Review: Carpro RESET

[Audios S6]

I'm a little harsh on the front end, but rest assured, I really do like this product.

If you don't care to read my whining, skip to the next bold text

When this product was originally released I was among the dissenting regarding the need for such a product and some of the copy used (including here at AG). So here's the copy:

CarPro Reset Intensive Car Shampoo is formulated with intelligent pH surfactants that give Reset the cleaning ability of a alkaline-based detergent, without compromising the water beading or protection of the underlying coating. CarPro Reset Intensive Car Shampoo will not alter the water beading or sheeting characteristics of the underlying coating.

Benefits of CarPro Reset:
Developed for use with all CarPro Nanotechnology Sealants and Coatings including Reload, Hydro2, and CQuartz.* .
No gloss enhancers, No polymers, No wax inside.
Intelligent pH Surfactants provide a strong cleaning and foaming action, whilst remaining mild and pH-Neutral (7) in use.
Derived almost entirely from natural, organic and biodegradable ingredients; free from the harsh sodium and lauryl sulfate derivatives found in many shampoo products.
1:500 Dilution ratio allows for very economical cleaning.
Excellent lubrication and fresh smelling Aqua Marine scent make for a safe, and enjoyable wash experience.
Can be used as Snow foam shampoo as well.

My bottle states 1:400 dilution and 1.5 ounce/5 gallons. I use 1 oz:3.5 gallons to keep it close to 1:400. I have said that I don't agree with the idea of 'harsh sodium and lauryl sulfate derivatives' (SLES). You can find SLES in soap, shampoo, toothpaste and many car soaps too; it may be in different concentrations, but it's there nonetheless. The real concern for humans is that it's an irritant, if you check out your bottle of RESET, it's an irritant too; sorry just not buying the harshness. I'm also not exactly keen on needing a special soap for coatings. Product with pH 3-12? No problem, your coated! Your common car wash soap? Don't use that, it has SLES!

OK, you can start reading the actual review of the product

Like pretty much every carpro product I've tried, it does not smell good in the bottle (some don't even smell good during use). But RESET does have a very pleasant scent when diluted. AG says Aqua Marine, not sure about that (I don't even know what aqua marine is), smells kinda floral to me, regardless I like it. At 1oz:3.5 gallons it suds up nicely and the suds are very stable. It has decent lubricity, but not outstanding among other products. It does clean very well with the 2BM, I would say this is it's strong suit. In the foam cannon, I haven't found it to be better than my normal CG CW+G and BH Surfex HD combo; in fairness I haven't found anything that touches this combo for foaming action and cleaning ability. It does rinse freely and easily, but so do several other soaps out there.

So what criteria do I really 'need' from a coating soap? IMHO, Lubricity, strong cleaning and free rinsing. RESET hits all those marks. What else do I 'want' in my soap? Dilution ratio, cost, scent, foam cannon friendly, water softening ability. RESET hits most of these too (not sure about softening and it's obviously not the cheapest soap).

Overall, RESET is well suited as a soap developed for coatings. I don't use this soap everytime I wash my cars (coated the CQUK and 22PLE), but I do use it at least once per month and anytime I plan to top my coatings with Reload, Hydro2 or VS1. For follow-up on client cars that are coated, I always use RESET; but I do give clients other options for when they are washing themselves and tell them to follow a similar regimen to the one I described above.

Pros
Suds
Lubricity
Cleaning ability
Dilution ratio
scent
free rinsing

Cons
Cost
Not great in foam cannon for me

[haris300]

A well balanced and informative review. Reset sure is a great strong shampoo if you don't mind paying the extra cost. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[Bunky]

Thanks for the review.

I always use gloves when washing and cleaning. Soaps can irritate skin but varies from person to person.

[Avi@CarPro]

Great Decent review , thank you for testing!

[Sticandy]

I'm going to bring this back from the dead. I have had my car coated with cquartz UK for a couple years now. I also continually (often twice a month) after washing apply hydro2 with a pressure washer for rinsing. It beads well, but I've noticed that within a couple washes the beading disappears.

I am planning on stripping the coating in the next couple of weeks and reapplying. But I got to thinking the other day. My routine car soap is CG citrus wash and gloss. I use it I'm my foam cannon and my bucket. I can't help but wonder if I need to switch to a car pro reset wash before I top off with hydro2 to strip the contamination off the coating. Although nothing is supposed to stick to the cquartz, is it possible the waxes in the CG is interfering with the beading/bonding ability of the cquartz and hydro2?

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

[PouncingPanzer]

I had a coating installed in February and RESET was my first go-to for a coating specific shampoo. I love RESET as it cleans really well, doesn't leave a residue, and did I mention it cleans really well? Ha. But yes, even at wholesale I pay $20 for 1000ml. OUCH!

I have since purchased Meg's D110 Hyperwash to try as an alternative as it is much cheaper and dilutes better I feel. Plus, it doesn't share the cons you listed for RESET. However it does rinse a little bit harder. D110 seems to work well, and has so far maintained my coatings hydrophobic properties much like RESET does. Hyperwash doesn't contain waxes or gloss enhancers, and seems to leave zero film or residue on my vehicle after washing. I plan to "refresh" this weekend with an application of Reload. I plan to do that every 4 months or so. I will certainly continue to use RESET every few washes or so, just so it doesn't go to waste.

Next shampoo I plan to try for my coated vehicle is Gyeon Bathe.

Good review and I can follow suit with it 100%.

[PouncingPanzer]

@Sticandy

CG Citrus wash and gloss absolutely will kill your coatings hydrophobic properties. I have heard this from many. It is loaded with gloss enhancers and those stay behind. They have no hydrophobic properties unfortunately. I would definitely try to wash it once with CarPro RESET, and that has been the cure for others in your exact situation. I spoke with a gentlemen who had a coating on his Merc and he was concerned about how quickly it lost it's hydrophobic properties. He was using Meguiar's Gold Class shampoo and that has gloss enhancers. One wash with RESET and boom, it got RESET.

Wonder where the name comes from....hmmmm. Haha. Good luck man.

[BryanH]

I have said that I don't agree with the idea of 'harsh sodium and lauryl sulfate derivatives' (SLES). You can find SLES in soap, shampoo, toothpaste and many car soaps too; it may be in different concentrations, but it's there nonetheless. The real concern for humans is that it's an irritant, if you check out your bottle of RESET, it's an irritant too; sorry just not buying the harshness. I'm also not exactly keen on needing a special soap for coatings. Product with pH 3-12? No problem, your coated! Your common car wash soap? Don't use that, it has SLES!

Bringing this thread back up again. I want to ask how you know that Reset contains SLES, and whether there are any car wash solutions you like that do not have it. I have noticed Reset dries out my skin after a wash. I just checked the bottles of all my car wash solutions and they all have some kind of warning about eye and skin contact. So I'm curious to learn more about why you brought this up with regards to Reset in particular, and what you recommend instead.

Thanks!

[Audios S6]

I know reset does NOT contain SLES; or at least I trust the brand's statement in that regard.

I brought it up because the sales copy states that it does not contain 'harsh SLES'; I'm not a fan of scare tactic marketing. Especially when the real issue IMO is the that SLES is an irritant to humans, but reset is also an irritant. Pot calling kettle black.

Without personally checking every soap out there, I'm guessing you'll find that they are all potentially irritants. I don't have a good answer for which might be better for sensitive skin.

[PouncingPanzer]

CarPro is pretty transparent as to what their products have in them, hell, they told me what some other companies products had in them. Quantities, point of production, everything.