My review of Protect all Quick & Easy Wash

I

imported_crazeebush

New member
I know this topic has been slung around before, but I just wanted to share my experience with QEW. After reading all the good reviews from everyone here, I had to try it out. It's been cold here, and I usually end up pretty dang soaked washing my car. Wet enough that when cold outside, it's miserable. I thought this would be a good way to stay relatively dry and be able to stop and come back if I got cold. So, I mixed up a batch of the stuff per the directions, and used some hot water to keep my hands toasty. I used a 16"x16" microfiber for the washing, and my big waffleweave microfiber for the drying. The process went really quick and got my car squeaky clean. I didn't notice any marring of the surface. There was no streaking, and didn't leave any kind of soapy residue. Most important of all, I stayed dry! It's not messy at all. I did notice that the wash water got extremely dirty, so next time I will use 2 buckets. I feel this is a mandatory step. It just feels extremely un-autopian to be rubbing dirty water onto the car. Overall, I'm pleased with the product. It's not something I'd use during the summer, but I'm satisfied with the end result and the quickness of the process. One thing that makes me feel uneasy is that it seems that the drying step is also about half of the dirt removal. My waffleweave was extremely dingy from the dirt it picked up. :shocked But, as I said earlier, I didn't noticed any scratches from the process.



-Josh Bush
 
Originally posted by crazeebush One thing that makes me feel uneasy is that it seems that the drying step is also about half of the dirt removal. My waffleweave was extremely dingy from the dirt it picked up. :shocked But, as I said earlier, I didn't noticed any scratches from the process.



-Josh Bush [/B]
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What do you think is the reason? Wish I can grab some QEW here...
 
Well, after washing my mom's white Alero with QEW, it appears that the solution just picks up the dirt and holds it. So, the drying phase is picking up quite a bit of the dirt suspended in solution. I did notice on the back of the QEW bottle that if the car is real dirty to wash one more time before drying. I just picked up the waffleweave I used on the 3 cars, and it's not caked with dirt or anything, it just doesn't look quite new anymore if you catch my drift. It's not the bright green it once was.



-Josh Bush
 
Nice review. I just tried QEW for the second time. I felt comfortable enough after trying it on the wife's car to clean the Aurora with it (not that there was any point in it, because it snowed yesterday). Two buckets should help significantly. This is the way I used it both times. The rinse bucket got extremely dirty (and the car wasn't very dirty at all), but the QEW water stayed clean. I didn't have any dirt come off on my drying towel (DF Towel). I used a chenile sponge to wash with. The nice thing about the two bucket wash is you can dump the rinse water and refill when it gets too gross and not waste any QEW. I used a gallon of water and two capfuls of QEW, and it is more than enough. I usually had about 1 1/2 quarts left in the bucket (although I can't imagine trying to sop out every drop if I'd just used 1/2 a gallon).



It does take me less time to wash the car than with the hose, and I think it's primarily because the drying goes so much quicker (no final rinse to sheet or anything, and the car is just less wet). It took me about an hour to clean the 'Roara, whereas a hose wash usually takes me 1 1/2 to almost 2 hrs. :shocked However, with a QEW wash the undercarriage doesn't get a spray-down, the wheelwells don't get sprayed down, and the tires don't get cleaned. I wouldn't replace hose washes with QEW, but QEW is a very nice additional tool.



I've noticed that a capful of QEW is less than a 1/2 ounce. I've used 4 capfuls, and gave 4 capfuls to my dad to try. So that should be 4 ounces, or 1/4 of the 16 oz. bottle. But the bottle is about 5/6 full. :nixweiss
 
the two bucket method, did you put QEW in the second bucket or just tap water alone?

So that you rinsed out your wash towel/sponge in the second bucket and then loaded up with QEW treated water and washed another section.. is this correct?



Thanks

Dana
 
dboat said:
the two bucket method, did you put QEW in the second bucket or just tap water alone?

So that you rinsed out your wash towel/sponge in the second bucket and then loaded up with QEW treated water and washed another section.. is this correct?



Thanks

Dana
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I just filled the rinse bucket up with warm tap water. Here's what I do:



Take dirty (or clean if starting at beginning) sponge and rinse out in the rinse bucket. Wring out all the water possible from sponge. Try not to stir up the rinse bucket too much, though, as most of the crud will settle on the bottom. Set sponge in QEW bucket and squeeze a few times to get full of QEW. Squeeze out excess from sponge (I try to keep it just wet enough that it isn't actively dripping). Wipe down whatever part of the car you need to clean. The sponge should hold all the dirt, it wasn't left suspended on the paint in my experience. Dry the clean panel off (I dry a little less area than I cleaned [unless the cleaned area butts up against another cleaned area] so there is no chance of pulling the towel across a dirty area). Repeat.



Maybe on a dirtier car some dirt will be left suspended. I don't know. Scottwax has recommended drying first with a damp towel, followed by a dry one. Maybe that is to take care of any suspended dirt. I tried that way the first time I used QEW, but didn't notice any dirt on the damp towel and thus didn't see a need to do it.
 
I had Scottwax do my wifes SUV.. the stuff looked pretty cool.. it was kinda weird because I had pulled out the hose for him and he brings a bucket of water with him. So I am going to get some so that when its cold outside, I can still wash the trucks..

thanks

Dana:up
 
I did my 7800th or so car today with QEW. Still working good for me!



I don't normally use two buckets (one to rinse the wash pad) unless the vehicle is horribly filthy. Even when the QEW water is nearly black, the stuff cleans great.



I do have some brushes I use for the wheels wells when I clean the wheels with QEW. Usually you can just use the brush the gravity pulls the water and grime down. I then just take a terry cloth towel and get the rest. QEW also works great on the wheels.
 
I did a QEW wash today, and it still took me about an hour. :(



I just used one bucket and one gallon. The water did get pretty black, but it cleaned okay till the end (wheels/tires) and I have a wire mesh cage halfway up the bucket anyway to stop me from stirring up the silt on the bottom.



Dried with 2 medium sized terry towels and 1 MF cloth, and it went faster than in the past. I think it helped that the towels were a bit damp from having just been washed and they weren't completely dry yet.



How long does it take you to do a midsize sedan again Scott? :confused:
 
4DSC-takes me about 20 minutes or so to wash the body of the car and another 10 or so to wipe down the door jams and clean the wheels.



Hey, after using the stuff for nearly 10 years, you get pretty fast at it.
 
I didn't time myself, but it seemed as if it went about as fast as regular washing and drying. If you think about it, you're doing it all at once, so it seems like it's taking a while. I like being able to see the results as you go. You can step back and admire the car for a second before moving around. I didn't feel as rushed because of worrying about water drying on the surface of the car. QEW definately has a place in my detailing arsenal. Now, if only I could scrounge up enough for a PC.



-Josh Bush
 
Scottwax said:
4DSC-takes me about 20 minutes or so to wash the body of the car and another 10 or so to wipe down the door jams and clean the wheels.
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Door jams?!? What door jams? :p



I'd like to knock at least 15 minutes off my time. Realistically though, I don't think that's going to happen this year. :D
 
4DSC said:




I'd like to knock at least 15 minutes off my time. Realistically though, I don't think that's going to happen this year. :D
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It goes a lot faster if the temperatures are 50+ and the humidity is low. Real cool, humid days add another 10-20 minutes to the time just because it is harder to get each panel completely dry.
 
How do you use quick and easy wash on really hot days. I tried a couple days ago and it seems like you have to work very fast when it's hot out or else the q&e dries and leaves dirt and water spots on the surface of the paint. Also has anyone ever used a chamois with this product. If so how well did it work?
 
I take it that this stuff is useful up north where it snows a lot. The hose and sprayer is still my friend when it comes to washing the car. Plus, how do you dislodge the loose dirt around the wheel wells? You'll end up getting a lot of towels dirty for that.
 
I have used this with great success for about 1 year now.

If the car is really dirty, I take it to a DIY wash and blast it off before I QEW at home.

Wheel wells are tough but they can be done, (after the DIY blast), with a long handled brush.

I have an intricate wheel pattern and I use an OXO brush on the wheels followed by an MF soaked in QEW. For the car I use a cotton chenille covered sponge. I follow the passes of the sponge with a Pak Shak 24x24 damp MF.

This takes care on any remaining QEW on the surface with no need for a follow-up blot dry except in really cold weather. When it's really cold I blot the surface dry with a Waffle Weave MF.

I use 4 buckets 1 W/QEW and one rinse for the wheels, 1 QEW and one rinse for the car. Sometimes if the car is too dirty, I even use 2 extra buckets. I follow my QEW wash with Poorboy's Spray and Wipe and my car is sparkling. It is time consuming but at least I don't have to dry the car which to me is the worst part of detailing!!! I also live in a condo so I have no other choice but to become a QEW expert.

I have NEVER had any problems with QEW. No scratches,

marring etc. I love the stuff.

HTH Regards, Eric
 
Ok, I've been skeptical of this product, but this review seals it, where can I buy some because I remember someone said it was available locally?
 
Greg, Yep, I got some at a local RV supply. It is really popular with the motor home owners. I think it cost $12 or so. Very reasonable considering how little is needed for each wash.

I used it for the first time a couple weeks ago. It may just be me, but I feel better using two buckets. One with the QEW and one plain rinse water.

I agree it works great on wheels also. What I found was it doesn't work very well on tires though. I tried using a terry cloth towel with the QEW after I finished the car. Need to find a quick and easy tire cleaner.
 
Greg said:
Ok, I've been skeptical of this product, but this review seals it, where can I buy some because I remember someone said it was available locally?
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There should be a link somewhere at www.protectall.com or you can call your local RV dealers because a lot of them carry it. Make sure you specify you want the wash and not the wax (unless you want to try the wax which seems like a more durable QD type product).
 
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