WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW?
- If we sell a strong product to a client with highly polished aluminium on their vehicle, the product is very likely to streak, tarnish, frost or brown the aluminium. The only way to rectify that is to polish it again and no one wants to do that.
- If we sell a soft product such as Platinum Wash to a client that does not have highly polished aluminium, they will not get very good cleaning results and will likely be disappointed with their purchase.
ALUMINIUM OR SOMETHING ELSE?
- Highly polished aluminium can look very similar to stainless steel or chrome. It is important to know the difference to be able to sell a client the correct cleaning product.
- Chrome is generally extremely robust and will not tarnish or be affected by any of the Chiefs Products.
- Stainless steel is similar to chrome but less robust. Over time, stainless steel will tarnish a little bit simply due to the elements more than chrome will. In most cases, stainless steel is very resistant to any effect from the Chiefs range of products.
- Standard aluminium is a very soft metal and will tarnish very easily when exposed to alkalis or acids. Aluminium will tarnish quite quickly even from exposure to air. This is due to the oxidizing process characteristic to all aluminium
- Highly polished aluminium is the same metal as standard aluminium but has been machine buffed to make it shine. This process is very hard work, but it makes a vehicle look amazing.
HOW TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE
- That is the difficult part, understanding if a vehicle has highly polished aluminium, standard aluminium or no aluminium at all.
- Often the vehicle owner won’t know the difference themselves. Sometimes they will think that their aluminium is highly polished, but it is not. Other times, a client will be humble about how nice their vehicle looks and give the impression it is standard when it is most definitely not.
- A picture is worth a thousand words. In the pictures below, all the different likely positions of polished aluminium, chrome and stainless have been identified. Ultimately, the client needs to decide if they need the polish safe product or not.
- In the picture above, the stacks (exhaust) are stainless steel as is the air intake (in front of the door). This unit should only be washed with Platinum Wash.
- The tanks are generally aluminium and in this case, they are highly polished. The steps on the tank are also polished aluminium as is the bumper bar at the front of the truck.
- Note the wheels may be a polished aluminium that is coated. This is hard to tell by simply looking. If you see this label on the rim, then the rim is coated and generally will not tarnish.
The truck in this picture has aluminium but it is not polished. This vehicle can use strong products without worrying about the effect on the aluminium. In fact, the owner isn’t worried if it gets a little tarnished and would rather use a product that cleans really well.
This fleet has polished bull bars. The rims are most likely treated and don’t matter. Some fleets will start out new with polished bars, but over time, no one keeps them shiny so they lapse back to standard aluminium and stronger products can be used.
The black truck shown here actually has mostly chrome with only a touch of stainless steel and one piece of polished aluminium. In this case, the owner was very particular and wanted our touchless products to maintain the very high-quality paintwork. Carnet Jumbo worked a treat here because it is mostly chrome.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
- See if the client has a current picture of their truck, this way you can point at the parts and discuss with the client the implications of the different products on the various surfaces.
- If the client has a bigger problem with getting the units clean than they do caring about the aesthetic condition of their aluminium, then strong products can be used
- Anyone who has a very shiny truck understands that keeping it that way is a lot of work. Generally, they are happy to opt for the Platinum Wash, knowing that it doesn’t work as good as the stronger products. They will happily sponge a little here and there to get the level of cleanliness they want. These clients benefit from the use of Bio Polish.
- Due to the many different metals on the vehicles, it is advisable to simply test a small amount in an inconspicuous area
- Most trucks will have aluminium on them in multiple places. If this aluminium is not like a mirror and the client would rather the unit be clean and presentable, then Platinum Wash is not required.