A quick demonstration of Chemical Guys ONE

emmanuelv · 09-30-07, 11:03

Hi everyone,

Today I made a quick wash on my Alfa Romeo GT using Chemical Guys' ONE.

It's the product that generates the most questions and eyebrows from my watching neighbours

so I though it would be interresting to take some pictures before, during and after.

Basically it's a "quick waterless wash", not to be confused with the usual QD's.

Allow me to put this straight : this is in no way made to replace a full correct wash using two buckets and a nice shampoo. This is NOT to be done on a very dirty or very dusty car. It's quite effective and practical on a lightly dirty or dusty vehicle, just when a QD would get saturated. I use it mainly during holidays, in order not to carry 10s of products.

OK, here as some pics before (you can see that my GT is moderatly dirty, just 9 days of light daily usage).

Here are the pics for step 1, just after spraying the ONE on the full bodywork, windows, etc. You need to shake well the bottle before spraying.

You might notice that it looks like ... melted butter :doublesho and it gives a greasy look to the whole car. No panicking, this is how it's meant to work...

Then follows, step 2, where you spread the product without removing too much with a clean microfiber, not insisting, with large, one-way sweeps.The objective here is to encapsulate dirt after emulsion : it's normal that your microfiber gets dirty.

Last, step 3, you use another clean microfiber and you buff vigorously all areas to get the wanted shine. If the previous step was correctly done, your microfiber should stay clean.

So here is the result :

It's the 3rd time I do this in a few months, and I looked at my bodywork with a strong lens under the sun, and saw no swirls. I was very concerned about this but considering the extreme quality and efficiency of other CG products, I gave it a try. After 3 usages I can assure you that my beloved GT has no resulting swirls.

That's just a little demo that took me no more than 20 minutes, a niche product for those times when family life does not allow for a full half-day wash on a not-really-dirty car.

Your comments are welcome

Yal · 10-01-07, 08:55

Ok, first, that is one sick looking car

Second, I am amazed you have no swirls, that is an interesting product.

hooked · 10-01-07, 09:28

That is a really nice car! So you sprayed the whole car before going to step 2? And how much product to do you actually use to cover the whole car?

3puttjay · 10-01-07, 09:38

I have four kids and time is of the essence. I can wash my car, with the two buckets method, in 30 minutes. If you can get your kids to hose the car at the beginning and the end, you might shave a few minutes off your normal washing time. I dry with the sheeting method and WW mf's. Though, this method only works with a moderately dirty or dusty car. I am always afraid of inducing swirls if trying to QD a dusty car, so I am impressed that you haven't done that to yours (its a lovely car).

2KLS1 · 10-01-07, 12:32

I've been considering this product but I still can't bring myself to get it. Plus it seems like you have to use a lot of it. Oh and like everyone else has said, nice car. Any chance of getting some interior shots?

MDRX8 · 10-01-07, 01:07

What my main concern is the ingredient KAOLIN which is actually clay. Does this compromise your LSP?

BlueZero · 10-01-07, 01:50

Thanks for doing the review. Looks like a great product. Beautiful car by the way.

I wonder if ONR used in the same fashion would work? Just thinking out loud.

SuperBee364 · 10-01-07, 04:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by MDRX8

What my main concern is the ingredient KAOLIN which is actually clay. Does this compromise your LSP?

According to Paul at Chemical Guys, it does not compromise your LSP. It's important to remember, though, that ONE *does* leave a layer of carnauba behind.

MDRX8 · 10-01-07, 05:02

So you use it with Vintage?

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperBee364

According to Paul at Chemical Guys, it does not compromise your LSP. It's important to remember, though, that ONE *does* leave a layer of carnauba behind.

P1et · 10-01-07, 05:09

Da's een prachtige Alfa Romeo, zeer mooi!

Can we see some interior shots? That red leather looks very inviting...

emmanuelv · 10-01-07, 10:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yal

Ok, first, that is one sick looking car

Second, I am amazed you have no swirls, that is an interesting product.

Thank you very much for the nice comment

I can assure you guys that I made my homework before trying this product - mainly by dissecting the main ONE thread here on Autopia, and by exchanging e-mails with other CG users

I first tried on one of my bumpers and then reached for a magnifying lens under direct sun to see the results. Nothing so far, and this is my 3rd usage of the products in about 3 months (of course I also do full washes with the good 2 buckets method).

emmanuelv · 10-01-07, 10:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by hooked

That is a really nice car! So you sprayed the whole car before going to step 2? And how much product to do you actually use to cover the whole car?

Thank you too.

Yes, I spray the whole exterior (excluding wheels but including windows, trim, antenna, bumpers etc). I then leave it 2-3 minutes to start the emulsion process that is supposed to encapsulate and lift dirt.

The picture with the ONE bottle is what remains after I made two full washes in the previous months. I would say that doing my GT (which is not small) takes approximatively 1/6th of the bottle.