Four Star Ultimate Auto Wash Shampoo - Review

Angus

AspiringProductSpecialist
For this review I’m going to share my experience using Four Star’s Ultimate Auto Wash Shampoo:


From PBMG’s copy for Ultimate Auto Wash Shampoo:

A lubricant-rich car wash for auto enthusiasts!

Four Star Auto Wash Shampoo is a mild blend of cleaners, natural oils, and gloss enhancers that safely cleanse your vehicle without stripping wax. This gentle car wash lubricates the paint to protect against scratching while you wash.

Ok lets find out how “Ultimate” this shampoo is.

Directions:


1. Dispense 1oz of shampoo into a clean bucket. - Check


Whenever I see vague dilution ratio instructions like this, to be on the safe side I assume “a clean bucket” means a 1 gallon bucket. Not a 5 gallon bucket, fitted with a grit guard, and fill up with at least 3 to 4 gallons of water. So following this logic, I’ll use 1oz of shampoo per gallon of water.

As you can see, this shampoo is purple in color. It has no discernible odor.


One thing that surprised me was how thin this shampoo is. I’m used to using more viscous shampoos that leave “legs” in the water after being poured in. Check out the video to see what I mean:



2. Add heavy jet of water to activate foam. - Check

Pressure washer powered jet of water coming right up!



(pls excuse the initial pressure washer misfire)

And for those at work and can’t watch videos here are a few foaming shots in action:




3. Rinse auto to remove any loose dirt. - Check.

4. Start with the top of the auto and work down, applying with a soft sponge or wash mitt. - Check

A nice thick foam was produced, that clinged to my wash mitt and arm:


After quickly washing the passengers side roof and windows, the little dirt that was present was easily lifted up and away:


At this point I stopped taking photos and concentrated washing the whole car since the sun had already crested my garage roof and was starting to warm things up. Time to work quickly!

The remaining direction steps are typical and not worth going over - we all know how to correctly wash a car using the standard 2 bucket method.

Conclusion

I appreciate this shampoo is environmentally friendly, pH neutral, easy on your skin, and Made in the USA.

Did this shampoo safely lift up and remove the dirt from my car? Yes, it did. It also rinsed cleanly and did not leave a film behind. Was this an “Ultimate” shampoo? Well... I don’t know about that.

At $14.99 per 16oz bottle = $.94 per oz. I ended up using 5 oz (refilled my bucket once w/ 2 extra gallons) during this wash session which means it costs ~$4.68 to wash a mid-sized car. Moreover following this logic, a single 16 oz bottle will only last for a total of 3 car washes or less if you have a larger vehicle like a full-sized SUV. Again, this was following my own dilution ratio guide line for safe car washing. Perhaps you can get away with using less soap, and if so this will become a much better value for money.

Overall, I felt this was an average shampoo that did a good job but I can’t say it was the best I've ever used in terms of added lubricity or excellent dilution ratios.

As always, I hope this review was helpful. Thanks for reading.
 
I have an old bottle of this that I have been using up lately, and it may be expensive, but whatever is in there really peps up your beading for the next few rainstorms. Funny thing is I don't notice that behavior during the actual washing of the car.
 
If I read it right it's $5.00/wash. Sounds steep

I probably could have gotten away with using less, but since this was my first time trying this particular soap out I erred on the side of caution. Next time around, I'll go with 1/2 the amount of soap and see how it performs/ update this tread.
 
I would not have interpreted the dilution that way. I would think 1 oz to 3 gallons is about what they would expect.
 
For added context, my go to soap: Meg's Gold Class specifies a dilution ration of 1oz of soap to 1 gallon of water:



If 4 Star UAWS can safely be used at a higher ratio then great. And I would encourage them to update their instructions so we'll know/ not have to speculate / or waste product.
 
I would not have interpreted the dilution that way. I would think 1 oz to 3 gallons is about what they would expect.

I don't see how you come to that conclusion, based on the label Angus pictured. I don't have my (older) bottle anymore since I diluted down what was left for my foam gun, so I can't see if that said anything different, but I have a spreadsheet from years ago (based partly on mfr. recommendations and also member modifications of those) where I show .333oz/gallon. Which is pretty consistent with the other Premium Finish Care washes (Ultima, Sonus). Anyway, count me in the group of people who thinks the label should be more specific.
 
When I said 1 oz to 3 gallons, this would be 1/3 ounce per gallon.

Yeah--.333 = 1/3...but I don't see how you came up with that from what it says on the bottle. I came up with it from my spreadsheet, and I don't know where I got the info from, it was years ago.
 
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