At CarWash College™ we teach preventive maintenance. This month we are going to talk about a piece of equipment that has and will continue to be talked about for a long time to come. The Wrap-Around washer. The Wrap-Around provides excellent cleaning but when not adjusted properly can cause lots of damage claims. I am going to talk about four areas that need to be monitored.

1.      Cloth penetration.
The majority of Wrap-Arounds should deliver between 3” to 4” of penetration on flat surfaces. Penetration is the amount of cloth that should be laying flat on the side of the vehicle as the brush spins.

2.      Lubrication.
In most cases the cloth needs to lubricated well to avoid dragging on the vehicle surface. If the cloth is not lubricated it can allow the cloth to take a hold on various parts of the vehicle and pull them off. In most cases a neutral or low Ph high foaming chemical is used to achieve the lubrication.

3.      Air pressure on the wrap arms.
The air to the Wrap-Around is usually the culprit  for unnecessary damage. The recommended air settings for the vast majority of Wrap-Arounds are as follows.              


    Conveyor Speed                     Wrap Pressure
    50-70 Cars Per Hour               0 PSI
    70-80 Cars Per Hour               0-5 PSI Driver 0-5 PSI Passenger
    80-90 Cars Per Hour               5-10 PSI Driver 5-15 PSI Passenger
    90-125 Cars Per Hour             10-15 PSI Driver 15-25 Passenger
    The air pressure for the retract will be set around 60 PSI          

4.      Wrap Arm Pitch.
Most wrap-arounds have hanger bearings that are adjustable. If these settings are off this could cause the brush to be aggressive.The wrap-arm must be level. The starting point should always be so that the top bearing and bottom bearing are both centered on the arm mounting plate. Under most situations the adjustments will be made with the air pressure controls. However, if more side pressure is desired on vehicle, the bottom bearing would be adjusted out (away from the centerline of wash in 1/8" increments). If less side pressure is desired, the bottom bearing would be adjusted (toward the centerline of the wash in 1/8" increments).

Making these few, easy adjustments will ensure a much smoother wrap operation with little or no damage to mirrors, antennae, and license plates. Let’s assume an express exterior car wash washing 10,000 cars per month with a $6.50 average. Assuming you are currently at 1% in damage claims that would be $650.00 a month. If you were able to make the simple adjustments to the wrap and lower the damages to .5% that would be $325.00. So the savings could be $325.00 per month or $3900.00 per year.

Robert Andre is the President of CarWash College™. Robert can be reached at RAndre@carwashcollege.com. For more information about CarWash College™ certification programs, visit www.carwashcollege.comor call the registrar's office at 1-866-492-7422.