm sure that this is a much better aproach than what we have been trying because of our very limited knowlege of the wash industry, but we have been learning little by little and most of it has been from this forum of great people willing to share the knowlege and experinces with new comers.. Thanks and I hope to get back to you with some positive results.

 

[bigleo48]

dwell time is 1 minute 15 seconds.

Let me get this strait...you do 2 alkaline passes and dwell for 75 seconds! So the average pass is say 15 seconds, the soap is on the car for a total of 105 seconds (more if you have a bug pass)!

My understanding is the soap does most of it's work in the first 20 seconds, so 5 times that seems very excessive.

I believe if you put out an effective amount of soap (titrated) at about 120 degrees (in the summer) and then a slow HP rinse (with a bug pass), you could drop that dwell to 15 or 20 seconds. Thus washing more cars/hr.

If I had a dwell of 75 seconds, my customers would think the machine is not working and drive out!

BigLeo

 

[Waxman]

all i could think of was they are adding the time it takes the machine to apply the presoak in that dwell time amount...

 

[H2Oman]

We have many G5's here in our area that use CSI Lustra products. I agree that a 75 sec dwell time is WAY to much. When the soap stops "sliding" down the car it begins to put the dirt back on. If "mechanically" everything seems to be right, we have had great success with doing a double pass of alkaline, eliminating the low ph altogether. This masking issue seems to happen after a rain period following a dry period and last about a week.