Pre-soak staining paint?

[HighOctane]

I run a presoak from a local soap guy, never had any issues. Today one of the wires to my solenoid came loose and caused the low pressure to run without air, just water and soap coming out. It was a very easy fix. Apologized to the customer and payed for the rest of his wash. After he finished he noticed that a small 3” by 24” panel on the side of his truck was stained with soap. I figured that this would be easy as well and grabbed a microfiber towel and tried to remove it - soap stayed on. It’s definitely from me, the stain was pink and in small strings. It looked just like soap that was left in too long and dried. Could this have happened from lack of air or is this an issue with my soap? Thanks!

 

[washnshine]

I run a presoak from a local soap guy, never had any issues. Today one of the wires to my solenoid came loose and caused the low pressure to run without air, just water and soap coming out. It was a very easy fix. Apologized to the customer and payed for the rest of his wash. After he finished he noticed that a small 3” by 24” panel on the side of his truck was stained with soap. I figured that this would be easy as well and grabbed a microfiber towel and tried to remove it - soap stayed on. It’s definitely from me, the stain was pink and in small strings. It looked just like soap that was left in too long and dried. Could this have happened from lack of air or is this an issue with my soap? Thanks!

Bad dyes in your soap will stain with or without air. Reputable manufacturers will use non -staining dyes. It’s probably not necessary to have colored presoak anyway. Presoak chemicals hit the car when it is dry, dirty and potentially warm or hot and is probably high pH. I’d just use some chemistry that cleans well for you without any dye and save the colors for your triple foams and waxes in the later cycles.

 

[Randy]

I run a presoak from a local soap guy, never had any issues. Today one of the wires to my solenoid came loose and caused the low pressure to run without air, just water and soap coming out. It was a very easy fix. Apologized to the customer and payed for the rest of his wash. After he finished he noticed that a small 3” by 24” panel on the side of his truck was stained with soap. I figured that this would be easy as well and grabbed a microfiber towel and tried to remove it - soap stayed on. It’s definitely from me, the stain was pink and in small strings. It looked just like soap that was left in too long and dried. Could this have happened from lack of air or is this an issue with my soap? Thanks!

It'll fade out over time or you can use a little bleach and water to remove the stain. This is one of the primary reasons we don't use colored soaps, we use only white.

 

[HighOctane]

Bad dyes in your soap will stain with or without air. Reputable manufacturers will use non -staining dyes. It’s probably not necessary to have colored presoak anyway. Presoak chemicals hit the car when it is dry, dirty and potentially warm or hot and is probably high pH. I’d just use some chemistry that cleans well for you without any dye and save the colors for your triple foams and waxes in the later cycles.

Great thanks!

 

[Greg Pack]

UV light will kill most dyes in a day. If you put off meeting the a couple of days it will likely be gone when they come back. I don't think I've ever had a problem with a newer car. It's always been a older white car with paint starting to oxidize.