best fleet wash chems

Freakypapa

New Member
i'm pretty new at fleet wash and i'm discovering chems. i experiment on my own truck...i've already etched my chrome wheels and whitened my alum trims...oh well, live and learn.

On customer rigs, I used wash&wax, it was ok. recently i've been using eacochem's fleet wash supreme, it works better, it's waxy on the finish, but if it dries at all, trouble.

I don't believe there is a brushless method even tho they say there is.

Can any of you share your best soap info?

Best Fleet Washing Chemicals & Soaps
 
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Dan S

New Member
power brite ........ brown-derby .............. made by IDT


Yes it is brushless ....But you have to learn how to mix it , It will etch chrome/alum ...if you dont pay attention .

Mark @ easyclean can hook ya up !! You can find his # on this site .. give him a ring !
 

Larry L.

PWN TEAM - Moderator Emeritus
you have to learn how to mix it

This is the case in learning how to mix any chemical your useing as to preform to it's best.Usually the better chemicals cost a little more and has better cleaning power.

I'm waiting for one you can just sprayon and walk off without having to rinse off.
 

Larry L.

PWN TEAM - Moderator Emeritus
*LOL* it would bead up like a new wax job too,be my luck a dust storm would come dancing around.
 

Dan S

New Member
Oh yea it does bead !! but the darnest thing................. It cost as much as soap a drum !!
 

biodude

New Member
They is no soap-only brushless soap unless you're looking to brush LESS, but still brush. I feel that if you're pulling out the brush you are still brushing. The closest you'll get to brushless is only by two step cleaning. Sorry for bursting your bubble!
 

apallclean

New Member
we us a brush less soap from ZEP, its called T'N'T. as with anything its better when you get down on it, but for the most part it does a really good job with heavy dirt, bugs etc. When we use it we usually brush the cowls and the hood where its hard for us to spray directly on the surface to help get the dirt off. Hope that helps.
 

Dan S

New Member
hmmmmmmmmm I washed for 14 years ................ I think i used a brush maybe 3 times....... Guess I was doing it all wrong and darn`it why did `ya haveta burst my bubble like that !!!!!!!!!!!
 

Freakypapa

New Member
That's a great testimonial, dan...

i look at every truck i see on the road. Some are really clean, i mean sparkling! i want my work to look the same. I just feel like I'm using the wrong product. i think i want to try two stepping.

Let me see if i get this right...first spray on the acid wash, then spray over the acid with an alkaline wash...bam the two explode the dirt off. Then rinse with di water. is that the secret to great looking surfaces?

some of the alkaline soaps i see say they leave a waxy finish. Does the two step process affect the waxiness?

I'm most interested because i'm about to start washing 10 black and gold busses per week. As you can imagine, the black is a touchy finish proposition. thanks
 

Dan S

New Member
yep acid first then soap .......... I never did get into to "di" h20 I just used the city H20 right outta the faucet ! You can downstram the acid then up-er down stream the soap . It does work great if `ya get your combination down right . you still gotta watch some alum. and chrome it could "etch" it . ....... 2 step is a great way however if you can just use One chem enstead of 2 you have better profit and less time washing !! Thats why I love the "brown-soap " brown derby / power-brite.......... all made by IDT ....... Mark sells it !! give him a call and try it out !! .. buy a 5gal kit ( comes with powder and liquid in a 5gal ) easy to mix once `ya know how !! mix it with h20 and you have 55gals of good chit !! or buy 2 and still make 55gals and you gotz even a better mix !!
 

biodude

New Member
That's a great testimonial, dan...

i look at every truck i see on the road. Some are really clean, i mean sparkling! i want my work to look the same. I just feel like I'm using the wrong product. i think i want to try two stepping.

Let me see if i get this right...first spray on the acid wash, then spray over the acid with an alkaline wash...bam the two explode the dirt off. Then rinse with di water. is that the secret to great looking surfaces?

some of the alkaline soaps i see say they leave a waxy finish. Does the two step process affect the waxiness?

I'm most interested because i'm about to start washing 10 black and gold busses per week. As you can imagine, the black is a touchy finish proposition. thanks

I personally haven't tried Brown Derby, but I've talked to people who have. Basically, it's a copy of the more widely known Panel Brite, which I have tried. These are essentially high caustic soaps on the ultra high end of the PH scale. Thats why Danno says you have to be careful how you mix it. Translation: If you don't dilute it properly you are going to damage, not only chrome and aluminum, but also paint. Who will pay to replace/repaint when your customer finds out whos responsible? So you dilute it further to be careful, but the problem with that is that when you dilute it you weaken its effectiveness. Tough call. I have to say that I was not too impressed with Panel Brite. I tried it both in a single step and a two step procedure and I mixed it hot because I was washing white sooty trailers. I thought it worked somewhat OK in both situations, but still left a lot of road film and soot. Some mobile washers are OK with that, the old that's-what-you-get attitude, I guess. I also didn't like the brown, poopy looking liquid running down the side of the trailer which I thought made it more difficult to determine the dirty spots. I thought it did not work as good as the soap we use already. It also did nothing as far as cleaning up the aluminum rails and wheels, which is where an acid comes in handy. The biggest deterrent was the price: VERY EXPENSIVE for the mediocre results I got. Thumbs down....

As far as a DI rinse is concerned, you will have to determine whether you are washing fleets or focusing on the privateers. A typical fleet manager is not going to pay you to use DI water while you are much more likely to get the extra money from a privateer/owner/operator driver. If you have a good soap that rinses properly DI water isn't necessay for fleet applications.

As far as wax is concerned, you never want to apply any sort of wax over a surface that isn't clean because it seals in road film, soot and dirt, making your job that much more difficult the next time you wash them. The only thing the wax does is it tricks the eye into thinking that the surface is clean when it really isn't. Once they get up close and look at it closely, the filth is seen and the effect is ruined, and that's when the phone calls are made.

Are these black and gold buses schoolbuses? Usually buses are fairly easy to wash...
 

Dan S

New Member
Blaine ...... Towards the end of my washing days I was buying it for 120.00 for 5 gal ... that 5gal made 55gal......... I thought it was a fair price .............. locally I can get it @ 89.00 !

Oh and the brown-derby ........ It is'nt as good as POWERBRITE ..... panel brite is comparable to brown-derby but the POWERBRITE is made by a diff. company ....... IDT sells POWERBRITE ... and it is what you say as well, high ph and caustic ... but it does work . Well it worked for my dirt.. but as we all know all dirt is not the same.

If `ya really want to spend sum money............... Buy GLORY it's 800.00 bucks + for a 55gal ...... not only does it smell good but it cleans anything............ I think I bought like 20 drums In the process of 14years ....... too bad it was so costly ....... I think I could of made that my chem of choice !!
 

biodude

New Member
Blaine ...... Towards the end of my washing days I was buying it for 120.00 for 5 gal ... that 5gal made 55gal......... I thought it was a fair price .............. locally I can get it @ 89.00 !

Hey Danno, I know a fellow who is buying it in 55 gallon drums for around $300, or so he says. Your 55 gallons...Are you diluting it further at the gun or putting it on straight at that time? I know this guy is diluting it roughly 20:1 when its all said and done.

All we do is try to "shock " the dirt so it will release from the vehicle, and there are a variety of ways to do it...

Why do they feel Glory is worth that kind of money? I know chemicals are going up, but that is ridiculous! Is that a brown soap as well?
 

Dan S

New Member
glory is like a pink`ish color smells like oranges !! great chit..... but high priced !

the "brown" soap
when i use just one 5 gal kit .......... i use that as a pre-spray
When I use 2-5gal kits I use it as a up- or down stream

Everybody is different every dirt is different
I just used what was afforadable to me and what worked ......... I was working to make ME money not the folks who sells chems........
I did do some 2-stepping and yes it works well .. However I was using more chems and taking too long on one truck.......
 

Freakypapa

New Member
this conversation is getting good now... I use a cousin of glory (truck wash supreme) which is hi ph in one step. I usually have to brush it, which i'm trying to avoid. It also turned one red pick up truck white filmy which i had to rub out or lose the contract. apparently the red truck had been washed with some silicate product in the past, which caused the filmy reaction.

The black, gold and red busses are for the local muni, why they painted the things so fancy, i'll never know. They look like limos though, and the city manager is really proud of them. He's also got 100 more vehicles that i have my eye on. That's why i need to perfect my routine, as well as for my own labor sanity.

If i use the power brite, or the derby, brushlessly, do they need to dwell on the truck to be effective? what if they dry? I also wonder whether two stepping requires any dwell. I know these questions will be answered once i start trying these techniques, but sometimes i need a little hand-holding. that's why i'm bugging you guys.

I'm starting the buss deal on nov first, so I'm setting up my rig for action right now. i'm going to chem sprayers for soap instead of DS because DS uses so much product and stays in the line after i'm done soaping, so i waste all the soap in the line when i'm done. I'm also going to a 45psi/4.5gpm for a di rinse, hoping to use less water overalland avoid spotting. I'm already sick of squeegeeing windows and wiping bumpers....you guys are probably laughing yer asses off right now!
 

biodude

New Member
DO NOT LET ANY of the high PH soaps dry on the surface! You will fry the paint, and buffing won't save you this time. You have silicate products in your soap, so if it didn't look like that when you started to wash, you caused the truck issue unfortunately, but consider it a learning experience that didn't cost as much as it could have. Reds, greens, blacks are the three worst colors to wash because of the way they absorb the energy from the sunlight. Anytime that it is warm out, ALWAYS cool the surface first before washing when you see these colors especially. Otherwise you spray the soap on, the water within the soap immediately evaporates, and you now have RAW CHEMICAL eating away at the paint. The same rule applies to aluminum rims on trucks that just got back from their routes. The brakes have heated the rims up, so now you spray either acid or alkaline on them, and the chemical attacks it immediately.

Two stepping doesn't need swell time. The reaction between the two is immediate.

We have fairly good water, so we don't soften or use DI water. It saves A LOT of money.

It's good to have guys that have experience like Danno and others on this board so you don't have to make expensive mistakes.....

WOW, KO is proud of their chemical too. I think we charge too little...I'm going to have to raise our prices!
 

Dan S

New Member
Blaine is right -------------- Dony let it dry !!

Man I used to love washing in the rain !! I could "pre-spray" several trucks then wash em !!
But when that sun is out or windy ... It's a wash of a different color !!

The BB is nice Blaine But sometimes the only way to learn is to make some mistakes , On the other hand it sure helps the "Virgins" out !! :)
 

Freakypapa

New Member
Ok...here's what i decided to do.

while it is true that the roads are paved with gold out here in California, nobody ever issued me an encroachment permit to dig any up. In my work, I usually brush in the beginning, and because the water is so hard here, I wipe, squeegee and fuss over the end of the process.

this soap discussion is great, and i will continue to experiment, with one and two stepping, brushlessly or not....but I figure it's a safe bet I can cut the labor out of the ass end by going to DI water. So that's where i'm going to spend this month's money.

I talked to Mark about the brown soap, and other options...he advised me to continue brushing the fancy stuff, and I can live with that...I mean it IS my rep that's on the line, and i want to keep everybody stoked on my product. That doesn't mean that I won't cut brushing corners where I can...

anyway, Dan and Blaine... you guys are the coolest. I like the way you handle your comments with humor and helpful honesty...I'll continue to talk at both of you as long as I can.

later, bros....Richard (Freakypapa)
 

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