Would stronger presoak help this?

[Bricks]

Hi guys. With my old Futura do you think it’s possible to cut this grime? I just switched to blue coral presoak and it didn’t help. My friend sent me this to let me know the wash isn’t working well. Is it a presoak issue? Today I filled up my water bottle at the wash and I couldn’t stand to drink the city water. It was strong chlorine tasting. I have a theory that maybe the water department’s treatment is inconsistent. I’ve drank it before and tasted good. Could these fluctuations in chlorine etc. be messing up my chemicals?
The float went bad on the tank that stops the well water, so it’s shut off. New one is on the way!
Maybe I should use the water well only to avoid variables. I thought the city water was doing great because my sister said her car looked better than ever.
I’ve got to get this straightened out. I read you guys saying dwell times and I’m wondering if I have a setting for this. What do you think about presoak application? I have some foamjet nozzles and some regular fan spray nozzles. Does it need to be foamy to work better or would the penetration of the higher pressure nozzles on the presoak help kick it loose? Thanks for all that you guys have taught me! I just want people to get their money’s worth, but maybe it’s just my machine. But then I think maybe most any touchless would have this issue. Maybe the road film here in Ohio is just nastier than some.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

What is your water hardness?

 

[Bricks]

What is your water hardness?

It was pretty good. I just used the color type strips . Now with the Well, it wasn’t softened at all and the results were the same.

 

[OurTown]

Do you titrate your presoak?

 

[soapy]

The chlorine will eat your RO membranes if you have any. Presoak should be put on with soft water. A good soft water system should also include a carbon filter tank to remove the chlorine. I would first start as suggested by titrating your presoak to see if you are getting the right amount of presoak on.

 

[Bricks]

Do you titrate your presoak?

Um errr uuuuhhhh yeah no. How do you do that? Seriously I don’t know how. Please go easy on me. Thanks

 

[MEP001]

Your soap salesman should be able to show you how.

 

[Eugene]

I use BC 3618 and it cuts through 85 % of that . A touch free is going to leave a little eye brow but not that much . Soap guy should be able to fix that . Much dwell time do you have it set for ? I run 15 to 18 sec .

 

[Bricks]

I use BC 3618 and it cuts through 85 % of that . A touch free is going to leave a little eye brow but not that much . Soap guy should be able to fix that . Much dwell time do you have it set for ? I run 15 to 18 sec .

I don’t know if I have a dwell time option.

 

[OurTown]

Are you getting your soap from Tri-Valley? If so they should at least come out and show you how to titrate and provide a kit for you to test on a regular basis. I'm not familiar with the water hardness test strips as much but we use the Hach kit #145300.

https://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-2725-hach-145300-total-water-hardness-kit.aspx

 

[Bricks]

Are you getting your soap from Tri-Valley? If so they should at least come out and show you how to titrate and provide a kit for you to test on a regular basis. I'm not familiar with the water hardness test strips as much but we use the Hach kit #145300.

https://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-2725-hach-145300-total-water-hardness-kit.aspx

Yes. Tri-Valley. I do have a kit but I thought it was for the old “soap kit” presoak that had the bag of powder in. I didn’t realize that was a titration kit. What is HF? Thanks!!

 

[OurTown]

Yes. Tri-Valley. I do have a kit but I thought it was for the old “soap kit” presoak that had the bag of powder in. I didn’t realize that was a titration kit. What is HF? Thanks!!

HF usually stands for hydrofluoric acid. It's some nasty stuff. Do you have a two step presoak or just a high pH presoak? You might be able to use the titration kit for your new soap but you need to ask how many drops it will take to neutralize it.

 

[Bricks]

HF usually stands for hydrofluoric acid. It's some nasty stuff. Do you have a two step presoak or just a high pH presoak? You might be able to use the titration kit for your new soap but you need to ask how many drops it will take to neutralize it.

I’m not sure if that old kit was two step (I assume it was) it had two gallon jugs and a bag of powder to mix with it. The new presoak is blue coral and the tip sizes written on the barrel were purple and yellow. I changed it to brown yesterday. I’m home with a sick kid today. Looking at the cameras, only two cars have been through the auto on this cloudy day in Ohio.

 

[Waxman]

Did you ever think that maybe the car in the first picture had something stubborn on it? It doesn't look like normal dirt / carbon soot to me. It looks more like construction dust or cement dust to me.

I would run a number of test cars through if it were me before I went changing or adjusting anything.

You can't really judge anything based on only one car. Don't get freaked out because a customer sent you a pic of an un-cleaned car. You weren't there, so you don't know what happened. The customer never mentions driving through ten miles of road construction or the fact that this is their first wash in 5 years.

 

[Bricks]

Did you ever think that maybe the car in the first picture had something stubborn on it? It doesn't look like normal dirt / carbon soot to me. It looks more like construction dust or cement dust to me.

I would run a number of test cars through if it were me before I went changing or adjusting anything.

You can't really judge anything based on only one car. Don't get freaked out because a customer sent you a pic of an un-cleaned car. You weren't there, so you don't know what happened. The customer never mentions driving through ten miles of road construction or the fact that this is their first wash in 5 years.

Maybe true about the construction part, but they frequently run their cars through. I just looked through cryptopay and they were through October 7th and 12th. Half the people I’ve ever ridden with are no turn signal using tailgaters. Annoying as heck!

 

[washnshine]

Hi guys. With my old Futura do you think it’s possible to cut this grime? I just switched to blue coral presoak and it didn’t help. View attachment 4394 My friend sent me this to let me know the wash isn’t working well. Is it a presoak issue? Today I filled up my water bottle at the wash and I couldn’t stand to drink the city water. It was strong chlorine tasting. I have a theory that maybe the water department’s treatment is inconsistent. I’ve drank it before and tasted good. Could these fluctuations in chlorine etc. be messing up my chemicals?
The float went bad on the tank that stops the well water, so it’s shut off. New one is on the way!
Maybe I should use the water well only to avoid variables. I thought the city water was doing great because my sister said her car looked better than ever.
I’ve got to get this straightened out. I read you guys saying dwell times and I’m wondering if I have a setting for this. What do you think about presoak application? I have some foamjet nozzles and some regular fan spray nozzles. Does it need to be foamy to work better or would the penetration of the higher pressure nozzles on the presoak help kick it loose? Thanks for all that you guys have taught me! I just want people to get their money’s worth, but maybe it’s just my machine. But then I think maybe most any touchless would have this issue. Maybe the road film here in Ohio is just nastier than some.

One of the things that makes touchless washing so tough is that it might come off when it is 70° with 40% relative humidity but not as well if it is 80° and right after a rainstorm. Not only can the seasonal climate changes be tough to negotiate, but daily fluctuations will impact your wash quality too.

 

[Bricks]

One of the things that makes touchless washing so tough is that it might come off when it is 70° with 40% relative humidity but not as well if it is 80° and right after a rainstorm. Not only can the seasonal climate changes be tough to negotiate, but daily fluctuations will impact your wash quality too.

Holy crap! How do you explain it to a customer? What’s a general reply you tell them when their vehicle didn’t come clean? Or do you just get your billfold out?

 

[washnshine]

Holy crap! How do you explain it to a customer? What’s a general reply you tell them when their vehicle didn’t come clean? Or do you just get your billfold out?

If you have self serve bays, bring them over to one and clean it up with a foam brush if that is what it takes to get it off. If it is only visible on the glass (it will be on the whole car but may only be seen on the glass and that is the complaint ), get a glass cleaner and microfiber towel and clean it off for them. Another trip through your touchless probably won’t remove it, so rather than waste that time and money, just remove it for them. After you do maybe offer them a credit for their next wash if you feel like you want to offer something for their trouble. You’ve got to really see what the problem is and assess on a case by case basis. Always offer a solution so you can keep them as a customer - unless they are unreasonable or unrealistic- in that case let them wash elsewhere.

 

[Greg Pack]

So if your complaint is windshield eyebrow, try variations of the following:

increase the strength of your low and see if that helps
swap passes to low ph first (if not already)
reduce the strength of your high ph if it is going on the first pass

I would definitely get a titration kit so that you're not flying blind.

basic guidelines I tend to follow

low ph works on minerals and tends to clean glass better, although a low containing HF can clean paint.
HF is rough on your equipment, people, and facility.
Hi ph products cleans paint better and is better suited for carbon based (oil and road film) removal.
A dwell between the two products is beneficial
Heated solutions-" hot tub warm" is beneficial, especially in the cooler Months
Water needs to be relatively soft, below three grains of hardness or so, for best cleaning. 0 grains is preferred.

You'll find the entire process is a balancing act- when you increase your low ph strength you are potentially making the high ph less effective, and vice versa. I tend to run my highs very strong and low ph products on the weak side. As a result my paint comes clean but I have an eyebrow issue. To further complicate things what works for me might not work 100 miles away due to varying soil and environmental conditions

Finally, I tell my customers that the touch free is best suited for frequent washers and if they're not washing at least every couple of weeks I encourage them to use the cloth unit.

 

[Bricks]

If you have self serve bays, bring them over to one and clean it up with a foam brush if that is what it takes to get it off. If it is only visible on the glass (it will be on the whole car but may only be seen on the glass and that is the complaint ), get a glass cleaner and microfiber towel and clean it off for them. Another trip through your touchless probably won’t remove it, so rather than waste that time and money, just remove it for them. After you do maybe offer them a credit for their next wash if you feel like you want to offer something for their trouble. You’ve got to really see what the problem is and assess on a case by case basis. Always offer a solution so you can keep them as a customer - unless they are unreasonable or unrealistic- in that case let them wash elsewhere.

So if your complaint is windshield eyebrow, try variations of the following:

increase the strength of your low and see if that helps
swap passes to low ph first (if not already)
reduce the strength of your high ph if it is going on the first pass

I would definitely get a titration kit so that you're not flying blind.

basic guidelines I tend to follow

low ph works on minerals and tends to clean glass better, although a low containing HF can clean paint.
HF is rough on your equipment, people, and facility.
Hi ph products cleans paint better and is better suited for carbon based (oil and road film) removal.
A dwell between the two products is beneficial
Heated solutions-" hot tub warm" is beneficial, especially in the cooler Months
Water needs to be relatively soft, below three grains of hardness or so, for best cleaning. 0 grains is preferred.

You'll find the entire process is a balancing act- when you increase your low ph strength you are potentially making the high ph less effective, and vice versa. I tend to run my highs very strong and low ph products on the weak side. As a result my paint comes clean but I have an eyebrow issue. To further complicate things what works for me might not work 100 miles away due to varying soil and environmental conditions

Finally, I tell my customers that the touch free is best suited for frequent washers and if they're not washing at least every couple of weeks I encourage them to use the cloth unit.

How do I know what is HF? What’s a low PH pass? This is my new presoak. It’s $493.78 for 20 Gal.