Horse Trailers

[bhenson]

Hey all,

I was contacted by a local horse trailer company today. They are new and they need to make the dull in to shiny. They said that they use acid to do it. Has anyone ever done anything like this

[CTSR]

Bryan,
 I wash a few trailers for a cattle showing organization. Just Be sure to take the extra time and rinse them well. When you think you've rinsed one enough then go back over it one more time. Humans aren't the only ones subject to acid burns. Show cattle and horses can both be HIGH DOLLAR items with very picky owners.

[bhenson]

Thanks for the info never thought off that.

[Russ Johnson]

F102 is a maintenance cleaner for polished aluminum. It will remove the dirt and tarnish without dulling the polished finish. If you use regular aluminum brightener on new trailers, it will remove the polished finish. $50 / 5 gallons.

[bhenson]

Here is an update. We went and met with the production manager today. These trailer are brand new and right off the assembly line. They already have a full time crew of 4 that are acid washing these trailers. They are looking for and outside company to come in a help get them caught up towards the end of the month.

We walked through their plant and got to watch them wash for about 20 mins. There was 3 of them washing one trailer. One inside washing and rinsing. 2 outside one washing while the other was rinsing.

They told us that it usually take them 2-2 1/2 hours to acid wash one trailer. On a good day they can get 8 out in a normal 10 hour day.

They are taking the trailer right off the assembly line and acid washing them. Taking the dull aluminum to a polished and shiny aluminum. They said they are using a diluted acid to do the work. We watched them spray it on then rinse it off. In some places they were applying the acid 6-7 times and rinsing in between.

Okay so here is a couple of questions for you guys.

1. Is 2- 2 1/2 hours to long on each trailer.

2. If they used a stronger acid would it speed up the process

3. What should the dwell time be in both case ( diluted acid and stronger mix )

4. Would 2 stepping help with the process to speed it up or would it not work to bring the dull to a finshed coat.

5. This would be a 2-3 day job at the end of every month account for us, so what would you guys recommend price wise to charge per unit. ( if they are using 4 ppl to do the work now and lets say at @ 15.00 ea per hour. That would be around $120 in labor per trailer at 2 hours ea.

We will not be using our equipment or chems. They will be suppling everything. Alot of these horse trailers are custom built. So a standard price would be a must. We have never taking on anything like this before. They are willing for us to come in and work a side by side with their crew til we all feel comfortable enough to go about this on our own.

And help in this matter would be so great.

[kiloman7]

I have never seen acid actually polish aluminum.It will remove dirt grime etc but taking aluminum from dull to polished aluminum that would be something to see.Like Russ said a good product to keep the shiney would be your best bet.I still maybe missing something so keep us posted on the type of results you get.Russ whats you take on citric acid alot of the large cattle trailers that the guys around  here pull get there rigs washed in the citric acid and they like it better they say it  doesnt dull them out like regular hf

[Chris]

That is very interesting, an acid that can polish aluminum. Cool!
Find out more about it if you can.

Even if it took multiple applications, that would be good to have if it could take the place of buffing.

Are they going to pay you per piece or per hour like their employees?

[Brad Jarman]

Bryan,  This sounds like a great oportunity for you.  My recommendation would be to follow their process exactly such as the chem, temp, chem application, dwell time and rinse.  From our experience, almost any acid solution applied improperly to polished aluminum will over time dull the finish.  Some non hf acid solutions (most contain some citric acid) are out there that will clean and remove some of the tarnished oxide if used correctly.  Once the oxide is removed more of the polished surface is visable (thus it may look like the acid has shined it up).  If the polished surface has been damaged or etched due to too strong a solution or hf acid, the shine will never come back.  If you can replicate their process and meet their quality requirements I am sure you can charge them fairly high rate for this service.  

I worked with a large livestock trailer manufacturer and they 2 stepped some of their trailers with a non caustic detergent and a diluted hf solution.  The trailers had more of a satin finish than polished when they were done.  The reason for using the hf was to remove the weld smut from the aluminum.  Let us know how it works out for you.

[CTSR]

Just a personal preference, but I'm pretty picky about equipment and chems so if they wanted me to use their stuff I'm afraid I might have to walk on that one. My reasoning is I did a hog feeding floor for a farmer that he insisted I use his diluted off the shelf stuff and his washer and the project took 5 hours longer then if I had used my stuff. Just a little something to consider

[Russ Johnson]

Russ whats you take on citric acid alot of the large cattle trailers that the guys around  here pull get there rigs washed in the citric acid and they like it better they say it  doesnt dull them out like regular hf

Citric based aluminum brightener does leave polished aluminum shiny. I make some for a concrete hauler to take the concrete dust off the bulkers without messing with the finish (although the lime in the concrete dust does mess with it.)

[bhenson]

Thats why we are going to work there for a couple of days before we jump in, to learn their process. Yes it was a very cool process. Not sure what type of acid they are using, but thats is what they are trying to accomp. is to take the burn smut of the trailers from the welding and to shine it up.

Chris, they will be paying us by the unit. Price is something I need to come up with. Not sure on what to charge at this point. Any suggestions would be wonderful.

Thanks all. I will contact the production manger Monday and find out what kind of acid they are using.

Their guys burned 2 trailer the day before. They were trailers that had polished aluminum plated slats. They were f-ed up bad. They have tried everything they know to get the shine back. No good results. If they dont find something they are going to tear the trailer apart and put new slats on. Do any of you know what might work for that.

Thanks again everyone. This is why I love this industry. So much knowledge. Thanks again.

[Trevor Steel]

Bryan,  This sounds like a great oportunity for you.  My recommendation would be to follow their process exactly such as the chem, temp, chem application, dwell time and rinse.  From our experience, almost any acid solution applied improperly to polished aluminum will over time dull the finish.  Some non hf acid solutions (most contain some citric acid) are out there that will clean and remove some of the tarnished oxide if used correctly.  Once the oxide is removed more of the polished surface is visable (thus it may look like the acid has shined it up).  If the polished surface has been damaged or etched due to too strong a solution or hf acid, the shine will never come back.  If you can replicate their process and meet their quality requirements I am sure you can charge them fairly high rate for this service.  

I worked with a large livestock trailer manufacturer and they 2 stepped some of their trailers with a non caustic detergent and a diluted hf solution.  The trailers had more of a satin finish than polished when they were done.  The reason for using the hf was to remove the weld smut from the aluminum.  Let us know how it works out for you.

I agree with Brad. I would be very hesitant to do any work with out a thorough contract that protects you from any damage caused during the cleaning process. good luck sounds like a cool gig

[bhenson]

Thanks Trevor,

I talked with Brad earlier on the phone had some great advice. I will keep everyone posted on the out come on this. This could be an un tap market in the industry for us all.

This company sales all over the US and Canada. Maybe a great contact for others to capitalize in other areas of the US.

[kiloman7]

You could make them shine alot faster by polishing the trailers they would be shiney enough to need glasses on.Brad you are a true asset to this site along with Russ.Two guys with true chemical knowledge sharing the wealth with the site.

[Quick's Powerwashing]

Ya Brad thanks for donating your free time to help us.

jason