Recommend best car shampoo?

[jrock645]

DG901 is probably my favorite I`ve tried so far. The CG soaps I`ve used(citrus and mr pink) are good, too. Wish I`d just sucked it up and bought the gallon of 901 though.

[ShawnF350]

3D soap I`ll never try.

Any reason why you won`t try 3D? Or have you just found enough stuff that works for you?

[Kacz]

3D`s shampoos are terrible IMO

So is GG Car Wash or whatever it`s called.

Hands down best overall shampoo with performance and cost figured in is Optimum Car Wash. There are a bunch of shampoos that you couldn`t tell apart if you take the color and smell away anyways. All the top shampoos are interchangable.

I have literally tried over 80% of the Shampoos that are easily accessible to us in the states. I think I have around 70 in my closet right now.

[Bunky]

3D`s shampoos are terrible IMO

So is GG Car Wash or whatever it`s called.

Hands down best overall shampoo with performance and cost figured in is Optimum Car Wash. There are a bunch of shampoos that you couldn`t tell apart if you take the color and smell away anyways. All the top shampoos are interchangable.

I have literally tried over 80% of the Shampoos that are easily accessible to us in the states. I think I have around 70 in my closet right now.

By what standards do you judge soaps? Cleaning, rinsing, lubricity, added shine, suds, cost?

Optimum is one of my favorites but it is more difficult to rinse than some soaps. It is not a deal breaker. It has a great smell, suds great even at 1/2 the labeled dilution so perfect for foam guns and foam cannons.

[JSFM35X]

I have liked most that I have tried

Poorboys super slick and suds, Ultima Paint guard plus shampoo, Lusso orro, to name my favorites.

[TroyScherer]

It`s amazing to me that there is so much difference in peoples thoughts on Soaps. It just goes to show how much local water supply and other elements has to do with your impression. Some soaps work better in certain areas than others.

[ShawnF350]

Well..I kinda took Accumulators suggestion on the 3D, but agreeing with SilverFox too.
So bought a gallon of 3D Wash n Wax.
If it works well for my winter washing, I`ll be buying the Pink Soap in the spring. I was going to buy all 3 3D soaps 16oz to try but then it`s not cost effective.

[mobenzowner]

My personal favorite for non-coated cars is the Duragloss. Coated cars, I like Carpro reset.

[Accumulator]

Yeah, I bet the water does factor in.

I sure find the experiences/opinions on this topic interesting, even when they differ from mine.

I`m pretty sold on my Griot`s/3D combo..zero issues at all.

When people say some shampoo is "not good", but don`t offer specifics, well....I wonder "why does he feel that way?"

Griot`s and 3D terrible? OK, maybe for you, but (noting I`ve used a lot of shampoos over the last ~40 years), I wonder *WHY, specifically?*.

[Kacz]

By what standards do you judge soaps? Cleaning, rinsing, lubricity, added shine, suds, cost?

Optimum is one of my favorites but it is more difficult to rinse than some soaps. It is not a deal breaker. It has a great smell, suds great even at 1/2 the labeled dilution so perfect for foam guns and foam cannons.

I personally don`t worry about cost, but I definitely would if I owned a business.

Just to note: my opinions are based on maintenance washing.

Rinsing and lubricity are the most important factors to me. That`s why I am surprised that you have issues rinsing it. It`s hard to explain and I`m sure you will know what I`m talking about, but sometimes you can just tell which ones stand out--just by using it.

There are a lot of shampoos that I would reach for.

It`s amazing to me that there is so much difference in peoples thoughts on Soaps. It just goes to show how much local water supply and other elements has to do with your impression. Some soaps work better in certain areas than others.

Yeah I`ve always thought that, but I`m under the impression that water hardness doesn`t affect much except suds...and if you`re worried about suds, you just add more.

I`m no where near a chemist, so I don`t know exactly if my above `sentence` is near accurate or not.

Yeah, I bet the water does factor in.

I sure find the experiences/opinions on this topic interesting, even when they differ from mine.

I`m pretty sold on my Griot`s/3D combo..zero issues at all.

When people say some shampoo is "not good", but don`t offer specifics, well....I wonder "why does he feel that way?"

Griot`s and 3D terrible? OK, maybe for you, but (noting I`ve used a lot of shampoos over the last ~40 years), I wonder *WHY, specifically?*.

I was probably a little crabby yesterday when I wrote the word `terrible`. It`s really a bad word when we all know you can work with a lot of these detailing products and get desired results. What I should have said is that they (3D/HD and GG) are no where near my favorites and I have had mixed results with all of them.

I`ve never had mixed results from AMMO, Adam`s, Optimum, Garry Dean`s, Gyeon, etc... There was something about these shampoos (3D/GG) that seemed like they didn`t offer the slickness that others do and I`m very open minded when I use all products. (I also try to use a specific product multiple times before I form an opinion) HD wash didn`t want to rinse away.

It`s my opinion though, so I`m not trying to argue with you. I`m actually curious on how exactly you use them and I`ll give it another shot.

[Kacz]

Some underrated IMO, `not mentioned a lot` shampoos:

1Z Einszett Gloss Shampoo Auto Finesse Lather Car Shampoo Prima Hydro Wash

[4u2nvinmtl]

I`ve tried many car soaps by the gallon and my favorite so far is Meg`s Hyper Wash hands down. The foam lasts forever, the dilotion raito is super high (1:400) and it rocks in a foam gun or foam cannon. It smell is great also.

[4u2nvinmtl]

+1 on the Zip Wax. Works great without breaking the bank. Not to mention you can run down the street and pick it up at your local wal-mart.

No offence intended but this is the car soap I liked least out of the many brands of soap I`ve tried.

Why, because I felt:
- It left a film (not wax) on the paint.
- It didn`t clean well.
- It doesn`t lubricate as well as all other soap`s I`ve tried (could feel the way the mitt grabs the paint).
- Smell and dilution ratios were also less than desirable.

[RaysWay]

I hope that everyone is taking the time to properly dilute car shampoo by measuring the amount of shampoo added to the water. I think most guys guesstimate on how much shampoo they`re actually using in a bucket and that can change the way the shampoo acts tremendously.

Just the other day I was guilty of this as I just poured a random amount of 3D Pink Car Soap into the bucket, and when I started to use it as a lube for my Nanoskin Wash Mitt; the wash mitt wasn`t performing as it normally does. I thought about it and ended up dumping the bucket and remaking it with a measuring cup and I had no problems afterwards.

[Bunky]

Rinsing and lubricity are the most important factors to me. That`s why I am surprised that you have issues rinsing it. It`s hard to explain and I`m sure you will know what I`m talking about, but sometimes you can just tell which ones stand out--just by using it.

My statement was comparative. I have used lots of soaps and some rinse so cleanly and quickly. It is not a deal breaker. As I said, it has been a favorite.