Bxstr

Finally finished my gallon of Adams Car Shampoo. Likely won't buy a gallon of any soap as I prefer to try new products every once in a while. Probably going to try Koch Chemie GSF first. Then maybe Gyeon Bathe. But it seems GSF is the go to nowadays.

PHX

KC GSF seemed a bit of a thin shampoo for me. Little bit of an over marketed hype machine on this one. CarPro Reset crushes it in my experience.

I don't want you to not try it, just giving you my experience. (it does smell good tho)

Bxstr

Thanks for the input! I was all in on buying it until I saw that it says "do not let dry". There are times when I let Adams car shampoo dry on the surface vs getting water spots and letting water dry. It seems that Gyeon is a bit safer of a product, so I may buy that in my next order. Adams works great, just looking to have some fun with different products this summer and try some new stuff. Car shampoo is an easy one. But I look for something that is ultra safe and well tested already as I don't really want to experiment on a car I really care about.

PHX

Good bet there, sticking with Adams and Gyeon (haven't tried that, however never heard a bad word about it). I have had GSF start to dry and it leaves a wonky film on top of the vehicle. Easy enough to get off, however you have to wash it all over again. It foams nicely and you can use it in the old school 1 or 2 bucket methods as well. It's not bad I just think you'd be going backwards as well as spending extra $ for basically less useful product.

I tried it on dark paint, light paint, PPF, non ceramic coated and ceramic coated vehicles and meh...same result, nothing too terrible different and exciting.

Maybe try a different tire dressing instead. LOL

Bxstr

haha, after so many years I finally found a good tire dressing, CarPro Darkside. I feel like I’ve tried them all including Gyeon, Adam’s, Griots, others from CarPro and many others and none have matched it. Thanks again for the input.

Rod27

$27 ….is it that much better than this? I use it on the dark plastic trim too and it looks wet.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/CRISTAL-P...able/160473857

PHX

Although I haven't used Darkside, I have used CarPro's PERL, as well as a million spray cans/bottles of other brands wheel and trim products.

Yes, it would be that much better, last longer, have less sling, and that is just my opinion, you get what you like and do what you wish. If the walmart can makes you happy and suits your needs, why change?

Bxstr

All that matters is that you like the product. But, I will add that the product you linked is a silicone based product which isn't as good for the tires as a waterbased product. Silicone can cause some tire cracking. Some also deal with issues with sling, but that doesn't seem to be an issue with that one.

You can get car shampoo for way less than what most people spend that are into detailing. Some products I believe are genuinely better than others, while others are mostly marketing. You'll find that the detailing industry does have some pretty high margins on things.

All comes down to what you value. Some people value driving a Porsche, others see no difference between a Porsche and a Honda.

MoeMistry

Using the proper soap is dependent on the “system” you’re using…especially when it comes to ceramic

traditional wax/sealant you can get away with some latitude, but when it comes to ceramic, you’ll want a soap WITHOUT wax/silicones/gloss enhancers, etc.

were quite don’t of CarPro Reset for soap, Release for routine top-up of ceramic coating…simple and both are easy to use

Deionized water, DI, is key and couple that with a pressure washer, and you’ll be in heaven

quality microfiber towels go a long way, more effective, safer, and last longer

if you want more goodies and tools to play with, lots of places you can spend your money

if you want prosumer, safe, effective, and great value…CarPro is one of the better setups, but you can easily get carried away 😊

here’s a simple video we made on our “Wash” routine…let me know what you guys think

BoxKing

Nice process.
The only thing I do differently is using an APC post wash/dry on the tires prior to applying tire dressings; which I only do every 3-4 wash. One’s tire applicator pad/cloth shouldn’t turn black during the application process if the tires are properly cleaned.

What top coat spray are you using?

DreamCarrera

Thanks everyone for contributing with your go-to products...keep the posts coming!

Thanks for the suggestions...I'll give all of these a second look.

This is a good point Moe. The car's surface treatment is an important consideration when choosing your method/type of car wash.

I tend to be old school with my cars and just use a synthetic wax on the paint (i.e., I skip the PPF and ceramic coatings unless, of course, they are already on a used car that I purchase) and I have the road rash to prove it. HAHA Hell, I was using only carnauba wax until recently when I made the switch to synthetic waxes (mostly Griot's).

For my special cars, which are the cars I tend to drive fairly infrequently and mostly in nice weather, I'd like to switch to a spray on - wipe off type of wash method and "wash" the cars after every couple of drives (so not much dirt is able to accumulate) to keep the cars looking super clean at all times. Recently, for some reason, I've been attracted to Pinnacle Liquid Crystal Waterless Wash Concentrate with Carnauba. IIRC, I tried their Crystal Mist Detailer in the past and liked the results so maybe I should give this waterless wash a try...or maybe try the Crystal Mist again? I would be open to using the ONR for this purpose as I like the results I get from this product (even using it mixed as a quick detailer) but I like the idea of getting the carnauba kicker with the Pinnacle products.

SDcarguy

Moe—beautiful work! Would you mind sharing the products you used in the video?

MoeMistry

1. soap - CarPro Reset
2. wash mitt - microfiber madness delimitt
3. wheel cleaner - P21S Gel wheel cleaner and CarPro wheel brush…larger brush is EZ Detail brush
4. drying towel - not exactly the same, but here’s a great choice

https://www.carpro-us.com/microfiber-towels/microfiber-madness-chipmunk-edgeless-25-x-17/

5. ceramic detail spray - CarPro Release
6. tires/wheels - CarPro Darkside for tires and Release to wipe down wheels
7. glass cleaner - CarPro Clarify
8. interior detail spray - CarPro Inner QD

most stuff can be found on this site:

https://www.carpro-us.com

Hope that helps

SDcarguy

Thanks so much. Is there a referral code or anything so we can get you credit with the company (you help this community so much!)

MoeMistry

there’s a GP wash kit I helped build years ago and I refer my clients to Corey

let me see if we could set up something for the rennlist community

would you guys be interested in me doing more of this stuff? Showing you how to care for your cars and answering questions and recommending stuff we use at our shop?