What’s the largest factor driving tunnel wash popularity across the country? If customer convenience comes to mind, you’re on the right track. Tunnel washes continue to pick up steam thanks to technology advancements like contactless transactions and intuitive wash automations. Water conservation and general sustainability are also benefits of tunnel washes. While these improvements are stellar for both tunnel wash owners and customers, JBS Industries continues striving for greater innovation. They’re constantly researching, creating, and catering products to meet industry trends. Their lofty aim is what lead to this comprehensive article on how to set up your tunnel chemicals to get the best results!
The following breakdown will help you maximize the tunnel wash experience through the use of proper tunnel chemicals.
Setting Up Your Tunnel Chemicals Step
1: Cleaning
As you might expect, the beginning phase of any tunnel car wash is going to center around cleaning the vehicle. There are a few key points to remember during this step. You want to use your tunnel chemicals as effectively as possible.
- Prep/Bug Pass or Low Pressure Application: High pH foaming formulas initiate the cleaning process by wetting and dissolving proteins and other soils on the car.
- Presoak Application: You’ll want to use a two-step approach. Essentially, it’s about moving from a high pH to a low pH. The reason for this is you want to first wet and lift hard-to-remove contaminants before then dissolving other soils with acidic action. So, a high pH (alkaline) presoak product softens and lifts road film, oils, and organic materials. Then, the low pH (acidic) presoak product dissolves the dirt, salt, rust, or dust.
- Tire | CTA Application: High pH wheel and tire cleaner to remove organic and inorganic soils with a strong deterrent action cleaning the brake pads, rubber, rims, and wheels.
- Detergent Foam Stick: Use low pH or neutral products to solubilize surface soils and provide lubricity. Ultimately, these “deter” contaminants from depositing back onto the car.
- Curtains | Lubricating Foam Soap or Wrap Foam: Use a mildly low pH to create a positive charge on the vehicle. This helps water, surfactants, and remnants of dirt drain off easily.
Step 2: Polishing
Once the vehicle has been thoroughly ridden of dirt, debris, oils, and other blemishes, it’s time to polish. Creating a spectacular glimmer that causes a person’s car to sparkle in their driveway is the type of lasting impression which draws customers back to your wash.
- Tri-Foam: Lower pH formulas prepare the vehicle to accept wax, sealant, and other protection products. This speeds up the drying process so the sealant and protectants can deposit onto the vehicle surface with less rinse water dilution.
Step 3: Shine and Dry
Lastly, we arrive at the drying and shining process. Once the vehicle is clean and the proper polish has been put into place, it’s time to remove any excess water. The goal is to ensure the model has that special twinkle customers are always clamoring for.
- Wax Treatment: Actively deposits synthetic or wax protectants to deepen a paint’s luster and enhance vehicle shine.
- Protectant/Sealant: Provides protection against UV and natural elements by getting into micro defects of the clearcoat. The result is a smooth, protected surface. Ceramic protectants offer excellent durability. This is the maximum shine and chemical protection agent.
- Drying Agents: Beading or sheeting action reduces the dry time and overall water spotting on the car.
An Excellent Tunnel Wash Starts with Excellent Tunnel Chemicals
There are ample options for improving the overall experience of your tunnel car wash. Yet at the end of the day, folks come through because they want a hassle-free, thorough cleaning experience for their model. JBS Industries is always working to help you deliver that exact experience. Using the following steps, you can confidently charge between $20-$30 for your top wash package. And while this overview is a handy start for introducing many of the mainstay tunnel chemicals you need, you’ll find there are other useful JBS Industry chemicals waiting for you on the Kleen-Rite website!
