What is QEW ??

I bought my first gallon of QEW last month (it was on sale). I've used it twice now. Seems to work well on regularly maintained finishes, but it doesn't do much for neglected cars. I would prefer to do a traditional hose and bucket wash as I feel it is more complete, but I can certainly see using QEW as a wintertime garage wash or during summertime water restrictions. Pre-soaking with S&W seems to provide extra cleaning power.
 
I have been staying with S&W and it has worked excellent !! (to say the least)

I just kept seeing this mentioned and wondered what it was and where I could learn more about it .
 
I'm a big fan of QEW, it is definately worth a try. It's a boon to those who work mobile. I'd say that the only thing you have to be careful about is that you don't rinse off the particles like a normal car shampoo but rather QEW seems to bond to them. Because of that its important to rinse well and check the mitt.
 
Usually I use it with a car shampoo (hose and bucket method), cause I like suds, and good combined lubrication. But I did try it out the way it was meant today, and I have to say I am impressed. I managed to only use about 2 1/2 capfuls, to about 2 gallons of water (water's kinda hard at my Father's shop), and got the car clean enough to do the wax stripping. When I was done, i used the same water and cleaned my rims of the break dust. Took a while for the dirt and grit to settle down in the bucket afterward, however. Still, I think it is definitely worth the money. Used properly and with good water, i bet you could do quite a few full sized cars before you would need to buy more.
 
I think it's great stuff when used properly. I agree that it is not for filthy, neglected cars, but when used on a regularly maintained vehicle, it is preferable, IMO, to either an automated carwash or a QD cleaning. The thing is, you have to be very gentle. I place the washmit on the surface and pull it across the dirty area with absolutely no pressure. Then, I turn the mit over and pull the clean side over the surface to rinse it. Follow lightly with a MF waffle-weave towel. Don't do more than half a panel with a washmit because you'll be collecting too much dirt. You also need to rinse the mit out frequently to release the dirt. In addition to using it for regular touchup/washes, I also like to use it between detailing steps. Cleaner, QEW, clay, QEW, polish, QEW. This gives me a beautiful, clean surface for the next product and removes residue. No, it is not a total substitute for regular bucket-washing, but it is a great product for what it is.
 
I've been using the chenille wool pads, and I am quite impressed with the way they reduce risk of scratching the paint. I saturate the pad with qew/ shampoo and then I squeeze out some liquid from the pad onto the panels before the pad touches the panels. Flip over the pad after inital pass, and then back into the buket to shake out the debris. I give each panel a quick rinse off before attacking another panel. Time consuming, but i find I've gotten good results that way (at least until I tried using the QEW the way it was meant to be used.

One very intersting thing I did notice with my QEW/ shampoo method is that certain shampoos seem to work with qew in very different ways. When I use QEW with Meguires's Deep Crystal, lubircancy is ok, but the car comes out clean and rinses easy. When I use QEW with GlipTone Wash N Glow, this combo seems to require a lot more rinsing, as there are WAY too many suds on the car (even with the hard water). I find that I also have to be quick with drying off, since this combo will also spot the car if used in direct sunlight (a function of Gliptone i guess). But lubricancy is incredible to any other shampoo I have used singularly, and the panels come out looking real nice and glossy when I am finally done. The Gliptone/ Qew combo is the one i end to use on recently waxed cars as it makes the car look freshly detailed. I tend to use the Deep Crystal/ QEW after the car has been compounded and or just needs to be cleaned up real good for the finishing steps. Qew is used alone for when a car needs extra treatment (clay, compond, polish, ect.)
 
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