Need some quick feedback: QEW changed or gone bad?

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imported_Aurora40

New member
I had a few 16 ounce bottles of Protect-All's QEW that I bought probably 2-3 years ago. I've been working through them, and when I was down to one bottle, I went and bought a gallon locally from an RV place.



I just used up the last 16 ounce bottle, and refilled it from the gallon. However, the stuff from the gallon container appears to be a darker blue color, and also has a mild scent just like children's bubble solution. The little bottles that come with the bubble wand in them.



Is this normal? Did the formula change?



The reason I ask is that it appears to perform worse than I am used to. The soap water does feel slipperier than the plain rinse water (rubbing my fingers together in the water). However, it leaves the cleaned surface feeling very grabby. And it seems to do a pretty poor job of removing mild bug marks on the car. Possibly it's because the 'vette has had its wax abused by ~1500 miles of road tripping, Mr Clean car washing, etc, and there's no wax left. But even still QEW has usually left a reasonably smooth/slick surface behind. So I'm concerned maybe this stuff went bad and I shouldn't use it?
 
I'm not the best one to ask but it could have been formulated incorrectly (too much water) or perhaps a bad batch. The new kid on the block is Optimum No Rinse. I don't know what happened to QEW but they don't seem to be so popular anymore. A lot of places have dropped it.
 
I always hit the QEW bucket with a few sprays of some QD. I now have ONR and there is really no big difference IMO.
 
I've used QEW for a while. There may very well be newer and better products out there, but that won't make my QEW perform any worse than it did previously. I'm not looking for better options, rather trying to determine if the gallon I have is proper or has something wrong with it. :)



So for you guys who do or have used QEW, does the newest stuff smell like bubbles?



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Did you shake up the gallon solution thoroughly before using it? If it has been sitting on the shelf at a RV store untouched for a while, it may have settled.
 
fwiw I used onr for the first time the other day and my paint was very grabby after. Even with z5p on the car. My towels did not want to glide over the car to dry it off.
 
truzoom said:
Did you shake up the gallon solution thoroughly before using it? If it has been sitting on the shelf at a RV store untouched for a while, it may have settled.
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Oh yes, I shook it up quite vigorously. I'm a weirdo about that, I even shake up my spray bottle of distilled water for some reason...
 
I haven't used QEW in a couple years now since side by side, ONR leaves the paint noticably slicker and glossier. Maybe QEW has taken notice and reformulated their stuff, and maybe it isn't working as good as expected.



I might run by the place I was buying QEW from and pick up a 16 oz bottle and see if it is different from what I remember it being like when I used it.
 
I have used both and prefer the QEW over ONR. I did notice the last time I picked up a 1/2 gallon that the older stuff on the shelf was a slightly different color and it had some stuff sitting on the bottom like it was growing mold. Needless to say I bought the newer stuff. I think QEW tends to sit on RV shop shelves for a long time. Mine is a few years old and still works awesome.
 
What about those wanting to use up their QEW in favor of ONR? Maybe add a half cap to your QEW bucket for added slickness? ;)
 
Mindflux said:
What about those wanting to use up their QEW in favor of ONR? Maybe add a half cap to your QEW bucket for added slickness? ;)
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I gave up QEW partially because ONR is noticeably slicker. ONR also cleans better and does a much better job on glass. Got to give it up to QEW for coming up with the idea in the first place, used it for 12 year with excellent results.
 
Scottwax said:
I gave up QEW partially because ONR is noticeably slicker. ONR also cleans better and does a much better job on glass. Got to give it up to QEW for coming up with the idea in the first place, used it for 12 year with excellent results.
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right. So add some onr to your qew batches to help it out until it is all gone! ;)
 
Just an update. I contacted Protect-All about my concern with the product. They sent me a 16 oz bottle of QEW to compare to my gallon, and a container to send them back a sample of mine that they could check out. They also included a full size can of Protect-All spray (it's sort of a quick wax/spray wax type product). They were also very helpful in terms of suggestions about what may have caused the problem/ways to use the product for better results.



I haven't tried the QEW they sent yet, but it does have the same "bubbles" smell as my gallon. I will post a follow-up on if they perform differently. But I am impressed by how they have handled things.



Edit: Oh, they also mentioned the formula hasn't changed in about ten years.
 
Mindflux said:
right. So add some onr to your qew batches to help it out until it is all gone! ;)
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I used up most of what I had on wheels and fenderwells. I may still have a little left somewhere. My Dad has some but he hasn't used it since I gave him a quart of ONR.
 
Bob, I hope it works well for you. I had to give up QEW cause it irritated the skin on my hand some awful. ONR was right on time. But hey, if it still works for you keep using it.:) Good to see you around.
 
I used the new stuff they sent me. It worked exactly like it used to. At the end I mixed up the suspect stuff and tried it on part of the hood. It was grabby with the wash mitt and grabby with the towel. So I definitely got a bad batch of the stuff.
 
jedovaty said:
how's that spray they gave you? I have a couple friends who use it, "polish wax and treatment" (PWT).. apparently it has UV blockers and carnuba? They use it like a qd, although it sort of reminds me more of aquawax, upp, ocw, etc etc....



Protect All Polish, Wax & Treatment Does It All!
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So far so good. Seems like a nice product. Of course I already have tons of nice products. It is easy to use, and leaves a nice shine. I'm not a fan of aerosols, but they are easy to use. I just feel like you get less for your money with them, and they waste more product. They do make it in a non-aerosol though.



It applies like a QD, though requires slightly more buffing than a QD. And I wouldn't use it on anything dusty like I might with a QD. It does leave the finish quite slick. We'll see how it lasts, etc.
 
I got a gallon of QEW a few years ago and it had clumps of what looked like wax or something in it and some weird white pine-needle looking stuff also. Worked ok, but I prefer ONR. Seems better and can be used as a QD also.
 
I guess I'll buy some ONR. I've heard nothing back from Protect-all, I guess in exchange for a bad gallon of QEW, I get one 16 oz bottle of it and a can of their spray wax...



I won't be buying QEW locally again, as I don't really want to get burned on a second gallon, so if I'm going online, I may as well try ONR.
 
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