Ryko Rain Shield

We just started two sites up with this product and I would like to know what kind of results others people are seeing. Ryko has sold quite a few retro kits so I know there are a few people out there using it. I did speak with one of Ryko's chemical engineers and he claims that the there is no trace of Rain-x after just one wash and the Rainshield maintains complete coverage after 6 washes!
We are trying it without a clear coat follow-up pass. We do R.O. rinse after the Rain Shield application. I am still making adjustments to see what works best.

Rykopro-

We are currently useing it in both of our automatics (Softgloss & OHD) works great in OHD but I am having a pressure/foaming problem in my softgloss bay not the same type of visual "show" like the OHD has we do have the retrokit for both bays and set it up the way Ryko told us to but I am still making adjustments as well. But Rain Shield does what it says it suppose to, we have our OHD set at 3-3/4 GPH on the flowmeter I am told that it is 3/4 of an ounce and turned the clear-coat pump to "5" on the Softgloss.

Steve,
Did your retro include a mixing vessel (2" x 6" sch 80 pvc tube with pads) on the pumpbench? I am going to make some adjustments next week and I will let you know what I come up with. At this point I do not seem to get enough water at the nozzles.
We do not have an OHD using Rain Shield yet, I am glad to here yours works well. With the retro's, are you able to inject air on either machine?
Mark

Rykopro-

I too am having that problem with my softgloss, I checked out the unit at the factory and it only works because they have the mixing assembly right next to the softgloss (about 3-4 feet), "They didn't test it in the field like they should of before releaseing it!", we have the PVC 2x6 mixing vessel with air, I am going to be setting up another operators site with the Rain Shield (OHD & S.G) full retro for OHD and just going to be dropping the take up tube from his Raz clear-coat container and putting it in the Rain Shield container with no air. The OHD kit is the easiest kit to setup I installed ours in less then an hour. yeah let me know what modifications you made to make the softgloss work better with Rain Shield. I am designing a new arch you can attach to the softgloss with half to 3/4 the nozzles and am going to be utilizing the foamjet nozzles so no added air is required and then Ryko will get a hold of this and build one and say they designed it first and patent it.

I would have to take issue with your chemcial engineer's comments. I have been applying rain-x to vehicles in my touchless IBA at about 90:1 and it is quite obvious that this product lasts through multiple washes. How many, I don't know. But, I run my alkaline presoak stonger than 98% of operators and you can still see the water bead on the first high pressure pass if they have previously had rain-x applied. You can't even readily scrub it off in the SS bay with presoak and a foam brush. I'n no ecolab cheerleader, but I think Rain-X is an awesome product.

Jim,
I would recommend replacing the 1/2" line with a 3/4" line through the boom. We did change the 1/2" water valve to a 1" valve but that made no difference until we installed the larger hose. I would keep the air too, it really evens out the coverage and puts on a nice show! It looks like a runny foam bath and the air was set at 90 PSI! It covered so well my techs thought there was now way it would rinse off. Not only did it rinse great but the cars were dryer then they had ever seen with any product. I would try the hose upgrade first before reinventing the wheel. I was about ready to make some more changes at the pump bench but after the results we achieved by changing the hose, we are set.
I am sure we will be doing allot of upgrades in the near future!

Mark

Greg,
The engineer was using a softgloss wash for testing (foambrite friction), maybe that's is why there was such a difference. I mentioned to the engineer that you doubted his claim and he says the best way to test is a side by side comparison. He tells me that it is not even close, the Rain Shield wins hands down. If you like rain-X, you might want to try the Rain Shield. If anyone is interested, I can see about getting a sample for you to try out.

Rykopro-

Did you ever figure out a fix for that pressure problem at the nozzles for the softgloss and rain shield?

Boy, there's a shocker. They Ryko factory chemical engineer saying that his tests show that his product works much better than the leading competitor. That's similar to the in-house specialists at Phillip Morris saying that their tests show that smoking is not bad for you! Can't trust it.

Axxlrod,
That's exactly what I thought at first, but when my tech's are surprised/excited, so am I! I am not sure they thought changing the hose size would fix the application problem either, but what a difference it made. I did speak to the engineer again and he tells me that Rain-X will residually build up (the more you use it, the harder it is to remove). He was testing on "virgin" cars or cars known to have never had a Rain-X type of product applied. Both products work great, the Rain Shield just last longer with fewer applications.

Jim,
I would recommend replacing the 1/2" line with a 3/4" line through the boom. We did change the 1/2" water valve to a 1" valve but that made no difference until we installed the larger hose. I would keep the air too, it really evens out the coverage and puts on a nice show! It looks like a runny foam bath and the air was set at 90 PSI! It covered so well my techs thought there was now way it would rinse off. Not only did it rinse great but the cars were dryer then they had ever seen with any product. I would try the hose upgrade first before reinventing the wheel. I was about ready to make some more changes at the pump bench but after the results we achieved by changing the hose, we are set.
I am sure we will be doing allot of upgrades in the near future!

Mark

I know I posted this before. I tried to do it the correct way and it did not seem to work.