Qew Disaster!

DUDE! Please forgive me. I'm ADHD today(too much chocolate). Your mixture was right(hell you already knew that). Keep trying and working with it. My first experience was almost my only one. I kept going and can do pretty good on even the softest paint.



Sorry for my erroneous prior posts!
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
I have never had any of the problems you're describing.... but I use what I think is probably the safest QEW method I've seen, which came from this site here:



http://www.taurusclub.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=117



You may want to check that out; using the two-bucket, pre-spray method seems to encapsulate and wick away the dirt so you aren't dragging it across the surface or reintroducing it to other areas of the finish.



Just a thought.
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That is an EXCELLENT article.



I use that exact method, except I use MF's for the wash process instead of a wash mitt.



I'm betting your wash mitt didn't get rinsed often enough.
 
I also believe that you may have let too much water drain out of the mitt. I don't use mitts for QEWing, I use MFs. I get the MF as wet as possible, but not so wet that it leaks a bunch of water on my garage floor. Basically I get it saturated, and then squeeze out a little bit, just enough so that it doesn't drip a constant stream of water.



And consider using a large rinse bucket with a Grit Guard at the bottom. I have a 5gal bucket for rinsing, filled 4/5, and a Grit Guard. I also add a capful of QEW into the rinse bucket water if the car is really dirty.
 
I use Sheepskin Mitts and make sure they are FULLY saturated with solution. If you place merely a dampened MF or Mitt on dry, dusty, dirty paint you're obviously going to get marring because there's no where for the dirt to go other than your MF or mitt. I squeeze the solution out of the mitt at the same time I wipe a panel so the dirt flows freely away.
 
SpoiledMan said:
It seems as though this could be part of your problem. The directions state that you need 1 ounce per gallon of water. A cap full is a long way from an ounce. Give it another shot using the proper ratio and I think you will have better success.
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Actually, the back of the 16oz bottle says this:

"Directions: For any car, mix 1/2oz. (1 capful) of Quick and Easy Wash in bucket with 2 quarts water."



EDIT: oops. I guess you guys already came to a consensus on this. :o I should have read the whole thread first!
 
I use the single bucket method exactly as described on the bottle and have washed cars this way for 13 years now with QEW.



What you may have are drying streaks and not true marring. If your first drying pass removes all the moisture, then your second pass is on dry paint and that almost always leads to problems. Your first drying pass towel should also have a deep nap. Waffle weaves just don't seem to work as well with QEW as thicker MFs do.



Without actually seeing you use QEW, it is hard to say exactly what caused the problems. :nixweiss
 
WOW, all the way up to 3 pages now. I was down in the garage trying to fix this mess but i got dark and my apartment garage is pretty much a cave.



I did get the rear quater buffed, i have no idea if it's perfect but i'll bet i can tell if it's better. I'll let some dirt get on there and try this ol' wonder wash again.



just to kinda stick up for myself when i said i "let most of the water drip from the mitt" It was still really wet i just let it drip so i wasn't sloshing water all over the place.



I've actualy allready QEW-ed the car again to clean it for polishing (it can't hurt now) and noticed it's hard to break traditional wash habits. With this you should only make one pass down a panel (in the direction the wind blows) with one clean side of the mitt correct? Then, flip and do another pass, rinse, dry and repeat?





Scottwax since you chimed in and you are the reason i deceided to try this, what exactly is your drying process. I've read all the posts but haven't come across how you dry do you WIPE with the terry then wipe with the MF. Do you blot, do you pull it accross the paint. Lemme know i'll get this licked.
 
White95Max said:
Actually, the back of the 16oz bottle says this:

"Directions: For any car, mix 1/2oz. (1 capful) of Quick and Easy Wash in bucket with 2 quarts water."



EDIT: oops. I guess you guys already came to a consensus on this. :o I should have read the whole thread first!
Click to expand...



Yeah, it's my ADHD day. I stopped at the market today and there were Twix on sale 3/.99 and let's just say I picked up a bunch of them. Then I ate, well, a few of them and promptly responded to a post or two without taking them in. :furious:



Back on topic: The funny thing about the QEW instructions that I have seen from both the gallon and 16 oz. bottles that I have seen is that the instruction use the "cap full" method but the cap sizeds are/seem different in size/volume.
 
That Taurus article and Scottwax here are the ones that made me want to try this and on my black car it has been very good. Still working on technique a bit, but I would recommend mixing the solution in your bucket then pour some into a sprayer and pretreat/spray the areas prior to the wash. Seems like that gets the process started and allows for effective dirt removal. I've just started to use a QD in the mix, not sold on that as of yet.
 
Protectall's Quick and Easy Wash. It's a soap that is made for washing RVs, which requires no rinsing. Many of us apartment dwellers use it because a hose is not available to wash the cars with. I use QEW to wash my car in the garage during the winter.
 
Sorry about your problem.

Fortunately it is the method and not the product that causes issues.



No one beats Scottwax when it comes to QEW, but I do use it on a $70K Black M3 weekly and I have no issues.



Good luck.
 
I wash a section using the single bucket QEW method (as per instructions) with a chenille covered foam pad. You wash just like you are soaping up a car when washing conventionally. I then use a soft, thick terry cloth towel (I get them from my Meguiars distributor, don't know who makes them) or you can use the Meguairs super soft terry cloth towels to make your first drying pass. Direction seems to matter little. I make sure to leave some water left on the paint for the second pass with a moderately plush MF towel (the yellow ones with the black hem from Excel Detail) to dry the paint completely. When you first start washing the car, the terry cloth towel may initially absorb all the water and if so, DON'T make a second drying pass with an MF or you will get drying streaks. I just continue around the car and refold then change out towels as needed.



If you want to dig through my Autopia gallery, you can find a really dirty black Dakota and pearl 350Z that I've washed on section of and you can compare it to the other, un-QEW'ed side as an example of what you can do with QEW.
 
mdsmithers said:
That Taurus article and Scottwax here are the ones that made me want to try this and on my black car it has been very good. Still working on technique a bit, but I would recommend mixing the solution in your bucket then pour some into a sprayer and pretreat/spray the areas prior to the wash. Seems like that gets the process started and allows for effective dirt removal. I've just started to use a QD in the mix, not sold on that as of yet.
Click to expand...



Since I get #34 by the gallon cheap, I always throw half an ounce of it in my QEW; I don't know what it is like without it in there. I agree totally about the pre-treat, as I said before it kinda encapsulates and wicks away the worst of the dirt/dust/deposits before my mitt ever touches it.
 
I too have a spray bottle with QEW/water that I use on very dirty cars. I use that during the winter all the time, and I often spray a little QD in the mix as well.
 
Maybe I have been set a bad example... but my father when he lived in a condo that had a garage would connect a gardening hose to the kitchen faucet... via a few adapters from the local hardware store... and wash his truck in the garage with the door cracked open to let the water rinse out...



I am interested in QEW though to possibly avoid those days where the water freezes on my chrome wheels before I get a chance to dry them :hairpull
 
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