Strong soap

**lexterminator** · 01-12-2011, 11:10 PM

Hey guys, I live in a cold area (Canada) with heavy winters with snow, ice, salt, etc.

A few weeks ago the temperature rose over freezing so I had a rare chance to wash the car outside (I don't have a garage). To car was very dirty so I did a few passes of Wolfgang foam canon (foam and rinse) with Meguiars Ultimate Wash and Wax. It removed some dirt but when washing with a Meguiar's mitt it was still quite dirty on the mitt and I had to rinse very very often.

I have the following soaps on my shelf: Meguiars GoldClass, NXT, Ultimate Wash&Wax, Malco UltraViolet, Pinnacle Bodywork Shampoo, Wolfgang AutoBathe.

I have a feeling that none of them have enough grip to take most of the dirt just by using the foam canon and rinse without touching the car with a mitt.

Anyone aware of something stronger with high cleaning ability that I could use with the foam canon during winter time ? Of course not too strong that it would preserve the wax

thanks for your input

**Dr Oldz** · 01-12-2011, 11:59 PM

I am personally not a fan of Megs UWAW for I found its cleaning ability to be sub-par IMO! But getting to your question, I found DODO supernatural works great in a foam cannon and has very good cleaning ability while still preserving the wax finish.

**embolism** · 01-13-2011, 12:03 AM

I haven't had much success with just spraying the car with soap, even using the high pressure guns in the self serve bays. Car was so dirty the other day I just took it to this place:

Toronto self serve car wash coin car wash Scarborough coincarwash.ca

I had all these plans to use 2 buckets, my own soap etc but then my hands were so cold after spraying that I just sprayed the boars hair brush they had and washed my car that way. I'm going to need to correct the paint in the spring anyways. Afterwards I noticed they have a triple conditioning foam option in case you want to do a touchless wash. Might try that next time.

I think the key may be getting a good sealant on there before the winter so it makes it harder for the salt & other crap to stick to the paint.

**LuxuryMobile** · 01-13-2011, 12:23 AM

I think you might be expecting too much out of the foam cannon. Although its a great (fun) tool to loosen up some of the work before a wash, it wont clean the car very well after just foaming and rinsing.

Sometimes, well most of the time, the higher quality the soap the less likely it is to remove that previous layer of wax or sealant. Maybe mix in a small amount of APC into your soap mixture and your foam cannon mixture.

**ShaunD** · 01-13-2011, 12:31 AM

"Love is touch." Just gotta give a little love to get the dirt off. I have never been able to spray much of anything in life and the surface just come clean; always been able to wipe w/ rag/hand and still pick up dirt. Especially for winter with all the road chemicals and salt and the ground-down asphalt. All you can do is start off with a super clean/smooth surface and paint protect and keep it waxed as mush as possible to keep the grime from sticking. Invest in some rinse-less wash and spray detailer/wax to make you r life a little easier in the CA cold.

**jimmyjam** · 01-13-2011, 05:47 AM

May sound crazy but try this; 2oz of Super Slick & 2oz of Optimum Instant detailer. Mix it in a 5 glln bucket with warm "not hot" and another bucket with plain warm water "2 bucket method". This mixture will be so slick, it'll reduce swirling etc... IMO P.S I say not hot water in case your windshield has a crack, it'll get BIGGER..

**Setec Astronomy** · 01-13-2011, 07:35 AM

That "road film" you're talking about needs to be mechanically removed. A foam bath helps a little but unless you've just got some dust or pollen that hasn't gotten wet before, don't expect the foam to remove anything by itself. If you're trying to go "touchless", and you truly have a foam cannon which is used with a pressure washer, why don't you use the pressure washer wand to blast off the dirt before you foam it? That's what a lot of pro detailers do. Just don't get too close or you will blast off the paint along with the dirt, and be careful about lifting up trim, etc.

**Crazy Amos** · 01-13-2011, 07:40 AM

Originally Posted by embolism

Afterwards I noticed they have a triple conditioning foam option in case you want to do a touchless wash.

You will want to stay away from this if you want to keep the layer of wax on the car.

I think this stuff is usually called something like "Clearcoat Cleaner/Conditioner". This stuff is applied by a foam gun and usually has a bunch of pretty colors and sweet smells.

While it looks pretty and smells good it is harsh. Most of these types of foams and presoaking soaps have high acidity levels which do help to remove grime, but also your wax. Before it can get to the CC it has to go through the wax barrier.

If you notice in the wash bays of these places there is usually a 8-10 step process they recommend. Usually the 3rd to last is the foam gun, followed by a CC protectant followed by a wax and then spotless rinse. They want you to use the protectant in the last steps because the wax was removed in the previous ones.

These very same cleaners will cause your trim to prematurely fade. Trust me I know. I let my buddy borrow my car that had 11k miles on it to take to Florida. Being the nice guy he is, he thought he would stop and wash it, following the recommended steps at the cat wash. When he brought it back to me, the cowl trim below the windshield was faded with a white haze. I took it to the dealer because it had a bumper to bumper warranty luckily and it was replaced.

Just my .02.

9 times out of 10 there is a price to be paid for convenience.......

**embolism** · 01-13-2011, 01:26 PM

wow, glad you told me. Is the soap they use in the foam brush just as bad?

I'm assuming the soap they use in those touchless washes will do the same thing since you need something stronger in order to get the road film off without any mechanical means to do so.

I've stayed away from those b/c I heard the water they use is recycled, meaning your underbody etc is literally being sprayed with salt water in the winter...

**lexterminator** · 01-13-2011, 10:05 PM

I also avoid toucheless washes since I have a non-metallic black paint that shows every single defect. The problem is that its my daily driver... and my only car... and always parked outside... makes an interesting project when spring time comes that's for sure.

Before winter time I had 2 layers of Fuzion wax + two layers of the Spritz Sealant. That was late October. When I washed it late December it seems not much was left, there is so much salt on the road in southern Quebec... washed the car at +3C (approx 36F) with 3 foaming and rinsing sessions of Ultimate Wash&Wax (that I had left from the summer in my Wolfgang foam canon) + wash the car with Pinnacle shampoo. Was too cool to attempt any kind of wax of detailer. Since then it's always below freezing temp.

Am I looking forward to spring time ? : For next fall I'll be more prepared... I recently bought the Wolfgang Deep Gloss Sealant that I will apply next fall. Looking forward to try that one. Reviews are impressive.