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What is your favorite automotive shampoo?

Choosing the proper automotive shampoo is an important decision because it is one of the products that you will use the most. Typically, one looks for an automotive shampoo that is strong enough to help easily remove contamination, yet gentle enough to not strip off the layer of protection you have on the paint, whether it is a sealant or a wax. Some automotive shampoos are slicker than others, have stronger cleaning agents, have the ability to produce more suds, smell better, etc.

Lets hear about your favorite automotive shampoo and why.



Comments:

  1. My favorite conventional wash shampoo is poorboys SSS; very slick and the suds/slickness last an entire wash. I have to give a shout out to Optimum No Rinse though, since I use it more than anything to wash cars. I love that stuff.      by picus
  2. The only Shampoo I use is Zymol

    Not only does it work great but it leaves your cars exterior smelling like a petunia.      by sdphoto
  3. Quote:
    Originally Posted by picus View Post
    My favorite conventional wash shampoo is poorboys SSS; very slick and the suds/slickness last an entire wash. I have to give a shout out to Optimum No Rinse though, since I use it more than anything to wash cars. I love that stuff.
    Never heard about the Optimum No rinse? What's the story with this?      by skiboard06
  4. I use the Poorboys Super Slick & Suds.      by Kevin@DetailsIM.com
  5. I really like the P21S Bodywork Conditioning Shampoo and the Poorboy's World Super Slick and Suds or any soap with a really long title, jk. These two are my favorites but there are so many great ones available to you.

    Greg @ DU      by Greg @ DU
  6. Zymol wash, and mircofibre mitt for washing, microfibre towels for drying.      by Bogart
  7. I wash my upper panels and all the relatively clean areas with my Sheepskin Wash Mitt. For areas like behind the wheels or any area that is dirty I'll use a separate mitt which is usually my microfiber mitt. Then I dry with 2X microfiber waffle weave drying towel.

    Greg @ DU      by Greg @ DU
  8. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Greg @ DU View Post
    I wash my upper panels and all the relatively clean areas with my Sheepskin Wash Mitt. For areas like behind the wheels or any area that is dirty I'll use a separate mitt which is usually my microfiber mitt. Then I dry with 2X microfiber waffle weave drying towel.

    Greg @ DU

    2nd on that      by Kevin@DetailsIM.com
  9. Surprisingly, the Eagle 1 car wash soap is pretty damn good too. I use it with a sheepskin mitt, and it has never done me wrong.      by kpeng
  10. I use Gliptone's pH neutral soap. Love how it works and haven't had any problems      by Xtreme Innovations
  11. I really haven't used any soaps from online suppliers.

    What I have used is:
    Megs NXT
    Blue Corral quick dissolve packets (Big Lots)
    Megs Gold Class
    DuraGloss
    from my Suppler:
    Car Wash Suds
    Wash & Wax

    Out of all those, I like the Wash & Wax from my supplier and the DuraGloss soap. The other type from my distributor was too harsh, from my feeling.      by Tex Star Detail
  12. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Greg @ DU View Post
    I wash my upper panels and all the relatively clean areas with my Sheepskin Wash Mitt. For areas like behind the wheels or any area that is dirty I'll use a separate mitt which is usually my microfiber mitt. Then I dry with 2X microfiber waffle weave drying towel.

    Greg @ DU
    Why do you need to dry with 2 WW towels? Shouldn't one be enough?      by EdenResident
  13. Gold class,

    ^^I dont think one WW is enough.....2 is just right imo, the 2nd picks up all the streaks left behind by the first      by jgh1987
  14. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tex Star Detail View Post
    Out of all those, I like the Wash & Wax from my supplier and the DuraGloss soap. The other type from my distributor was too harsh, from my feeling.
    I've heard great things about the DuraGloss shampoo. Similar to Zaino's shampoo from what I understand.

    George      by George @ DU
  15. Quote:
    Originally Posted by EdenResident View Post
    Why do you need to dry with 2 WW towels? Shouldn't one be enough?
    You can certainly do a vehicle with one, but I find two makes it go much quicker. After one gets really wet I'll continue using it by just wringing it out. However when I'm getting close to the end I'll take out the second towel and get water out of the joints, crevices and do a final wipe down. Those drips of water that come down later in the detail can drive me crazy so I just like it thoroughly dry. Sometimes I'll even use three towels just depends.

    Greg @ DU      by Greg @ DU
  16. As far as conventional washes go, Poorboy's Super Slick & Suds is definitely the top dog IMO. It's hard to beat in terms of lubricity, suds, smell, cleaning power, etc. It is a bit pricey though. So, I tend to buy my 2nd favorite more often which is Optimum Car Wash. It's a close second to the Poorboy's IMO but has more of a silky feel instead of a slippery feel. It also seems to leave the car looking like you just QD'ed it.

    When it comes to rinseless washes I tend to use DP 4-in-1, but it's really a toss up between that product and Optimum No Rinse. They're both excellent rinseless washes, but I feel the DP offers slightly more lubricity.

    No matter what soap I'm using the Edge ShMitt is the wash tool to use IMO. IME it outlasts sheepskin and is just as effective. Plus, there are no hairs to lay down, end up on your car, or snag on an emblem.      by Mikeyc
  17. Great info Mikeyc,

    I've been curious to see what people have thought about the Edge ShMitt. Any chance you'd be willing to do a quick write-up about it for others to view?

    Poorboy's Super Slick & Suds is a great shampoo, one of my favorites. I've also had good luck with Optimum, P21s, and Finish Kare's Shampoo.

    George      by George @ DU
  18. Quote:
    Originally Posted by George @ DU View Post
    Great info Mikeyc,

    I've been curious to see what people have thought about the Edge ShMitt. Any chance you'd be willing to do a quick write-up about it for others to view?

    Poorboy's Super Slick & Suds is a great shampoo, one of my favorites. I've also had good luck with Optimum, P21s, and Finish Kare's Shampoo.

    George
    I'll see if I can dig up a review I did on S2KI of the ShMitt and post it over here probably with some added info since I've been using it for a longer period of time now. It's a great tool and it's rare that someone who tries it doesn't like it.

    I haven't used any of the FinishKare products yet. I've heard good things about them. Also, I've used several of the P21S products (and I'm a product tester for them) but I haven't used the shampoo.      by Mikeyc
  19. How do you go about becoming a product tester for P21S. Sounds like a great gig.      by skiboard06
  20. Quote:
    Originally Posted by skiboard06 View Post
    How do you go about becoming a product tester for P21S. Sounds like a great gig.
    So far I'm only testing one product and I signed up probably 6 months ago. You just go on their website to sign up. The link is right on the home page IIRC.      by Mikeyc
  21. tough one...either PB SS&S or Z7      by derek80
  22. oh yeah, forgot to mention that 1Z pearl and duragloss is also great.
    Duragloss seems to have more suds than PB SS&S.
    1Z pearl doesn't have much sud, but cleans up very well.      by derek80
  23. My favorite so far has been Detailing Dynamics Body Shampoo. By far the best soap I ever used, but with the amount of washes I do (3-4 cars a week), it is just too expensive. I just bought the Danase foaming soap so I am going to try that in my foam gun this season.

    I think one of the best things about the DD shampoo is the water softeners. You almost have to try to put water spots in. It's really nice stuff, great lubricity!

    I haven't tried PB though. Maybe when one of the 3 I have in my garage runs out I'll give it a whirl.      by Diesel1
  24. My favorite wash is definately Z7. Suds great, smells great, cleans great, and rinsed easy too. Too bad it comes in such small quantities and such a high price tag...

    For regular washings with a hose I have a gallon of Meguiars Hyperwash. Its good for one ounce of product and 5 gallons of water. A real bargain. Good lubricity and foams up nicely. Cleaning ability is good, gold class type, but if I ever need to heavilty clean a car I'll add an ounce or two of APC+ to the bucket. Granted it will need some protection afterwards for good measure...

    For no rinse washes, my favourite is ONR... QEW used to be the shizzle, but the paint definately looks more crisp with ONR.      by Joyriide1113
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