Review - Adams Strip Wash

[The Guz]

I had originally put this review up on the Adams forums. The moderator did not like the results and me not recommending the product. Out of retaliation my thread was deleted. I will post the review here as well for someone to be able and find an honest and unbiased review of this product. Ray I hope this is ok.

So there is an ongoing debate on whether or not a strip wash product will remove a sealant or wax. Many times these types of products fall short of the claims they make.

Product description:

Adam’s Strip Wash is a concentrated soap blend that removes any wax and sealant protection as you clean your ride, preparing it for a paint correction session with a machine polisher or hand polish, or to start clean with a fresh layer of sealant or wax. Use with Adam’s Foam Cannon or Adam’s Foam Gun for best results.

• High suds formula safely removes dirt and other contaminants
• Safely strips wax and sealants, does not dry out plastic or rubber
• Rinses clean without streaks

Instructions:
1. Pour 2-3 oz. of Adam`s Strip Wash onto the Adam’s Wash Pad and into the bucket.
2. Spray hose directly into Wash Pad to disperse soap and create suds. Fill bucket 2/3 full with water.
3. Rinse vehicle with hose, wash top to bottom following the Two Bucket Method outlined in our Videos and Handbook, then rinse again.
4. Dry vehicle with an Adam`s Great White Microfiber Drying Towel.

Adam’s Foam Gun or Foam Cannon:
1. Fill Adam`s Foam Cannon or Adam’s Foam Gun canister nearly full with water.
2. Pour 3-4 oz. of Adam`s Strip Soap into canister.
3. Screw sprayer lid back onto canister, shake well.
4. Attach canister and sprayer to nozzle or pressure washer.
5. Squeeze handle to spray tons of suds onto your vehicle.

I decided to purchase a bottle. I had originally purchased a 16 oz bottle and ended up receiving a 32 oz bottle. This usually occurs when the smaller size is out of stock.

So let`s take a closer look at the product description

Adam’s Strip Wash is a concentrated soap blend that removes any wax and sealant protection as you clean your ride, preparing it for a paint correction session with a machine polisher or hand polish, or to start clean with a fresh layer of sealant or wax

Now I read this and I am ok with the statement. But I have never had a problem using a regular car soap prior to performing a paint correction. As a matter of fact I typically use the Aggressive Wash Method that Mike Philips has an article for. Many detailers (pro and hobbyists) have gotten this far without needing any sort of strip wash.

Adam’s Strip Wash is a concentrated soap blend that removes any wax and sealant protection as you clean your ride, preparing it for a paint correction session with a machine polisher or hand polish, or to start clean with a fresh layer of sealant or wax

I then read and interpreted this statement as the product claiming to remove any sealant or wax regardless of the manufacturer. I got flack for this on the forum as the Adams forum member and moderator The Wolf kept insisting that this product was designed to remove old waxes and sealants and I was using it incorrectly. Ok great. Then where on the label does it state to use only on old waxes or sealant? Nowhere is this stated.

We start with photos of the bottle



Rear of the label stating the instructions on how to use the product



Product description on the rear label



I then filled up my bucket with about 3 to 3.5 gallons of water. Using 3 oz`s of strip wash in my bucket. I also added 4 oz`s of strip wash into my Blackfire foam gun. I went with the strongest recommended mixture as my daily driver at the time had 1 week old Optimum Car Wax sitting on top of 3-4 month old Rupes P808. Thinking I would need something a bit stronger.

The product generated good suds. The lubricity is ok. It`s enough to not scratch the paint as it allows the wash mitt to glide across the paint.



Here is an idea of what the consistency of the product is. It is a thin consistency. It does have a citrus scent that resembles the Adams all purpose cleaner.



Here I am generating suds in a bucket



My first test subject was my 02 Camaro which is coated. I was thinking this would make a nice maintenance wash for a coated vehicle. Here is the initial beading as I rinsed off the car prior to foaming it with my foam gun



I proceeded to foaming the car. Foam was ok. Not thick but ok. Similar to when I use CarPro Reset with the edge going to Reset.



I rinsed off the soap from the paint. Beading was unaffected. But I knew that since coating can handle a harsher wash. I did not notice that it really did a deep clean. At times it appeared as if it left something behind. I noticed odd sheeting behavior on the black rear sail panel behind the T Tops. Out of curiosity I had another bucket with Adams regular blue car shampoo. The weird sheeting phenomenon had gone away after I went over that area with regular car shampoo. It could have been the strip wash leaving something behind (aka surfactants) or it did not rinse clean as the soap would dry rather quickly.

Here is the beading after



I dried the car with my DP Turbo Car Dryer and followed up with Opti-Seal as a drying aid to remove any remaining water. Gave my white paint some great gloss.





On a coated car it seemed to work just like any other soap. I did not notice anything different than when using a regular car shampoo. I knew that it would have no effect on a coating.

[The Guz]

I moved onto my Grand Prix which is my daily driver and sits outside most of the time. This is my test bed vehicle for doing reviews on various products. The paint had about 3-4 month old Rupes P808 paint sealant on it. The week previous to using the strip wash I gave the car a wipe down with optimum car wax as a drying aid after using the DP Turbo Car Dryer. I figured this would be a good test for the strip wash.

I started off by giving the car an initial rinse to remove any loose dirt. Here is the initial beading after rinsing the car.



Initial rinse on the driver side door. The LSP on the paint looks to be doing very well



Initial rinse of the hood



I then foamed up the car with the remaining strip wash in my Blackfire foam gun. Again this is 4 oz`s of strip wash in the foam gun.



Up close of the strip wash dwelling on the paint



I then proceeded with a bucket wash with 3 oz`s of strip wash in a bucket. Similar to how I did it with my Camaro. This is the beading on the hood. They still look fine.



Here is the beading on the roof. They look completely untouched.



Here are the videos of rinsing off the paint after one application of the strip wash. LSP still looks to be intact.

[The Guz]

Final sheet rinse. The LSP still appears to be on the paint.





So seeing as the LSP was still on the paint after one wash I decided to go over the passenger side with another application of strip wash. There was a marginal change between the first and second application. So I dried off the hood with the DP Turbo Car Dryer to remove all the water and proceeded to do a 15% IPA wipe only on the passenger side of the hood. These are the results. At this point I would probably say the LSP is to the point where a majority of it has been removed.



Thoughts:

-The scent resembles the Adams APC in terms of the citrus scent
-At times it appeared that it left something behind on the paint (possibly surfactants) giving the appearance of LSP removal
-One application will not remove any LSP per the claims Adams makes. Even after two applications it did not remove an LSP at the full recommended strength on the label.
-Lubricity is ok. It`s enough to let the wash mitt glide over the paint
-Safe on coatings

Perhaps my expectations were high for this product but for me it did not live up to the claims of what it can do. I refer back to that Adams forum member who kept insisting that this product was designed for waxes or sealants that have been on the paint for a long time. But this is clearly not stated on the label. It clearly states it can remove any wax or sealant. That is how I interpret it. From my results it did not remove the LSP that was on the paint even with the strongest recommended amount.

It would require many washes to get to a point where the LSP could possibly show signs of it being removed. For a professional who does this for money, this would be a waste of time as time is money. For an enthusiast like myself, I don`t want to be washing my car multiple times after the initial wash as it would take too much of my personal time. I also would not want to leave standing water on my paint especially if it is warm outside and the paint is dark in color. That is asking for water spots. This would just mean too much work for someone to get adequate results.

Based on the results I saw, I would not recommend this product as it did not live up to it`s claims. If it was indeed intended to be used only on old waxes and sealants then there needs to be an updated to the labeling and product description.

Comments are welcomed. Thanks.

[The Guz]

Just for kicks I decided to run a last minute test with the Adams waxes and sealants I have in my possession.

I failed to state that the only product that was removed was H2O Guard & Gloss. I knew this going in as the dry application method doesn`t really take full advantage of the products true performance. But the other LSP`s looked to have remained intact.

Feel free to watch this video of these results. FYI I cobbled it up rather quickly so keep that in mind. I tried to make it as short as possible.

[KBsToy]

Always willing to try something that will make it easier to strip waxes / sealant off my car but this will go on my back shelf along with others that did not do as advertised

[PA DETAILER]

What more can you say? It was a honest review of a product that just did not live up to the expatations.

AGGRESSIVE WASH METHOD...
The Aggressive Approach to Washing a Car

[heisenberg]

Imagine that...modern lsps are much harder to get rid of than just simply washing it with a strong soap or worse, Dawn.

Thanks for sharing your findings here. The fact that they removed it from their forums is one of the biggest reasons I won`t buy Adams products. The echo chamber over there is insane. I know its not the products` fault that they produce such a rabid fanbase(and some of them are pretty good) but it`s encouraged by the people who run the forums and that`s enough to turn me off of the entire product line.

[Lonnie]

The Guz:
Excellent review about Adam`s Strip Wash. Thanks for taking the time to post your observations and photos.

As stated, there needs to be some "truth in labeling", as the photo of the label on the bottle "misleadingly" states "removes ANY wax or sealant".

I wonder how this wash soap compares to recently introduced Chemical Guy`s Clean Slate??

[rwright]

Excellent review! Very in depth and well documented. I give them credit, they are very good at marketing and marketing is what sells products.

[dcjredline]

We should all go there and "review" the poorly performing soap and see if any of them make the cut.

[Angus]

Good review Guz! I wonder if this soap would work better as a wintertime road grime remover? Not that you ever see snow in SoCal...

[texasgibby]

I love those forums that encourage your review / opinion, but only if it`s good. If your `honest` review isn`t positive, keep it to yourself..............

[briarpatch]

The Guz:
Excellent review about Adam`s Strip Wash. Thanks for taking the time to post your observations and photos.

As stated, there needs to be some "truth in labeling", as the photo of the label on the bottle "misleadingly" states "removes ANY wax or sealant".

I wonder how this wash soap compares to recently introduced Chemical Guy`s Clean Slate??

There have been some rumors that Chemical Guys actually makes Adams products. So, is it a coincidence that CG Clean Slate and Adams Strip Wash were released fairly close to one another? One thing I`ve noticed on `brand specific` forums....they`re usually not big on tolerating any negative reviews of their products. I submitted one on VRP on the CG forum (which is a product I really like for tires)....but the review also spoke to the issues I had with VRP on plastic trim.....the review was not posted. I was told..."It did not meet the criteria to be posted"

[Pats300zx]

Fantastic review Guz. Honest and to the point. Well done.


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[Marc08EX]

Great review Mike! Love the detail and honesty of the review.