Car wash chemicals: shampoo, degreaser, tyre shine and what to avoid

An owner in Kasoa asked whether it was true that the laundry powder his washers had used for two years was damaging cars. His regulars had started asking why their paint looked dull and their rubber seals were cracking. The washers liked the powder because it foamed, it was cheap at the market, and nobody had ever told them otherwise.

Car wash chemicals Ghana suppliers sell are not expensive once you understand dilution, and the difference between the right shampoo and laundry powder shows on a black car within a month. None of it needs a chemistry lesson. It needs a measuring jug, a label and a rule or two.

Why laundry powder is costing you customers

Laundry powder and dish soap are made to strip grease from clothes and plates. On a car they strip the wax and the protective layer on the clear coat, dry out rubber seals and plastic trim, and leave a chalky film in the sun. The car looks worse each visit, and the customer blames the wash.

A proper car shampoo is formulated to lift dirt without removing protection, to rinse clean, and to let the drying towel glide. It costs more per litre and far less per car, because it is diluted much further.

pH: what the number on the drum means

pH runs from 0 to 14. Seven is neutral; lower is acidic, higher is alkaline. Car paint and trim are happiest with products close to neutral, which is why a good car shampoo is labelled around pH 6 to 8. Strong alkaline products (pH 11 and up) cut grease fast, which is what you want on an engine block and not on a bonnet. Strong acids are used for wheels and for removing mineral deposits, and they are the ones that etch paint and burn skin.

Ask the supplier for the pH of every product you buy, and write it on the container with a marker. Shampoo near neutral for paint. Alkaline degreaser for engines, chassis and oily wheels, rinsed off quickly. Acid wheel cleaners only if someone has been trained, and never on polished alloys.

Dilution: the cheapest saving in the business

Concentrated shampoo is meant to be mixed with water, often at 1 part shampoo to 50 or 100 parts water for a bucket wash, and at different ratios in a foam cannon. Washers who pour it neat into the bucket because "more soap, more foam" use ten times what is needed and leave residue that streaks. The product cost per car goes from a few pesewas to a few cedis without a single extra car washed.

Fix it with a jug and a line. Mark a measuring jug at the right amount for one bucket and for one foam cannon fill, write the ratio on the drum, and make dilution part of the opening routine: mixed once, in a labelled container, for the day. The savings here, along with water and towel care, are worked through in Cutting car wash costs without cutting corners.

Degreasers, tyre shine and the ones that bite

Engine degreaser is alkaline and strong. It goes on a cool engine, sits for a minute or two, gets agitated with a brush, and is rinsed with low pressure while electrical parts are covered. Left to dry on painted parts or aluminium it stains, and it strips paint from an engine cover if used neat. Dilute it, and use it on the engine, the chassis and badly oiled rims only.

Tyre shine comes in two families. Solvent-based shine gives the wet black look customers in Accra ask for, lasts longer, and flings onto paint when the car drives off if applied too thick; it also makes a wet bay slippery. Water-based shine is milder, dries matt or satin, and washes off in the next rain.

Avoid acid wheel cleaners unless you have polished-alloy work and a trained washer; avoid anything sold as "polish" that is really an abrasive compound, which thins paint every time; and avoid kerosene and diesel on tyres and plastics, which some washers use because they are cheap. They look good for a day and crack rubber within months, and they make your run-off something an EPA officer will remember, as discussed in Recycling water and staying on the right side of the EPA.

Buying car wash chemicals in Ghana by the drum

Once you know your dilution, buying concentrated shampoo in 20 or 25 litre drums from a chemical supplier or a detailing products shop is far cheaper per car than small bottles from the market. Prices for a 25 litre drum vary widely with brand and quality; ask for a sample litre before committing, and wash five cars with it.

Store drums off the floor, out of direct sun, with the lids on. Keep a stock card on the wall: date, product, litres in, litres out. Chemicals that walk away with a washer are a known leak at Ghanaian washes, and a stock card is the only way to notice.

Keeping washers safe

Degreasers and acid cleaners burn skin and eyes. Buy nitrile gloves in bulk and make them part of the uniform for anything stronger than shampoo. Keep a bottle of clean water by the chemicals for rinsing eyes, and tell washers to rinse for several minutes and come to you, not to carry on.

Never let a washer mix two products to make a "stronger" one. Keep products in their own labelled containers, never in drinking water bottles, which is how a child or a thirsty washer drinks degreaser. Put safety in the first day of training, as laid out in Training a new car washer in one week.

Your next step is to look at what is in the bucket right now. If it came from the market in an unlabelled bottle, replace it this week with a labelled concentrate, a jug and a ratio written on the drum.