big blue III

S

SouthernBoy

New member
ShowroomLincoln - Saw your last post regarding longevity in the other Aquapel thread. Have you tried anything like 303 wiper blade treatmet in conjunction with the Aquapel?



As I said before, I never really liked Rain-X, but given the cost, I'd like to make the Aquapel last as long as possible.



Thoughts?
 
I don't really like to apply anything to the wiper blades because that can sometimes cause streaking. With regular wiper use you should get 4 months out of it. But if you use them a ton you will get less becasue of the friction from the blade passing over the coating.:up
 
Thanks. The other thing I'm wondering about is windshield wiper fluid working with Aquapel. Although I'd rather not have to use it at all, it is sometimes unavoidable.



I'm wondering if a VERY mild mixture would work... the Aquapel should make easier to remove blasted bugs at 75 mph, but I don't want to use anything that will degrade the Aquapel.



BTW, we need an abbreviation for Aquapel. AQU?
 
Looks like a lot has gone on with this topic since my last post. But I did want to answer Guess' question ot me:



Did the Autoglym glass polish leave a residue? Not that I could tell. After application and polish out of the Autoglym I went over the windshield with a wet paper towel to remove any residual dust. I didn't use a strong chemical like naptha as the directions did not indicate that was needed. I followed the directions as written and paid heed to the comments and tips offered by my fellow Autopians (long may they wave).



I experienced RainX-type wiper smearing the first few times I used the wipers. But that seems to have diminished. Wiper smearing with RainX was a minor issue with me so I fixed the problem by just not using them unless badly needed. I've never experienced wiper chatter or skipping with either RainX or Aquapel. Frankly, the effect of Aquapel is almost identical to semi-worn RainX. Kinda weird.



Anyhoo, that's all I can offer on this topic. Compared to the horrible effectiveness of wipers on rental cars I don't have alot of room to complain about whatever water repellent I use on my car. I'm just happy products like this exist. Makes wet weather driving much much safer and that's the bottom line for me.



Cheers.
 
Your AQP (Aquapel) experience is kinda weird but things happen.



I used the Naptha because I had Rain X at one time and Zaino later on and I wanted a clean polmer & silicone free glass. I researched it before using and I think RON K said to clean with naptha to remove the old Rain X so thats what I did.



My experiences with Rain X differ but that is expected with any product.



I will probably stick with AQP in the long run.



I have not found it does any better or any worse than Rain X with bugs. They stick and they stick well the buggers. The do not come off with wipers but it the little carcasses do come off with normal car washing routine.
 
okay, so i just purchased a couple of BB III towels and i'm wondering if i should wash them before i use them. i had the II version and used it a few times and it worked great until i washed it in cc guys microfiber detergent. what do you guys suggest...
 
I wash mine with regular detergent with no problem, so are you saying this microfiber detergent messed up your towel?
 
I also have the BB III and wash them regularly in regular laundry detergent with no problems at all. Always wash before using for the first time.
 
You should always wash new microfiber cloths to clean them of any possible contaminants or things that may mark your car. While the "Big Blues" are wrapped at the factory, I still wash them first. I use "Micro Restore" as I do not want to chance shortening their useful life by using something not specifically design to deal with microfiber cloth. I never use a dryer to dry, but hang them to air dry.

jk
 
Jack - does the microfiber cleaner work that much better than regular detergent? Is it worth the $1-2 per load?

Harry
 
Jack said:
You should always wash new microfiber cloths to clean them of any possible contaminants or things that may mark your car. While the "Big Blues" are wrapped at the factory, I still wash them first. I use "Micro Restore" as I do not want to chance shortening their useful life by using something not specifically design to deal with microfiber cloth. I never use a dryer to dry, but hang them to air dry.

jk
Click to expand...

i always use the special detergent specifically for m/f and dry them in the dryer with no heat. nevertheless, when i did this to the bbII it didn't work anymore after that. might i have messed it up by not washing it first or by using the dryer?
 
grungy said:
Jack - does the microfiber cleaner work that much better than regular detergent? Is it worth the $1-2 per load?

Harry
Click to expand...


Grungy, I believe for the cost, which I figure is about .23 per load, (A gallon of Micro Restore cost TID members $29.69. I use one ounce in a small to medium load. 128 loads per gallon) when you look at the number of towels you are washing and what their value is,(any decent towel runs $5 -$20) you could easily be washing $50 -$100 worth of towels that people are fanatical about. To my way of thinking, it is not a time to be ?penny wise, pound foolish? if you know what I mean. I think Micro Restore is not that expensive and definitely worth the cost.


glfahlc said:
i always use the special detergent specifically for m/f and dry them in the dryer with no heat. nevertheless, when i did this to the bbII it didn't work anymore after that. might i have messed it up by not washing it first or by using the dryer?
Click to expand...


Glfahlc, I don't think not washing them would do what you are describing, the dryer is a different point. While you mentioned you did not use any heat, using heat can, over a period of time (it is gradual) ?melt? the ends if the fibers. This will have an effect on their ability to deal with the water. Using a dryer on the ?fluff? setting or ?air? setting might not have that much heat, but will typically induce a static charge. These things are basically plastic. Then you go to take off a polish or wax and you get this weird dusting and the dust sticks to the car.
I also want to point out that at one time toward the end of 2009 (?) we received a bad batch of Big Blues that had come from China. They were terrible, they would only push the water around. It was almost comical that this ?Drying Towel? looked to be afraid of water! We discussed it on the forums and replaced them for people. Outside of these reasons I would have no idea why you would have an issue with the towel. If you still have it, I will replace it.

glfahlc said:
one other thing; i always do a second rinse with white vinegar to my micro fibers... could that be a detriment to big blues
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I am not sure on the white vinegar issue. I have never tried it and have not spoken to enough people that have, weather it is good or bad.



Hope this helps.

jk
 
If you have mf towels not behaving correctly, I would use an all purpose cleaner (like Optimum's Power Clean as a pre-soak) to restore them. Some boil but I try to avoid high temps. Any plastic (like microfiber) will lose its properties as temperature increases. It causes the molecular chains to change shape etc.

Using too much detergent and not rinsing them enough (vinegar helps strip embedded detergents) that load up in the mf.
 
I also want to point out that at one time toward the end of 2009 (?) we received a bad batch of Big Blues that had come from China. They were terrible, they would only push the water around. It was almost comical that this ?Drying Towel? looked to be afraid of water! We discussed it on the forums and replaced them for people. Outside of these reasons I would have no idea why you would have an issue with the towel. If you still have it, I will replace it.

i had the original one that was bad from the start and you replaced that one with the one i have now that now does the same thing. that was the reason for the original query as i didn't want to do something wrong to ruin these too.
 
glfahlc said:
I also want to point out that at one time toward the end of 2009 (?) we received a bad batch of Big Blues that had come from China. They were terrible, they would only push the water around. It was almost comical that this ?Drying Towel? looked to be afraid of water! We discussed it on the forums and replaced them for people. Outside of these reasons I would have no idea why you would have an issue with the towel. If you still have it, I will replace it.

i had the original one that was bad from the start and you replaced that one with the one i have now that now does the same thing. that was the reason for the original query as i didn't want to do something wrong to ruin these too.
Click to expand...

glfahlc



There has to be something weird happening. The towels we replaced the bad ones from 2009 with, are a completely different towel, different manufacturer, different country of origin. When did we replace it for you? The "bad batch" from 2009 was a very small number of towels compared to our typical shipment and not many got out as we discovered the issue as soon as we started to ship them. The bad batch of towels were Chinese unlike our traditional towels, which are Korean. Regardless, if you are having problems or concerns with it, we will replace it. We sell thousands of this type of towel and have zero issues with them. PM Angelo and he can arrange an exchange.

jk
 
Jack said:
glfahlc



There has to be something weird happening. The towels we replaced the bad ones from 2009 with, are a completely different towel, different manufacturer, different country of origin. When did we replace it for you? The "bad batch" from 2009 was a very small number of towels compared to our typical shipment and not many got out as we discovered the issue as soon as we started to ship them. The bad batch of towels were Chinese unlike our traditional towels, which are Korean. Regardless, if you are having problems or concerns with it, we will replace it. We sell thousands of this type of towel and have zero issues with them. PM Angelo and he can arrange an exchange.

jk
Click to expand...
jack i don't remember exactly when you replaced the original bad towel i had but i would guess it was spring of '10. i remember using it and saying to myself "so this is how the big blue is supposed to work". anyhow, i will do as you suggest and shoot a pm to angelo. that kinda service is what keeps me shopping at PAC and where i tell everyone to go to get their automotive detailing supplies... thanks
 
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