Help me with Wash soap and AIO selection please

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amc31b

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Hi guys, I have been lurking here for a while and have learned a lot from you. After learning as much as I can and doing lots of searches here, I decided it was time for me to join up and ask some questions of my own. Just for background info, I have 2 silver cars that are my every-other day drivers. One is a 2002 pontiac sunfire and the other is a 2011 chevy silverado. They both see about 50-75 miles a week and unfortunately, I have no choice but to park them under a huge maple tree :doh: (and I am located in south eastern CT, to make things worse) so as you can imagine, they are pretty hard to keep clean and looking good. I also do not have a DA or polisher so most of my detailing is by hand. I will also sheepishly admit that I use a wax spreader to remove wax and apply some products. Now I know what you are thinking and please don't squirt me with the hose! lol The wax spreader is very high quality and actually does stop if too much pressure is applied to it. It is called a Vector waxx pro and was quite expensive (around $60) when I bought it a few years ago. I use it with a very soft microfiber bonnet and I have never seen it instill swirls or create any other problems for that mater. Anyways, onto my questions.

I had some questions about product selection. My first question was about car wash soap. Currently I use Meg's gold class with either a micro chennile mitt or the lake country big blue cube. Although gold class is a decent wash, I feel as though its cleaning power is a little weak for my every day drivers. Sure it is sudsy and lubricious but it doesn't seem to dissolve dirt, tar and grime too well. I would like a better soap that provides stronger cleaning but still wont strip the LSP I use (which is collinite 476) and still be a good value. From what I have learned here I am now considering: Duragloss 901/902, Optimum car wash, Ultima car wash or Pinnacle XMT shampoo. The duragloss seems like it would meet my needs the best from what I have read, although the others seem great too. The Pinnacle XMT soap just seems like such a good deal, it is hard to say no to. Arg, I need help lol :buffing:

My other question was about AIO products. After a good wash and clay I like to use an all-in-one as a paint cleaner and base for my collinite 476 wax. Currently, I use Klasse AIO and like it but my paint gets really dirty and I think Duragloss 501 would work better for me because of its powerful deep cleaning ability. I have also considered optimum poli-coat just based on the great reviews and ability to be applied by hand.

I thank you in advance for your help and hope this was not too long of a post. lol I am open to any advice and really appreciate it.
 
I am a huge fan of Duragloss products. Their shampoo is one of my favorites. I don't think you can go wrong with it.

I have never tried the Klasse AIO, but have read nothing but good things about it. I really like Pinnacle XMT360 and the DG501 though.

You have great products now IMO, so changing them would be more for the fun of trying different things.
 
M.P. Cobra Fan said:
I am a huge fan of Duragloss products. Their shampoo is one of my favorites. I don't think you can go wrong with it.
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I agree, I just tried the Duragloss shampoo this past weekend. It did a fine job.

I've also used with no problems Megs Gold Class shampoo with good results

Nice thing is both these can usually be purchased in your hometown.

Mark
 
You're not going to see a huge difference as far as cleaning power between 901 and MGC shampoo. They are both fine soaps. If I had to choose one, I'd go with 901.

For strictly a paint cleaner, Pinnacle paint cleansing lotion is great. If you want some correction ability plus protection...... XMT 360, Optimum Poliseal, Meg's D151 are good options.
 
XMT 360 and Poliseal are realy good AIO's, I like working with Xmt 360 very easy to remove. I haven't used Dodo need for speed yet, but it has had some good reviews.
 
My favorite is DG 901 with Griot's Garage Car Soap as a very strong 2nd. DG 501 is an excellent AIO as the chemical cleaners are very good and the protection it leaves behind is very high for this type of product. If you need cut, my vote goes to Optimum Poli-Seal as mentioned. If you need a little more cut, Chris@Optimum provided a mix ratio of 70% Polil-Seal : 30% Polish II. I have used this ratio and couldn't believe the results!

The product you have are good products but it's always fun to experiment with others! Best of luck to you. :)
 
XMT is $25 a gallon right now, don't know how well it works though...
 
Duragloss 901 is my second favorite shampoo right behind Ultima Paint Guard Wash. I haven't tried the Optimum Car Wash yet but thanks to Jim (Dr. Oldz) I will soon.

Don't let the price fool you. At the dilution you use for Ultima (less than an ounce) it out prices many soaps. Duragloss uses about 3 oz. in comparison if I recall correctly.

If you buy a 6$ bottle of DG or a 12$ bottle of Ultima. The 12$ will buy you 22-25 washes while the 6$ will buy you about 5 washes.

So for 12$ you would get 10 washes with DG as opposed to 22-25 with Ultima. Now if you bought the gallon of DG the playing field would be evened some.

Ultima Paint Guard Wash, car shampoo, auto wash shampoo, car soap, lubricating car wash
 
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Correct Corey, Duragloss uses 1oz./gallon like most traditional soaps. One of the reasons I like Griot's soap is because you use 1oz./2 gallons and it cleans just as good as Duragloss and is almost as slick. I need to give Ultima another shot because I only used it once and I don't feel that's enough to cast a fair opinion of any product.
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
You're not going to see a huge difference as far as cleaning power between 901 and MGC shampoo. They are both fine soaps. If I had to choose one, I'd go with 901.

For strictly a paint cleaner, Pinnacle paint cleansing lotion is great. If you want some correction ability plus protection...... XMT 360, Optimum Poliseal, Meg's D151 are good options.
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I have to agree with Mark here.....DG901 is awsome..........I find myself reaching for Megs D151 alot as of late...all products listed here so far are good products and woouldn't go wrong in choosing any of them. Just my .02 worth.
 
Ted S. said:
XMT is $25 a gallon right now, don't know how well it works though...
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That is exactly what I was thinking! I couldn't find any reviews on it though.

I was liking the idea of the duragloss car soap because most people agree it leaves behind a slightly protective and glossy polymer coating which I think is cool. The ultima car wash does seem like a great deal though and the reviews say it has good cleaning power. Now for the people that recommended pinnacle XMT AIO, I thought that was meant for machine application only? Would my 10" wax spreader work for that? I don't think my wax spreader would provide any cut to make correction possible.
Someone else recommended pinnacle paint work cleansing lotion before the wax and I will look into that stuff too. Thanks for all the replies, keep them coming!
 
@ OP amc31b:

RE: Shampoos

-Depending on your comfort level with ph values...

Meg'sGoldClass: ph of 8.5
Duragloss 901: ph of 7-8

-Neither being excessively alkyline.

-Do your car shampoos taste salty to you? [Note: Not a capful...just a dab a do ya :)]

Side Note: I've only had one buddy die from this experiment...but due to good lubricity, both he and the casket slid quite nicely into the gravesite. :D
 
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I love the optimum car wash and Klasse AIO - just used it last week and it works like a charm.
 
I have been playing with a lot of shampoos as of lately. Corey(CEE DOG) makes a great point about about dilutions and price point. Since you state you are looking for something to clean better that Gold Class I would suggest the Ultima or Dodo Supernatural. They are the top two in my list of "cleaning power" while both being friendly to your protection of choice. The Optimum is also very good with strong cleaning properties and it works well in the sun if you are forced to do so. Of course my favorite shampoo is Dodo Born to be Mild as it is a top performer in all shampoo catagories except it leaves no gloss enhancers or such behind.

As far as in all in one. Since you are working basically by hand, I suggest:

Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion will restore and preserve your car's original beauty.

or

P21S Gloss Enhancing Paintwork Cleanser car polish - This pre-wax cleaner and polish is a German blend of quality ingredients that will make wax
As both of these products clean the paint very effectivly by hand! They are not All in ones tho. Then top with your Collinite or LSP of choice.
 
To Add Optimum car wash is a dilution ratio of .5oz per gallon. As per Dr. G at Optimum! (He said the bottle directions are a misprint)
 
Dodo juice easily makes my favorite car soaps....born 2 be mild and wax safe wash.
 
Well I think I have made up my mind (unless someone wants to throw a wrench in the gears and give me more input ; ) ). I am going to try the ultima wash soap and DG 501 for my AIO. Ultima seems like a great wash that meets my needs and I don't have to buy a whole gallon of it. The DG 501 seems to have great cleaning power and I like the idea of the sealant in 501 providing a good base for my LSP and giving the paint extra protection. Thanks for your input!
 
amc31b said:
Well I think I have made up my mind (unless someone wants to throw a wrench in the gears and give me more input ; ) ). I am going to try the ultima wash soap and DG 501 for my AIO. Ultima seems like a great wash that meets my needs and I don't have to buy a whole gallon of it. The DG 501 seems to have great cleaning power and I like the idea of the sealant in 501 providing a good base for my LSP and giving the paint extra protection. Thanks for your input!
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Use DG501 with DG601 for quick curing and increase durability. Mix 4:1. There has been much written about this combo
 
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