Two-Stepping vs. Brushing with Truck Soap

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Greetings. I am posting this thread to see what some of you think are the pros and cons are when two-stepping or brushing. When do you feel it is best to use either or?
 
Some trucks are great for 2-stepping where some are better for brushing and some you have to do both, there is not really a 1-method does all greatly, just depends on your customer's expectations.

There are some truck and trailers that come out great when 2-stepping and you don't need to pick up a brush.

There are some trucks/trailers that have been neglected that for a higher-level of quality service it is a good idea to use a brush sometimes, it really depends on the job and what quality level you offer.

I have an account where I use hot water and soap injection and still brush as the high pressure soap will not remove everything and the level of quality I offer needs a brush most of the time, sometimes it gets real clean without brushing but not all the time.

There are great systems like the Bioclean that gets trucks very clean and not needing brushing, there are systems where you run the soap/brightener through the pump, there is downstreaming, etc.....just depends on what you are looking for, what your accounts want and what you want to offer.
 
Blaine Scott or some of our other Fleet guys will help you. I personally know there are two trains of thought, some never brush and others will say when you gotta you just do it.

Bio clean System is unique so blaine will say no brush.

Personally we all would like to never brush anything is it was possible, In all my fleetwash days i never achieved that. Maybe thats why i clean sidewalks!!! LOL
 
Good stuff Chris

Christopher said:
Some trucks are great for 2-stepping where some are better for brushing and some you have to do both, there is not really a 1-method does all greatly, just depends on your customer's expectations.

There are some truck and trailers that come out great when 2-stepping and you don't need to pick up a brush.

There are some trucks/trailers that have been neglected that for a higher-level of quality service it is a good idea to use a brush sometimes, it really depends on the job and what quality level you offer.

I have an account where I use hot water and soap injection and still brush as the high pressure soap will not remove everything and the level of quality I offer needs a brush most of the time, sometimes it gets real clean without brushing but not all the time.

There are great systems like the Bioclean that gets trucks very clean and not needing brushing, there are systems where you run the soap/brightener through the pump, there is downstreaming, etc.....just depends on what you are looking for, what your accounts want and what you want to offer.
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on some things i brush, some things i dont. If its a new account, we may have to get out a brush. then I have my regulars. They pretty much stay clean. I two step almost everything. The brush has its place. As far a single step soap. We've used panel bright, works good downstreamed, works even better under pressure. But it doesnt brighten the aluminum. Thats what alot of my customers like. Nice looking tanks and rims. So thats why I prefer the two step
 
There are so many ways to clean, so many different chemicals for each different type of job, sometimes it just takes time to learn how to clean what with what chemical.

I have tried about 11 different brands of chemicals and most were junk so I stick to a few that work (I will not bash those guys here and talk about what brands work/don't work) but once you have soaps/brighteners that work, it sure makes life a lot better, you start getting more compliments and referrals, etc....

I have washed some very hard-to-clean fleets and once I found what works and how to clean them, you get faster over time so then they are more profitable accounts and they are easier/faster to clean each time unless they are neglected for a while.
 
all depends on price and / or customers expectation. at times, like today, we do both. no one way is better than any other. we wash 800 trucks week on avg and have different wash methods and requirements for a lot of different customers.
 
Some customers insist you brush. I like to stay far away from those accounts now days. lol
 
Honestly, everything has its' place. I used to brush sometimes, sometimes I wouldn't. If I had my guys in the habit to not brush, and it became brush time, you could hear the whining. They really felt bad when I would out work them, because I usually take the hardest job. Two stepping is really nice though, especially if regular maintenance is weekly, or at most bi weekly.
 
Good post Chris even with the latest and greatest soaps we brush about every 4 months to keep the film off this is more so for the white trucks i found they really show if you dont bring the brush out every 4 months.I use a 1 step that works great its a spin off from a german soap recipe that was introduced for the ups drive through washers.Added butly as the solvant to help cut the grease much faster than soduim metisilicate.
 
We use the Bio-Clean system and I feel the same as Hal, we bring out the brush every once in a while to remove that last little bit of film that chemically won't come off the trucks. Older trucks where the paint is a single stage paint without a clear coat we don't ever have to brush because they don't seem to get any film on
them. I have taken over several ryder accounts north of me last weekend and whom ever was washing them used a hot soap because there are burns and clean streaks in the paint that will not come out
 
That is the problem with single stepping. Usually guys try to run as hot a soap a possible to break the bond but they usually cook the paint at the same time. Our competitors have done that here a lot on the accounts they have. Now they are horribly faded and chalky. With 2 stepping you don't need as hot of detergents and still do a better quality work with less hassle IMHO. However, as many have already stated, some customers still want to see you break out the brush.
 
I agree some want to see a brush or you may occasionally need one but a 2 step method can be the easiest and safest for the paint when done correctly. It also produces an neutral Ph which helps with discharge compliance issues.
 
One company we clean owns around 200 trucks. They buy about half new and are always buying used trucks. I can tell which ones have been 2 stepped cause of the dull paint. IMO the acid (if used too strong) will dull the paint.

Another company we clean for only has 20 trucks. They had been cleaned by the same company for 4 years before us and that company 2 stepped always. The trucks were dull with no shine when we took over. In the last 5 years, this same company has bought 5 new trucks and we are the only company that has cleaned them. I use my detergent (single step) fairly strong and only brush them maybe every 4th or 5th cleaning and these trucks (with exception of scratches, etc. from use) still shine like they did new! Same Freightliner trucks as the dull ones. We have some trucks we have cleaned this way for over 10 years and they still shine and some that were dull 10 years ago and are still dull. Now I don't know that ALL the dull trucks we cleaned were 2 stepped, but most I do know were cleaned that way. Maybe the guys that cleaned them just aren't doing something right, but the trucks are dull!

Maybe it was the soap the others used that dulled the trucks in combination with the acid, but I use a very strong detergent (its strong enough to clean an engine with warm water in the winter)

On regular cleanings (weekly for the most part), we use 2 8gpm machines. One downstreams soap and other rinses. When the soap guy gets a few trucks ahead, he changes tips and rinses to let the other guy catch up. We can usually clean 10 -20 trucks per hour this way. We go back before moving the truck and brighten tanks and wheels the same way.


I do 2 step van trailers when they are bad, but all the ones that we have are older trailers and were dull when we started cleaning them.

Now I am not knocking anyones method, but that is just my experience. These dull trucks may be just results of a hack contractor, and not the fault of the acid used but I am not cleaning that way because of it. Also a single step with even some brushing is faster for me, maybe not everyone but for us it is.

We only clean 75-100 trucks/trailers per week. I could get a lot more to clean, but we do these and start Friday morning and only work till noon Saturday. Years ago, I would work all weekend but now with 3 kids I like to get most of my weekend off!! Also April- Oct. around here is race season (dirt stock cars) and my oldest son and I both race LOL
 
Cooper said:
One company we clean owns around 200 trucks. They buy about half new and are always buying used trucks. I can tell which ones have been 2 stepped cause of the dull paint. IMO the acid (if used too strong) will dull the paint.

Another company we clean for only has 20 trucks. They had been cleaned by the same company for 4 years before us and that company 2 stepped always. The trucks were dull with no shine when we took over. In the last 5 years, this same company has bought 5 new trucks and we are the only company that has cleaned them. I use my detergent (single step) fairly strong and only brush them maybe every 4th or 5th cleaning and these trucks (with exception of scratches, etc. from use) still shine like they did new! Same Freightliner trucks as the dull ones. We have some trucks we have cleaned this way for over 10 years and they still shine and some that were dull 10 years ago and are still dull. Now I don't know that ALL the dull trucks we cleaned were 2 stepped, but most I do know were cleaned that way. Maybe the guys that cleaned them just aren't doing something right, but the trucks are dull!

Maybe it was the soap the others used that dulled the trucks in combination with the acid, but I use a very strong detergent (its strong enough to clean an engine with warm water in the winter)

On regular cleanings (weekly for the most part), we use 2 8gpm machines. One downstreams soap and other rinses. When the soap guy gets a few trucks ahead, he changes tips and rinses to let the other guy catch up. We can usually clean 10 -20 trucks per hour this way. We go back before moving the truck and brighten tanks and wheels the same way.


I do 2 step van trailers when they are bad, but all the ones that we have are older trailers and were dull when we started cleaning them.

Now I am not knocking anyones method, but that is just my experience. These dull trucks may be just results of a hack contractor, and not the fault of the acid used but I am not cleaning that way because of it. Also a single step with even some brushing is faster for me, maybe not everyone but for us it is.

We only clean 75-100 trucks/trailers per week. I could get a lot more to clean, but we do these and start Friday morning and only work till noon Saturday. Years ago, I would work all weekend but now with 3 kids I like to get most of my weekend off!! Also April- Oct. around here is race season (dirt stock cars) and my oldest son and I both race LOL
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sounds like you have a very efficicient operation....sounds familiar...
 
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