Most regretted detailing product purchase

[DFB]

Auto Finesse Lather –

The beginnings of this brand started as JBS Valeting in 1999, a mobile valeting (detailing) company serving London area. In 2005, JBS was rebranded as Auto Finesse to better represent their range of car care services. In 2011, Auto Finesse launched their own line of detailing products, which would later expand to worldwide audience in 2013. In 2019, Auto Finesse further expanded into training for enthusiasts and professionals.

I have been using a small selection of products from Auto Finesse for a few years now. First off was Verso all-purpose cleaner, later joined by Spritz interior detailer, Satin tire dressing, Aroma interior scent and Lather soap.












The subject of this post will focus on Lather.

Auto Finesse Lather is a pH neutral maintenance soap geared towards bucket washing. Lather is said to be a concentrated formula with powerful cleaning ability while remaining safe for use on waxes and sealants. It’s said to be dilutable up to 2000:1 with the formulation being designed to give a more intensified wash with a richer dilution.



In use, the tangerine scent is quite unique, slickness is pretty good and the free-rinsing properties make the rinse process quite pleasant. But it’s the foaming aspect that lands Lather in this thread, or to the be specific, a lack of foam in general. Reading the product description, Lather is described as being “super foamy” with “luxurious thick foam”. Liar’s!



Lather just doesn’t foam, be that the thick shaving cream type foam or the runnier, thinner foam. Bumping up the soap content in the foam cannon has little effect.



As many will know, I don’t prescribe to the notion of using different soaps for foaming and bucket washing. For me, a soap MUST do both. A lot of that comes down to my “one bucket method” of washing, using the foam cannon to apply soap to the whole vehicle, the bucket with a small amount of soap added is only used to rinse the wash mitt between panels. So, when a soap can’t do both, then it’s immediately written off.

Auto Finesse do offer Avalanche, a higher foaming soap which sits alongside Lather in their line-up. Avalanche is designed to be a pre-wash foam to soak contaminants prior to the contact wash. You then rinse that off, in theory taking the dirt with it before following up with Lather for a contact wash.



In theory, I could have simply selected Avalanche instead of Lather, but………………Auto Finesse don’t quote a pH reading for Avalanche. It’s also infused with citrus oils for stronger cleaning ability. Both of those factors when used for contact washing would likely cause degradation to waxes and sealants.

I do realise that in some cases, using two different soaps can be desirable, especially when trying to deal with baked on road film. But I see no reason why Auto Finesse couldn’t have made Lather foam better. Well, I do actually…………………..they want you to buy both soaps. When a product like Carpro Reset, NV Snow or Koch Chemie GSF can function in dual roles, splitting the functionality into two different soaps is pointless.

I probably should have known better when ordering this soap. However, when very specific wording and phrases were used to describe the foamability of Lather, it was certainly a disappointment to learn otherwise.

Ordinarily, I would say don’t buy Auto Finesse Lather. However, it would appear the local distributor has made that decision for you by discontinuing the brand in Australia, with the whole Auto Finesse range currently on clearance with up to 45% off. I have to say, everything except Satin tire dressing was a huge disappointment. For whatever reason, this is a theme I have noticed with most of the British detailing brands I have tried, including Stjarnagloss, WoWo's and Autoglym, all delivering sub-par performance. Bilt Hamber I have yet to delve into and Gtechniq has never really appealed.

Meanwhile, Lather became my next bin cleaner!

 

[DFB]

WOWO’s Show Stopper

Wowo’s are a Scottish brand that came to prominence when The Rag Company brought them into the TRC store and put their marketing efforts behind it. From there, the brand started to appear across the wider network of TRC’s distributors, including Australia.





Due to a variety of reasons, one of which being Covid supply constraints, The Rag Company made the decision to step away from importing, distributing and carrying the Wowo’s brand. Soon after, the brand and its product range were sold to a new investor. Today, the brand continues to make their products in Scotland for sale around the world, Australia included.

I only recently tried a selection of Wowo’s products, including the Detailer’s Shampoo, Interior Finisher and Glass Cleaner.









Someone mentioned Carpro Clarify glass cleaner earlier, well the WoWo's glass cleaner is by far the worst glass product I have used, terrible doesn't begin to describe how bad it is. I demoted it to kitchen duties, then gave up and dipped it down the drain. It seems to have a very slow flash off point, which leaves terrible streaking and smear marks.

However, it’s Wowo’s Show Stopper that lands the brand on this page.



Show Stopper is an instant, pure gloss enhancer that does not alter the attributes of the underlying coating, sealant or wax. Described as “a bottle of pure gloss”, Show Stopper is a quick way of adding additional gloss to your paint, while also being suitable for glass, plastic and trim. It offers absolutely no protection or cleaning ability, or longevity for that matter, making it suitable for regular use as a drying aid. Application is an easy spray and wipe operation.

If you think that sounds familiar, well that’s no surprise. When Wowo’s was discontinued by The Rag Company, Show Stopper left a void in their store. From what I can gather, The Rag Company had P&S reverse engineer Show Stopper, the result being Dream Maker that launched a couple of years later. And this is why Show Stopper is featuring here.



I hate Dream Maker! It’s a streaky headache that really doesn’t live up to the hype or quoted ease of application. Show Stopper is no different, except without the delightful watermelon scent. Sure, it leaves the paint super glossy, but to achieve a streak free finish is harder than it should be.

Of course, I knew the backstory of Wowo’s and Dream Maker that followed, but I was curious to see if these two products were in fact similar or was the original easier to work with. Well sadly, it was the former and once again, this was a disappointment of the “should have known better” type.

 

[Coatingsarecrack]

Suprise you haven’t switch to the multiple mitt method…. Very “un geek” of you


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[DFB]

Suprise you haven’t switch to the multiple mitt method…. Very “un geek” of you


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Ha ha, be careful what you wish for! :laughing:

 

[Eldorado2k]

That's odd, I have an older version (translucent bottle), I wonder if they changed it? Mine is thick and sudsy, I mean like really sudsy, like they are still there in the bucket the next day sudsy.

That's my experience too. Long after I put all my equipment away I'd still have little tufts of suds hanging around my driveway and lawn. Lubricity was pretty good too; a bit better than Hyperwash.

I quite like it as well. It seems to foam a little more fluid, but it does dwell nicely though. Oh, and for those that don't know, the scent is the same used in DIY Incredible Suds.

Yea I dunno, it just didn’t really do it for me. I really wanted to like it too. Something about the blue color made it look good enough to drink. Lol.

Crazy thing is I even dumped my 2oz. sample of Blackfire Foam Booster into the bottle after my initial letdown with the suds and it did absolutely nothing for it. Weird.

I wonder if th OCW didn’t gel well with your water. Gets great reviews and worked well. Worked for me but dilution was weak. You need 2-3oz per 5 gallons.

Makes it almost as expensive as reset.

I don’t hate Clarify it’s worked for me but not at 3 times the cost of stoners I’ll stick with that.

You should give that brush a shot at tires.

I get as much cleaning with one pass than I do than 2 or 3 with hand brush. Only use when deep cleaning needed.


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It’s been a while, but I went through half the bottle so I used plenty of it, although I’m pretty anal about following directions so I can bet my initial testing was done at the recommended .5 oz. per bucket or whatever absurd dilution it says [I say that jokingly]

I’m kinda glad I pulled that bottle of Clarify out from hiding as my 1st thought was to steal the sprayer from it. Lol.

I honestly can’t imagine that brush being a good user experience on tires. The amount of focus you have to pay in order to just keep it steady IMO is harder than just cutting to the chase and doing it by hand. On carpets I feel way more effective than trying to use that brush. I think I would maybe like it more if I had bought a drill brush that has a pole to hold onto. [what do they call those things]?
Similar to how the Meguiars Wheel Polishing Cone has. I can’t think of what it’s called but it gives you more control over it. I think it would make it better for carpet use.

And I think the Mighty Mini with a smaller brush seems more ideal than that 4” brush on tires. But what do I know I’ve never tried it.

 

[DFB]

Bowden’s Snow Job V1 and V2

It’s probably no surprise that this product is appearing in this thread. I’m not sure if this is a disappointment or just a bad product, but I think most who have used it for a while will likely know where I’m going with this inclusion.



Bowden’s Snow Job launched a number of years ago, capitalizing on the trend towards snow-foaming. It’s intended purpose was for it to be a foaming pre-wash soap, designed to be applied, left to dwell and then rinsed, taking contamination away with it. Bowden’s then recommend using one of their other soaps to follow up with a contact wash.

Because there are now two versions of Snow Job, these both need to be addressed separately.

Snow Job 1.0's best attributes were the exceptional foaming ability and the super concentrated formula. Foam generated by Snow Job was super thick and gave a long dwell period. It was also pH neutral, making it suitable for regular use.









And that’s where the positives end I’m afraid.

Despite the thick, concentrated formula, Snow Job just doesn’t clean. It lacks cleaning ability when used as Bowden’s intend, as in a pre-soak, and it also sucked when used with a wash mitt. So, what was supposed to offer a safer method of washing, removing grime before anything touches the paint, you end up needing to work harder to remove that grime, potentially scratching the paint in the process. Scent was meh, the lubrication subpar. In addition to that was the very poor rinsing ability, reactivating and taking much longer than it should to be removed from the vehicle. To cap it all off, the ultra-thick consistency made measuring and pouring difficult.

All of that was something I had noticed, but it only clicked when others started to make similar comments regarding a lack of cleaning ability. I ended up using the last of my 2-liter bottle as a wheel cleaner, a bad one at that.

Clearly Bowden’s became aware of this, because earlier this year they released a new version, Snow Job 2.0.





Bowden’s tout Snow Job 2.0 is a completely new formula. Improvements were made with cleaning ability and free-rinsing properties, and the scent was altered, all while staying pH neutral and maintaining the superb foaming ability. The runnier liquid is also easier to pour. Bowden’s also highlight the formula contains anti-corrosion qualities.







In use, Snow Job 2.0 is certainly an improvement over the original. It starts with the easier pouring ability, continues with a more noticeable scent and improved cleaning ability. Of course foam quality is excellent, this time removed much easier than before during the rinse phase. But………………..

Snow Job 2.0 is still miles away from the industry benchmarks in a number of areas. Firstly, I hate the scent, very hospital cleaning chemical esque, and it lingers around for too long. The cleaning ability, while improved, still wont match Carpro Reset, NV Snow or Koch Chemie GSF. The free-rinsing ability still lags behind those too, as does slickness.

This would be all fine if Snow Job was cheaper than the opposition. In some respects, it is when compared to Reset and GSF. But when NV Snow costs only 0.71c more, it doesn’t compute. And since Gyeon Bathe is now available at a big box store, there is really no reason to settle for Snow Snow Job.

Please note this is not me bashing Bowden’s as a brand, they do make some good products. But Snow Job 1.0 sucked! Snow Job 2.0 sucks a little less. I'm sure you can guess now what I did next............................