Stutopia Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) Noticed I was running out of valet pro snow foam so thought I'd have a look around for alternatives. Over at cleanyourcar I picked up some Dodo Juice - Apple iFoam (with a name like that I couldn't resist ) and CarPro Iron X Snow Soap. I also ran out of the AMMO Plum Wheel Cleaner, wish I'd bought more than one bottle of this as it's been a winner for me. Heard lots of good stuff on here about SONAX Full Effect Wheel Cleaner, so picked that up too. Been away this weekend in the Zed so I loaded up the front end with bugs and some all over dust and rain spots. It wasn't exactly filthy but I like her to be nice and clean on a Monday morning. Sadly, I didn't have time for a touch wash this evening before it got dark, so perfect opportunity to have a quick play with the goodies and the marcher and see what they can do on their own. Used a couple of inches of iFoam in the lance, it says to use 10 to 1 as foam so this was probably a bit over the top. However, it did give a nice shaving thick foam (next time I'll use half and see how the foam compares). It's got a pleasant apple smell as you'd imagine, though not overly strong. Even applied quite thick it didn't leave too much mess on the drive. Seconds after application. After 5 minutes dwelling. After 10 minutes, more left than I usually get with valet pro in the same quantitates. The bugs were still very much in place, but nicely softened up Whilst the foam was dwelling I gave the wheels a generous spritz with Sonax, which doesn't smell anywhere near as nice as iFoam. Left it on for a couple of minutes. After a rinse down with the pressure washer (no agitation with my usual woolies) I was really impressed by the filth that had been blasted off (the wheels were waxed a couple of months back, which no doubt helped). I normally wouldn't towel dry after a pressure wash as I fear contaminants, but I did draw a towel across the paint and it looked clean enough to apply quick spritz of Sonax Extreme Brilliant Shine Detailer to finish off. For a touchless wash and 45 minutes work in fading light I was pleased with the result and all the new cleaning arrivals Looking forward to trying the IronX snow foam next. http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/foam-pre-wash/dodo-juice-apple-ifoam/prod_1364.html http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wheels-and-tyres/sonax-full-effect-wheel-cleaner/prod_1180.html http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/detailing-sprays/sonax-xtreme-brilliant-shine-detailer-750ml/prod_1178.html Edited October 12, 2014 by SuperStu 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Great job and nice write up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIXXERUK Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Great job and nice write up. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 Cheers fellas, all three products are worth a squirt if you're running dry, sensibly priced too. I should add the paint had a thick coat of AMMO Skin last weekend; which, although it doesn't stop grime accumulating, does seem to stop it sitcking to the paint and assist with the rinse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJF Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Looks great! I'll have to invest in some snowfoam. The only thing i'd say is that the headlights look ever so slightly yellow, takes away from how clean the rest of the car is. Top job though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Looks great! I'll have to invest in some snowfoam. Make sure you get a proper snow foam gun to put it through or it won't work as well. Link: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/84321-what-a-difference-a-snow-foam-gun-can-make/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 Looks great! I'll have to invest in some snowfoam. The only thing i'd say is that the headlights look ever so slightly yellow, takes away from how clean the rest of the car is. Top job though! Thanks. The yellowing headlights are a continued source of irritation. I tried toothpaste, followed by the megs kit, neither of which did much for me. I've also had the DA on them, which was better but didn't remove it totally. I'm too chicken to hit them with wet and dry I might try a more aggressive cut with the DA again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 The yellowing headlights are a continued source of irritation. I tried toothpaste, followed by the megs kit, neither of which did much for me. I've also had the DA on them, which was better but didn't remove it totally. I'm too chicken to hit them with wet and dry I might try a more aggressive cut with the DA again. Honestly Stu you need to get that wet & dry paper on them. I used the Megs headlight restoration kit which came with wet & dry sanding pads, ....did the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Car looks good, Stu. How did you find BSD was to use? Give 203S on a cutting pad a go for the headlights, it might save you having to wet sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) Car looks good, Stu. How did you find BSD was to use? Give 203S on a cutting pad a go for the headlights, it might save you having to wet sand. Thanks Matt. I like BSD, it's a bit more "clingy" than other QDs I've used (I use it as a QD only, don't trust waterless washes ). But once I found a MF towel that it got on with, nice and easy to use and it was "grabbing" the towel less. It leaves a nice finish, with a nice bead. No idea on durability as it gets topped up at least once a week. If I didn't want to try other QDs I'd quite happily stick with it. I was using DJ Red Mist previously, which was easier to apply but at a fiver more for one third as much, I don't think its that much better. I was perhaps being a bit liberal with the DJ mind. I've heard good stuff about Zaino so might try that next. I don't recall having a "bad" QD, or one that particularly stood out (I should really make notes!). So I'll keep trying new ones. Any suggestions? Edited October 13, 2014 by SuperStu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 There was a polymer based QD in a Waxybox many months ago which was amazeballz but I lost the bottle and never found it again. Not sure why you'd have polymer in a last stage product, as it won't bond properly but it was quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350zedd Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Nice job.....love the Sonax BSD....brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 There was a polymer based QD in a Waxybox many months ago which was amazeballz but I lost the bottle and never found it again. Not sure why you'd have polymer in a last stage product, as it won't bond properly but it was quality. There have been a few good ones in Waxybox - Angelwax QED, Nanolex Final Finish, Britemax Spray & Shine are all great. I think I know the one you're thinking of though, but I don't want to tell you now because you used the word "amazeballz" - a pink one, smells lovely and works really well. With regards to it bonding, it'll depends what's underneath it but to be honest, no QD (real QD, not these spray sealants/waxes that the manufacturer refers to as a QD like C2, BSD, Cure, etc) offers any sustainable protection, like wash & wax shampoos. They typically only last a day or two. To be honest though, I like you have never really come across a terrible QD myself actually so I tend to just use whatever I've got left from my Waxyboxes these days. Then again, more often than not I don't use a QD at all, so I'm afraid I've got nothing to recommend in terms of QD. I never really got on with BSD because of it's grabbiness - yes, the beading is outstanding. The finish I never found to be that good, it wasn't bad but it wasn't anything special either. I certainly wouldn't use it to clean any surfaces like I do other QD's either (finger prints or to remove wax, that kind of thing rather than a waterless wash type method). Not really worth the extra effort caused by the grabbiness as I found I had to be extra careful not to cause marring trying to eliminate any smears. It's been relegated to wheel duty on the Z (trialling it over winter) for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Oh, and it was Krystal Kleen Mist-X. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) Not used the MistX yet. Might have been the Britemax one you mentioned, I've got the waxybox cards somewhere, so if I can be arsed I'll go back and look through them. I'm sure it had polymer in the name. Angel Wax was my go to QED for ages as it's so inasanely well priced and incredibly easy to work with. I imagine BSD would work well on wheels. I can't remember what wheel wax I last put on mine, but I think it was another waxybox sample and the endurance is sensational. I rarely wax my wheels as it's a PITA and I wash them alot, only really do it when I'm at my Tech and he pops them off for me when the car is on the ramp, but I've not been for months so it must be good! Edit: EcoTouch Quick Wax was another I really liked but I snapped the sprayer off when I was tightening it and dropped the bugger, lost most of it, but have a nice beading patch on the floor of the shed Edited October 13, 2014 by SuperStu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 On that note, I think my garage floor has more of the Britemax Metal Polish twins (yes, both of them!) on than any metal work. The Britemax one was in a recent box, I don't remember it being in a previous box though. Perhaps Chemical Guys Speed Wipe (polymer is a word that CG like to bandy about at every opportunity)? That was a good one too. I can't think of any more, nor any with Polymer in the name from Waxybox, although I'm sure there have been many, many more. The wheel wax, if it was from Waxybox, will probably have been HubiRims - it was a blind test product many boxes ago and one of the last few boxes had the production version. The durability of that was on par with FK1000P in my tests. As you say though, wheel waxes are a faff to apply. It'll be good to see how BSD will cope with brake dust and wheel temperatures, which are my only concern with it on the wheels really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roscopervis Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 BSD isn't that great on wheels, it won't last too long by itself. I don't find it that good on glass either. I like BSD on the paint though a lot. Persevere with the application method and it isn't grabby and doesn't need buffing. It's particularly good at reviving products that are just beginning to fail and will last about 4-6 weeks by itself. I agree it isn't a QD though, it is a spray sealant used to compliment their sealant range, rather then to be used like classic QD's like Meg's Last Touch to wipe or clean a bit of dust, whilst not really adding any durability to the product. Picked up a bargain in Tesco's on the weekend - Turtlewax Ice Synthetic Spray Detailer - Usually about a tenner in Halfords, got it for £2. Also got 3 bottles of their colour bleed wheel cleaner (like Iron-X) for £2 each as well. Both products on first investigation seem pretty good, with their detailer being more spray sealant than QD but being more slippy than BSD so will be better at cleaning. Check out your local Tesco's, it would be rude not to at that price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 I dug out my Waxybox cards and I think the mystery QD might be Prima Slick Quick Detailer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sipar69 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I've tried quite a few QDs including some quite pricey ones. For the money though, Demon Shine is surprisingly good - about £7 for a big bottle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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