bootstrap
New member
- Apr 8, 2013
- 191
- 0
Favorite type of car shampoo
- Thread starter Irishwoodchuck
- Start date
Jaddie
New member
- Oct 30, 2011
- 454
- 0
Dear Friends
I highly recommend Blackfire Wet Diamond Conditioning Shampoo.
It's not cheap but it's wonderful.
Another favorite of mine is Optimum Car Wash. Optimum foams better than Blackfire, but Blackfire rinses and dries much more easily.
(I apologize if I've already posted in this thread. There are lots of threads like these, so I forget which ones I've cast my two cents in and which ones I haven't.)
I highly recommend Blackfire Wet Diamond Conditioning Shampoo.
It's not cheap but it's wonderful.
Another favorite of mine is Optimum Car Wash. Optimum foams better than Blackfire, but Blackfire rinses and dries much more easily.
(I apologize if I've already posted in this thread. There are lots of threads like these, so I forget which ones I've cast my two cents in and which ones I haven't.)
conquistador
SELF BANNED
- Jul 21, 2013
- 341
- 0
I currently have 7 shampoos in my collection. Optimum, Ultima, CG Mr. Pink, CG Citrus wash, CG wash and gloss, DG 901, Poorboys super slick and suds.
Out of those I rate DG 901 and Optimum the highest. Although I have not had a chance to try the CG wash and gloss yet. I feel Mr. Pink was poor lubricity. Therefore I only use it for wheels and foam cannon. PB Worlds and ultima are good not great. CG citrus wash is only used to help strip LSP during my semi annual polish and seal.
Sent from my HTC One using AG Online
Out of those I rate DG 901 and Optimum the highest. Although I have not had a chance to try the CG wash and gloss yet. I feel Mr. Pink was poor lubricity. Therefore I only use it for wheels and foam cannon. PB Worlds and ultima are good not great. CG citrus wash is only used to help strip LSP during my semi annual polish and seal.
Sent from my HTC One using AG Online
Bunky
Well-known member
- Jun 20, 2007
- 6,427
- 149
I agree with this. Optimum is such a great foamer with a nice smell but Blackfire is more balanced to me for rinsing.
For me a shampoo must really excel in cleaning strength, lubricity and making the wash water lathery. I prefer the wash water to be lathery rather than just simply foam.
After years of testing products I have 2 shampoo's that never leave the shelf.
Dodo Juice - Born to be Mild
Ultima - Paint Guard Wash
Both of these specific shampoo's have equal to or more cleaning power than anything else I have tried. You can find ones with similar cleaning strength but they may lack in the other 2 categories. For example, I think Optimum Car wash is an amazing shampoo in cleaning strength and lubricity. But it foams so much so that rinsing off becomes a chore and i will find foam in areas of the car a day later that still need rinsing. When i use this shampoo I usually will just make a bucket of solution without blasting it to produce foam. With that said I still think Optimum is one of the best shampoo's available and probably sits 3rd on my list.
Autogeek's in house lines also make very good shampoo's. I have used them all. Currently I have Pinnacle Black label on my shelf to test out. So excluding the black label I think its obvious and clear cut that if your going to go with a PBMG product, clearly Blackfire's shampoo is the best one. Its the most concentrated out of them all with the same dilution ratio as Ultima. It also has similar cleaning strength to Ultima along with all of the other features I look for. Its a more potent shampoo in dilution and strength at that specific dilution than Wolfgang or Pinnacle. 69.99 $ a gallon for Blackfire and Wolfgang. Pinnacle is 79.99 $ a gallon and is the weaker in dilution and strength than the other two. So the choice is easy... Blackfire.
But when you consider that Blackfire and Ultima are very similar in all categories it again comes down to pricing. 69.99 $ a gallon for Blackfire or 59.99 $ for Ultima Paint Gaurd Wash. The choice should be easy.
Chemical guys also makes very reasonably priced/performance shampoo's as well. But its easy to get confused in which is which and they are all so very similar. I personally think their cheapest offerings are the best they have. Like Maxi-suds and and Honey-Dew. If I was detailing as a professional I think the choice here is simple. Chemcial guys gives the best bang for buck in the shampoo dept. and Performance exceeds the pricing as well. You cant go wrong... that is unless you start buying their premium offerings only to find out they work the same if not worse then their entry level product.
For someone like myself who only maintains a few cars as an enthusiast I can get away with purchasing the small bottles of Dodo Juice and Ultima is cheap enough by the gallon that I can use it for any scenario (wheels, paint) without worrying that I'm spending a ton of money. Another excellent thing about Ultima is that if you play with the dilution you can really make is a very strong wash with potent cleaning ability. More so than others. I feel its more potent than some of the citrus wash's when used at about 3oz per 5 gallon bucket. I like that about this shampoo.
Up on deck I have 2 shampoo's to try out but I doubt that will change much. I have a big bottle of Werkstatt's new shampoo. and I also have a bottle of Pinnacle black label shampoo. I have heard great things about both, but Werkstatt is hard to get and the Black label Pinnacle is just so damn expensive and at the moment they dont offer it in larger size's.
Hope my thoughts help your decision.
After years of testing products I have 2 shampoo's that never leave the shelf.
Dodo Juice - Born to be Mild
Ultima - Paint Guard Wash
Both of these specific shampoo's have equal to or more cleaning power than anything else I have tried. You can find ones with similar cleaning strength but they may lack in the other 2 categories. For example, I think Optimum Car wash is an amazing shampoo in cleaning strength and lubricity. But it foams so much so that rinsing off becomes a chore and i will find foam in areas of the car a day later that still need rinsing. When i use this shampoo I usually will just make a bucket of solution without blasting it to produce foam. With that said I still think Optimum is one of the best shampoo's available and probably sits 3rd on my list.
Autogeek's in house lines also make very good shampoo's. I have used them all. Currently I have Pinnacle Black label on my shelf to test out. So excluding the black label I think its obvious and clear cut that if your going to go with a PBMG product, clearly Blackfire's shampoo is the best one. Its the most concentrated out of them all with the same dilution ratio as Ultima. It also has similar cleaning strength to Ultima along with all of the other features I look for. Its a more potent shampoo in dilution and strength at that specific dilution than Wolfgang or Pinnacle. 69.99 $ a gallon for Blackfire and Wolfgang. Pinnacle is 79.99 $ a gallon and is the weaker in dilution and strength than the other two. So the choice is easy... Blackfire.
But when you consider that Blackfire and Ultima are very similar in all categories it again comes down to pricing. 69.99 $ a gallon for Blackfire or 59.99 $ for Ultima Paint Gaurd Wash. The choice should be easy.
Chemical guys also makes very reasonably priced/performance shampoo's as well. But its easy to get confused in which is which and they are all so very similar. I personally think their cheapest offerings are the best they have. Like Maxi-suds and and Honey-Dew. If I was detailing as a professional I think the choice here is simple. Chemcial guys gives the best bang for buck in the shampoo dept. and Performance exceeds the pricing as well. You cant go wrong... that is unless you start buying their premium offerings only to find out they work the same if not worse then their entry level product.
For someone like myself who only maintains a few cars as an enthusiast I can get away with purchasing the small bottles of Dodo Juice and Ultima is cheap enough by the gallon that I can use it for any scenario (wheels, paint) without worrying that I'm spending a ton of money. Another excellent thing about Ultima is that if you play with the dilution you can really make is a very strong wash with potent cleaning ability. More so than others. I feel its more potent than some of the citrus wash's when used at about 3oz per 5 gallon bucket. I like that about this shampoo.
Up on deck I have 2 shampoo's to try out but I doubt that will change much. I have a big bottle of Werkstatt's new shampoo. and I also have a bottle of Pinnacle black label shampoo. I have heard great things about both, but Werkstatt is hard to get and the Black label Pinnacle is just so damn expensive and at the moment they dont offer it in larger size's.
Hope my thoughts help your decision.
Bunky
Well-known member
- Jun 20, 2007
- 6,427
- 149
BTBM is very good. What dilution do you use?
Woob
New member
- Jul 14, 2006
- 566
- 0
Love/Used: PB SSS, Optimum Car Wash, Ultima, Hyper Wash, CG Citrus Red, P21S, Four Star, Duragloss, Prima. Buy from any decent brand and these products perform great. I have a nagging feeling with ultra pure water the big differences may become apparent with the right dilution.
Chicago Tommy
New member
- Sep 9, 2013
- 130
- 0
KBsToy
Active member
- Jul 4, 2011
- 1,490
- 0
1 oz per 4-5 gallons...
Irishwoodchuck
New member
- Oct 6, 2013
- 158
- 0
- Thread starter
- #51
I got my hands on the dianomite set it worked great its pooring in pa now and its beading nicely.