Are There Any "Bad" Shampoos Out There?

rouxster

rouxster

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Taking a different angle at all of the car shampoo threads. Besides, Dawn or anything else that is not made for car washing, are any of the name brands (Megs, any of the AG brands, dollar store car shampoo, etc.) bad for washing your car?

They all seem to advertise the same thing - condition the paint, lubricate the dirt, lots of suds, etc.
 
Most will do the job unless you do something really strange. That includes Dawn and similar which, contrary to detailer belief, are not all that different in chemistry to car shampoos.
 
I have noticed that some foam lasts longer than others. Scent is important to some people. It's probably one of those "personal preference" decisions.
 
Blue Coral car shampoo is terrible. It's cheap for a reason. Doesn't foam very well and cleans about as well as the water it's mixed with.

If found it hard to get off too.
 
Desertnate said:
Blue Coral car shampoo is terrible. It's cheap for a reason. Doesn't foam very well and cleans about as well as the water it's mixed with.

If found it hard to get off too.
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That's funny. Who would name a car wash that is supposed to clean and condition your paint, blue coral? We all know what would happen if we washed our cars with coral. Is there even a coral called blue coral? Probably some Japanese company that thinks anything tropical is good.

Sorry, I felt like Dennis Leary for a second.
 
PiPUK said:
Most will do the job unless you do something really strange. That includes Dawn and similar which, contrary to detailer belief, are not all that different in chemistry to car shampoos.
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Well, similar doesn't always mean just as good. For example, car oils and motorcycle oils are very, very similar; however- many car engine oils on the market today contain a little bit of friction modifier to help you squeeze out an extra MPG. That will very rapidly degrade the wet clutches in most motorcycles.

In the case of Dawn, it may be similar (Though, I use it on my dishes, and it certainly doesn't seem to have the lubricity of car wash shampoo). I don't know if it is or not, but if it is; it still contains very heavy duty degreasers. In fact, Dawn is used to cleanup the effects of oil spills for that reason. Those heavy degreases are a little too harsh for washing a car because they tend to strip waxes and other things. Lots of detailers DO use Dawn, in order to intentionally strip protectant from the paint.

When it comes to the guy who washes his car with a sponge from the kitchen, a dirty bucket, and some old rags; well I don't know why anyone cars if he uses Dawn. It'll probably get rid of some surface contaminants at least. I seriously doubt that's the kind of guy that's putting waxes or sealants on his car!
 
Autoglym is pretty bad. Didn't stop me from buying another bottle

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I think her Majesty the Queen herself and the Prince of Wales should look at Duragloss or Optimum:

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According to Larry Kosilla, some of the cheaper shampoos contain salts to act as a thickener and make it appear more concentrated. He didn't name any names, but I think that's reason enough to steer clear of the really cheap shampoos.
 
I would NOT consider it bad, but a soap like P21S is NOT going to do heavy cleaning. It will keep a 'nuba going and not strip it off. I have heard others express soaps are bad when they don't clean as anticipated, but I believe it may have more to do with what they were designed to work with within their line.
 
How "Bad", is bad...
Is of a subjective-value, right?

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PiPUK said:
Most will do the job unless you do something really strange. That includes Dawn and similar which,
contrary to detailer belief, are not all that different in chemistry to car shampoos.
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All WUL's are not created equal!!


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Bob
 
I'm a CG sort of guy when it comes to car soap, last week I ran out of my Maxi-Suds so I went out and bought a cheaper OTC soap.
The cheaper soap left spots all of the car, I had to use a WW to clean it up.
No more, done , if I run out well the car won't get cleaned.
This Mornimg I ordered Mr.Pink to compare it to Maxi-Suds which I love but hear good things about MP.
 
Romans5.8 said:
Well, similar doesn't always mean just as good. For example, car oils and motorcycle oils are very, very similar; however- many car engine oils on the market today contain a little bit of friction modifier to help you squeeze out an extra MPG. That will very rapidly degrade the wet clutches in most motorcycles.

In the case of Dawn, it may be similar (Though, I use it on my dishes, and it certainly doesn't seem to have the lubricity of car wash shampoo). I don't know if it is or not, but if it is; it still contains very heavy duty degreasers. In fact, Dawn is used to cleanup the effects of oil spills for that reason. Those heavy degreases are a little too harsh for washing a car because they tend to strip waxes and other things. Lots of detailers DO use Dawn, in order to intentionally strip protectant from the paint.

When it comes to the guy who washes his car with a sponge from the kitchen, a dirty bucket, and some old rags; well I don't know why anyone cars if he uses Dawn. It'll probably get rid of some surface contaminants at least. I seriously doubt that's the kind of guy that's putting waxes or sealants on his car!
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Whether it was as good was not the point. Not all dedicated shampoos are great and many are pretty ropey, but they still foam and they still clean if you dilute adequately.

I am well aware of all of the Dawn arguments and I would recommend you do a search on recent threads on the topic. Briefly, I am a chemical formulator, I design, manufacture and sell cleaning chemicals to the automotive sector. I have demonstrated repeatedly that washing up liquids (Dawn being an example) leave surfactant residues. This should surprise no one as many do this intentionally to negate water spotting. I have shown how such product (and others, including APCs) can make water appear to stick to the surface, removing the water beading and (detailer definition of) sheeting. I have shown how further cleaning can reliably recover the hydrophobic character. All of this is in perfect agreement with what one would expect from the chemistry of the products. So I confidently assert that most of the time someone strips a product with something like Dawn or a diluted APC, they have achieved nothing more than putting a layer of surfactant over the top of their LSP, which remains safe and well underneath. Of course the other alternative is that they need to investigate a higher quality LSP.

As for who uses washing up liquids for washing cars... well, I agree that detailers are unlikely to use a product labelled as washing up liquid to clean their pride and joy. Of course, what happens when someone puts washing up liquid into a bottle that says "Car Shampoo" and pumps a bunch of money into marketing... that's another matter entirely. ;)

FUNX725 said:
All WUL's are not created equal!!


ack.gif


Bob
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:props: Of course - when you consider that those within the I&I sector often want washing up liquids which they sell at below the cost price of the likes of Fairy (I guess, our equivalent of Dawn), this should be no surprise to anyone!
 
killrwheels@autogeek said:
I would NOT consider it bad, but a soap like P21S is NOT going to do heavy cleaning. It will keep a 'nuba going and not strip it off. I have heard others express soaps are bad when they don't clean as anticipated, but I believe it may have more to do with what they were designed to work with within their line.
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P21S soap works awesome for me. High quality soap. I think it has wheat germ or something in it.
 
I love to use cheap soap from the dollar store on my cheap friends who don't take care of their cars. They are so happy with any wash and don't care what rag is used. They deserve the cheapest soap I can find and I feel happy to make their wishes come true. LMAO I sometimes feel bad about the swirls on their cars. But then I come right back to reality and put my feelings where they belong (in the cheap soap).
 
rouxster said:
That's funny. Who would name a car wash that is supposed to clean and condition your paint, blue coral? We all know what would happen if we washed our cars with coral. Is there even a coral called blue coral? Probably some Japanese company that thinks anything tropical is good.

Sorry, I felt like Dennis Leary for a second.
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Just info...the Blue Coral brand has been around for ages. At one time it WAS considered as good, if not better than (the REAL) Simonize. It was not for the faint of heart to use, mainly 'back then' you'd just slather the stuff on...a real bear to remove.

Bill
 
BillE said:
Just info...the Blue Coral brand has been around for ages. At one time it WAS considered as good, if not better than (the REAL) Simonize. It was not for the faint of heart to use, mainly 'back then' you'd just slather the stuff on...a real bear to remove.

Bill
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I remember 20 years ago when Turtle Wax was one of the best out there. Their marketing was all about their wax being hard as a turtle's shell....lol
 
stilltipping3 said:
I love to use cheap soap from the dollar store on my cheap friends who don't take care of their cars. They are so happy with any wash and don't care what rag is used. They deserve the cheapest soap I can find and I feel happy to make their wishes come true. LMAO I sometimes feel bad about the swirls on their cars. But then I come right back to reality and put my feelings where they belong (in the cheap soap).
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Well if they are cheap....

As the old saying goes....

You get what you pay for....

You pay nothing and you get nothing for it...

Some people expect a $2,000 job for $100 or $200......

That's just NOT going to happen......
 
I usually like the CG soaps, but when I ran out of maxi suds I tried the purple wash and wax... gummes up my foam cannon because it was a bit in clumps, then when i rinsed, I reallized it killed all beading! rewashed again with Sonax soap instead, and beading came back!
 
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