Rain X Complete Surface Protectant

Is anybody using Rain-x on line protection in ss car wash. if yes what ratio you use and cost of 5 gallon.
Thanks

Use a pink tip if you have a hydrominder, if you are happy with the results thats the dillution. Cost for a 5 gallon, I think around 32 dollars a gallon.

Paul, how are you applying it?

Greg, I am thinking to apply low pressure.

Greg please educate me, I have some but very limited experience with Rain X in a self serve. If I were a car wash owner I would put it on at medium or high pressure because of cost per minute. In my opinion it does work better at low pressure, but the cost difference is not worth it. To get it to work under low pressure it would typically require a stronger dilution. Do you think that statement is accurate? I know everyone has a different definition of “work” and again my experience is very limited (1 customer with low pressure, and one with high) some technical information and your opinion on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

Also the price information I have is outdated it is closer to $40 a gallon now, and if you are getting a discount on it I don’t want to know what you did.

Well, I am not sure I am qualified to educate anyone on this subject, but I'll give my opinion:

If you're gonna use the product, I say use it at strong enough dilutions for it to work as advertised. For me that is about at 100:1. Rain X at about 100:1 has good color, scent, and great beading. The product will even withstand another touch free carwash. I have tried at lower dilution but there is a noticeable decrease in performance, especially the resilience of the product. I am charging 2.00 for the product in my IBA, and the cost for me to apply the product at 100:1 is around .45, so I think that is reasonable.

I tried Rain-x once as a regular HP CCP product in my IBA. IMO, It really performed no better than much less expensive products. So for me low pressure is the only way to go.

If I was going to install Rain-X in a SS bay, I would do it through a foaming conditioner gun or a low pressure application to achieve that 100:1 dilution at the tip. I'm not even sure it is profitable in a SS or if it wouldbe a type of "loss leader". There are some products that give very good performance at a much lower cost. I currently use Warsaw's weathershield as my SS CCP and get quite a few compliments from the customers. But to get the performance I want I have to run a large tip at the hydrominder- I think a blue tip. By the time it mixes with the pump water it is diluted much more. The cost doesn't really bother me, I still go through very little product. A 15 gallon container last me six months or better, and cost me half what rain-x costs, but it is not as "tough".

I do know one guy who installed Rain-X in his SS tri foaming applicator- all three colors. He said it increased usage considerably. I believe Panama Jim is working on a rain-x type tri-color prototype called duckwax. Some other mfgs are working on tha same- a rain-x type product for tri color applicators.

Is this a classic case of paying half as much, but using twice as much? I would say with a blue tip, more than twice, more like four or five times as much. I know you were not sure if it was blue or not, but you get my point. I know you have been doing this for a while and have a handle on what your customers like and what makes you the most money so I will spare you the sales pitch.

The only way to tell if it’s a “loss leader” (I have never heard that term) is to do a cost per minute. It’s how I sell when I…say…see a blue tip in a hydrominder. It’s pretty easy to do, unless you are still using the Turtle Wax holding tanks that come with Coleman equipment, then it’s a pain in the butt. My favorite one is to do Turtle Wax brand tire and wheel cleaner (the only TW product that is typically not double tipped with a mixing block) once I show the car wash owner that he or she is actually losing money every time someone uses that function I have a new customer. I recommend doing the same with all products, or better yet get some sucker chemical sales rep (one that you can trust, or have more than one do it) to do it for you. Again the only way to go is cost per minute, days, weeks, or months wont do. How many times has it rained for two weeks straight, you could have had an empty drum of soap last as long as a full one.

Also, thanks for your opinion Greg, you are a true asset to this website.

Homer I believe understand your point about cost per ounce vs. cost per application. The weathershield works at roughly the same concentration as Rain-X, but when mixed in a tank at ~25:1 and further diluted by the self serve pump stand the actual ratio of product on the car is 100-150:1 or so. That's just a guess btw. You obviously can dilute the product where you lose all benefit that premium products are supposed to bring to the table. I'm using the Rain-X in the IBA so that the next time it rains, the customer goes, "Hey, this stuff really works" and they don't even have to turn on their wipers if they're going fast enough. The SS HP application isn't quite as good for repelling water off the windshield, but has good show and great beading. Does Rain-x work well enough at 200:1, or is it just like any other clear coat protectant, except with some name recognition? If that's the case, you have to wonder how long the customer will continue to pay for that service. I try to use all chemicals at the level that will "wow" the customer, then analyze the cost. I just use so little CCP product in the SS cost is just not a big factor. If I was going through a bucket a month I'd look a lot harder at it. :)

I agree with everything you said.