View Full Version : Review: SONAX: Gloss Shampoo
bjwebster
04-12-2003, 09:58 PM
Car Washing Soap Seems To Be One of Those Important Steps That Are Often Overlooked. Too Weak Of A Soap Doesent Clean Well, Or Causes Marring Due To Lack Of Lubrication, But A Soap That Is Too Harsh Can Strip You Wax.
I Decided To Leave My Usual Favorite Car Wash, P21S, on the Shelf Today, In Order To Test My New Bottle Of Sonax I Ordered A Few Weeks Ago.
My initial impressions were that it lacked the nice apple smell of the P21S but the bottle was much nicer. The top has a sort of spout that flips out to dispense into the measuring cup built into the bottom. I Measured out the soap into my bucket as i normally do, and then i used a strong stream of water to form the suds. The suds from the sonax seemed to be very thick and bountiful, the bucket was overflowing with suds quickly.
Now, the most important part, the washing of the car. I used my MF mitt as I usually do, and the first thing I niticed was that the mitt actually glided on the paint slightly easier than the P21S did, the Sonax seemed to lubricate slightly better. The other nice part about the sonax was that it seemed to clean better than the p21s. I found that it would remove the dirt with more ease.
In conclusion, I Love The Sonax. It seemed to be slightly stronger than the P21S, and lubricate as well if not better. I now have another favorite shampoo to place next to my P21S.
imported_BretFraz
04-14-2003, 09:58 PM
Excellent review!! I`m glad you tested this product. I`ve been wondering what my next shampoo will be after I use up all my Z7. I think you have found it for me. Thanks!!
milani
04-14-2003, 10:20 PM
I agree with that! I just received Sonax in the mail this weekend. The Sonax Shampoo was like washing with butter. It was very smooth and left a nice gloss on my black paint. I followed it up with some QD, and it looked great!
Mindflux
04-14-2003, 10:58 PM
Originally posted by bretfraz
Excellent review!! I`m glad you tested this product. I`ve been wondering what my next shampoo will be after I use up all my Z7. I think you have found it for me. Thanks!!
Bret,
In place of Z7 on a Zainoed car? Or do you just use Z7 for most of your washes.
Sorta curious on that, considering I always hear Z7 helps on Zaino Upkeep.
Vegas1
04-15-2003, 04:24 AM
Looks like I know what my next shampoo I`m going to try will be.
Almost finished with a bottle of P21s, which is good, but I think I might be ordering some Sonax soon. Thanks for the review.
TurboCat
04-15-2003, 05:13 AM
I love the Sonax! I actually like it better than the P21S bodywork shampoo, although P21S will be my close second choice!
It has great suds, and I think better lubricity than P21S. I also love the bottle! If your hand is slippery and you drop it, you`re not going to lose half the bottle!
imported_BretFraz
04-15-2003, 01:37 PM
Originally posted by Mindflux
Bret,
In place of Z7 on a Zainoed car? Or do you just use Z7 for most of your washes.
Sorta curious on that, considering I always hear Z7 helps on Zaino Upkeep.
Ryan,
The Z on my car is wasted and I plan to use a different product for my next detail. I agree that Z7 is best for Z protected finishes.
Been using Sonax shampoo for 7 years (a Larry Reynolds recommended product), P21S shampoo for 6, Meguiar`s #00 for 7 and Zymol Clear for 5. All are very good but Sonax is my favorite for lubrication and for after wash glossiness. Zymol Clear is very mild. Meguiar`s #00 and P21S are mild and produce good luburication. But Sonax is #1 for me.
Mindflux
04-26-2003, 06:02 PM
I`m going to have to agree with everyone here. Sonax is very nice. I washed my car today with it. I used 2 "capfulls" for my bucket that was probably 3 gallons or so full. Very nice and sudsy and VERY slick!
The smell (as everyone else has mentioned) is nothing to be desired, to me it smelt a little medicine-ish, or I guess like soap would.
All and all, a very worthy product to have. Loads of suds, loads of lubricity and relatively inexpensive.
I give it the "MF" seal of approval.
:xyxthumbs
ntoddalbert
04-27-2003, 07:49 PM
I have to try Sonax out next time, Just passing along that the BMW wash soap was a great exp too, I thinks its rebadged P21s though, although the bottle is larger and the price is less, anyone ever try it out?
Vegas1
04-28-2003, 12:59 AM
Nice review bjwebster, I just finished trying Sonax also.
The Sonax provides excellent suds and outstanding lubrication which make washing a breeze. The cars were not that dirty, so it`s hard to say if it has more cleaning power than P21s, but the thing that really made an impression on me also was the lubrication. On the cars I used it on, one has S100 wax and the other has Blackfire, and when using Sonax, your hand just seems to go along for the ride when washing. It also rinses quite well, and leaves a very nice shine.
I`ve heard other folks mention the medicine smell, but it really didn`t bother me. I really enjoyed washing with Sonax, and give it an edge over P21s mainly because of the lubrication factor, and it seems to leave a slightly slicker and glossy surface.
I`ll be buying more in the future.
Bobby G
04-28-2003, 08:11 AM
Just an FYI on Sonax Glos Shampoo, I don`t use it at the concentration suggested on the bottle, which always seemed a bit strong. I use about 1 ounce per 3 gallons of water. I still get good suds, great lubrication, no streaking, and the natural soap smell is pretty mild.
Vegas1
04-28-2003, 09:26 AM
Great point David. I used exactly 1oz. with about 3 gal. of water and it worked out great. Still got plenty of suds, and as I mentioned earlier the lubrication is awesome.:xyxthumbs
Spilchy
04-29-2003, 08:17 PM
Originally posted by DavidB
Just an FYI on Sonax Glos Shampoo, I don`t use it at the concentration suggested on the bottle, which always seemed a bit strong. I use about 1 ounce per 3 gallons of water. I still get good suds, great lubrication, no streaking, and the natural soap smell is pretty mild.
Interesting because the Autopia shop advertisement indicates: One HALF ounce of SONAX Gloss Shampoo in a 5 gallon bucket is all you`ll need to wash a full-size sedan or SUV.
In reality then if you use ONE ounce per 3 gallons, the bottle will do half the cars compared with using only a HALF ounce as advertised.
At $8.50 for a bottle, this can be a pricey recommendation!
What gives? Or am I being pesky!
Bobby G
04-30-2003, 05:33 PM
Originally posted by Spilchy
Interesting because the Autopia shop advertisement indicates: One HALF ounce of SONAX Gloss Shampoo in a 5 gallon bucket is all you`ll need to wash a full-size sedan or SUV.
In reality then if you use ONE ounce per 3 gallons, the bottle will do half the cars compared with using only a HALF ounce as advertised.
At $8.50 for a bottle, this can be a pricey recommendation!
What gives? Or am I being pesky!
Ooops! Better check what I say. My experience is that I`m getting 12 - 15 washes from most of the 16 oz. shampoo products I`m using, except P21S. With P21S I tend to use more because it does not suds or lube enough with less than 1.2 - 2.0 oz. per bucket.