How It Works

At its root, washing a car seems to be a straightforward task. By using water and a sponge, millions have cleaned their cars in the driveway. This works to clean off light dirt and bugs, but any soil too heavy may scratch the paint. To avoid this, a pressure washer can be used to better clean the car. This works well to clean, but without using wax the clearcoat and subsequent finish of the car can remain bare to the elements. So a hand wax should be applied, and with proper technique can avoid swirl marks. Using these steps to wash and wax a vehicle helps to protect the finish of a car and keep its value high. This should be done often, and might take a fair amount of time each wash. This is where modern tunnel car washing is valuable and a great advantage to those who can’t take the time to wash and wax by hand. We believe East Ridge offers the best experience at a car wash St Joseph MO offers.

Washing your car at East Ridge Car Wash in St. Joe MO is a quick and efficient process. With free vacuums and an illustrious shine, it is a no brainer to wash through the best car wash St Joseph MO offers. And with our unlimited monthly wash club, it has never been easier to keep your car clean and shiny. But how can a tunnel car wash do in a few minutes what it could take an hour or more to do elsewhere? The answer lies in the science, technology, and chemistry used at East Ridge Car Wash.

Removing bugs safely without using brushes (which can scratch paint) requires proper chemicals. Throughout the history of East Ridge Car Wash St Joseph MO, we have never used brushes for cleaning bug residue. In the early days we had no “bug juice” for cleaning, but rather had to solely use water pressure. We had to also keep the water pressure low to protect paint from peeling. Thus when bug removing chemicals were introduced to our St. Joe car wash in the latter half of the 90’s, it was a godsend. Since then, the chemical formulas have only improved and allowed for even quicker removal of bug guts. We remove the bugs when our staff preps the car for the wash. This is also the time that heavy road grime, soil and bird droppings are removed. Bird droppings are acidic and abrasive, and can permanently mar the finish if left on the car for extended periods of time.

Dust and other grime that adheres to vehicles is held on by static electricity. When paint is applied to cars, it inherently has a positive static charge. Also, driving down the road creates static charge (for further reading reference Static Electricity and Automobiles by Robin Beach in the Scientific Monthly Vol 53, No 4.). The static charge attracts the dirt which contains the opposite charge. This functions similar to rubbing a balloon and sticking it to a doorway. The balloon has no adhesive on its own, but holds a static charge opposite that of the doorway. While it can be a nuisance, the static charge on the automobile and dirt in the environment is unavoidable. The first step in the chemistry of the car wash involves neutralizing the dirt to remove it from the paint. To change the charges, we utilize a series of presoaks that work well with different types of soils. Our high-pH solution attacks organic soils and road grime, while our low-pH presoaks remove inorganic material such as salts and metal particles. The paint must be then neutralized chemically as the soil is removed. Utilizing different kinds of presoaks allow for this to occur. After the presoaks, a high pressure rinse removes any residual solution so that the waxes can adhere and function properly.

The modern liquid waxes that we use in our St. Joe car wash offer a protective layer and provide an excellent shine. At its simplest form, clearcoat is paint without pigment that protects the base primer and paint. Naturally, the elements will take off something from the paint. Once the clear coat is gone, oxidation can take place, and the finish of the car quickly deteriorates. This decreases the resale value of the car. Waxes provide a cheap method to protect the clear coat with regular washing. Our waxes used at East Ridge Car Wash St Joseph MO provide UV protection as well.

The most common purpose of wax though, is the ability to add a deep gloss to the finish on a vehicle. When East Ridge started operation, the liquid waxes offered did not come close to competing with hand-applied paste waxes. However, modern liquid waxes have come a long way. At a microscopic level, the finish of a car is not flat but has hills and valleys. When the wax is applied, it smooths the surface by filling in these crevices. This makes a much smoother finish that repels water and dust much more effectively. Offering protection up to a month with our ceramic and carnauba waxes, regularly washing every week or two maintains a deep shine.

After the waxes are applied, rinses are utilized. The final rinse is very important to remove any last suspended particles and suds. Without a good rinse, the finish would not have a deep gloss. Also, the final rinse functions to help with drying the car. Once the car is rinsed, the cleaning and wax section of the car wash is done.

Our St. Joe car wash has a dividing wall between the wet and dry end of the tunnel. One of the most underrated processes of the car wash is the section between the last rinse and the blowers. This is called the drip space and is important for drying the car more thoroughly. This space allows for water to drip out of cracks and crevices. The most common places for water to drip out are under the mirrors, along the seals on windows, and on the rear doors of SUVs. Without the drip space, water would drip out in greater measure after the wash. Once the car goes through the drip space, blowers remove the majority of residual water. Any water that remains is removed by our towel dry. The towel drying done by our attendants ensure that light water spots do not form after leaving the wash. This completes the best service any car wash St Joseph MO has to offer.

The chemistry behind our car wash serves to produce a clean car with a “wow” shine you won’t find at another car wash St Joseph MO has. Regular washing with our high quality waxes helps to maintain the finish of a vehicle. With our unlimited monthly wash club, regular washing is quick and affordable to do.