How to choose a car washing product?

[brondondolon]

So since ive stepped into the world of detailing there has been one question that sticks out most over all others. How do i choose an auto wash/bath/shampoo or what ever you want to call it. There are so many out there making so many claims. But my thoughts have always been "does it even matter?" "what is the difference between this $4 jug and this $30 bottle?" Personally ive always bought the cheapest wash i could find at autozone. My reason for this is "well i just need this to get the dirt off as ill be waxing it after" so why waste the money on a $30 bottle. Hell id use dish soap if it wasnt shunned upon lol.

So my question is does a good auto soap really matter if one is to follow the wash with a wax? Also, why should a person go for a higher quality auto wash over a crappy no name $4 wash?

Thank you

[Jaretr1]

It does matter to an extent. First off you want a soap that is Ph balanced as to not erode whatever protection you have on the paint. After that, different soaps have differing variances in suds, lubricity, concentration etc. A lot of it comes to personal preference, as far as the way a soap suds, smells, how slick it is to help a wash mitt across the paint without scratching.

I personally have been using DP Auto Bath. Its highly concentrated, so a little goes a long way, suds pretty nicely and smells good. I was using Meguiars NXT Wash and it is not as concentrated as DP so a lot more was needed to get a good amount of suds.

[07gtcs]

Plus once you use a "good" shampoo....you will notice how much easier they rinse off your vehicle.

[swanicyouth]

In a way it's like why buy Jones Soda @ $2 a bottle when you can get a 3L of Econo Buy soda for 89¢. But, you want a product that won't strip your LSP so you don't have to reapply it after every wash. I have 20+ quality soaps and most can be used interchangeably. However, some are more aggressive and designed to be used with a polymer sealant (think Ultima soap) and some are designed to be used with wax (think Victoria Super Soap). Then you have soaps whose suds last forever (Optimum) and soaps that foam like crazy (Honeydew). Some soaps can strip some waxes when you desire it (Citrus Red), and some soaps smell so good you want to drink them (Wolfgang). Some soaps add a little gloss (1Z Exclusive Gloss), and some soaps can even help make drying easier (Scholl Concepts Shampol).

So, there are subtle differences. You likely can get by fine with cheap soap. But you could also use cheap wax and towels as well. I figure if I'm going to invest the time to take care of my car (my time), I'm going to buy some nice and fine products to work with. To me all soap is pretty cheap for a regular bottle size. I can't think of many that sell for more than 20 bucks. But for some, that may seem crazy when you can get a half gallon for $2.99. It just depends what you are into and what is important to you.

[brondondolon]

Ok so with the given answers here is my normal routine. I typically wash my truck every sat (my truck is black and i live where there is frequent strong winds and a ton of decomposed granite plus i have about 200 feet of dirt road between my drive way and my street so im lucky if my truck stays clean longer then 2 days) and every other sat i Wax it dress the tires polish the chrome the whole shibang. So with the routine i typically take, wash every weekend wax every other, what would be a good soap for me? Ive been detailing my vehicles since my first truck but im new to the whole high end car care products.

thanks guys

[swanicyouth]

So it sounds like LSP life may not be important to you, because you reapply frequently. You car is black and you live up a dirt road. So, you don't want to cause any scratches. I think a great soap for you would be Duragloss used at the dilution recommended on the bottle. Why?

1. It's very slick and cleans very well. It's not necessarily designed to be used with a carnauba wax (Duragloss makes mostly synthetic based sealants - so it's meant to work with their line). However, you wax so frequently it won't matter. I'm very confident this soap will provide enough lubricity so you clean clean the dirt off your black vehicle as safely as possible.

2. A gallon is fairly cheap and a smaller size is available.

3. Duragloss' suds last forever. There seem to be plenty of surfactants in the soap, they aren't easily "used up". Good on a car that travels down a dirt road.

4. Almost everyone who uses this soap says it's top notch.

Others that I would recommend would be CG's Citrus Wash and Gloss and Optimum Car Soap. But it's tough to beat Duragloss' soap.

[PA DETAILER]

there are boutique washes. more expensive. dodo juice sour power. as a example. others are gloss enhansers. cg glosswerks. others have some wax. all depends on what you want from a wash.

i wash every weekend. i am yet to find something better than MEGUIARS HYPER WASH. and a gallon will last forever. just one-two pumps for 5 gallons of water. nothing better in my foam gun. produces mounds of foam. and always rinses clean for me.

Meguiars Hyper-Wash is a concetrated car wash for frequent or professional detailing. Super foaming, long lasting car shampoo from Meguiars.

[Dogfather]

In a way it's like why buy Jones Soda @ $2 a bottle when you can get a 3L of Econo Buy soda for 89¢. But, you want a product that won't strip your LSP so you don't have to reapply it after every wash. I have 20+ quality soaps and most can be used interchangeably. However, some are more aggressive and designed to be used with a polymer sealant (think Ultima soap) and some are designed to be used with wax (think Victoria Super Soap). Then you have soaps whose suds last forever (Optimum) and soaps that foam like crazy (Honeydew). Some soaps can strip some waxes when you desire it (Citrus Red), and some soaps smell so good you want to drink them (Wolfgang). Some soaps add a little gloss (1Z Exclusive Gloss), and some soaps can even help make drying easier (Scholl Concepts Shampol).

So, there are subtle differences. You likely can get by fine with cheap soap. But you could also use cheap wax and towels as well. I figure if I'm going to invest the time to take care of my car (my time), I'm going to buy some nice and fine products to work with. To me all soap is pretty cheap for a regular bottle size. I can't think of many that sell for more than 20 bucks. But for some, that may seem crazy when you can get a half gallon for $2.99. It just depends what you are into and what is important to you.

I really loved that rundown of soaps and their most notable characteristics. Thanks. I'm looking to try something new and your post is very helpful.

[jankerson]

So since ive stepped into the world of detailing there has been one question that sticks out most over all others. How do i choose an auto wash/bath/shampoo or what ever you want to call it. There are so many out there making so many claims. But my thoughts have always been "does it even matter?" "what is the difference between this $4 jug and this $30 bottle?" Personally ive always bought the cheapest wash i could find at autozone. My reason for this is "well i just need this to get the dirt off as ill be waxing it after" so why waste the money on a $30 bottle. Hell id use dish soap if it wasnt shunned upon lol.

So my question is does a good auto soap really matter if one is to follow the wash with a wax? Also, why should a person go for a higher quality auto wash over a crappy no name $4 wash?

Thank you

It makes a difference...

But you don't have to go nuts to get a good car wash soap either...

Something like Megs Gold Class is good stuff and not too expensive at all.

You can use that and Megs Ultimate Wax so you wouldn't have to wax every week...

I would recommend getting Megs Ultimate Quick Detailor and Ultimate Quick Wax.

All easy to get at the local Wally World and high quality products with being too expensive.

[Just02896]

So it sounds like LSP life may not be important to you, because you reapply frequently. You car is black and you live up a dirt road. So, you don't want to cause any scratches. I think a great soap for you would be Duragloss used at the dilution recommended on the bottle. Why?

1. It's very slick and cleans very well. It's not necessarily designed to be used with a carnauba wax (Duragloss makes mostly synthetic based sealants - so it's meant to work with their line). However, you wax so frequently it won't matter. I'm very confident this soap will provide enough lubricity so you clean clean the dirt off your black vehicle as safely as possible.

2. A gallon is fairly cheap and a smaller size is available.

3. Duragloss' suds last forever. There seem to be plenty of surfactants in the soap, they aren't easily "used up". Good on a car that travels down a dirt road.

4. Almost everyone who uses this soap says it's top notch.

Others that I would recommend would be CG's Citrus Wash and Gloss and Optimum Car Soap. But it's tough to beat Duragloss' soap.

^^^This!^^^
Duragloss 901 is the best bang for your buck! I order it by the case and end up paying only $4.50 per bottle! Also works great in a foam cannon or as a clay lube!