High Pressure Rinse at Coin Operated Car Wash

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PeteT19640

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Hi all I was wondering if there was something I could use as a pre-soak to get rid of some dirt. Keeping in mind their Pre- soak not sure about.
This is how I wash my car (twice a week)
Where I work is very dusty.
Car daily drive, and outside 100%

I use a High Pressure Rinse > go over with Meguiars Ultimate Detailer > every two weeks, Meguiars Ultimate Spray Wax.

Was looking at a foam gun but cant plug it in down at the car wash.
Is there another way/version of foam gun.

Thank you
 
Thanks for your reply and ideas.

Basically all I do is high pressure rinse > dry with microfiber towel > apply UQD detailer to clean and rid of extra dirt.
I have tried not to use any mitts etc, not touching the car. This works most of the time, though summer here currently, so most of the time is dust etc. Driving through rain etc. probably will be a different story.

Thanks again
 
You're not using any type of soap at the Coin-Op? If you're not, you really should.

The times I *do* use a coin-op, I high pressure soap, and follow up with high pressure rinse. Sometimes follow up with spot-free rinse.

On rare occasions, when I want a little extra help, I actually use their pre-soap setting, then do as noted above. I find their pre-soap is pretty strong. At least the two that I prefer to visit.
 
HI thanks

No I don't, seems to be ok very little comes off with the Meguiars UQD probably were I have missed.

I wondered about there own soaps, thought it might be too strong ph etc?
How much does strip the LSP.

I have heard from a painter, he said the water is very good at this one.

Thanks again
 
I'm kind of in the same boat as you, my car is parked outside all day and night and I work for a construction company so it's super dusty in our parking lot. Just to be on the safer side (because I have black paint), I do a pressure rinse at the coin-op car wash, then do a rinseless wash (Gerry Dean Method) and use a QD as a drying aid. Only takes an extra minute or two to use the rinseless wash and it's a little safer than just using a QD after the pressure rinse. I put the rinseless solution in a 5-gal bucket with a gama-seal lid on it so the water doesn't spill in my car.
 
PeteT19640 said:
I wondered about there own soaps, thought it might be too strong ph etc?
How much does strip the LSP.
Click to expand...

You're welcome.

Yeah, I suspect the ph to be "strong" and it will hurt, to some degree, the LSP. The Pre-Soap setting, I mean. During one of my wax comparison tests, I found that the pre-soap did affect the LSP. And so now I only use it when I actually want that stronger cleaning power. That's usually before a polish job, or on a rather neglected car.

I also do like HockeyCrazi with the coin-op / rinseless. It all really depends on what I'm working on and where I am doing the coin-op.
 
HI guys I did a "high pressure soap" > "high pressure rinse". Came out cleaner.

Does the "high pressure soap" strip the LSP?

Another idea was to high pressure rinse > waterless wash?

With the waterless wash can I use something like Meguiars NXT Wash or something like that diluted or does it have to be a proper waterless wash like Meguiars Wash anywhere?

Thanks again
 
High pressure won't strip LSP. But the soap may.

Every car wash uses a different brand, different dilution. Your going to have to do some testing.
 
Really depends how dirty the car is and how effective you LSP is.

I also use the coin operated car wash during the winter. Too complicated to use my pressure washer where I live.

So for me, 2 times out of 3 I only use high water pressure to rinse the whole car off.

The third time, I use the soap setting to wash, then do a quick rinse, then I use the wax setting and I do a final rinse. The soap has to be very acidic or alkalline if it's gonna clean without contact, so you do want to re-apply a LSP after using it. I don't complicate things and simply use the wax that they provide. Probably not a great product but during the winter:

1. The car will be dirty again the next day (2 or 3 days if you are very lucky).
2. There is no sun and high heat to damage the LSP so even a cheap wax should be able to last quite a long time.
3. Where I go it's always super busy so I don't want to take the booth for longer than needed, people already have to wait a while to be able to wash their cars.
 
PeteT19640 said:
HI thanks

No I don't, seems to be ok very little comes off with the Meguiars UQD probably were I have missed.

I wondered about there own soaps, thought it might be too strong ph etc?
How much does strip the LSP.

I have heard from a painter, he said the water is very good at this one.

Thanks again
Click to expand...

The soap shouldn't be that strong I think it's the touchless that's bad cuz they use acid
 
Thanks to all

What can I use without a bucket or running water other than at the coin op?
Can I use say a Meguiars product to spray on and wash and then high pressure rinse?

Thanks again
 
PeteT19640 said:
Thanks to all

What can I use without a bucket or running water other than at the coin op?
Can I use say a Meguiars product to spray on and wash and then high pressure rinse?

Thanks again
Click to expand...

Not sure I understand your question...

At the coin operated wash bay I visited, buckets are not allowed. This of course depends on each car wash.

If you want to bring stuff to do a better job than just using the car wash's supplied wand and brush. Here is how I would go about it:

Bring a spray bottle of ONR or other rinseless or waterless wash
Bring a few microfiber towels (4 should do) pre-soaked in ONR in a ziplock bag

Start by high pressure rinsing the car to remove as much loose dirt as possible
Spray the car with the ONR
Use the towels folded in 4 to wipe the pannel. As soon as you see dirt on the towel, flip to a clean side of the towel to prevent scratching
Once you are done pressure rinse with De-ionized water if they have it. If not normal pressure rinse
Use the blower to dry the car if they offer it
If they don't have a blower bring spray wax and a drying microfiber towel to dry the car

You might have to move the car to dry it. I know people get bothered where I go when they are not seeing you use the wand ;)
 
PeteT19640 said:
HI guys I did a "high pressure soap" > "high pressure rinse". Came out cleaner.

Does the "high pressure soap" strip the LSP?

Another idea was to high pressure rinse > waterless wash?

With the waterless wash can I use something like Meguiars NXT Wash or something like that diluted or does it have to be a proper waterless wash like Meguiars Wash anywhere?

Thanks again
Click to expand...

I still regularly use the high pressure soap setting, followed by high pressure rinse. Regardless of what LSP I have on there. Like evo77 said,

evo77 said:
High pressure won't strip LSP. But the soap may.

Every car wash uses a different brand, different dilution. Your going to have to do some testing.
Click to expand...
so yeah, see what your local place is like and how that soap affects your LSP

My own personal preference would be to use rinseless instead of waterless, though I dabble with waterless every now and then (more so, lately). If you *do* use waterless, use a proper waterless. You have options, and everybody has their favorite.
 
Thanks

What is the difference between rinseless & waterless?
I was thinking of getting a snow pressure foam gun and use that for soaking (Meguiars Ultimate Wash & Wax) then high pressure rinse. Would this work ok? How long would I leave to soak?

Thanks again
 
Rinseless is a product that you put in a bucket of water and use either wash mitt, sponge or microfiber towels to wipe the panels with the dripping wet wash media.

Waterless is a product in a spray bottle that you spray the panel with and wipe with a microfiber cloth to clean.

Waterless has more lubricity since there is no water to lubricate the panel. But overall, it's a much more risky product to use in terms of scratching.

But, if you use either at a car wash after pressure washing the car, then almost all the risk is gone since the pressure washer will remove most of the dirt before you even touch the panel.
 
Soap will strip wax to varying degrees. Soap mimics an organic solvent. The LSP is organic. Therefore, the soap will want to mildly dissolve the LSP.

High pressure water, even with no soap, will abrade the LSP physically.

Acid is an inorganic solvent, doesn't really want to dissolve organic compounds. I don't think using a pH neutral soap is that much easier on LSP. More depends on the characteristics of the soap versus the pH.

I'm not saying washing your car one time will remove the LSP. But the LSP gets removed over time chemically (washing w/ soap, for example) and physically (wind, rain, high-pressure wash). So anytime you wash your car, your going to remove some LSP is all I'm saying, you can only hope to minimize it.
 
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