quote:
Originally posted by christietz
Michael,
I'm a big fan of the touchless variety (for my daily cars...), but I'm always displeased with the 'film' of dirt that remains. Therefore, I've taken to getting the less expensive wash without drying and immediately come home and dry the car by hand to remove the film.
Any other ideas?
Christyz,
Without using nasty, harsh chemicals it is impossible to completely remove road film 100% in a touchless wash. You simply need some friction. What many of my customers do (myself included)is periodically brush or hand wash their cars--particularly darker colors--and use the touchless automatic regularly and in-between the hand washings. So, I see some people come in 2,3 or even 4 times a week into the automatic, and then once or twice a month they do a hand wash. The best way to clean a car is to not let it get so dirty in the first place. Some people wash their cars once or twice a year "whether it needs it or not" and these are customers I'll never please. They are the ones that complain about the wash price as well.
I use two very good products in a two-pass system. The first is a lo-pH presoak that uses Glycolic Acid to clean the glass and trim. Only one chemical manufacturer is using this product. Glycolic Acid has both acid and solvent properties and its main use is in facial peels in the cosmetic industry. I did a lot of testing for the manufacturer and we think we have it pretty good. It isn't perfect but really cleans the glass better then anything I've tried. This is very important because that's what you see first--through your windshield. Most lo-pH presoaks come in one of three varieties--strong (using the nasty stuff below); medium (using phosphoric acid); and weak (using citric acid).
The car body is cleaned using the second step, a hi-pH alkali product. If the alkali is strong enough, and the water hot enough you'll remove 99% of most road film. The cars in my wash come out pretty darn clean, but even my equipment manufacturer tells me I do better then most becuase I use good chemistry, warm water, and slow passes. My standards are pretty high; I like repeat business. Why two different chemicals? Naysayers say it's a gimmick. Not so. Your wife doesn't clean the fine china with Windex, and you don't use liquid dish detergent on your windows. Different surfaces require different products.
Certain kinds of film are nearly impossible to remove. For example, if your car is very dirty, and you park at an airport or near one, the fuel-fallout from the jet exhaust coats the dirt and sticks it hard and fast. Nearly the same for certain kinds of tree sap. Also certain weather patterns (cold nights and mornings, warm days) that we have in the spring and autumn make it hard for the chemicals to work.
It always pays to know what your car wash is using. Certain compounds are very inexpensive and do a fabulous job--100%. These are compounds containing Ammonium Biflouride and or Hydroflouric Acid. These will get all dirt and road film...and etch your glass over time, eat stainless steel, destroy your equipment, damage your lungs, and eat concrete. But the cars sure get clean!
What you do with the hand drying will get the remaining road film off. On my top washes, I provide a choice of two different "waxes". The first wax, a clear coat, is mostly designed to aid in water-beadup which promotes faster drying with less spots. There is also a foam wax on the highest wash, and this also imparts a short-lived shine. For those who use the wash regularly the shine lasts long enough.
Between the self serve and automatic, I employ 10 very different chemicals which are diluted with soft water and applied at different rates depending on customer choice and price. I also have completely mineral free spot free water avaiable as the final rinse. No gimmicks.
If you have a car wash location of choice, you should speak to the owner and with a little more knowledge you can fine-tune what you need, perhaps use or not use different products or services.
Hope this helps. Maybe I should give a talk at Joe's this summer on the car wash chemistry and cleaning processes.
Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored
