Traffic film remover question

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mc01ta

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WHat are you all using during your wash routine to break down traffic film that normal washing with a ph neutral soap won’t touch? My vehicles aren’t getting regularly washed lately due to constant rain and cold weather. I finally got around to washing wife’s car the other day and had pretty heavy traffic film from not being washed since August. It was coated polished and sealed in August and there was plenty of contaminates along with road film that normal washing couldn’t touch. Had to clay again. I’ve read some people using an APC diluted for a pretreat and also a non ph neutral soap to help. Curious to hear what everyone is doing especially during winter months. I’ve searched and getting mostly older posyodaying back 6+ years so figured I’d ask what people are currently doing
 
I find no need to use anything but car pro reset. Anything too high in ph will damage the coating.

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My cars are not coated but did use collinite 845 after polishing with DG 501. Been searching all day for what’s best to use to pretreat road grime especially on lower body panels that seemed to get hammered quick with all the wether we’ve had. When I washed my wife’s car I sprayed the car off to knock off as much as I could before washing. After washing I coated again and picked up a lot of grime and not much contaminated like tar. Trying to find something that will help break down the grime as regular washing isn’t touching it with ph neutral soap and don’t want to clay every time I wash
 
I would look at any dedicated prewash foam. Gyeon Foam and gtechnic w4 citrus foam or even the new Griots Garage BOSS foaming surface wash could work. I think that those kind that are made to be sprayed on and dwell and rinse off is more effective to do what they do than some that is made to be aggitated with like car soap. And I really like Carpro Reset car soap and it's on top of my favorite car soaps. Have not used reset in the foamcannon so can not be saying how it works like the prewash foams I use. Or use an APC or degreaser that are more made for the exterior. As they useally are easier to be rinsed off thoroughly. For me in my environment that does the heavy cleaning in the prewash is the water pressure from the PW that I use to clean with. I use it so the water pressure cleans the paint. It's safe as long as you have tested the water pressure with your hand palm in front of it. Start 3-4 feet away of the nozzle and move in until it hurts. Any closer than that and you can damage things on your vehical. And you don't PW over paint that has flaked if you have a damage or an old vehical. Then in no situation you don't use a turbo nozzle or the 0 angle nozzle tip. I could not be without my Kärcher K7 pressure wash with specs 2600psi 2.6gpm on a 240v electric outlet. The gpm from the PW the more effective it is. Then a foamcannon and foam your prewash foam is fun too LOL. But not just fun as the foam clings better on a contaminated surface and you get a longer dwell time and safer as the chemicals dries slower. This is also what environment you live in and where you drive and what environment you park in when working. What kind of contaminants you have to deal with.
 
Never tried it but have wondered if Gyeon Bug & Grime might be applicable 8n a case like this.
 
Would an APC be safe to use on lower panels to dwell and then rinse before washing? Agitation seems to be the only real thing that removes the film but don’t feel like having to polish or AIO every few months if I’m not able to wash every week or few weeks. I’m trying to find something inexpensive like an APC to use if possible. If I’m not painting the picture as to what I’m talking about then picture what lower panels look like after a week of driving through road salt after snow and spraying the panels off. What’s left normal wahinyient touching but I also don’t want to have to go through a complete detail either
 
I remember when I got my first vehicle that was passed down it got washed maybe TWICE per year in a drive through car wash. I ended up washing it twice the first time I used light pressure mainly just to remove topical dirt. The second time I would empty my bucket and add more soap/water and I would put more force into it and focus on areas where there where a lot of containment’s. This seemed to work well for me. However I was dealing with more tree sap dropping’s and not salt grime as I lived in Texas at the time.


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Nextzett W99 is supposed to cut through traffic film. I haven’t tried it yet.
 
I don't think prewash foams are all that different from APC's. I just think thoughtfully designed prewashes will have better dwell so they don't have to be mixed as strong. Alkaline will clean better than pH neutral in general. Just stay away from caustic (hydroxides) those can mess up your trim and rubber seals.

Good quality APC will work fine in a pitch. Just don't let it dry before you rinse/pressure wash it off then follow up with your 2 bucket wash.

I'll be honest though, I find a simple bucket wash with regular shampoo cleans off films just fine. The prewash just helps ease off the grittiest contaminates. The bucket wash is what takes care of the film.
 
I wash the car once a week using Autobright Magifoam PH neutral soap, and usually my cars get heavy traffic film. Never had an issue with it where the film is still stuck on the paint

I choose it based on the reviews of the Asian guy on youtube who is specialized in comparing foamy soaps and see which one is most effective in removing traffic film, this one got him the best results and same was for me!

The steps I follow for old cars: rinse with PW, foam using foam cannon, let it dwell for 10m, then hand wash using a mitt, then rinse

For newer cars: rinse, foam, rinse, foam, rinse and done! touchless wash ... i do have to hand wash them though once every 3 weeks though
 
I've never had to use anything stronger than a normal, quality, carwash soap (i.e. Optimum, Poorboys, etc.)

In the warmer months I wash our cars every 2~3 weeks so they stay pretty clean. However, our vehicles will go all winter being exposed to all manner of traffic film, salt, mud, and other nastiness while only being run though a touchless car wash. Since a touchless wash never gets the vehicle completely clean, I look it as the vehicles don't get really washed for close to 5~6 months depending on the weather. Once the weather is warm enough a good bucket wash sets everything back to normal after the first wash, sometimes the second.
 
Go to some big box store and get yourself a cheap hand sprayer and either purple power or purple power car and boat wash. Mix it up and spray it on and let it sit for a couple minutes. Rinse off and you should be good to go. No need to spend big $$ on fancy chemicals.


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Used straight purple power will damage many coatings.

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I am a fan of touchless wash and I go with it as much as possible

Also, since I wash my car weekly and I live in a hot area where the car dries fast, I was only looking for ph neutral soap. I did a research few months back and I came to the conclusion that Autobright Magifoam (UK company) is the best for this purpose

It is working great for me so far, and I highly recommend it
 
215Detailing said:
Just curious since coating are such a big rave why is it that the can't stop road film or if they hold dirt you have to be cautious of type of chemicals to use to clean/maintain
Is Ceramic Coating Worth It? Here's The Truth:
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I've not found either to be true of coatings I've used over the last few years. I use the same car wash soaps I used on sealed vehicles.

Nothing will stop the build up of road film building up on a vehicle. They aren't a magical force field or a frictionless substance which nothing can stick to. If a car is driven in bad weather, grime will spray all over the place and stick where it dries. I find coatings much easier to clean and they last far longer than any sealant, both of which add up to make keeping a vehicle looking good much easier.
 
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