mini shampoo review: Adams, Griots, Duragloss, and Megs Gold Class

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extrabolts

New member
Washed three different cars with three different shampoos today. My usual shampoo is Adams car wash for the last few years, but I bought a few more to sample. I used everything at the recommended dilutions. All of these cars have several coats of wax on them. I also had a trial size of Sonax but I dumped the bucket over with the hose before I got started, d'oh!



Suds:

Duragloss and Adam's have the best suds. Griots had good firm suds in the bucket, but not so much when spreading on the car. The Adam's car wash suds are awesome. Duragloss suds are just as good. Meg's Gold Class suds were not nearly as good in this direct comparison. I had to re-agitate the bucket a couple of times while washing a SUV with Megs.



Lubrication:

Duragloss and Adam's were the best. They seem to glide over the paint. I'd give the edge to Duragloss. Griots lubrication was better than Gold Class but not as good as Duragloss. Gold Class was last.



Cleaning ability -

Well they are car washes so no surprise they all got the cars clean. However, the Duragloss did a better job than Gold Class, which once again brought up the rear. Duragloss handled some melted gum type stuff that somehow kicked up the drivers door with very light pressure just going over it a few times. I'd attribute this cleaning ability also to the Collinite 845 and AG HD that were protecting the car; I doubt it would have been so easy without the wax on there. The Griots was used on a car that only had pollen on it so no real cleaning ability feedback.



Smell:

Gold Class - not sure how to describe this, but I like it. Werthers candy maybe?

Griots - Seemed odorless to me when washing, at least compared to the others.

Adams - Great smell.

Duragloss - Cough syrupy but not too bad.



Cost:

Gold Class 64 oz - $8. Good for 21 washes using 3 oz to 3 gallons. 38 cents / wash.

Adam's 128 oz - $29.95. Good for 85 washes using 1.5 oz to 3 gallons. 35 cents / wash.

Duragloss 128 - $29.95. Good for 43 washes using 3 oz to 3 gallons. 70 cents / wash

Griots 128 oz - $ 39. Good for 85 washes using 1.5oz to 3 gallons. 46 cents / wash.



Gloss leftover:

I had to pull the cars into the garage quickly due to heavy pollen in the air, so I didn't get a chance to compare this. However, with good coats of wax on these cars I doubt it would have been noticeable differences.



Summary:



I'll stick with my usual - Adam's car wash, and start mixing Duragloss into the rotation as well. I won't buy Griots or Gold Class again. Nothing wrong with these products, but they aren't as good for suds and lubrication as Duragloss. Now, I must hide, since I know accumulator loves Griot's car wash!
 
Very nice test! I have not tried any of those you talked about. I am on a Magestic Solutions Ultra Gloss rampage lately, but running way low, from what I hear it is very similar to DG. Now, lubricity and safe washing is key for me, stupid honda paint is just way too gentle.
 
Oh one thing I forgot: the Griot's clear 16 oz bottle is awesome. Everyone should buy this product if for nothing else to get the bottle with the squeeze top and oz markings up the side. Griot's packaging = :goodjob Picked mine up at my local Advanced, although that's a wash now with free shipping direct from Griot's.



I've played around with the dilution ratios on Adam's but find that what they recommend on the bottle (1 oz: 2 gallons) is perfect. I've tried it at 1/2 oz: 2 gallons and at 1oz: 3 gallons over the last few years but noticed a considerable drop off on suds and lubrication.
 
extrabolts- I always read shampoo comparisons with great interest, so thanks for posting this!



And heh heh, I did get a kick out of your "Now, I must hide, since I know accumulator loves Griot's car wash! " :chuckle:



Interesting that you found the Duragloss to have greater lubricity than the Griot's! I don't care much about sudsing, but lubricity certainly *does* matter to me, so I'll have to give this some thought, though the coughsyrup smell might be a deal-breaker for me.



Wonder how the Duragloss would be on LSPs...one thing about the Griot's is that it seems incredibly gentle on the LSPs that I'm using.



Oh, BTW, I never thought much about the Griot's scent either, until somebody here mentioned "pinapples" and yeah, I think that *does* describe it....like a light "artificial pineapple" scent.
 
I did finally get a sample of Griot's and used it once so far.



My comments:



Scent - no real scent

Suds - Medium. It had light airy suds. Can produce suds on demand.

Cleaning - did not judge enough since a maintenance wash

Lubricity - less between the finger slickness as Optimum but did not notice much on paint using a RG wool mit

Rinsing - Very nice. The light suds pays off since if it dries some, it still rinses very cleanly.

Suds maintainance when dirty - Average. After washing wheels, it could not generate suds (Optimum has been best in this category)
 
Of those tested, I've used GC and DG. I think GC is a pretty good OTC shampoo. It has great lubricity, IME. Though, in general, I often use more shampoo than the directions call for, which probably helps. GC's cleaning power is ok, but not great.



DG disappointed me somewhat - lubricity is just ok, and though its cleaning power is good (better than GC) it's not great.



My all time favorite shampoo is 1Z Exclusiv Glanz - better than average lubricity and excellent cleaning power. Shame it's a bit hard to find, these days. I've tried their Perls shampoo, but I'm not crazy about it.
 
I'm almost out of my first bottle of DG and will be buying another for sure. I think I've tried every shampoo under the sun and DG is by far the best. Great suds, super slick and a little goes a long way.
 
Interesting review, funny how we all have favorites. I love DG for so many reasons. I actually like the smell, I love the lubricty and cleaning power, and it's very inexpensive.



Accumulator - ime it's a little tough on LSPs even if you use less than the recommended dilution. I use it for washes pre and post compounding. For washes where I want to maintain an LSP I will generally use Optimum Car Wash (which I like, but not as much as DG as a wash...but it seems less hard on LSPs). I wouldn't take DG strips LSPs, it just seems to have more cleaning power at the expense of more surfactants, thus, LSP dislike.
 
Picus- OK, copy that Re it being a little harsh. And yeah...everybody's "YMMV experiences" are interesting, huh? I wonder how much different water factors in :think:
 
Absolutely YMMV.



I have a whole house water softener and it has really helped on water spots and increasing suds production. The downside has been it cut the water pressure/flow slightly.
 
Accumulator said:
Picus- OK, copy that Re it being a little harsh. And yeah...everybody's "YMMV experiences" are interesting, huh? I wonder how much different water factors in :think:
Click to expand...



Good point. I have an in home water softener and use a CR spotless so my water is pretty good I think; I do seem to get a lot more suds at home than when I am mobile.
 
Picus said:
Good point. I have an in home water softener and use a CR spotless so my water is pretty good I think; I do seem to get a lot more suds at home than when I am mobile.
Click to expand...



Yeah, I soften my garage water too, but I only use the CRS for a final rinse (and only now and then).

Bunky said:
I have a whole house water softener and it has really helped on water spots and increasing suds production. The downside has been it cut the water pressure/flow slightly.
Click to expand...



Huh, interesting that it cut down your water delivery :think:
 
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