Car Wash Soaps

Dane

Dane

New member
Joined
Nov 3, 2009
Messages
36
Reaction score
0
There may be a thread on this already but I couldnt find one so here goes... Is there really any difference in car wash soaps? I have been ordering Zaino's products for a while and the soap really adds up when you consider shipping. Does it really matter?? Sal Zaino claims that other soaps don't go well his products. etc, etc. Thoughts???
 
Duragloss Car Wash Concentrate #901

It is the closest thing to Zaino as you can get....

autogeek_2083_23271860
 
What about the Meguirs Gold Class? Not so expensive and can be found locally.......... Also, does anyone know of a Professional Detailer/Shop in Birmingham? I dont mean just a car wash place but a show quality detail shop.
 
Dane said:
There may be a thread on this already but I couldnt find one so here goes... Is there really any difference in car wash soaps? I have been ordering Zaino's products for a while and the soap really adds up when you consider shipping. Does it really matter?? Sal Zaino claims that other soaps don't go well his products. etc, etc. Thoughts???
Click to expand...
Generally speaking you can use just about any car wash soap. Optimum makes a great car wash soap, Duragloss is really popular, Poorboy's also has a great soap, and Pinnacle makes a good one too.

Just FYI . . . Sal also for years advised people not to use microfiber towels when everyone else on the planet was saying how great they were. Like magic, once Zaino started selling microfiber towels it became OK to use microfiber according to Sal.

Personally, I take everything Sal says with a large (almost boulder size) grain of salt.
 
Yeah, I know what you mean with Sal. I do love his products though. Have you tried his microf cloth? Wow, its soft. Thanks for the response!
 
I've not tried his microfiber. I personally don't like the look of a sealant. I'm a carnauba guy. So, his products don't really appeal to me. The Zaino leather products sound interesting, but I don't like that Sal seems to twist the truth of basic detailing to sell more product.
 
Last edited:
I guess I like both for different reasons. Love P21S but it's just not as durable as a sealant. Thanks for the info on the car soap. Do you use one of the ones you mentioned in particular? Would the meguirs not be in the same class as the Durogloss and the others?
 
Dane said:
Also, does anyone know of a Professional Detailer/Shop in Birmingham? I dont mean just a car wash place but a show quality detail shop.
Click to expand...

I'm in Tuscaloosa; certainly nothing professional over here that I know of. I would think that B'ham would have somebody, but I'm not aware of anyone - that's why I'm here. There are several Bama people on the forum, though. I keep waiting for Mike Phillips to say he's going on the road so we can all attend a class. If you find a pro, let me know.
 
Meg's Gold Class is a good shampoo and available everywhere for a good price. The Duragloss is awesome too and a good price. Check the BOGO section-the DP Shampoo is pretty good. I just got 2 gallons and still have a half a Qt from my previous order.

My neighbor just got the Optimum Shampoo and it smells awesome but hasn't used it yet. BLUEBERRIES!!! say no more, I'd wash every car on the block just to smell the Optimum stuff all day. Oh, and I'm guessing it actually works good since it made by OPT : )
 
dublifecrisis said:
My neighbor just got the Optimum Shampoo and it smells awesome but hasn't used it yet. BLUEBERRIES!!! say no more, I'd wash every car on the block just to smell the Optimum stuff all day. Oh, and I'm guessing it actually works good since it made by OPT : )
Click to expand...
Optimum Car Wash Soap is great. It's definitely one of my favorites.
 
Lol, I know what you mean. 128oz Duragloss costs the same as two small bottles of Zaino Z7. I guess I'll go that route. I'm looking for a local expert shop here because I just cant get the micro marring out of my black cars. I've tried the TSR and really took my time with the entire process. Two days worth actually before I was done with everything and still a bit of swirls. I notice most of it is from my PC so I'm not the expert with it I thought I was. I tried the Wolfgang swirl remover, polish, z2 and z5 and the shine is amazing. To the touch its perfect but get the spotlight on it or direct sunlight and I can see the swirls. Frustrating because it took me hours upon hours and I thought I was doing it all perfect. Might try another coat of Z5 to try to hide them before I start all over again.

By the way LD, loveeee the Audi!!! Good luck next Thursday night also if you are a fan. :)
 
Ok Ok I'm going to try a small bottle of Duragloss and a small bottle of Optimum car wash and compare. I've used Optimum's Quick detail spray and gloss enhancer and loved it but was not impressed with their tire shine. DP's gel is tops in that dept for me so far. Isnt it funny how we find different product brands we like for different applications?? I love P21S and think they have the best wheel cleaner........
 
Last edited:
dublifecrisis said:
My neighbor just got the Optimum Shampoo and it smells awesome but hasn't used it yet. BLUEBERRIES!!! say no more, I'd wash every car on the block just to smell the Optimum stuff all day. Oh, and I'm guessing it actually works good since it made by OPT : )
Click to expand...

Optimum will make you crave IHOP, just a warning.
 
A4 1.8tqm said:
DP Auto Bath Shampoo It's on BOGO:xyxthumbs:
Click to expand...

I will second (or third or fourth) the recommendation on DP Auto Bath Shampoo.

I have learnt on this forum that in a shampoo, you are looking for 3 qualities: lubricity, detergency and possibly gloss. I used to use the Meguiars Gold Class and it has these qualities, although I found out later on that DP was glossier and had even more lubricity at a lower concentration. I am a DP fan now.
That said, all products recommended here are extremely high quality.
 
Poorboys, Optimum, Duragloss all make some great soaps indeed. For all the Zaino fans, isnt it time to email Sal and really, really suggest he consider AG this year !!!
 
If you are looking for one that's over the counter, I really like Megs NXT 2.0 car wash soap. It keeps the suds longest for me with the hard water we have here in Southern NC. I tried Eagle One soap one time, and it did not suds up at all. It was totally flat.

Just my 2 cents...but if you are placing an order, and you try out the optimum stuff, will you let us know how it is? I LOVE to work with stuff that smells good, and of course works great too. mmmmm, blueberries...I find it very refreshing to work with a product that doesn't smell too "chemically". The newest great smelling product that I have tried is Poorboys wheel sealant. It works great, and smells awesome! Kinda like watermelon jolly ranchers!! :D
 
dublifecrisis said:
Meg's Gold Class is a good shampoo and available everywhere for a good price. The Duragloss is awesome too and a good price. Check the BOGO section-the DP Shampoo is pretty good. I just got 2 gallons and still have a half a Qt from my previous order.

My neighbor just got the Optimum Shampoo and it smells awesome but hasn't used it yet. BLUEBERRIES!!! say no more, I'd wash every car on the block just to smell the Optimum stuff all day. Oh, and I'm guessing it actually works good since it made by OPT : )
Click to expand...

Optimum Car Wash is my favorite. Has the best lubricity this side of ONR! The DG is my second choice. Seems to me if a car wash doesnt damage or strip your LSP, it shouldnt matter which one you use.
 
Meguiar's Shampoo Plus is my current favorite. Lots of lubricity, gloss, doesn't strip wax at all, and a great price ($16.99 on Autogeek for a gallon). I love this stuff, even more so than Gold Class! I shall be trying Meguiar's Hyper Wash and Optimum car wash here in the future.
:autowash:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top