Car Wash!

[imported_BFlannigan]

I just wanted to let all of you guys know that I went to CVS last week to get a prescription filled for my girlfriend, and I saw one of those sponges that you see on TV, you know, the pre-soaped ones, and I picked it up just wondering if it actually worked because I`m very skeptical when it comes to those things. All you do is soak it in water and it has the soap in it already, so you just suds it up and you`re ready to go. Plus it has wax in it too, so it`s really fast! I just thought I`d give you guys a heads up because my Rover looks better than it does at the car wash, and I`m definitely not going back. You can get them at places like CVS.

[Old Pirate]

Well Welcome to TID BFlannigan, I might have to stop by CVS on the way to the Hulk`s house and have a look at it.

[imported_User Name]

Spam.:eek:

[imported_RootsRadical]

Sorry, but I`m willing to bet my last drop of Menzerna polish that most users of this forum aren`t going to buy their car wash supplies at the local CVS. Just a hunch... :out:

-J

[RustyBumper]

Roots, you mean to tell me that you don`t get you`re detailing supplies at CVS? That`s my go to place. I can get everything in one isle. I can get my Dawn for lightly soiled cars or Oxyclean for the filthy ones, my ShamWow drying towels and for paint correction I can also get my Simoniz Fix It Pro Pens there as well. But a sponge with soap already in it?! Man, CVS is a gold mine!!! lol.

[imported_Bandit]

Roots, you mean to tell me that you don`t get you`re detailing supplies at CVS? That`s my go to place. I can get everything in one isle. I can get my Dawn for lightly soiled cars or Oxyclean for the filthy ones, my ShamWow drying towels and for paint correction I can also get my Simoniz Fix It Pro Pens there as well. But a sponge with soap already in it?! Man, CVS is a gold mine!!! lol.


LOL!! First time here and I read the OPs post and was like....WTF? ha...

[Todd@RUPES]

I just wanted to let all of you guys know that I went to CVS last week to get a prescription filled for my girlfriend, and I saw one of those sponges that you see on TV, you know, the pre-soaped ones, and I picked it up just wondering if it actually worked because I`m very skeptical when it comes to those things. All you do is soak it in water and it has the soap in it already, so you just suds it up and you`re ready to go. Plus it has wax in it too, so it`s really fast! I just thought I`d give you guys a heads up because my Rover looks better than it does at the car wash, and I`m definitely not going back. You can get them at places like CVS.

Welcome to the forum B Flannigan. While I am sure the product you mentioned works, as in it gets the car clean, the question becomes is this the safest way possible?

Cleaning a car of most common dirt is simply a matter of friction. If you wipe the dirt, particularly with the surface tension of water, you can remove the dirt. But how safe is this for the car`s paint? Dirt is pretty abrasive, like sandpaper. Wiping it over the surface of the car will impart minor scratching on the surface that can create swirl marks or dull the reflection of the paint.

To prevent scratching the surface we have to safley lift and encapsulate the dirt, then remove it from the surface. This is the primary function of car soaps. But excessive loading of dirt on to the sponge or wash mitt will cause the surface of the sponge or mitt to become abrasive.

To keep the wash media clean, we recommend using a rinse bucket of water to submerge the media in and flush out any grit and dirt. While this is the most effective way to clean a wash media (submerging), it also removes the majority of soap as well. In order to effectively clean the product you speak about, in order to prevent surface scratching, you would likely remove most of the soap.

For traditional washing we recommending using two buckets, one with soapy water and one used to rinse the mitt or sponge out in. This way the wash sponge and wash soap never becomes contaminated with dirt and grit. We don`t want to reintroduce dirt and grit removed from the paint back onto the paint.

In the end if this product works for you, then great. I would fear that that increase risk of damage from not being able to fully rinse out the wash mitt would scare me away from trying it.

[TOGWT]

I would agree with TH0001 on this type of washing media, there are inherent risks

Washing Media

Flat synthetic sponges, chamois leather or washcloth`s will cause ?surface tension? between the flat surfaces of the washing media and the paint surface, thereby removing a percentage of the protective wax or sealant. It can also trap dirt, grit or road debris between the material and the paint film surface causing scratches. Wash brushes, sheepskin mitts or waffle weave towels because of their construction cannot trap anything and are much easier to rinse then a synthetic flat sponge.

[imported_Luster]

For traditional washing we recommending using two buckets, one with soapy water and one used to rinse the mitt or sponge out in. This way the wash sponge and wash soap never becomes contaminated with dirt and grit. We don`t want to reintroduce dirt and grit removed from the paint back onto the paint.

.

I would concur!!! :iagree::w00t::thumbup::w00t::thumbup::w00t::thumb up:

[Going Mobile]

Roots, you mean to tell me that you don`t get you`re detailing supplies at CVS? That`s my go to place. I can get everything in one isle. I can get my Dawn for lightly soiled cars or Oxyclean for the filthy ones, my ShamWow drying towels and for paint correction I can also get my Simoniz Fix It Pro Pens there as well. But a sponge with soap already in it?! Man, CVS is a gold mine!!! lol.

Not to mention Sharpies and Marks-a-Lot markers for black tires. Lol.

Seriously,

"For traditional washing we recommending using two buckets, one with soapy water and one used to rinse the mitt or sponge out in. This way the wash sponge and wash soap never becomes contaminated with dirt and grit. We don`t want to reintroduce dirt and grit removed from the paint back onto the paint."

+2:iagree:

[jastg]

Because I refuse to let any of my cars see the inside of a car wash they sit all winter long in a nice film of muck. My first detail is about about one teaspoon of plain Dawn and Mequiar`s Diamond Class in a 5 gallon bucket. Once a year really helps get the winter grunge off.

[Todd@RUPES]

Dish wash soaps are designed to remove organic residue and germs from plates, not rinse road grime and dirt from a car. Dish soap might be a little hash to use frequently to wash your car. Once a yea won`t hurt anything.

[John Henry]

Welcome to the forum B Flannigan. While I am sure the product you mentioned works, as in it gets the car clean, the question becomes is this the safest way possible?

Cleaning a car of most common dirt is simply a matter of friction. If you wipe the dirt, particularly with the surface tension of water, you can remove the dirt. But how safe is this for the car`s paint? Dirt is pretty abrasive, like sandpaper. Wiping it over the surface of the car will impart minor scratching on the surface that can create swirl marks or dull the reflection of the paint.

To prevent scratching the surface we have to safley lift and encapsulate the dirt, then remove it from the surface. This is the primary function of car soaps. But excessive loading of dirt on to the sponge or wash mitt will cause the surface of the sponge or mitt to become abrasive.

To keep the wash media clean, we recommend using a rinse bucket of water to submerge the media in and flush out any grit and dirt. While this is the most effective way to clean a wash media (submerging), it also removes the majority of soap as well. In order to effectively clean the product you speak about, in order to prevent surface scratching, you would likely remove most of the soap.

For traditional washing we recommending using two buckets, one with soapy water and one used to rinse the mitt or sponge out in. This way the wash sponge and wash soap never becomes contaminated with dirt and grit. We don`t want to reintroduce dirt and grit removed from the paint back onto the paint.

In the end if this product works for you, then great. I would fear that that increase risk of damage from not being able to fully rinse out the wash mitt would scare me away from trying it.

What have you done with Todd!!!??? :w00t:

[Dr.Az]

Dish wash soaps are designed to remove organic residue and germs from plates, not rinse road grime and dirt from a car. Dish soap might be a little hash to use frequently to wash your car. Once a yea won`t hurt anything.

Perhaps I should dispel this myth. I`m an R&D Chemist that designs cleaning chemicals (generally for the Food and Beverage industries, but have also made instrument sanitisers for hospitals, etc). I`m an avid car enthusiast also and have been looking into the car wash topic for some time now. It seems to me that a lot of marketing BS is getting propagated as fact, even on this forum. THIS I`m not criticising at all, as you aren`t chemists and have no other way of knowing besides what a marketing team put on their labels. I have, however, gotten annoyed with the marketing BS out there and thought I`d tear some of it down to better enlighten you all.

Dish soaps and car wash products use the same surfactant packages. Commonly, SLES (Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulphate), Dodecylbenzene sulphonic acid (neutralised with Sodium Hydroxide, Triethanolamine or Isopropanolamine). You`ll find concentrations will vary, but not by much. There will be other additives that make a slight difference - but a couple of percent difference in the bottle become negligible once you pour a capful into a bucket and dilute it that far.
Am I saying dish soaps and car wash products are exactly the same?
No. They`ll use different dyes and fragrances. Potentially some silicone emulsions or waxes for an increased shine. Maybe some optical brighteners too. With regards to the actual surfactants that do the cleaning - they`ll be the same. And the salt...
My initial thought on the difference between sink detergents and car wash products was this: I know EVERYONE puts salt into their sink detergents - it bumps at the viscosity and makes it easier to work with (also makes them cheaper too). Car wash products won`t use salt. (as it drastically increases corrosion rates)
Sadly, this isn`t true. A simple silver nitrate titration confirmed it (but I don`t want to go into detail about company names, needless to say that I started with 5 different products from a local auto store and now I`ve tested over 20 based on the shocking results, even from `boutique` products). Even with some products that claimed to include "corrosion inhibitors." I hate to say it, but loading up with salt negates any inhibitor you add to the product.

There is no such thing as a `harsh` surfactant or a `soft` one (unless we`re talking skin-care, but our skin is infinitely more sensitive than the polymeric clear coat on your car). They have slightly different effects but all work on the same principle. "Harsh detergent" is marketing BS. No detergent is going to dissolve your acrylic clear coat (the chemist that sits next to me worked for BASF in their automotive paints division for 10 years, he`s now been with us designing industrial rust-proof paints for another 10 - he had a very good laugh when I showed him some of the stuff written online regarding this topic). You know what causes much more damage than a "harsh surfactant" to your clear coat? UV Degradation. Paint laboratories world-wide use a UV chamber to try to destroy their paints (so they can prove how long they last) - what they don`t do is soak the paint samples in sink detergent.

In saying all this, I know that there are SOME quality manufacturers out there that don`t use salt. A general rule of thumb will be to look for the companies that charge good $ for a product but don`t seem to have the fancy packaging to match the price tag. That fancy packaging and labelling costs more than the chemical in the bottle.

If you have any specific questions about surfactants, surface tension, dirt removal, corrosion etc feel free to ask. I`m trying not to turn this into a chemistry lesson (as even I find that boring!) yet I`m happy to go into detail should someone require it.

[shizam1]

Dr Az - I think what I`ve heard most about Dawn vs carwash soap is that Dawn will strip the waxes and sealants, while specifically formulated car soaps will not. And we like our sealants, they provide extra UV protection. So you are saying that both will strip the sealants equally well, or that neither will? Car wash soaps specifically advertise that they will not affect the sealants.