Co2 Auto Blog 2/27: Little known facts regarding dry ice cleaning, or "dryce" cleaning for vehicles.
One rarely considered fact regarding Dryce cleaning vehicles is the portion of each project that can be accomplished by using dry ice blasting alone and the resultant amount of each vehicle that then must be accomplished by hand or other ways.
This being such a new process in the automotive service industry means that most people couldn't even guess at the individual steps that move us from the beginning to the end of a project. We'll touch on a few steps in the process that do not involve dry ice at all. By the end of the project it is possible that discovery, prep, working by hand and clean up can total 10%-30% of the whole process.
1) Discovery: I recently removed undercoating from a 55 year old car. The car was was completely coated, I mean COMPLETELY, shortly after it's original delivery. That coating was then, entirely spray painted. The car remained this way until some time in the last 15-20 years when it was completely undercoated with the a more modern product used today. Discovery is the part of the process where we try and "discover" exactly what this vehicle's history is. What has been applied, or removed, and how it will affect what steps are necessary to achieve the desired outcome. Very often there are compromises made as we realize more facts about the historyof the project. In the case of the undercoat/spray paint/undercoat "Oreo cookie", the first spot we sampled, above the rear axle behind rear seat bench, made this car look simple and perfect. In the end it was absolutely beautiful. However, there was much more labor and "ice" involved than initially planned. We like to call this "Carcheology", or vehicle history. It takes some time but is extremely important.
2) Prep: Once we've determined the steps required to offer the best outcome for that particular vehicle and that particular customer it is time to prepare. If we are to remove half inch of two kinds of undercoat the preparation can be completely different than a vehicle getting a general cleaning. Taping off body panels, whole vehicles or just parts of the undercarriage all take differing amounts time. These processes can add as much as 2-3 hours to the job.
3) Finishing: To complete any project you may have to finish cleaning difficult areas manually. Often times the dirt/grease/grime you remove with dry ice blasting ends up somewhere unintended. We spend a fair amount of time verifying that we cleaned everything we intended and left nothing behind. I feel it is important to stress the complexity of the engine/undercarriage on vehicles. It's difficult to illustrate just how many surfaces need to be accouted for when doing a complete cleaning. It will generally take us a couple hours to "finish" or ready the vehicle for the customer.
These are steps in the dry ice cleaning process that you, and many others that are unfamiliar with this don't necessarily consider. They are just as important as any other aspect when doing the job correctly. At Co2 Auto Renew we don't cut corners. We strive to be the best at taking care of your vehicle.
Remember "Clean cars are faster!"
Sorry I was a day late,
Bill
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