First up today, a quick wash of the Ranger.
This gave me a chance to try 3D Pink Car Soap...............
As I sort of expected going by the information I got watching videos on this product, this is a workhorse soap. What I mean by that is designed with efficiency in mind and not a "snow show". As such, this is a lower foaming soap that rinses with ease from the paint at the end. That thinner foam consistency does cling to the paint quite well, it cleans great and its decently slick.
As I said, not a WOW product, but I can see why this is a favorite of professional users. Exceptionally well priced by the gallon too.
Moving to the drying, I had a hankering to try out Carpro Release again.
In terms of Release, this is basically a spray wax, as such it has a slightly different feel to Si02 type products, having a stickier feel initially, but leveling to a lovely slick finish. And the scent of Release is easily one of the best in the business. It's incredibly cheap as well! I NEED to use this product more often.
Mixing it up further, I wanted to try out the Creature Edgeless as a drying towel. I typically use the heavier Gauntlet and/or FTW, so using the Creature for this role was a pleasant change. It's more manageable than the Gauntlet, and less grabby than the FTW. Hmmmm, could there be a change in drying towel about to happen?
Next, onto a couple of new products, and a different car than usual. With the Wildtrak in for its new engine under warranty, the loan car is a new-gen Ranger XLS. (Meanwhile, the dealer said a week for the new engine to be installed, we are now approaching two weeks and no word when it will be back.)
Yes, I know, washing a service loan car! In my defense, I only washed the exterior. :doh In any case, I wanted to try out a couple of products. The first being Gyeon Q2M Foam.................
Gyeon do not quote a pH reading for this product, my test revealed about 11.95. As such, that leads me to thinking this is Gyeon's version of Carpro Lift. Supporting that theory, both foam very thickly and both have the ability to do some serious cleaning.
In this case, I used Q2M Foam as a pre-wash to soften down presumably months worth of road grime. (This car has about 11,000 km on it and likely never cleaned properly.)
After a rinse, it was then onto the contact wash using another new product, KCx Nano Magic Shampoo. In actual fact, I have had this product in the cabinet for a very long time now, I just never really knew what to use it for. It's been a very long time since I used a "wash n wax" type soap, and I've never used a Si02 infused soap either.
From what I can tell, this soap was not really meant for foaming, but I did anyway. It won't touch GSF for foam quality, but it does blanket the vehicle in a thin layer of soap that holds on quite nicely. Using the wash mitt and then rinsing activates that Si02 element. In use, the soap is decently slick, but again, not to GSF levels. The scent is that very distinctive and pleasant KCx aroma.
Before application, the paint was completely flat with not a hint of protection on it. Afterwards, the water behavior changed to a mild sheeting effect, which I then boosted with an application of Hydr02.
Not sure I love Nano Magic. I bought it on impulse, as such I really don't have a use for it in my regime. I wonder if it's of more use when teamed with an existing coating, rather than expecting it to transform flat, un-protected paint.
After a quick blow down, dried using Meg's HCD and some Perl on the tyres, I dare say my efforts won't be noticed when the car is returned. I don't care, I got my jollies from it.
As for the car itself, this is the second example of the new-gen Ranger I've spent time with, the first being an XLS as well. This version has the 2.0 Bi-Turbo and 10 speed that retails for just under $60,000 with no options. That 60K gets you a pretty plain interior, and the lack of a tub liner for that price is stingy. If you actually use the tray, it won't be looking new for very long.
