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Improving dealer washes
Here's hoping this is in the right forum. OK, so I think we've all heard about how bad dealer washes are. Dirty brushes, dirty towels, dirty wash water, blah blah blah. In short, don't let the dealer wash your car, right? Also take into account that most people who wash cars at dealers have zip experience at what they're doing. Most dealers think, "Any idiot can wash a car," so they hire anybody to do the job for cheap.
Now, you might be wondering if I'm going anywhere with this. I am. You see, I wash cars at a dealer. I've worked there for about 3 and 1/2 years. I started before I knew anything about washing cars. I still work there because it's not very stressful (except when thinking about the damage we're doing with our washes
), they're flexible with me, we don't have a shop supervisor breathing down our necks, and we pretty much can do whatever as long as we stay busy. But, there's still the dealer wash nightmares to deal with: dirty towels, dirty brushes, dirty water, the whole nine yards. I do what I can to keep everything neat and as clean as possible, but it is difficult when you're pressed for time when doing cars and your co-workers don't really care too much (somewhat, but not too much) about how the job gets done. I've squawked at one of my co-workers more than once because he used a tire brush on paint 
. Which is where I need your help. I had planned to do this thread a few months ago but just hadn't done it 'til now. I need suggestions for improving our methods. We do not use any Meguiar's products. 
Most of our products are either Auto Magic or Tip Top (Tip Top products are made by our local distributor of Auto Magic). You may have heard me mention using some of these products in some of my other threads. Given, they are not as good as Meguiar's, but they are not terrible products either. I must confess, I have brought some of my stuff to use at work. Is that sad? OK, on with the questions.
1. Ideas for improving wash methods. Currently it's the dirty brush and one-bucket method. None of my co-workers really care for the hand wash method when the brush method is quicker, even though more damaging. Throw out any suggestions you might have, keeping costs in mind. Also keep in mind that we usually get pressed for time by salesmen when doing sold cars, so time is of the essence. Also, what is the best way to clean Absorbers and keep them clean? We have a washing machine in the bay that was donated by one of my co-workers. We don't use towels, since they would get soaked after 2 or 3 cars and we do a number of cars a day. Any suggestions on good cheap detergents? We're using an Arm & Hammer detergent right now that we had to buy, since I don't think management is going to give us money for detergent.
2. We also have to do service cars quite a bit. Now we don't have to be as fussy with those as with brand-new sold cars, as we usually have to be quick on them (since the customer is usually waiting) and most service cars that come through are trashed anyway. And most people are like, "Free wash, oh boy!", so they don't care too much about our methods.
My question here is, what is the best way to get the best results in a short amount of time? These are just basic wash and vac cleanups. We don't break out carpet cleaner, and protectants, and wax, etc., but I'm looking at the best way(s) to get decent results in a short amount of time (like 20 - 30 minutes). To describe the conditions of the service cars we do, let me just say that they're usually driven by people who don't care how their car looks, and probably just have it washed when it gets an oil change or has service done to it. Tips or suggestions would be appreciated.
3. Suggestions for keeping microfiber towels separate - good wax towels, interior towels, wheel and tire towels (which obviously don't get used on the paint anyway, at least not when I'm there), etc. I've tried separating them into different areas of the bay, but there's always that stupid somebody who just grabs whatever towel for whatever task. I'd like to put an end to that, and I need some ideas as to how.
I'm not sure if I've forgotten anything. I can't think of anything right now. If I think of anything else I need to ask I'll post a reply to this thread, and if I've left something out please feel free to make comments or suggestions on some dealer wash topic I may have missed. Just to note, we do not do any polishing, so we don't use buffers or anything like that. And this is a Honda dealership, so we're dealing with relatively soft paint. This has just been bugging me for a while. Thanks guys!
Shane
Now, you might be wondering if I'm going anywhere with this. I am. You see, I wash cars at a dealer. I've worked there for about 3 and 1/2 years. I started before I knew anything about washing cars. I still work there because it's not very stressful (except when thinking about the damage we're doing with our washes
), they're flexible with me, we don't have a shop supervisor breathing down our necks, and we pretty much can do whatever as long as we stay busy. But, there's still the dealer wash nightmares to deal with: dirty towels, dirty brushes, dirty water, the whole nine yards. I do what I can to keep everything neat and as clean as possible, but it is difficult when you're pressed for time when doing cars and your co-workers don't really care too much (somewhat, but not too much) about how the job gets done. I've squawked at one of my co-workers more than once because he used a tire brush on paint . Which is where I need your help. I had planned to do this thread a few months ago but just hadn't done it 'til now. I need suggestions for improving our methods. We do not use any Meguiar's products. Most of our products are either Auto Magic or Tip Top (Tip Top products are made by our local distributor of Auto Magic). You may have heard me mention using some of these products in some of my other threads. Given, they are not as good as Meguiar's, but they are not terrible products either. I must confess, I have brought some of my stuff to use at work. Is that sad? OK, on with the questions.1. Ideas for improving wash methods. Currently it's the dirty brush and one-bucket method. None of my co-workers really care for the hand wash method when the brush method is quicker, even though more damaging. Throw out any suggestions you might have, keeping costs in mind. Also keep in mind that we usually get pressed for time by salesmen when doing sold cars, so time is of the essence. Also, what is the best way to clean Absorbers and keep them clean? We have a washing machine in the bay that was donated by one of my co-workers. We don't use towels, since they would get soaked after 2 or 3 cars and we do a number of cars a day. Any suggestions on good cheap detergents? We're using an Arm & Hammer detergent right now that we had to buy, since I don't think management is going to give us money for detergent.
2. We also have to do service cars quite a bit. Now we don't have to be as fussy with those as with brand-new sold cars, as we usually have to be quick on them (since the customer is usually waiting) and most service cars that come through are trashed anyway. And most people are like, "Free wash, oh boy!", so they don't care too much about our methods.
My question here is, what is the best way to get the best results in a short amount of time? These are just basic wash and vac cleanups. We don't break out carpet cleaner, and protectants, and wax, etc., but I'm looking at the best way(s) to get decent results in a short amount of time (like 20 - 30 minutes). To describe the conditions of the service cars we do, let me just say that they're usually driven by people who don't care how their car looks, and probably just have it washed when it gets an oil change or has service done to it. Tips or suggestions would be appreciated.3. Suggestions for keeping microfiber towels separate - good wax towels, interior towels, wheel and tire towels (which obviously don't get used on the paint anyway, at least not when I'm there), etc. I've tried separating them into different areas of the bay, but there's always that stupid somebody who just grabs whatever towel for whatever task. I'd like to put an end to that, and I need some ideas as to how.
I'm not sure if I've forgotten anything. I can't think of anything right now. If I think of anything else I need to ask I'll post a reply to this thread, and if I've left something out please feel free to make comments or suggestions on some dealer wash topic I may have missed. Just to note, we do not do any polishing, so we don't use buffers or anything like that. And this is a Honda dealership, so we're dealing with relatively soft paint. This has just been bugging me for a while. Thanks guys!
Shane
Is there something as "efficient" as brushes but perhaps less damaging? I thought of boar's hair brushes, but they're 3 times the price of the brushes we use now, so I think that's out of the question. Thanks
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