Do soaps really matter?

Charleston

Charleston

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I have been using Meguiars Gold Class soap.


Will I really see results in use and look from a different soap, like a CG or Blackfire soap?
 
Some of the soaps from CG and others leave a bit of gloss behind. Some people want a mild soap for preserving their LSP and some want a stronger soap to strip LSP.

Meguiars Gold is a good all round soap. Readily available and works well with bucket method, foam gun, or foam cannon.

To answer your question, you can notice some difference in soaps; especially the ones with gloss enhancers. The glossy soaps tend to be very high in lubricity and leave a "shiny wax-like finish" as opposed to "squeaky clean finish."

I like CG Citrus Wash Daily for weekly washes and CG Citrus Wash & Gloss for a real dirty car or for stripping LSP.

Try a different soap next time and see for yourself, just stick to 16 ounces bottles; otherwise you'll end up with about 20 years worth of soap.
 
I find that Meg's GC tend to streak more than some soaps if it dries on the paint (which can happen if you are washing in hot/sunny/windy weather). When this happens, it's not as simple as just rinsing it again, sometimes you have to re-agitate to remove the streaking. So yes, there are differences.
 
IMO there are definitely differences, some more noticeable & important than others.

Some soaps offer a more lubricated feel then others.
Some are gentle on LSP, some are great for heavy grime but harsher on LSP.
Some easily rinse freely while others seem to leave a film unless VERY thoroughly rinsed.
Also, amount of suds & how long they last.

This is just off the top of my head.

One more important difference not yet mentioned by anyone is dilution ratios.
Comparing Megs GC to CG CWG for example, from memory Megs reccomend 1oz per gallon, CG reccomend 1oz per 5 gallons.
I believe some may use it slightly stronger (not too strong as it is an advertised LSP stripper) but even then that is a BIG difference...

Saying all this I use Megs GC (amongst others) & find it fine.
There is better out there but Megs is fairly cheap, available OTC if necessary & always gets the job done for me.
 
neat e34 said:
One more important difference not yet mentioned by anyone is dilution ratios.
Comparing Megs GC to CG CWG for example, from memory Megs reccomend 1oz per gallon, CG reccomend 1oz per 5 gallons.
I believe some may use it slightly stronger (not too strong as it is an advertised LSP stripper) but even then that is a BIG difference...
Click to expand...

If you read the product page on CG web site, you can see that they have several dilution ratios recommendation for normal wash:
1:4000
1 cup ful to 4-5 gal, 1:1890
1 oz per 5 gal, 1:640


According to David G from CG, the "accurate" ratio for CG shampoos is the one marked on bottle. For the case of Citrus Wash Gloss it is:
1:1890. Believe it or not, the cup size on 16oz and 1gal are both 10ml.

To conclude, 1:1890 is a good balance between lubrication, cleaning and gloss enhancing. That said, you can clean well with 1:4000, or use up to 1:640 without adverse effect.

P.S: I just checked the product page on Autogeek.net . AG also states 1 cup ful to 5 gal.

:props:
 
Charleston said:
I have been using Meguiars Gold Class soap.


Will I really see results in use and look from a different soap, like a CG or Blackfire soap?
Click to expand...

It depends on what you are looking for and whether or not you are satisfied right now with Megs GC.

- Do other soaps clean more aggressively? Yep.
- Do other soaps feel different than others on your wash mitt and on the paint after drying? Possibly.
- Do other soaps apply better with foam cannons or foam guns? Yes.

I have one hard requirement; cleaning normal dirt and grime on my DD's without stripping my LSP. Everything else falls under personal preference. I have Duragloss 901, Mothers California Gold and Pinnacle XMT Shampoo and Conditioner. Three products is more than enough to keep me going. I use the $$$ I don't spend establishing a large inventory of wash products elsewhere.
 
PPLd said:
According to David G from CG, the "accurate" ratio for CG shampoos is the one marked on bottle. For the case of Citrus Wash Gloss it is:
1:1890. Believe it or not, the cup size on 16oz and 1gal are both 10ml.

To conclude, 1:1890 is a good balance between lubrication, cleaning and gloss enhancing. That said, you can clean well with 1:4000, or use up to 1:640 without adverse effect.
Click to expand...

Zang!!!...

-Is CG CWG really that mighty, mighty, powerful of a car-wash shampoo?!?!

Only: 0.2-0.3 oz to a five gal. bucket of water??

-Its particular surfactants must have quite the voracious tentacles...
(Almost sounds too scary...if that's true!) :eek:

Bob
 
Charleston said:
I have been using Meguiars Gold Class soap.


Will I really see results in use and look from a different soap, like a CG or Blackfire soap?
Click to expand...

In short, yep.

I use CG CWG to strip and really dirty cars. As others have stated can be used for maintence washes at proper dilution ratio.

I use Majestic Soultions Ultra Gloss and DG 901 for maintence washes. Note: I find MJS UG to be a bit more glossier and sudsier than DG 901.

Another underrated soap is Megs D110 Hyper Wash.
 
FUNX725 said:
Only: 0.2-0.3 oz to a five gal. bucket of water??

-Its particular surfactants must have quite the voracious tentacles...
(Almost sounds too scary...if that's true!) :eek:

Bob
Click to expand...

CG likes to claim cost effectiveness. In the end, everyone should use the recommended start and adjust.

For example, Maxi Suds worked for me a lot better at a min 1 oz per 3 gallons than the other dilutions. It is still cost effective.

What you gain with greater concentrations is cleaning power and some possible increase in slickness feeling. If you wash wheels, it will zap a weak soap quickly.
 
FUNX725 said:
Zang!!!...

-Is CG CWG really that mighty, mighty, powerful of a car-wash shampoo?!?!

Only: 0.2-0.3 oz to a five gal. bucket of water??

-Its particular surfactants must have quite the voracious tentacles...
(Almost sounds too scary...if that's true!) :eek:

Bob
Click to expand...

That is correct Bob, just like the ratio listed for Mr. Pink - 1:4000 or 1 ounce per 35 gallons of water. Sounds like somebody needs to research a little more at CG before going to print. Another listing has it as 1 cap per gallon which if you measure the internal liquid capacity of the the cap you get 1/2 ounce. Now we are talking 1 ounce per 2 gallons of water. But don't they say somewhere else that it's 1 ounce per 5 gallons? This my friend is what irritates me about their soaps, NO CONSISTENCY.
 
i personally think gold class sucks, I don't know why its so popular, even mothers soap otc is better than gold class
personally I'm all about cg's soaps, they're the best. price and performance. especially price.
 
SON1C said:
i personally think gold class sucks, I don't know why its so popular, even mothers soap otc is better than gold class
personally I'm all about cg's soaps, they're the best. price and performance. especially price.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. I bought a bottle based on all the good reviews I read on here but always felt like it was dragging on the paint. Even after I added a couple of oz of ONR to boost the slickness.
 
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