Detailer Car Wash

[Rockpick]

I've used all of them... #00 to D-Line Hyper Wash.

In order of my preference...

1. Gold Class - Excellent lubrication with long-lasting suds. Very easy to find locally and very affordable at $10 / gallon at Target.
2. NXT Shampoo - Good soap. Pretty good suds. Nice sheeting action. Easy to find and, again, affordable.
3. Deep Crystal - Very good consumer soap. Long lasting suds, nice scent, and affordable.
4. Soft Wash Gel - Only have used this one a few times but liked it okay. This one was on the same page as the Deep Crystal IMO.
5. Hyper Wash - ULTRA CONCENTRATED (400 parts water to 1 part Hyper Wash). Very good shampoo for HIGH-VOLUME detailers or dealerships. Probably not the best choice for someone who doesn't own a way to 'precisely' measure for proper ratio. I've only used this product a couple of times (once at Meg's in Irvine on a Meguiar's Employee's SAAB back in April 2004). Nice suds, nice lubrication.
6. Shampoo Plus - Just didn't work well for me and my water chemistry. Suds died quickly, not much lubrication. I kept wanting to add more soap as the ratio seemed too weak. I've used it 10 times now with only very minor variations in opinion.
7. #62 - Just a bit too old school for my tastes. Decent lubrication but poor suds. My water chemistry may be influencing both SP and #62. Not sure.
8. #00 - Soap-free and great as a clay lubricant. No longer a product I keep on my shelf.
9. Quik Suds Strips - Uhh, well... good idea. Small footprint on a storage shelf. Average lubrication with so-so suds. Great fragrance though.

Gold Class, in my opinion with my particular water chemistry in this area, is, HANDS DOWN, my favorite and at $10 for a gallon at Target, it's a tough one to beat!

RP

[Tim Lingor]

Wow! RP, our results are REALLY different!!! As you know, I own all of the Meg's shampoos and soaps as well. I have been using a lot of SP lately and I am amazed at the large amount of suds! I was actaully complaining to my wife as I only added 1 gallon of water to my 5 gallon bucket and the suds were flowing over the top! I had to keep adding water with a ton of suds flowing down the driveway!

The differences in our water must be enormous! I will wash the truck tomorrow and I will take pictures/video of the SP and its suds! Like I said, we must have very different water.

Tim

[Rockpick]

Originally posted by 2hotford
Wow! RP, our results are REALLY different!!! As you know, I own all of the Meg's shampoos and soaps as well. I have been using a lot of SP lately and I am amazed at the large amount of suds! I was actaully complaining to my wife as I only added 1 gallon of water to my 5 gallon bucket and the suds were flowing over the top! I had to keep adding water with a ton of suds flowing down the driveway!

The differences in our water must be enormous! I will wash the truck tomorrow and I will take pictures/video of the SP and its suds! Like I said, we must have very different water.

Tim

Must be Tim... That or I have a bad bottle. After a phone call in to customer service at Meg's, I'm not sure but this might be the very first product I've ever sent back under the guarantee.

I recall our conversations about this product and I totally trust your opinion... we just have different ones on this product but, again, mind you, my water can literally be chiseled off a painted surface after it dries.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by 2hotford
I had to keep adding water with a ton of suds flowing down the driveway!Tim

I take it that you have very soft water Tim.

Good thing you don't live in California.........The suds police would write you a ticket.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by Rockpick
but, again, mind you, my water can literally be chiseled off a painted surface after it dries.

Sounds like you have really hard water RP!

How many degrees of hardness is it?

[Tim Lingor]

Originally posted by Rusty Bumper

I take it that you have very soft water Tim.

Good thing you don't live in California.........The suds police would write you a ticket.

Luckily, it was mostly foam/suds!

I really have no idea why there is such a difference created by water hardness. I thought my water was actually hard, but from RP's comments about chiseling the water, his water must be REALLY hard!

I sense I will be doing a giant soap comparo/review in the near future. Perhaps I should find out more about my water's hardness beforehand in order to prevent differing results.

Tim

[rusty bumper]

Here's an inexpensive test kit for testing water hardness.....

http://www.petmountain.com/show_product/502225

[Fr0zen]

Can't wait for the SP pictures 2hotford, im worried now about SP, im a total suds freak. Im usign 4* regular wash now and I add alot of it I mean alot to get the suds I want it works well that way. Id go for hyper dressing but I don't wash nearly enough to use it to its full potential.

[Rick]

While we're on the topic of car wash soaps... has anyone found that hyper wash makes your hands tingle after use? I have the 1oz pump and use that for my 5 gallon bucket. I generally now use the wash brush for my own car so my hands stay dry with it, but the other day I washed two vehicles in a row using hyper wash and since they wern't anything special I used one of my wash mitts. After doing both my hands tingled for about a half hour. I've washed two cars end to end before and never recall this happening.

Just curious.