Softgloss breaking mirrors

[Jimmy Buffett]

We have broken 2 mirrors in the last 2 days and 4 in the last month. I think before this month we had broken 5 in 5 years and 4 of those were Pontiac Grand Ams. I have "rear return" down to 7 pounds. Cars are lined up into the road today and will be tomorrow so I'm kind of nervous. Am I missing something? Maybe the gauge is wrong?
Thx
J

 

[Gabriel]

Have you changed soap? I was always told that the reason was because the soap did not lubricate the brushes to make them slick. The result was that the brushes grabbed everything they touched. They also thinned them and cut them shorter to try to stop the grabbing. You can actually feel it if the foam wheels are not slick. Also pressure may need adjustment, but for me it was always a chemical problem. I really did not care what the problem was at the time I just did not want it to happen again. I did change companies a time or two and found something that seemed to work better. It has been awhile and I really don't remember which chemicals worked better. I did not keep it long due to damage claims. Others seem to have better luck.

 

[Jimmy Buffett]

No, same soap. The pressure apparently is changing on it's own. I just got out there and it was reading 15 lbs. and I have not touched it. The bay has been full all day. I'm going to change the solenoid if it ever gets empty.

 

[RykoPro]

We have broken 2 mirrors in the last 2 days and 4 in the last month. I think before this month we had broken 5 in 5 years and 4 of those were Pontiac Grand Ams. I have "rear return" down to 7 pounds. Cars are lined up into the road today and will be tomorrow so I'm kind of nervous. Am I missing something? Maybe the gauge is wrong?
Thx
J

Jim,
The rear return should be set at 60 PSI. This is the regulator that controls the air to hold the rear arms out. If it is set to low, the arms will not retract properly.
The pressure changed could be a couple of things, first off you always set the air pressure by increasing pressure with the regulator. You never want to set pressure by reducing pressure and bleeding off air. Reduce pressure well below the desired pressure and then slowly increase until you reach the proper pressure. Each regulator and gauge is selected by pressure range, when you are trying to set it at 7 PSI when the regulator and gauge have a 80 to 100 PSI range, it will be much harder to maintain this low pressure. When setting the lower pressures like on the trailing rear arm pressure, the gauge range is only 15 PSI, so the increments are much larger and easier to dial in.
Here are the correct pressures for a Softgloss manufactured in 2000 (most of these settings have changed very little, if at all, through the entire production run of the past 10 or so years):
Front Air-45 PSI
High Front Air-65 PSI
Rear Trail- 10 PSI
Rear air in- 45 PSI
Front return- 60 PSI
Rear return- 60 PSI
wheel Scrub- 40 PSI
Foam bath- 40-85 PSI

As far as getting enough soap, you want a lot of lubrication with the Foambrite brushes. If you can hear the brushes "squeaking" when they contact the car, you need more lubrication. Some cheaper soaps will have plenty of suds, but still not enough lubrication for the brushes. I would also verify that your rear clutches are operating properly.
Hope this helps with your problem

 

[Jimmy Buffett]

Thanks Mark. I had a bad mac valve and the gauge was bad too. I turned up all 3 of my soaps. I switched about a year ago to using 2 conditioners with my regular detergent because I was getting so many suds it was hard to rinse off. I may need to revisit that.