Meguiars Wheel Brightener and Kwazar Bottles

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Flannigan

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I have had Megs WB in tons of bottles, and every one of them has failed in one way or another. I know lots of people say to empty the bottle every time, but I really don't want to do that if i don't have to, mainly because I forget until it's too late.

So I was reading the Kwazar bottle description, and it says they handle "aggressive chemicals", my question is will all the parts of this bottle stand up to WB being stored in it? Any insight would be greatly appreciated! :dblthumb2:
 
Have you tried Meguiar's spray bottle?
I mean this one:
32 oz. Meguiars Wheel Brightener Bottle

I am asking bcos while I have never used Meg Wheel Brightener, I wonder why the bottle that come with Wheel Brightener can hold/store it if most bottles fail?
 
You dont need to empty the bottle every time, just rinse out the sprayer and run some clean water through it. I have been doing this with a regular spray bottle for about a year, longest any sprayer lasted with WB.

Id be willing to bet it would eat through the Kwazar, thats an expensive lesson.
 
I'm NOT one to cheap out on products, but to pay the amount for a kwazar bottle is flat out ridiculous! :laughing:

Sorry, Dave. ;)
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
I'm NOT one to cheap out on products, but to pay the amount for a kwazar bottle is flat out ridiculous! :laughing:

Sorry, Dave. ;)
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Man I'm with you on this one Mark!

I've found that the higher quality bottles designated for "commercial" use priced at $5.00 per unit is about what I'm willing to spend. These last a long long time and I've never had to throw one away....unless I run it over....my bad...

I'm not one to be overly critical regarding pricing however the Kwazar bottles and the Grit Guard Washer are just way over priced. I work in with plastics molding and can tell you the actual cost for the 5 gallon pail is about $1.00 tops. Considering that all the major components that make up this assembly are plastic as well I'd estimate $10.00 tops per completed assembly. If there are metal components internally then this would drive the unit cost up without question however I've seen not evidence of this...

Now I realize that Autogeek is only a distributor of these washers and I have no idea how many middle men are involved but it seems that $135.00 certainly covers every expense and then some...
 
My question,

What exactly on the wheel brightener sprayer fails?

I've always rinsed out sprayers after WB use so have never had one fail but I have found my undercarriage dressing sprayers to fail (CG Bare Bones and Adams Undercarriage spray).

The problem with these is that the UC dressing is extremely slippery and causes the main piece where the little straw is mounted to slowly slip down causing the ball bearing inside to not be forced into the small, restrictive opening up the top and as such doesn't create a proper seal any more.

To fix this I completely pulled the piece above the straw out (careful not to lose the ball bearing), cleaned it with dish soap so it was no longer oily, and put it back together.... works like new.


Now to get back on topic, does the WB dissolve the metal ball bearing or is it something else that makes the sprayer break?

I'm sure there is a solution to this.
 
It is their right to price it how they see fit but this leaves the door open for someone else to come in and undercut them. Chinese companies do this all the time (sound familiar?)

However, what is missing from this "cost of parts" discussion is that the major costs are usually labor and transportation expenses not the actual product. Some items take up a lot of space on a truck and since the US transportation network is huge and not that efficient just getting that $10 set of parts from the molder to say Florida is not cheap. Then you have to add burdened labor (a $10/hr worker can cost $25/hr if they have any benefits, payroll taxes, etc) which adds to the cost of assembling kits and the handling along the way.

For complex plastic parts, there are expensive molds ($100K to 250K) that have to be expensed as well. Many molds are now made in China and then shipped ($$) to the US for molding.

It just adds up so it is not like the delta is pure profit. Of course, niche products have lower volume so fixed costs have to be applied.
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
I'm NOT one to cheap out on products, but to pay the amount for a kwazar bottle is flat out ridiculous! :laughing:

Sorry, Dave. ;)
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How many of them do you have? I have 12 so far and absolutely love them! Worth every penney, just like my $650 Cam Spray Pressure washer...
Works very well with products you use a large amount, but I would use it with WB, too expensive for that...
 
I finally got a Kwazar bottle, very nice, but not ready to buy more. They take up more shelf space due to the wide bottom which adds to stability but less space if short on shelf space.
 
I've been using the ZEP bottles from HD and lowes, they will handle purple power strait. and other chemicals without failure...
 
I have found the Griot's Garage sprayer on the Undercarriage Spray to fail very often. I actually stopped using these so called "finest sprayers" altogether and have used generic white bottles, which also seem to fail as well. The sprayer that I have used with the most success on Undercarriage Spray is the sprayer from a Surf City Garage Dash Away bottle. I have been using that on my 32 oz. bottle of Undercarriage and haven't had a problem since.
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys. I know the sprayers are expensive, but they do work great. I usually just add one or two to each order I place so its not a huge expense all at once.

I went ahead and put some WB in one the other night so I will report back if it fails.
 
00celica said:
I have found the Griot's Garage sprayer on the Undercarriage Spray to fail very often. I actually stopped using these so called "finest sprayers" altogether and have used generic white bottles, which also seem to fail as well. The sprayer that I have used with the most success on Undercarriage Spray is the sprayer from a Surf City Garage Dash Away bottle. I have been using that on my 32 oz. bottle of Undercarriage and haven't had a problem since.
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odd you mention that. the sprayer worked one time on the GUS. then it gave up the ghost.
 
GMC said:
odd you mention that. the sprayer worked one time on the GUS. then it gave up the ghost.
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Interesting. I've never had a problem and have gone through several bottles.

Jenn
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
I have zero. I would not pay that amount for a plastic spray bottle. On the other hand, I would pay $650 for a pressure washer.

To each their own.
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I'm kinda with you on this one Mark, cause I have both. :laughing:
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
I have zero. I would not pay that amount for a plastic spray bottle. On the other hand, I would pay $650 for a pressure washer.

To each their own.
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Gotta agree with you here buddy. I looked at the page expecting them to be like $9 or something then saw $17 (well 16.99- same thing) and couldn't believe it.

If that sprayer will last for A year under use with Meg's WB then yes, maybe it is worth $17, although you could get 17 griots sprayers for that or 3 spraymaster sprayheads- which come with a lifetime warranty too.
 
I always buy them on sale for at least 10% off. If you buy them a few at a time it's not that bad. No different than paying over $100 for a wax.
 
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