ilogikal1 Posted January 4, 2020 Author Share Posted January 4, 2020 So, pictures then. First up, my new toy for the pressure washer arrived this morning. Which is a vast improvement over the standard gun; The short lance came with 3 nozzles - 15°, 25° & 40° fan - and a snow foam attachment, all quick release which (in theory) means no more dicking about with breaking the old, long lance at the half way point to attach the foam lance. Except there's a slight problem with this theory because this b*st*ard; ...won't budge from either of my lances. Yet. [siren] War were declared... [ /siren] Anywho. Beading occured! Poorboys Black wax; Glass sealant: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 I'm gonna need a link to that short PW gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted January 4, 2020 Author Share Posted January 4, 2020 HydroCoat (looks the same currently whether it's sitting on top of anything or not, unsurprisingly). HydroCoat Hybrid: OB Glaze; Carnauba Glaze: PTFE Polish Sealant: And CanCoat: Oh, and HubiKote HubiTrim, because everything should bead: So far, all three products are behaving more or less the same, with water sheeting off quickly and beading nicely. The beads also seem to run off the panel at the same speed when moving at the moment too. Almost disappointingly, it wasn't raining during my journey today, so I've no idea how the Glass Sealant actually behaves yet. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted January 4, 2020 Author Share Posted January 4, 2020 4 minutes ago, SuperStu said: I'm gonna need a link to that short PW gun. Quite a few places do them now, but almost everyone is currently out of stock - no idea who produces the original version but they all seem to be much of a muchness. I got mine from the first place I know of that makes them, Direct Hoses, having bought my replacement hose from them years ago I'm pretty happy with the quality of their stuff; https://www.directhoses.net/collections/hose-gun-lance-sets For referece, I went for the swivel inlet too and although I've only used it once I'm very happy with that choice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 (edited) Love the colour that Azure gives big juicy beads in the first 2 pics.. Like Christmas tree baubles Edited January 5, 2020 by HEADPHONES 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted April 30, 2020 Author Share Posted April 30, 2020 On 31/12/2019 at 23:27, G1en@waxandshine said: Great stuff just how “long” is this test planned to last for. I simply ask for the “elder statesmen” of the forum that sadly may not be with us to reach its conclusion and thus can decide whether to carry on Reading past this point. On 01/01/2020 at 10:56, ilogikal1 said: Who knows.... In theory, unless anything changes between now and then, I'm planning on doing a proper detail when I have more time in April. However the bonnet should be good for a year now. That said, I've still got plenty of products left over, so I may never stop "testing". As it's now April, as promised.... ...something changed, so the only update is that the car is sat some 200 miles away from all my detailing stuff covered in half an inch of dust. Also this makes ilogikal1 very grumpy. Further updates are pending post-apocalypse lockdown release. Maybe August. Maybe not this August... Except for the glass sealant. It's looking much more likely that I would run out of that within the next 30 years than not given that it seemed to give up prior to lockdown. However in the spirit of fairness, it could just have required as wash to revive it (which will still be checked whenever I'm able to), but on current evidence it would suggest that about 2 months is what I got out of it by applying in a manner that is very much against the manufacturers instructions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 you got one of these yet? a Crotch Canon https://designyoutrust.com/2020/07/the-crotch-cannon-a-more-natural-way-to-perform-a-snow-job/ Looking forward to your review 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 I do, but I get banned from the internet when I post those pictures... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted February 23, 2021 Author Share Posted February 23, 2021 On 30/04/2020 at 13:54, ilogikal1 said: Further updates are pending post-apocalypse lockdown release. Maybe August. Maybe not this August... I worry myself with my accuracy sometimes. My accuracy and my modesty... Anyway, Car Chem did a thing. A thing with VP and SP Pro. In December 2019 I treated myself to a previous Car Chem Mystery box (here, for reference). For those not familiar, it was a similar premise; 6 random products from the range(s). Both SP Pro and VP are "affiliated" with Car Chem - the short version is that all three are now Car Chem brands, for all intents and purposes, however it is my understanding that wasn't always the case for VP in particular. The Mystery boxes included all old stock as well current products. I will come back to this later. As with previous mystery boxes they offered both 500ml and 1 litre versions. Now, I resisted the thing this time. Not least of all becuase I still have 800ml of snow foam, a whole litre of QD, a litre of waterless wash and wax, ~950ml of odour eliminator, >900ml of Revolt, ~993ml of glass sealant and ~95ml (I think) of Hydrocoat Hybrid from my last haul 14 months ago. So I resisted the thing. I resisted for THREE. Whole. Days. Sadly the offer was on for three and a half days so three weeks later* this little lot turned up. That is 500ml of each of the following: VP Silicone Dash Spray VP Devil's Blood (fallout remover) CC Lockdown Sealant CC G&T Glue and Tar Remover SP Pro Waterless Wash Neutral Enhance SP Pro Waterless Lotus And then in the other box was this: Which is 1 litre of each of the following: VP Snow Foam VP Dirt Magic (APC) CC Tyre & Trim Dress CC Ceramic Suds SP Pro Neutral Enhance SP Pro Hydropel (sealant) So that's 2 more litres of waterless washes that I'll use sparingly, if at all, on a car - and if I do I'll be using it more as a QD than anything. Snow Foam, Dirt Magic, Tyre & Trim Dress, Cermic Suds, Hydropel, Devil's Blood, Lockdown Sealant & G&T will get used, abused and reviewed post apocolypse - expect summer updates. Neutral Enhance and Waterless Lotus will probably get used around the house before that - expect updates sooner. Silicone Dash Spray... I have spent all day trying to think of something to use it on and come up blank. I will NOT be using it on my dashboard - I prefer a matte finish to my interiors - but I will need to use it somewhere because, well, I have it. All in all, not a bad haul. Again. Even the waterless washes will get used - albeit never something I would buy - and I'm pretty certain I can find something to use the Silicone Dash spray on - albeit not MY car! I gave Car Chem £26.98 for the two mystery boxes. In exchange they gave me (roughly) £153.92 of products. By my count I make it a reasonable 82.5% off this time. That'll do. I say roughly £153.92 because: 500ml G&T = £8.50 500ml Lockdown Sealant = £10.99 500ml Devil's Blood = £4.99 500ml Neutral Enhance = £9.50 500ml Waterless Lotus = £15.99 1000ml Tyre & Trim Dress = £12.50 1000ml Ceramic Suds = £18.50 1000ml Dirt Magic = £8.99 That's £89.96 of products that you can buy today. 1000ml of Snow Foam is not available, but based on VP's current "Cheery Snow Foam" it would have been ~£9.99 Similarly both Neutral Enhance and Hydropel only appear to be available for purchase in 500ml, so doubling up the prices are £9.50 x 2 (£19) and £14.99 x 2 (£29.98) respectively. That just leaves Silicone Dash Spray. Which is not currently available for purchase. Nor is a product that Car Chem offer. As I typed earlier, the mystery boxes included old stock. This is clearly one of those products and the manufacturer of the product that I'm fairly sure (approximately 93.527% certain. Approximately) sells their version for ~£4.99 per can. Which is an estimate because of their business model which allows local prices to vary from customer-to-customer. That should give you enough clues as to what I think that is. Anyway, with some assumptions and my maths I make that a total of ~£153.92 of products. For ~£27 delivered. And I only had to wait 3 weeks for it turn up... Okay, so about that; extenuating circumstances and all that, but to explain: Car Chem had pre-boxed a number of these based on numbers from previous offers. In 3.5 days they received nearly 10x the number of orders they were expecting - over 9000 in fact. Car Chem worked 24 hours a day to fill the orders. Royal Mail then failed to collect, process and/or deliver said orders. Now, again, extenuating circumstances; pandemic imposed skeleton staff across RM as a whole - around here we only received some Christmas post a month later at the end of January. Apparently theur collections were as affected as their deliveries, as such RM were only collecting a limited number of parcels each day. And not turning up at all on other days. Even when RM had collected the parcels, it wasn't unusual for them to sit in sorting offices for days on end. So yes, it took 3 weeks to deliver. Yes, Car Chem's communications during the whole thing were... disappointing. But >80% saving, and it's not like I knew what I was getting before it turned up anyway, so meh. Anywho, I've tried Neutral Enhance already (not on paintwork yet, but I might work up to that). Expect a review soon. Well, I have to do something to drag this out until the zombie apocolypse ends!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 Didn't he do well Ladies & Gents! Mine arrived just now. A lot of very colourful product too, which is always 'interesting'. 1x APC - £8.99 1x Waterless Wash (yuck) - £9.50 1x Spritz Hydropel (QD?) - £14.99 1x Wheel Cleaner - £12.50 1x Tyre Dressing - £9.99 1x Tyre & Trim Dressing - £12.50 £68.47 worth of product, between £46 and £60 of 'useful' product depending on how many years it is before I get through my stock of tyre dressing and then two these new arrivals. Reasonable returns for a £21 gamble. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted February 24, 2021 Author Share Posted February 24, 2021 7 hours ago, Stutopia said: 1x Spritz Hydropel (QD?) - £14.99 It's a spray sealant. Apparently works with wax and other sealants, lasts up to 6 months according to the blurb. Naturally this will be throughly tested. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 (edited) On 23/02/2021 at 22:04, ilogikal1 said: Silicone Dash Spray... I have spent all day trying to think of something to use it on and come up blank. I will NOT be using it on my dashboard - I prefer a matte finish to my interiors - but I will need to use it somewhere because, well, I have it. So, having spent all day on Tuesday trying to think of something to use Silicon Dash Spray on and it turns out it was (literally) in front of me the whole time; my work laptop. It's a Lenovo jobbie with that soft touch texture, so I figured I'd try it. After that, I then used it on my Sennheiser PXC 550 II headphones. And then I used it on a couple of other bits and pieces. Two things; Firstly, it smells delightful. Secondly, it's nowhere near as shiney as I expected from the name. It actually gives quite a pleasant matte finish. So it may go near my dashboard after all.... A proper review will follow in due course. Edited February 26, 2021 by ilogikal1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 Pics of detailed headphones definitely needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 11 hours ago, HEADPHONES said: Pics of detailed headphones definitely needed I wouldn't go as far as to say detailed - more wiped over with the product really. But here you go. Top one has been wiped over with Silicone Dash Spray, the bottom one hadn't at this point; For those not familiar with these, the music and call functions are controlled by the trackpad that is basically the right ear cup - so that gets touched a lot. The right ear cup is the top one, for reference, and hopefully you can see in the picture the finger prints still on the left cup - that's the one that doesn't get touched as much. The review then (of SDS, not the headphones... although I could... maybe another time!): As mentioned the top (right) cup has been wiped over - in this case I sprayed some Silicone Dash Spray onto a microfibre cloth, wiped in a cross hatch pattern and then wiped over with a clean mf cloth to remove the excess. As you can see, it leaves a nice natural matte finish - if you look closely you can see where it's streaked a little, another wipe over with a dry cloth a minute later cleared that up a little bith but not completely. It could just be a case of excess product and I suffered a similar problem op the laptop lid too but when used on a larger area it was not evident at all. Which brings me to my next point. I like the finish it gives. I don't like the aerosol delivery method. I'm not going to explain aerosols to you all, so suffice it to say it's difficult to get the product where you want it, in the quantity that you want it without getting a massive amount of overspray on the surrounding area - on a dashboard, you're going to end up with product all over the windscreen; or you're going to be getting in and out of the car everytime you need to spray the product. It's workable, but there's a reason why aerosols aren't typically used for detailing products. As I mentioned previously, it smells delightful. Anyone who rememers the PB air fresheners, this smells very similar. And they were one of my favourite air fresheners. For those who don't; it's very reminiscent of a cologne type of scent. Now, obviously this makes it more pleasant to work with - you're surrounded by an atomised cloud of this stuff, so you're going to inhale it. The fact it smells very pleasant is therefore a benefit in that sense. However, this is a trim/plastic dressing first and foremost, so the surfaces you would use these on don't hold that scent. Ergo, once that cloud of product has dispersed, so to has the scent - if you folow the instructions and use it in a well ventilated area (because, you know, atomised cloud of product, breathing... makes sense to!) then that scent lasts about 3 seconds. If, however, you use it in, say, a home office office for example, the scent lasts a good 8-9 seconds. So after using it on the laptop and headphones, I tried something else - chosen largely because I had two that I could compare side-by-side and because it has both glossy and matte aspects to it and I wanted to see how it did with both finishes. So a thing happened. That thing was a random comparison of Silicone Dash Spray against Neutral Enhance (a waterless wash) on some big plastic lids; Beforehand both lids were a little grubby, mainly light dirt and heavy dust really. The left one was cleaned purely with SDS, the right with Neutral Enhance - I tried to get an photo of them both in the same light to show a direct comparison. Neutral Enhance is designed to leave a "clean neutral finish"; In comparison, Silicone Dash Spray looks like this; I didn't quite get a like for like picture, but in person there's nothing between them at all. Silicone Dash Spray cleaned the dirt and dust just as well as Neutral Enhance here, and as the headphones showed it removes fingerprints too, so for light clening duties this would seem to do the job as well as dress. In terms of durability, the headphones already have some fresh fingerprints on, so in high traffic areas it doesn't last long at all - the plastic sotrage box lid is as I left it, so if you don't touch your dashboard it'll be fine for a while. Pretty much like any other dash dressing, really. All-in-all, it's an okay product. It leaves a good finish when you master applying the right amount, which is more difficult that it needs to be. It has a lovely scent, which makes using it a bit more tolerable but is otherwise rather pointless. Verdict - I'll use it whilst I've got it but I wouldn't buy it. I would buy and air freshener with the same scent though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 Speaking of Neutral Enhance... This is basically a waterless wash that doesn't make too many astounding claims of superiority over everything that's ever happened before, like some do. It does promise that it's "specifically developed for all paint types and wraps". I'll be honest, I'm not sure how something can be specifically developed to be used generally by all, but ignoring the pedant in me for a moment we'll move on. It does promise to safely lift dirt and grime away from the surface "using a clever emulsification process". Whatever that means. It does promise to leave "a clean, neutral finish". The website does also state: Quote Produced with a high level of surfactants and natural oils which beautifully clean all hard surfaces, this product will leave a deep rich look to gloss, natural and matte finishes, and is a perfect base to then apply Hydropel. This no smear formula is perfect to also keep your windows clean. Naturally I had to test that - in fact the only bit I haven't tested (yet) is the Hydropel claim. But all in good time! The instructions are simple: 1. Shake well to activate the formula. 2. Lightly apply the formula to a microfibre cloth and the surface one area [or panel] at a time. 3. Wipe the area [in one direction](not in circles). 4. Use a 2nd clean, dry microfibre cloth to buff the surface to reveal a protective shine. [Indicate additional instructions on the bottle not quoted on the website, for referece]. I followed instruction 1 to the letter. I shook well to activate the formula. I didn't do so well on instruction 2; I sprayed the surface and then the cloth. Oops. I followed instruction 3 from the website. I didn't not follow the unidirectional instruction from the bottle - I wiped in both directions but, unless otherwise stated, I did so across in a single plane (i.e. left to right to left, not a cross hatch pattern). I followed instruction 4 perfectly. 2 out of 4 isn't bad... Anyway, aside from the picture in the last post, I have nothing to offer (I know, I'm slacking!) but, I attached the plastic storage bin lid, as above. First impressions; it's a white liquid that smells like a chemically coconut - looks and smells similar to BSD actually, but that's where the similarities end. It felt reasonably well lubricated on most surfaces, a little more than water but not quite as slippery as a shampoo. It spreads well, it buffs reasonably easily. It does leave a nice neutral finish, in that is doesn't seem to add anything to, or take away from, the finish of the surface. It did fine against light dirt and dust, so I mived on to an interior door that sees plenty of traffic - typical gloss white painted wooden door whch has become grubby where people (okay, I) don't use the doorhandle to close it (don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about!). One quick spritz of product on the door, one on the cloth and it soon lifted the grime with no signs of damage. So I moved onto the kitchen counter top - which I'm pretty sure are quartz rather than granite, but could be the other way around. Anyway, again lifted the dirt easily - more stubborn dirt needed to be scrubbed a little though which would not do soft Japanese paint any good at all! Then this: Quote This no smear formula is perfect to also keep your windows clean. Now, my desk is a glass top desk so I started there before moving onto actual windows, which have not been cleaned in at least a year so there is a film of dirt over them - that cloudy film you can see quite clearly when the sun is shining through it. Confession time; for the windows and desk, I wiped in a cross hatch pattern. I'm not even sorry. I can confirm that this does make a pretty decent window cleaner - I probably wouldn't use it on a windscreen, but for household windows it's fine. In comparison I used a QD on one window to compare; Neutral Enhance definitely lifted more dirt, more easily and left a clearer finish. The QD felt like the cloth was doing all (or at least most of) the work whereas Neutral Enhance was mush easier. Even where it's over applied, it's easy to get a good finish when you use a dry cloth for the final buff. Now, I haven't actually used it on proper gloss paint that's clear coated yet, and I certainly won't be using it on my car paint except in inconspicuous areas like under the bonnet. Semi-verdict - meh, it's a waterless wash, so fine for dust and light grime but there's nothing here that makes this stand out over any other waterless wash for me. The only differentiator is the finish, this doesn't seem to add anything to the finish so if that appeals this would be better than something with gloss enhancers - or vice versa depending on what you're after. As I've not tested what, if any, protection it leaves behind (the bottle doesn't state, but it does imply that it adds protection inasmuch as the label states the phrase "protects paintwork" but that is the entire context in those two words right there), I can't really conclude at the moment, but I'm sure I'll be able to rectify that with 1.5 litres of the stuff. Conclusion: better testing will follow in due course. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 This is all very peculiar, you parcel arrives, then mine does, you wash some boxes, then I wash a box. I used tested Dirt Magic today on my Fat Max mega detailing wheely box thing. Not been washed in at least 5 years. Just liberally covered, agitate with wheel brush, rinse. Did a really good job (used as it comes from the bottle). I might use some diluted stuff somewhere near the car next. After. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 21 minutes ago, Stutopia said: This is all very peculiar, you parcel arrives, then mine does, you wash some boxes, then I wash a box. Clearly you’ve been following my thread for too long, you’ve started to think like me. I’m worried for you too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 The headphones came up a treat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 After literally (a) year's worth of delay, I have news.... Updates! ...like winter, are coming. Or at least may be coming. Soon. Ish. Maybe within the month. Possibly. Not actually promising that. When they do happen, there should be a few of them though. So there's that. That's it. That's all I've got right now. I'm not even sorry. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted May 29, 2021 Author Share Posted May 29, 2021 I promised updates. I have updates. And by updates, I mean reviews. First and foremost, if you have a pressure washer and don't have one of these: ...you're missing out. Now if I remember right back in pre-apocolypse, I hadn't managed to switch my foam lance over to the quick release fitting shown in the picture. Well I've now done a thing, so to provide a proper review of this; it's a massive improvement. It's much easier to use properly than the 18 foot lance that comes as standard with pressure washers for reasons literally no one can explain*. With the three nozzles (15, 25 & 40 degree fan pattern) it's a lot more versative, easier to handle (f'nar) - especially single handedly (ooer). The swivel inlet is a worthwhile investment too - no more kinky hose (that's what she said) when moving about. *Someone probably could explain but I'm not accepting any excuses so if you can explain, please don't, plzkthx. In case anyone is wondering, I now have one foam lance set up for this and one with the fitting for the standard lance on still. Now me being me I can't not compare one thing to another, and I can confirm there is no noticable difference in performance between the two guns; the only operational difference is that the one on the standard fitting is in a fixed position, so if you rotate the gun then the lance rotates with it. On the short gun, the quick fitting basically means it spins - so if you rotate the gun, the weight of the foam bottle essentially self levels it. Not a huge problem as you're quite likely to be using the standard gun two handed (because it's a million feet long) to stabalise it, so you can just use your other hand to rotate the bottle independently of the gun anyway. That also becomes a handy feature for the nozzles too - they too rotate in the gun and therefore you can adjust not only the angle but also the pattern of the spray very easily without having to hold the gun at uncomfortable angles. Word of warning though, the nozzles only rotate when the trigger is not depressed. When you're firing water through it, the pressure makes it difficult (at best) to rotate it in the gun. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but mine if from Direct Hoses (clicky) - they do Nilfisk & Karcher versions for most people, a Macallister version in case the person who bought one of those is on here, as well as a Kranzle version for the posh rich boys and girls (servants). I'm being lazy with my reviews these days - you're getting no new pictures with this one. I'm not even trying. Or sorry. I have more but the pubs are open again so you lot are second favourite again so you'll have to wait. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgv1 Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Agreed the short trigger is an absolute game changer. I was skeptical at thirty odd quid but it makes working in tighter spaces much easier and I’m really happy with the Direct Hoses one, same as you got above. Could definitely live without it but it does make life easier. Now ironically my mate is talking of getting a quick release extension for the short trigger to make it the same length as the original lance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 I'm not going to lie, it's my favourite new toy for some time. Aside from replacing a broken trigger with a better quality alternative, I can't see any reason to extend the short trigger. Somewhere to store the nozzles would be nice though - I know you can get the attachment which stores them, but I object to even extending the gun by that much. I might look into cobbling something together to store them with the pressure washer instead (or rather, hope that someone else does so I don't have to. ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 (edited) On a related topic, I've finally made a start on using this: Specifically for this update: Ceramic Suds. Now, I must begin with a caveat or twelve. Firstly, the equipment I have to hand is... sub-optimal. Specifically the lack of basic equipment. Like buckets. Fortunately I was throwing it at my sister's family wagon, so safe wash technique has always been less important than the shiny shiny. So I made do with what I had; a pressure washer and a snow foam lance. Ceramic Suds is an SiO2 based "concentrate luxury car shampoo", that "leave a protective hydrophobic layer of liquid glass", and some other stuff about cleaning well and all that good stuff you should expect from any reasonable shampoo. Think Gyeon Bathe+, but green with a scent of... "iced lemon" apparently. If "Iced" mean "faint" then I can smell it. It's got a lemon tone to it in concentrate form, but it's not a strong scent. To be honest, it wasn't until I noticed the scent listed on the webstite as "iced lemon" that I even placed it as lemon, it's such a mild scent. It's a very watery consistency, as such is very easy to decant, and Car Chem state a dilution ratio of 200 to 1 (200:1). However their description actually means 1:200 (1 in 200) because they state "Add 50ML of Ceramic Suds to a 10L bucket and top up with warm [water]" (the bottle finishes the sentence, whilst the website doesn't). Now this is a very minor and pendantic point - the difference is litterally 10,000ml of water + 50ml of shampoo (10,050 solution @ 200:1) versus 9,050ml water + 50ml shampoo (10 litres of solution @ 1:200). Pendantry aside, second caveat: Dilution ratios were ignored entirely. Preamble done, I pre-washed with Car Chem's snow foam first then rinsed the car. It wasn't especially dirty to start off with but there was a traffic film left over avter the foam which required a contact wash. Now, as I mentioned, no buckets - I know, who the hell doesn't have even a single bucket, right?! Well, turns out, that would be my sister. We're very different people... So I improvised with the foam lance (and rinsing the wash mitt with a separate water source). Obviously I did my maths and measured out exactly the right amount of shampoo that Ineeded.... Okay, I just poured some Ceramic Suds into the foam bottle, then poured a bit more in for good measure. Then I topped up with warm water leaving me with 1litre of solution. I did measure it afterwards - the bottle was filled to approximately 20cm high, I now have approximately 18cm of shampoo left. I'm pretty sure that means I've used 10%, i.e. 100ml: So, approximately 9:1. Or 1:10 solution in the foam bottle. Which was then fired at the car @ approximately 10% PIR. So rather than hitting the panel at 200:1/1:200, I had it more or less hitting the panel at... somewhere in the region of 999:1 (or 1:1000). Maybe. Anyway, the theory was simple enough; fire the solution at the car, hope it foams a bit, spread it around the panel with a (cheap) microfibre mitt, rinse with the pressure washer, repeat for the next panel. The reality was; fire it at the panel, realise it doesn't foam much at all. Admire the (literally) instant beading that it adds. Realise I still need to actully wash the car and get on with it. So my approach was not ideal and didn't really give the shampoo a fair shot at all. I will be treating my sister and her household to two new buckets (when I can pick some up rather than paying more for delivery than I'm prepared to pay for the buckets!) and I'll give it a fairer shot with an updated write up. In the meantime, I do have some initial observations. Firstly, as I mentioned, it doesn't seem to be a particularly foamy shampoo - again, I circle back to the Bathe+ comparison - it foams up under running water (when filling the bottle) but it's not what you'd call sudsy by any means. If suds are important to you; a) you've got the wrong priorities, b) this is not the shampoo for you. Caveat number three: remembering that I was using it at 5x the dilution ratio. I didn't find it particularly slick on the surface. It wasn't grabby by any means, but there was a touch more resistance across the panel with the shampoo than with clean water. The sensation wasn't enough to worry me that I was causing damage, but it was noticable and worth noting. At the very least, it's an odd sensation for a shampoo. That said (and repeat caveat 3), it did clean very well and managed to lift all except the most stubborn of tar spots lower down on the sills. And a final repeat of caveat 3; the protection it adds was immediately evident and every bit as impressive as my personal favourite, Bathe+. The car has precisely zero protection on it - my sister is the type to expect my brother-in-law to wash the car, he being the type of person who would washing up liquid for shampoo (albeit not due to the dilusion that it's "stripping" previous LSP's - also; no, it absolutely does not, the surfectants in washing up liquid are designed to affect water behaviour that some people, mistakenly, believe demonstrates a weakened LSP. It does compromise LSP in the same way this and shampoo does, just with the opposite effect. Anyway, moving on.). Using Ceramic Suds through a foam lance created a number of problems for me - notwithstanding the dilution ratios, it instantly adds a layer of protection that very effectively beads and somewhat effectively sheets water. So you spray it at the panel, put the foam lance down and... find a reasonably dry panel. Fortunately I have a short gun, so I resorted to spray the panel with one hand, immediately wipe over with the other. Took some practice, but I think I nailed the technique in the end. I did have to pause to rinse the panels every so often, largely because I was working in the sun which has finally decided to make an appearance this week. Where I wasn't able to rinse/wipe properly (namely, the middle fo the roof - it's a Grand Scenic. With roof rails. And I was in too much of a rush (read: too lazy) to get steps, so the middle section of the roof didn't get a contact wash) it resulted in minor smearing (similar to Bathe+ and even WetCoat when not rinsed throughly enough before drying). When I say minor, it was enough to bother me, but neither my sister nor brother-in-law even noticed it. I would strongly advise using buckets. I used the whole 100ml of shampoo doing the car, which I could have done with just 50ml in a bucket and would have got more of the shampoo on more of the car at the same time. P*ss Poor technique aside, I'm generally quite impressed with Ceramic Suds, and I'm pretty certain with comparative use it might even give Bathe+ a run for it's money. Of course, I will test this one day and post the results. You may have noticed the lack of pictures again with this one. I know, I'm being sh*t, but that's the reason I'm delaying reviews of the VP Snow Foam and Dirt Magic. I'm aiming to get pictures for these in use on the Z tomorrow. Or to put it another way; quit your moaning, I'm working on it! When I have buckets, I will review this review of Ceramic Suds and I might even get pictures for the the re-review. Maybe. Edited May 31, 2021 by ilogikal1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted May 31, 2021 Author Share Posted May 31, 2021 Continuing to make a dent in these: Today is focusing on VP Snow Foam. Now those that know me well enough will know that Car Chem Snow Foam is my benchmark, with the link between VP and CC I'm expecting big things. First things first, let's address the big grey thing in the indoor enclosed space. It looks like CC Snow Foam - it's the same watery consistency and it's red(ish - although it does look more orangy in the pictures). When you open the bottle, it smells like CC Snow Foam. Oh, and VP don't sell it anymore. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that this is Car Chem's Snow Foam. Except that Car Chem don't appear to sell it anymore either*. Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure this is exactly the same stuff with a different label on. I'm still going to test it anyway. *I may or may not test the new offerings to see how they match up to my favourite that was the old version. I'm making no promises though. Deciding against decanting the foam from one bottle into another, I instead just screwed the foam lance onto the VP bottle. There was a minor issue with this theory... the thread was not quite compatible. So I ended up decanting half the bottle anyway. Now the way I have my lance set up, I use neat solution in the bottle and adjust the solution to mix to obtain the desired PIR. In this case I'm not washing the car, I'm just testing the foam on a car that's barely moved anywhere in months. Aside from a film of dust grime, the car wasn't especially dirty. I opted for ~6% PIR for anyone interested. Standard process - fire at the car, wait 3-5 minutes (closer to 3 given I'm working in direct sunshine and I was keeping an eye on drying out, particularly on the front end and far side), followed by a thorough rinse (complete with pause for passing neighbours on the left hand side, hence why the video ends before the rear is rinsed properly): As you can see, it's a thinner foam but still has good working time, which is exactly how snow foam should be - yes, shaving foam consistency looks better (at least until you find it hanging around on the drive for 18 years afterwards as you become legally responsible for it's education and wellfare until it's old enough to look after itself and move out... or something) but because it doesn't slide off the panel, it's not removing any of the dirt. Having used it, it's very similar to (old) Car Chem Snow Foam. There are no noticable differences in any way, shape or form. All of which makes this review somewhat irrelevant; it's the same as Car Chem Snow Foam which I've been recommending for years as the joint best snow foam available... except it appears it's no longer available as you can't get from VP or Car Chem any more. Unless "Pre-Soak Snowfoam" is the same thing rebranded and purple (and even if it's not exactly the same stuff, I'm pretty confident it's still a decent product though). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 Hmmm, reminds me, I should try my mystery box stuff a bit more. Good write up, thanks. I do want a short gun, but I don’t know why. P.S. Shampoos should have some suds, I hate ones that don’t, even if they clean and lubricate well. It ruins the whole fun of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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