My take on the Edge Shmitt prototype

awd330

awd330

"Beep Beep"
I recently received a sample of the new Edge wash mitt prototype. I had seen the thread that Aaron Krause posted a few weeks ago, but the product description didn’t really pique my interest since I have been satisfied with my current crop of washing tools. Quite frankly, the concept of the Shmitt seemed to invoke images of an over-priced sponge. I generally don’t like using sponges for washing cars, but I try to keep an open mind about detailing products. When a Shmitt unexpectedly showed up on my doorstep, I decided to give it a try. My sample has the soft white wave foam paired with the yellow light scrubbing foam. It is about the same size as a rotary Edge pad. Here are a few pictures of the Schmitt.
 
My normal washing tools are a cotton chenille mitt plus a sheepskin bonnet that attaches to a long pole. I only use the sheepskin tool for washing the tops of tall vehicles. I use the cotton chenille mitt for everything else except wheels/wells/tires (I have a whole slew of brushes for those tasks). Here is a picture of the Shmitt and my usual wash tools.
 
How well does the Shmitt perform? Much better than I expected. In fact, I’m going to try using it as my primary washing tool for a few weeks. The white wave patterned foam of the front section is very soft and glides over the paint a bit more smoothly than either the cotton chenille or sheepskin. The yellow scrubbing foam of the back section seems to do a good job of removing those really stubborn bug stains without scouring the finish. The mitt fit snugly throughout the entire washing process. This is unusual because I have very small hands and most mitts either slip off or flop around on my hand. The hand pocket seems to conform around the shape of the hand inside it. The foam holds a decent amount of wash solution/suds. It also rinses completely free of debris! I only had to agitate the Shmitt in a wash bucket and rub my free hand over the surface now and then to clean off the foam. I finished washing two vehicles and did not notice any marring on light metallic colors. Afterwards, I rinsed out the Shmitt in the sink with just warm tap water. The Shmitt emerged looking almost new. There was a small smudge mark on each side and a pinhead sized piece of foam torn out of the white side.
 
Aaron has mentioned that Shmitts would be customizable like the Edge pads. I would personally prefer the whole Shmitt to be made of the softer white foam since my cars are well maintained, but I can certainly see why the yellow scrubbing foam would be quite useful too. I would probably want a separate Shmitt with all yellow foam to tackle those tougher jobs like bugs/tar. A third with yellow and black foam might also be good for wheels (yellow) and tires (black).

It is my understanding that pricing has not yet been set, though we shouldn’t expect them to be priced at the low end of the mitt market. If the Shmitts turn out to be very durable, then a high price would be justifiable. I need to continue using the Shmitt for a few more weeks before I decide whether or not it will be able to replace cotton chenille as my wash tool of choice. Preliminary findings are encouraging, but more testing is required.
 
awd330 said:
I recently received a sample of the new Edge wash mitt prototype.
Thanks for the detailed review Marj! and so pleased you found the performance the same as we have. Just wanted to clarify that the sample was not a prototype but in fact a production peice and we are currently in production and offering the product. We were shooting for Sept 1st launch and looks like we are right on schedule! Contact your favorite detail supplier for pricing and details. ShMitts should be up on our webiste by early next week!!


Aaron Krause (President & CEO)
777 Henderson Blvd.
Suites # 1 & 2
Folcroft, PA 19032
---------------------------------------
 Phone: (610) 583-4883
 Fax: (610) 583-4885
 Email: aaron@dedicationtodetail.com
Website: www.edgepads.com
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Interesting comments on the Edge Schmitt, awd 330(Marj) Have read many of your posts.

Is the construction of the mitt high quality? How is the two different pads connect? ARe they sewed together? Is it chemically bonded?

Another question ....Since you made comment about your small hands kind of form fitting in the mitt do you think that a person with rather thick hands would stretch the hand pocket. I know it is hard to say for sure but would like an opinion of how well you think the hand pocket will hold up.

Will look forward to your update on how well the foam holds up after multiple washings. Am also interested in the wear of the foam since there was a pin sized piece of foam missing. Do you think that the foam was taken out by a badge or chrome trim?

Than you for taking the time to post this review. I personally appreciate the quality pictures as well.
 
cwcad said:
Interesting comments on the Edge Schmitt, awd 330(Marj) Have read many of your posts.

. Am also interested in the wear of the foam since there was a pin sized piece of foam missing. Do you think that the foam was taken out by a badge or chrome trim?

Than you for taking the time to post this review. I personally appreciate the quality pictures as well.
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I was also interested with this small pin hole in the foam this always happens with my polishing pads esp the orange LC pad. Durability and marring is a concren for me. So far i have been really happy with my euro mitts.Im holding out for further testing
 
I wanted to respond to some of the initial comments but I also want Marj to feel free to respond as well.
As far as the size of the hand pocket, well I am 6'2'' and have large hands and I designed the mitts around my hand. One of the reasons I sent them to Marj to test, other than her very detailed reviews, was that she is very small and I wanted to know if the size would fit her as well. The mitts were made to fit all size hands and since its foam it has elastic properties so even large hands will feel comfortable inside.
As for the tear, the foam is made from our very durable buffing foam and will last, even outlast any wool type fibre mitt for several reasons. First, each and every time you use the fibre type mitts you change the texture because the hairs will lay down and become more and more entangled, many times with dirt. They will also leave hair ripped out on the car on sharp areas like emblems and metal lettering. Instead of leaving hairs that you need to go and pick out, the foam might tear a bit but that does not change the texture of the mitt one bit, nor does it render the mitt useless. Unless you actually rip the mitt apart in half it should last and last.
Finally, the top peice is heat sealed and will not delaminate unless you subject the mitt to heat above 200F so machine washing will be fine in cold water and air drying is recommended.
 
Thanks for the response. Asked and answered.

I use my foam pads many times with a few tears so I am sure that there would be no problems using a foam pad by hand. Although it intrigued me to read that there was a portion missing from one use. I wonder if that will be the norm with the use of this pad? Each time that one uses the pad it will leave a portion with the vehicle. This will make the use of the pad finite in its longevity. Maybe it is of no import because the longevity is probably still great.

I have a question for you Aaron. I wash very seldom because I am a QD junkie. There are QD type products out there that can be used on a wet vehicle. Since the foam of the Wash Schmitt rinses out so completely do you think that this mitt could be use as an applicator for this wet type of QD?
 
Well, I think Marj said it was used on two washes not one, and only left a "pin hole" which is quite small so I beleive that durability is not going to be an issue. We have several other mitts out in testing at real detail shops and they have lasted months washing many cars each day. Like I mentioned before a small tear here and there is not going to affect anything unlike the wool fibre type mitts where the texture becomes more rough each use and becomes full of dirt, and leaves wool hairs on the car. As for the QD, I don't have any experience with that type of products but I believe that the mitt works great as an applicator of many products as well.
 
The tear in the foam is really just the size of a pinhead. I've taken a close-up picture here to show you the size of the tear in relation to the pores of the foam. The tear was there after washing two vehicles. When I wash using my normal cotton chenille mitt, I would expect to lose at least one or two strands of fiber on each vehicle. Mostly, they get caught up on either the rear badging or the windshield wipers. The fact that the Shmitt came away with only this one small tear is actually a testament to its good durability. Further testing is required to see how well Shmitts hold up over the long haul.
 
The two halves of the Shmitt seem to be bonded together with some type of heavy duty adhesive. Perhaps Aaron can explain it a little better. I tried tugging at the seam to see if it would come apart, but it held up fine under reasonable force.

As I mentioned earlier, the mitt stays put on my Ladies Small glove sized hand. My husband wears a Men's Large glove size, so I made him try on the Shmitt for size. He had no trouble sliding his hand into the Shmitt and still had a bit of room left to spare.
 
cwcad said:
There are QD type products out there that can be used on a wet vehicle. Since the foam of the Wash Schmitt rinses out so completely do you think that this mitt could be use as an applicator for this wet type of QD?
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I thought this was a very interesting question, so I tried it myself. The answer would appear to be "No", the Shmitt does not make a good QD applicator.

I sprayed my normal amount of QD onto a panel, then primed the Shmitt with two light spritzes of QD (wouldn't want to drag dry foam across my paint even if the foam is very soft and had ridges). The Shmitt just spread some of the QD around where the highest points of the wave ridges made contact with the surface. Basically, it just smeared it around in an uneven manner. There was no way that I was going to be able to completely spread and wipe off the QD with the Shmitt. A plush and absorbent MF towel is the correct tool for this job.

[Edit: Added photo of results.]
 
awd330 said:
I thought this was a very interesting question, so I tried it myself. The answer would appear to be "No", the Shmitt does not make a good QD applicator.

I sprayed my normal amount of QD onto a panel, then primed the Shmitt with two light spritzes of QD (wouldn't want to drag dry foam across my paint even if the foam is very soft and had ridges). The Shmitt just spread some of the QD around where the highest points of the wave ridges made contact with the surface. Basically, it just smeared it around in an uneven manner. There was no way that I was going to be able to completely spread and wipe off the QD with the Shmitt. A plush and absorbent MF towel is the correct tool for this job.

[Edit: Added photo of results.]
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Hey AWD 330( Marj), thanks for taking the time. As stated in a previous post I am a QD junkie. I was rather excited about the possibilities of the wash Schmitt but your little test puts that idea back where it belongs. Filed permanently. LOL!!

Thanks again for your great posts of comments and pictures in this thread thread. Am anxious for October to come so I can get back into the detailing obcession full time.
 
Thanks from me too Marj! The pics are great and show what I expected. I also appreciate your test of the QD as I really have no experience with this product. I would however like to mention that the mitt has been tested as a polish and hand applicator and also a dressing applicator for leather and vinal and it works great in that application. I don't think that the waves so much were the problem with the QD application as is just the properties of the foam. It seems that product is wet and needs to be wiped off with something absorbant to dry the surface. The foam will not do that as it will keep absorbing and releasing a wet product like that. The ShMitts have been tested also as a household cleaning mitt for use on bathtubs, showers and shower doors, and I have cleaned all my lawn furniture using the black coarser mitts but I am sure there are tons of other applications for this product that have yet to be discovered!
 
holland_patrick said:
a small 4 inch finger tip type Shmitt would be great for appying waxes....
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Maybe the 4 inch would be good for tight spots on the interior for dressing but why would you want a smaller applicator for waxing?
 
The Edge said:
Maybe the 4 inch would be good for tight spots on the interior for dressing but why would you want a smaller applicator for waxing?
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I agree with Patrick. A smaller 4" Shmitt might be very nice for applying waxes, though I'm not sure if it would be better with or without the wave ridges. A wax applicator often needs to be maneuvered into some very tight spots (e.g. alongside trim pieces, between headlights and bumpers, around side mirrors, etc.). IMHO, the size of the current Shmitt is a bit unwieldy for spot touches like these. It can be compressed into a smaller shape, but not small enough without removing your hand from the pocket and folding the Shmitt in half.

Here are a couple photos showing a very small strip of paint between a windshield and a fabric convertible top. When the Shmit is placed on my hand in the normal washing position, it is too floppy to control within this tiny space. I can close my hand within the pocket to compress it (photo with yellow backing visible), but it's still too wide. Only by removing the mitt from my hand and folding it in half backwards (photo with no yellow foam visible) can it be made to fit.
 
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