conman1395
New member
- Nov 23, 2013
- 1,622
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The ULTIMATE Sponge Comparison
Hi guys,
This is my first thread like this, so bear with me! This thread is going to be about sponges; in fact it is going to be about the most popular sponges talked about on the forum. This thread will include sponges with NO microfiber, just sponge material. The sponges to be compared:
[FONT="]1. [/FONT]Lowe’s Proline Sponge
[FONT="]2. [/FONT]Home Depot QEP Sponge
[FONT="]3. [/FONT]Aqua Sponge
[FONT="]4. [/FONT]Lake Country Blue Cube Sponge
[FONT="]5. [/FONT]Big Red Sponge
* Small Aqua Sponge on top. Otherwise in order
A little background:
I really like sponges for rinselesss washes. I them much more than microfiber because I feel like they release dirt better and I like that they are easily hand washed. I don’t mind sponges for traditional washes, but for your traditional, 2 bucket method I like my Meguiar’s microfiber mitt and Incredimitt more.
Here’s the spoiler:
None of these sponges mar the paint! In my garage at home I have an Acura TSX, Acura MDX, Acura RLX, and Porsche Carrera S. Previously in the garage have been a Porsche Cayman S, 2 different Acura TL models, and 3 different Acura MDX leases. So all I’ve ever washed is soft paint!
I also work for a detailing company and we use these sponges for traditional washes on dirty cars or as the lower body wash media and all rinseless washes. No marring!
So what’s the point? Couldn’t one just choose the least expensive and be happy? Yeah, I guess, but each of the sponges have different characteristics which may or may not make them more preferable to the user.
The Pictures:
For the pictures I used my LG G2 and a Lake Country 1.25” x 5.5” (That’s the non-thin version) Orange Pad for size comparison. I also used a 5 pound dumbbell placed vertically to try and show differences in density.
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Lowes Proline Sponge
This sponge is soft and not very dense. It is, in my opinion, one of the best “sized” sponges because it’s not as wide and is easy to hold on to. This sponge is not as durable as some of the other sponges. It is inexpensive and now comes in a two-pack at Lowes.
Home Depot QEP Sponge
FYI, I have used this sponge once with ONR so the foam is slightly discolored. This sponge is soft and dense. The Home Depot sponge is very durable and I prefer it to the Lowes sponge. This sponge is what I use at work as well.
Aqua Sponge
First, a big thank you to Klasse Act for telling me about this sponge. It is very porous, durable, and soft. I have the small and large version of the sponge. In the pictures you can see pen marks because I have cut cubes into the large one. I find that the cubes don’t help with reducing marring like advertised on the Big Red sponge and Lake Country Blue Cube, but do help in conforming to areas of the car better when washing like the trim around your windows. I cut my Home Depot sponges for the same reason as well.
The only thing I don’t like about this sponge is the darker color. The color of the Aqua Sponge makes inspecting for dirt harder than the other sponges.
Lake Country Blue Cube Sponge
I got this sponge when I first started getting into detailing. This sponge is extremely porous and holds a lot of wash solution. It does not easily compress to get under door handles and also sheds blue foam at times. I do not use this sponge for rinseless washes but occasionally use it for traditional washes.
The Big Red Sponge
My boss gave me one of these. We have been using them at work for a while now. I did not like this sponge at first because its pores are very, very, small. To me a sponge is like reverse microfiber. Instead of having long fibers that stick out for dirt to hide in until rinsed out, sponges have pores which are recessed for dirt to hide in. When it is time to rinse the sponge, squeezing purges the dirt out. With no large pores, I was concerned the sponge would mar but the sponge does not mar, and now it is what I usually reach for when at work. This sponge is also very dense, and does not leak solution all over the ground as much as the other sponges tend to. I find the Big Red Sponge to the most durable of the sponges and you will find it is the most expensive too. Do I think it is worth the $20 dollars? Not really. It is very durable, but all of these sponges are perfectly safe to use and I don’t think I’d ever use this sponge for a traditional wash.
My preferred sponges (from best to last)
Rinseless
[FONT="]1. [/FONT]Big Red Sponge
[FONT="]2. [/FONT]Aqua Sponge
[FONT="]3. [/FONT]Home Depot QEP Sponge
[FONT="]4. [/FONT]Lowes Proline Sponge
[FONT="]5. [/FONT]Lake Country Blue Cube
Traditional
[FONT="]1. [/FONT]Home Depot QEP Sponge
[FONT="]2. [/FONT]Aqua Sponge
[FONT="]3. [/FONT]Lowes Proline Sponge
[FONT="]4. [/FONT]Lake Country Blue Cube
[FONT="]5. [/FONT]Big Red Sponge
So to wrap this thing up here are some final comments:
Sponges are definitely safe for your paint. Like I said, it is like “reverse microfiber” because there are pores for the dirt to go and it rinses out even easier than the microfiber mitts I have used. What’s cooler is these sponges get incredibly soft when wet, are inexpensive, and don’t need to be machine washed. One of the coolest things about sponges for traditional washes is that I can do a wash with little to no laundry required afterwards if using my DP Turbo Car Dryer.
I made this thread because I think more people should be using sponges. Wash media are one of those things I think us detailers get too caught up in and over value/hype expensive “boutique” products. I myself was apprehensive when first using sponges as I’ve experienced marring from sponges purchased at automotive stores before, but these sponges different. They have been used and approved by fellow Autogeek members many times over and that was good enough for me to at least try them.
Hi guys,
This is my first thread like this, so bear with me! This thread is going to be about sponges; in fact it is going to be about the most popular sponges talked about on the forum. This thread will include sponges with NO microfiber, just sponge material. The sponges to be compared:
[FONT="]1. [/FONT]Lowe’s Proline Sponge
[FONT="]2. [/FONT]Home Depot QEP Sponge
[FONT="]3. [/FONT]Aqua Sponge
[FONT="]4. [/FONT]Lake Country Blue Cube Sponge
[FONT="]5. [/FONT]Big Red Sponge
* Small Aqua Sponge on top. Otherwise in order
A little background:
I really like sponges for rinselesss washes. I them much more than microfiber because I feel like they release dirt better and I like that they are easily hand washed. I don’t mind sponges for traditional washes, but for your traditional, 2 bucket method I like my Meguiar’s microfiber mitt and Incredimitt more.
Here’s the spoiler:
None of these sponges mar the paint! In my garage at home I have an Acura TSX, Acura MDX, Acura RLX, and Porsche Carrera S. Previously in the garage have been a Porsche Cayman S, 2 different Acura TL models, and 3 different Acura MDX leases. So all I’ve ever washed is soft paint!
I also work for a detailing company and we use these sponges for traditional washes on dirty cars or as the lower body wash media and all rinseless washes. No marring!
So what’s the point? Couldn’t one just choose the least expensive and be happy? Yeah, I guess, but each of the sponges have different characteristics which may or may not make them more preferable to the user.
The Pictures:
For the pictures I used my LG G2 and a Lake Country 1.25” x 5.5” (That’s the non-thin version) Orange Pad for size comparison. I also used a 5 pound dumbbell placed vertically to try and show differences in density.
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Lowes Proline Sponge
This sponge is soft and not very dense. It is, in my opinion, one of the best “sized” sponges because it’s not as wide and is easy to hold on to. This sponge is not as durable as some of the other sponges. It is inexpensive and now comes in a two-pack at Lowes.
Home Depot QEP Sponge
FYI, I have used this sponge once with ONR so the foam is slightly discolored. This sponge is soft and dense. The Home Depot sponge is very durable and I prefer it to the Lowes sponge. This sponge is what I use at work as well.
Aqua Sponge
First, a big thank you to Klasse Act for telling me about this sponge. It is very porous, durable, and soft. I have the small and large version of the sponge. In the pictures you can see pen marks because I have cut cubes into the large one. I find that the cubes don’t help with reducing marring like advertised on the Big Red sponge and Lake Country Blue Cube, but do help in conforming to areas of the car better when washing like the trim around your windows. I cut my Home Depot sponges for the same reason as well.
The only thing I don’t like about this sponge is the darker color. The color of the Aqua Sponge makes inspecting for dirt harder than the other sponges.
Lake Country Blue Cube Sponge
I got this sponge when I first started getting into detailing. This sponge is extremely porous and holds a lot of wash solution. It does not easily compress to get under door handles and also sheds blue foam at times. I do not use this sponge for rinseless washes but occasionally use it for traditional washes.
The Big Red Sponge
My boss gave me one of these. We have been using them at work for a while now. I did not like this sponge at first because its pores are very, very, small. To me a sponge is like reverse microfiber. Instead of having long fibers that stick out for dirt to hide in until rinsed out, sponges have pores which are recessed for dirt to hide in. When it is time to rinse the sponge, squeezing purges the dirt out. With no large pores, I was concerned the sponge would mar but the sponge does not mar, and now it is what I usually reach for when at work. This sponge is also very dense, and does not leak solution all over the ground as much as the other sponges tend to. I find the Big Red Sponge to the most durable of the sponges and you will find it is the most expensive too. Do I think it is worth the $20 dollars? Not really. It is very durable, but all of these sponges are perfectly safe to use and I don’t think I’d ever use this sponge for a traditional wash.
My preferred sponges (from best to last)
Rinseless
[FONT="]1. [/FONT]Big Red Sponge
[FONT="]2. [/FONT]Aqua Sponge
[FONT="]3. [/FONT]Home Depot QEP Sponge
[FONT="]4. [/FONT]Lowes Proline Sponge
[FONT="]5. [/FONT]Lake Country Blue Cube
Traditional
[FONT="]1. [/FONT]Home Depot QEP Sponge
[FONT="]2. [/FONT]Aqua Sponge
[FONT="]3. [/FONT]Lowes Proline Sponge
[FONT="]4. [/FONT]Lake Country Blue Cube
[FONT="]5. [/FONT]Big Red Sponge
So to wrap this thing up here are some final comments:
Sponges are definitely safe for your paint. Like I said, it is like “reverse microfiber” because there are pores for the dirt to go and it rinses out even easier than the microfiber mitts I have used. What’s cooler is these sponges get incredibly soft when wet, are inexpensive, and don’t need to be machine washed. One of the coolest things about sponges for traditional washes is that I can do a wash with little to no laundry required afterwards if using my DP Turbo Car Dryer.
I made this thread because I think more people should be using sponges. Wash media are one of those things I think us detailers get too caught up in and over value/hype expensive “boutique” products. I myself was apprehensive when first using sponges as I’ve experienced marring from sponges purchased at automotive stores before, but these sponges different. They have been used and approved by fellow Autogeek members many times over and that was good enough for me to at least try them.
