ZEP -- The future of detailing

J

jono20

New member
Was at home depot today pickin up degreaser. Took a look around, all of this was less than one gallon of ONR. What are we doin payin so much :P



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I just threw some diluted on my wheel wells before I took off to work, cleaned em up real nice and smells GREAT!
 
People are pretty emotionally attached to the boutique products, but truthfully, there are lots of inexpensive products out there that work great.



Make sure that glass cleaner you bought doesn't have ammonia in it before you use it on tinted windows. I'm only mentioning that because it doesn't look like it's formulated specifically for cars.



Is the citrus degreaser safe to use on painted surfaces, or is it really strong stuff? I'm wondering if it could be used to pretreat bugs and tar, or if it's best reserved for wheel wells and engines.
 
I actually only bought the citrus degreaser and car wash, just took a pic of everything else. There was ammonia free glass cleaner there for the same price. And though I know some people use the degreaser to pretreat the bottom of the car, wheels, wells, and engines, I wouldn't use it on the paint much though that's what the car wash is for! At ten bucks a gallon you can't beat this stuff!
 
15951 said:
People are pretty emotionally attached to the boutique products, but truthfully, there are lots of inexpensive products out there that work great.



Make sure that glass cleaner you bought doesn't have ammonia in it before you use it on tinted windows. I'm only mentioning that because it doesn't look like it's formulated specifically for cars.



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The MSDS for the glass cleaners don't mention any ammonia, mostly alcohol type cleaners.



Jenn
 
Glass cleaner and degreaser do work pretty good. The rest is so so.

Haven't been able to find anything better than Folex for carpets.

So I'll keep buying that.
 
I used to use Zep alot... but read the back. I don't think any of them are automotive safe.. They all (or most at least) clearly state not to use them on automotive surfaces. They work great around the house though...
 
WaxManRonnie said:
Glass cleaner and degreaser do work pretty good. The rest is so so.

Haven't been able to find anything better than Folex for carpets.

So I'll keep buying that.
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+1 on Folex. Bought it recently, and it's great stuff...even brought a couch back to life that lived through the terrible twos.
 
Zep is a very well known brand in the auto cleaning industry mainly in the car and truck wash industry. I have worked for a truck wash place for over 10 years, and the main soap we use in our high pressure foamer is a Zep product. Over the years we have tried many and I do mean many different soaps from many different companys but we keep coming back to the same soap each time. Also my brother is a manager at a car wash and express detail center and the best carpet shampoo and degreaser they have used were also Zep products. As well the Car soap they use is also a Zep product.
 
We used Zep products at the bicycle shop I used to manage, and were very happy with them.



One of them was Big Orange, an aerosol citrus degreaser, that was able to melt the surface finish of some plastics. There were a couple of parts manufacturers that recommended that citrus cleaners not be used because of the potential harm to plastic parts.



For the most part, we did not have problems, but I remember a few cases where there was some surface melting. I'm not sure if the citrus cleaner the OP bought has similar qualities, but you might use caution until you are sure it's safe.
 
I used/tried ZEP a few times. Mostly their wash soap, degreaser and dressing remember not liking it too much. This was back in the 90's when I worked at a car wash that used thier products in bay. Are they "The Future of detailing"? I doubt it highly. That is unless Home Depot starts a huge movement in car care.
 
I've been using Zep-40 (aerosol glass cleaner) since forever, and we used a lot of their industrial/janitorial stuff back when we had the dealership; Zep was our primary source for such products. Good line up for that, but I have no real experience with their auto products other than their products for leather.



My pal with the Jag MKII used their leather stuff, and wanted me to keep using it. Long explanation told short- I'd definitely steer clear of their leather care products.



While I've never tried it, I simply cannot imagine that their shampoo is gonna rival, say...Griot's Car Wash or other top-end products. (If somebody wants to compare it to the Griot's, or Optimum, or even DuraGloss, I'm ready to say I was wrong if it works out that way.) As an alternative to Deep Crystal or Westley's I bet it's fine.
 
Zep citrus works great on paint at 1:1 as a presoak on the lower panels and bumper, just don't let it dry and don't forget to wax those areas again.



Zep purple degreaser works great on tires and wells at 3:1.



The green glass from zep is amazing at 32:1.
 
I have and use the high traffic, and the citrus degreaser. Both work great. I dilute the CD for wheels/wells, and I dilute it a little more for very stubborn bugs. Haven't had a problem yet. I have not tried anything else from them but I like the two products very much.
 
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