Products and techniques for removing "road film"

[Accumulator]

.. Its only disadvantage is the Turtle Wax name and its associated reputation as a second-rate car-cleaning chemical manufacturer. If it works, why not use it...Just because care -care chemical does not have the detailing manufacturer pedigreed or cost an arm-and-a-leg doesn`t mean it may not be good!

Glad to see that Good on you for posting it.

[Bill D]

I use LATA for all kinds of automotive cleaning including the wheel wells. I also use it quite a bit around the house. I’m quite pleased with it

[Dan]

Dan:
Do you use this wash soap for maintenance 2-bucket wash (2BW) AND do you change the dilution ratio to the suggested stronger ratios for pre-correction or LSP application washers?
I ask because Armour-All had (past tense) a thick citrus-based wash that I bought about 12 years ago at Big Lots. I liked it so much I bought out their entire inventory stock and was sad that I could no longer find it (Hey, it was at a close-out store for a reason!). I just wondering if this a re-formulation of this product that somehow Turtle Wax "copied" (we call it Reverse Engineering in the mechanical design field) and is now selling. It`s inexpensive (cheap) and readily available over-the-counter (OTC). Its only disadvantage is the Turtle Wax name and its associated reputation as a second-rate car-cleaning chemical manufacturer. If it works, why not use it.
Hey some detailer within this forum uses L.A. Totally Awesome (LATA) from Dollar General for a Degreaser/APC for cleaning wheel wells ALL the time.
Just because care -care chemical does not have the detailing manufacturer pedigreed or cost an arm-and-a-leg doesn`t mean it may not be good!

I have used it as a bucket wash (I only do single bucket, sorry autopians!). It works well as a dirt cleaner, excellent for road film and bug/tar removal but it really lacks in lubricity compared to other premium washes. It is also very thin, so probably not the same as the AA stuff you liked. This stuff is as thin as Mr. Clean floor cleaner. I would not recommend it as a bucket wash soap.

[Bill D]

Yikes! That’s super thin! Maybe just use it around the house.

[Dan]

Yikes! That’s super thin! Maybe just use it around the house.

I use it as an APC and a pre-soak on filthy cars. Unlike using a regular car wash soap that literally does nothing on road film when shot from a foam canon or garden sprayer, this stuff seems to have some bite. Just don`t drag dirt around with it!

[Bill D]

Ah, let the chemical do the work.

[DBAILEY]

I kind of find the Purple power vehicle and boat wash difficult to rinse off completely

[superstring]

I think I may have found exactly what I`m looking for: Griot`s Foaming Surface Prep.

From the website:

"Foaming Surface Prep delivers a deep clean, prevents wash-induced scratches, and sets the stage for surface decontamination, defect removal, and paint protection. Foaming Surface Prep has a high pH blend of detergents and other advanced active ingredients that delivers an intense cleaning action that softens road film and organic contaminants, and leaves the surface free of waxes and sealants. So you`ll need to follow up by reapplying your wax or sealant basecoat. For tough, stuck-on dirt Foaming Surface Prep can be transformed into a powerful spray-on cleaner by diluting it in our Secondary Spray Bottle. At a 10:1 ratio, you can make quick work of grungy road slime, bird droppings, bug splats, and other stubborn stains."

Anyone have experience with this product?

[Coatings=crack]

I think I may have found exactly what I`m looking for: Griot`s Foaming Surface Prep.

From the website:

"Foaming Surface Prep delivers a deep clean, prevents wash-induced scratches, and sets the stage for surface decontamination, defect removal, and paint protection. Foaming Surface Prep has a high pH blend of detergents and other advanced active ingredients that delivers an intense cleaning action that softens road film and organic contaminants, and leaves the surface free of waxes and sealants. So you`ll need to follow up by reapplying your wax or sealant basecoat. For tough, stuck-on dirt Foaming Surface Prep can be transformed into a powerful spray-on cleaner by diluting it in our Secondary Spray Bottle. At a 10:1 ratio, you can make quick work of grungy road slime, bird droppings, bug splats, and other stubborn stains."

Anyone have experience with this product?

From what I’ve read and talking to Griots. This is to prep for polishing and re applying LSP. Griots even says it can degrade coatings. If your just looking to clean off road film it may be too strong


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[superstring]

Hey Coatings=Crack

I totally understand what you`re saying, but I`m thinking it may not be possible to remove "road film" properly without removing waxes/sealants. I`m thinking more about the time when the car`s ready for the "full treatment" including clay, polishing and re-waxing.

[Lonnie]

There is one other type of Road Film that rears its ugly head every spring in the Upper Midwest (and I am sure in the Upper East and the backwoods South) and that is mud and clay. When spring temps arrive and the snow disappears and the frost comes out, dirt back roads become quagmires and rutted trails that even 4X4 or AWD vehicles have "difficulty" traversing. Clay is the worst, as it really can throw off wheel balance when it sticks to your rims and you go out a paved road at a higher speed. I see some pretty dirty vehicles this time of year and understand pretty well WHY they bypass a carwash: it is a waste of time and money. Warmer weather and dryer spring conditions may let them finally wash their vehicle or they wait for Mother Nature to do it for them.

Sand and dirt are so abrasive and even spray rinsing this TRF can raise havoc on a vehicle, even doing a "gentle" 2-bucket wash. It is one of the reasons I keep a separate wash media for doing such vehicles, generally a grout sponge I know I can get "somewhat" clean after using it.

I am not sure ,but I think A LONG TIME AGO in this forum, that someone in Vermont had to pressure wash the rims of their Subaru every day during the spring thaw because of the clay that clung to them from the drive on the dirt lane to their home. That person remarked that there were times that they had to get out and physically hand-remove chunks of clay from the rims so they would not vibrate and shake so badly when driving on highways speeds on paved roads. I can attest to that phenomenon when having chunks of wet, clingy snow freeze on rims in an unheated garage overnight when your park the car in the late afternoon from work on a snowy day and you go down the road the next day unbeknownst that this has happened. It`s kind of unnerving and you wonder what is wrong with your vehicle. Another reason to wax/seal/coat the barrels of a rim and keep them clean of built-up brake-and-caliper dust.