No beading during wash? Is this normal?

S

someidiot

New member
I Klasse twin'd my car last week. It's been beading nicely since then, both in rain last night and when I started to rinse my car to wash it today.



After soaping/washing with a microfiber covered sponge, the water wouldn't bead at all.



I was wondering if this was normal, or if I was somehow stripping the wax with just one wash. I'm using some cheap Armor All soap at about 1oz per gallon.
 
someidiot said:
I Klasse twin'd my car last week. It's been beading nicely since then, both in rain last night and when I started to rinse my car to wash it today.



After soaping/washing with a microfiber covered sponge, the water wouldn't bead at all.



I was wondering if this was normal, or if I was somehow stripping the wax with just one wash. I'm using some cheap Armor All soap at about 1oz per gallon.
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I know cheap store bought washes can be pretty dang harsh but I didn't know they were that harsh. After you reapply the Klasse twins, consider buying some Meguiars Gold Class Wash. That stuff is cheap and pretty gentle on sealants and waxes yet seems to clean OK to.
 
I'm definitely going to buy new/better wash. I didn't know if the same would happen if I washed with different soap or if the soap was the problem.
 
I bought some Black Magic wash on sale at Pep Boys that looked like fancy (hair) shampoo with the sparkles in it etc. That stuff killed the beading on my car also, but I don't think it was because it stripped the LSP, it seemed to have some sheeting agent in it that kind of coated the whole car.
 
It's pretty common for cheaper washes to leave a residue on the finish, even after rinsing. I would go over it with a quality wash as mentioned - I've never had an issue with Gold Class leaving residue or stripping LSPs.
 
Some of the cheaper washes do cause the water to sheet. Try misting water on the surface after drying, I bet it still beads.
 
yakky said:
Some of the cheaper washes do cause the water to sheet. Try misting water on the surface after drying, I bet it still beads.
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Yeah, I think the LSP is still on there. I know I've washed my other car since sealing it, and it didn't bead during the wash but beaded in the rain a couple of days ago.



I didn't know if all washes did that or if it's because of the cheap product I used.
 
someidiot- I held back from commenting here because my KSG seems to bead (rather than sheet) more than most people's for some reason. But anyhow...I bet it's something in the wash that imparts some sheeting action, BUT...how many layers of KSG did you apply? I find that with only one/two layers it's not all that durable.



Oh, and IMO cheap washes lack the lubricity and encapsulation that better washes provide. I used to buy whatever was cheapest (Wesley's, TW, you name it..) and when I switched to "over-priced" (scare-quotes intentional) shampoos I noticed a marked decrease in my wash-induced marring.
 
Which shampoos did you switch to, Accumulator? Anything reasonably priced but worth the investment? Is Gold Class good enough for that?



This had only 1 layer of KSG on it at the time. Now there are 2.. or 1, depending on how harsh that wash really was.
 
someidiot said:
Which shampoos did you switch to, Accumulator? Anything reasonably priced but worth the investment? Is Gold Class good enough for that?
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Eh, I'm a shampoo-snob :o I use the oh-so-pricey Griot's.



But the Duragloss stuff is supposed to be almost as good and it's not all that expensive. The Optimum shampoo (their regular shampoo, not ONR) is another very good one, but it costs more than DuraGloss IIRC.



GC is the minimum IMO. It's not awful but that's the best I can say about it.



This had only 1 layer of KSG on it at the time. Now there are 2.. or 1, depending on how harsh that wash really was.
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Well, I'd go for four-six layers. I'm not that impressed with one-three layers, but I'll never get over how great six layers of KSG works out for me so I always go for that many (though it *is* a real PIA doing that).
 
I recommend Mothers Cali Gold. Lubie, cheap, cleans well, you can buy OTC and it wont strip your wax.



90X is great too if you can get it locally, better then the Mothers in every respect but not hugely.
 
Matt@Autogeek said:
It's pretty common for cheaper washes to leave a residue on the finish, even after rinsing. I would go over it with a quality wash as mentioned - I've never had an issue with Gold Class leaving residue or stripping LSPs.
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Really?



The regular Armor All Car Wash as well as the AA Ultra Shine Wash and Wax are fairly cheap and leave behind a decent finish, the W&W actually leaves behind a slick finish and beads strong . Not sure what residue your talking about?



What quality wash would you recommend?
 
accumulator is going to cost me a lot of money between his shampoo and QD recommendations. I'm never sure what's just preference and what's actually hurting my detailing efforts.
 
Welcome to Autopia, Hadesnight!





someidiot said:
accumulator is going to cost me a lot of money between his shampoo and QD recommendations. I'm never sure what's just preference and what's actually hurting my detailing efforts.
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I'm glad you're being carful about this and not just blindly following my suggestions. FWIW, unless I say something's just a personal preference, I'm probably trying to be as functional (if not as frugal) as possible. But there are a whole lotta variables and you might not need to spend enough to get Accumulator-proof products.

gav'spurplez said:
use the armor all wash for your wheels / tires and rubber mats
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I got some AA wash at the Jag Club's Xmas raffle, and I liked it for wheels and wheelwells :xyxthumbs
 
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