Dmb5450
New member
- Aug 13, 2014
- 555
- 0
To start off, this product, Britemax Pure Max, was sent to me to use and post a review on the forum. The jury is still out on whether I will buy this product. Currently I am leaning towards no. I feel that there are better soaps out there for what I look for and expect in a car soap.
The good:
LSP Friendly- The product states that it will not leave anything behind, the benefit of this is that the wax, sealant, or coating on the vehicle will not be impacted.
Highly concentrated- Like many others, I try to consider price when making a purchase. When I read that this product dilutes 1:2000 I was shocked! Blackfire Wet Diamond Shampoo for comparison is 1oz to 3 gallons, or 1:384. This lead me to believe that this is a very economical product.
Environmentally friendly- The product is free of a lot of potentially harmful ingredients; a large section of the product description explains this.
The bad:
Frustrating- The product comes with a red cap. The cap stops the soap from coming out of the cap when not needed. I also believe that the cap is a measuring cup. The two issues are that the cap is a pain in the butt to remove, it is covered in soap concentrate and you can’t grip the darn thing. I ended up rinsing the cap with water so I could get a grip and pull it out. Issue number two is that nowhere on the product does it say how much product the cup holds. Do I need to add one cup per gallon? Two cups? I have no idea.
Vague directions- I will start off by saying that my grammar is not the best, I know that. But if I were selling a product I would ensure the grammar was correct on the label. It may be hard to see in the pictures as the directions curve around the bottle, but it states “Use the desire amount to fill your bucket.” Shouldn’t it say the “desired” amount? Furthermore, what does use the desired amount actually mean? I used a ratio of 1:2000 and was very disappointed. So, what is desirable for a foam cannon or gun? What is desired for a bucket wash? Please give me a starting point like 1-2 oz. per gallon. If you suffer from a lack of math skills, you will be annoyed with the ratio conversions. Why can’t a chart of commonly used measurements be given to save the user some stress? With the product, you are left to convert 1:2000 into the desired amount of water in your 5-gallon bucket.
Over sold itself- The product mentioned that it is super slick, high foaming, with great cleaning power. The product was slick, but no more slick than a quality soap. It was high foaming in the bucket, not on the car. Finally, it cleaned OK. I had to go over sections twice. In the video, I posed you can see some dirt spots by the door handle, that required a second wash. The product was good, not great. I have used better soaps, and I have used worse. On a 1-10 scale, it gets a 6.5-7 from me.
Remember the ratio math I discussed? Well now it’s math time J I did some quick math to figure out how much product I needed. I planned on using 3 gallons of water. So, what is the ratio for one gallon?
1:2000 or 1/2000 Stated dilution
X:128 or X/128 Desired dilution
Cross multiply to find X
2000X=128
2000\128=.064
X=.064
1-2000=.064:128
Below are in fluid ounces:
For one gallon .64:128
For two gallons .128:256
For three gallons .192:384
So again, why couldn’t they give this break down for me?
I filled a bucket with 1/5th of an ounce, slightly more than the product states. I then put a small amount into a foam gun, didn't really measure but about 1/5 of an oz. Again, I like my foam gun extra foamy.
The product smells like a blue raspberry Jolly Rancher or slushee, very pleasing. Not sure if the odor is the reason for big attraction (discussed in the video) but the bugs love this product.
Since it is so concentrated it is very viscous. Kind of a pain to get out of my measuring cup. I could have held it upside down for a minute getting the 1/5 oz. out.
Prior to foaming the car, I added water to the bucket and noticed the rich suds, I was impress that a 1/5 of an oz. in 3 gallons could achieve this! After 5 minutes my wife took another picture to show the change. The foam maintained itself very well. I waited until after the 5min mark to add a GG so I didn't disturb the foam.
While the foam was sitting in the bucket I did a pre-rinse of the car. I was underwhelmed by the foaming level of the product in a gun, perhaps my cannon hooked up to the pressure washer would be better. One thing that stuck out was that the product simply beaded on my car then rolled off. To me it was like spraying the car with just hose water. After 30 seconds of covering the car in foam it was all off the car, and it did not cling to the panels well at all.
I then began washing the roof of my car. The same observations were noticed; the product is very watery and the coating repels it like water. I had little soap/water beads everywhere. Different than a typical wash shampoo. My typical go to soap is Wolfgang Auto Bathe; these products behave very differently on the car.
Despite being underwhelmed by the amount of suds being transferred from the bucket to car, the lubrication this product provided was amazing. My mitt was able to slide effortlessly on the paint. I would rate this on par or slightly better than other soaps I have used. I am aware suds are not equal to cleaning ability (heck Uber rinseless doesn't foam and it kicks butt). The issue is that this product foamed so well in the bucket and maintained its foam that it was like I was using two different products; one in the bucket, and a different one on the actual car. When I have a dirty car that wouldn’t get a rinseless wash, I want my soap to foam.
If during this wash I thought I was damaging the paint I would have stopped instantly, I did not get this impression. If I closed my eyes and washed the car I would have thought this product worked really well.
My next step was to amp up the soap to water ratio to see if that would change things. I ended up more than tripling my soap. Instead of .192:384, I was now at .750:384 or 1:512. I cut the original dilution ratio almost 4 times! I noticed a little improvement but not much. If I kept adding product, perhaps 1.5-2oz per 3 gallons would give better results.
The product now isn't so economical if I need to add way more than stated on the label. So, the question becomes, since this soap leaves nothing behind perhaps there are minimal foaming agents. If that's the case then why did it foam and maintain foam density so well in the bucket, why are they advertising high foaming?
The YouTube videos give a visual of what I am referring to. I discuss similar thoughts as posted here. Check them out for more info. One thing I didn't mention yet is how easy this product is to rinse off the car. Soap remaining on the car comes right off.
With everything being said, after washing the car I was a little disappointed. The directions were very vague and the concentration was a little low in my opinion. In the future, I will add more product.
After I had finished the car (dried and all), the car had a very nice look to it. Later that night At a stop light, someone yelled, "The car looks great!" In a parking lot a group of younger guys came up and asked what I used on my car, because the paint looked different to them. I'm not sure what that meant? Finally, when leaving someone else asked what I used on my car.
Now, I get comments on the car fairly often. Was today just the day for compliments or did the soap have anything to do with it? I will say the car was very very slick after washing it, and it did look awesome. So, the car wash did its job. It cleaned the paint and left the effects of the coating untouched.
Thinking back on the product and the process I have come to the following conclusion: Overall I am pleased with the results. I think what turned me off from the product was that the bottle lead me to believe this was the next best thing. It is a good product, but not great. With the dilution listed on the bottle, the product is more like a step up from a rinseless wash but not quite like a typical car soap. I will use this product again, I truly believe that it deserves a second chance. I have realistic expectations now and will be able to go into the wash knowing to add more product, and that it doesn't act like my favorite shampoos. In the end if the car looks great and it is making people notice, the product worked.
A special thanks to my wife... she was the camera chick and my assistant during the process.
https://youtu.be/zL79jrvv49E
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The good:
LSP Friendly- The product states that it will not leave anything behind, the benefit of this is that the wax, sealant, or coating on the vehicle will not be impacted.
Highly concentrated- Like many others, I try to consider price when making a purchase. When I read that this product dilutes 1:2000 I was shocked! Blackfire Wet Diamond Shampoo for comparison is 1oz to 3 gallons, or 1:384. This lead me to believe that this is a very economical product.
Environmentally friendly- The product is free of a lot of potentially harmful ingredients; a large section of the product description explains this.
The bad:
Frustrating- The product comes with a red cap. The cap stops the soap from coming out of the cap when not needed. I also believe that the cap is a measuring cup. The two issues are that the cap is a pain in the butt to remove, it is covered in soap concentrate and you can’t grip the darn thing. I ended up rinsing the cap with water so I could get a grip and pull it out. Issue number two is that nowhere on the product does it say how much product the cup holds. Do I need to add one cup per gallon? Two cups? I have no idea.
Vague directions- I will start off by saying that my grammar is not the best, I know that. But if I were selling a product I would ensure the grammar was correct on the label. It may be hard to see in the pictures as the directions curve around the bottle, but it states “Use the desire amount to fill your bucket.” Shouldn’t it say the “desired” amount? Furthermore, what does use the desired amount actually mean? I used a ratio of 1:2000 and was very disappointed. So, what is desirable for a foam cannon or gun? What is desired for a bucket wash? Please give me a starting point like 1-2 oz. per gallon. If you suffer from a lack of math skills, you will be annoyed with the ratio conversions. Why can’t a chart of commonly used measurements be given to save the user some stress? With the product, you are left to convert 1:2000 into the desired amount of water in your 5-gallon bucket.
Over sold itself- The product mentioned that it is super slick, high foaming, with great cleaning power. The product was slick, but no more slick than a quality soap. It was high foaming in the bucket, not on the car. Finally, it cleaned OK. I had to go over sections twice. In the video, I posed you can see some dirt spots by the door handle, that required a second wash. The product was good, not great. I have used better soaps, and I have used worse. On a 1-10 scale, it gets a 6.5-7 from me.
Remember the ratio math I discussed? Well now it’s math time J I did some quick math to figure out how much product I needed. I planned on using 3 gallons of water. So, what is the ratio for one gallon?
1:2000 or 1/2000 Stated dilution
X:128 or X/128 Desired dilution
Cross multiply to find X
2000X=128
2000\128=.064
X=.064
1-2000=.064:128
Below are in fluid ounces:
For one gallon .64:128
For two gallons .128:256
For three gallons .192:384
So again, why couldn’t they give this break down for me?
I filled a bucket with 1/5th of an ounce, slightly more than the product states. I then put a small amount into a foam gun, didn't really measure but about 1/5 of an oz. Again, I like my foam gun extra foamy.
The product smells like a blue raspberry Jolly Rancher or slushee, very pleasing. Not sure if the odor is the reason for big attraction (discussed in the video) but the bugs love this product.
Since it is so concentrated it is very viscous. Kind of a pain to get out of my measuring cup. I could have held it upside down for a minute getting the 1/5 oz. out.
Prior to foaming the car, I added water to the bucket and noticed the rich suds, I was impress that a 1/5 of an oz. in 3 gallons could achieve this! After 5 minutes my wife took another picture to show the change. The foam maintained itself very well. I waited until after the 5min mark to add a GG so I didn't disturb the foam.
While the foam was sitting in the bucket I did a pre-rinse of the car. I was underwhelmed by the foaming level of the product in a gun, perhaps my cannon hooked up to the pressure washer would be better. One thing that stuck out was that the product simply beaded on my car then rolled off. To me it was like spraying the car with just hose water. After 30 seconds of covering the car in foam it was all off the car, and it did not cling to the panels well at all.
I then began washing the roof of my car. The same observations were noticed; the product is very watery and the coating repels it like water. I had little soap/water beads everywhere. Different than a typical wash shampoo. My typical go to soap is Wolfgang Auto Bathe; these products behave very differently on the car.
Despite being underwhelmed by the amount of suds being transferred from the bucket to car, the lubrication this product provided was amazing. My mitt was able to slide effortlessly on the paint. I would rate this on par or slightly better than other soaps I have used. I am aware suds are not equal to cleaning ability (heck Uber rinseless doesn't foam and it kicks butt). The issue is that this product foamed so well in the bucket and maintained its foam that it was like I was using two different products; one in the bucket, and a different one on the actual car. When I have a dirty car that wouldn’t get a rinseless wash, I want my soap to foam.
If during this wash I thought I was damaging the paint I would have stopped instantly, I did not get this impression. If I closed my eyes and washed the car I would have thought this product worked really well.
My next step was to amp up the soap to water ratio to see if that would change things. I ended up more than tripling my soap. Instead of .192:384, I was now at .750:384 or 1:512. I cut the original dilution ratio almost 4 times! I noticed a little improvement but not much. If I kept adding product, perhaps 1.5-2oz per 3 gallons would give better results.
The product now isn't so economical if I need to add way more than stated on the label. So, the question becomes, since this soap leaves nothing behind perhaps there are minimal foaming agents. If that's the case then why did it foam and maintain foam density so well in the bucket, why are they advertising high foaming?
The YouTube videos give a visual of what I am referring to. I discuss similar thoughts as posted here. Check them out for more info. One thing I didn't mention yet is how easy this product is to rinse off the car. Soap remaining on the car comes right off.
With everything being said, after washing the car I was a little disappointed. The directions were very vague and the concentration was a little low in my opinion. In the future, I will add more product.
After I had finished the car (dried and all), the car had a very nice look to it. Later that night At a stop light, someone yelled, "The car looks great!" In a parking lot a group of younger guys came up and asked what I used on my car, because the paint looked different to them. I'm not sure what that meant? Finally, when leaving someone else asked what I used on my car.
Now, I get comments on the car fairly often. Was today just the day for compliments or did the soap have anything to do with it? I will say the car was very very slick after washing it, and it did look awesome. So, the car wash did its job. It cleaned the paint and left the effects of the coating untouched.
Thinking back on the product and the process I have come to the following conclusion: Overall I am pleased with the results. I think what turned me off from the product was that the bottle lead me to believe this was the next best thing. It is a good product, but not great. With the dilution listed on the bottle, the product is more like a step up from a rinseless wash but not quite like a typical car soap. I will use this product again, I truly believe that it deserves a second chance. I have realistic expectations now and will be able to go into the wash knowing to add more product, and that it doesn't act like my favorite shampoos. In the end if the car looks great and it is making people notice, the product worked.
A special thanks to my wife... she was the camera chick and my assistant during the process.
https://youtu.be/zL79jrvv49E
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
