P21S Total Auto Wash?

jdthompson

New member
The last three weeks I've not bothered with the Gilmour and have simply done a pre-wash by going over the car with the pressure sprayer filed with a glug of Swarfega shampoo topped up with warm water and then leaving it five minutes before pressure washing off.



With the current dry weather I think I'm getting pretty damned close to a touchless wash (though as the car is metallic grey you can't really tell until you see what colour the rinse water goes).



I'm running low on the Swarfega, and I wondered if the Total Auto Wash is a viable alternative?



I believe it can be used for this application very, very diluted so 1L should go a long way?



Any comments/suggestions?
 
I would NOT use TAW for a car wash...it's an effective wax stripper :( Great product for targeted jobs!
 
Yeah I knew it would strip wax if used in heavier dilutions, wasn't sure if there was a dilution that would give good dirt eating/soaking power whilst being wax friendly?



Appreciate suggestions on alternatives. Is good old Meguiars APC suitable diluted weak enough?



I've found with the Gilmour the bulk of the product simply drains off so you waste a lot. With the pressure sprayer because the spray is a lot lighter it seems to stick to the surfaces much better.
 
I don't think that using an APC as a substitute for a car wash is a good idea, unless you are trying to strip wax. Furthermore, the Meguiars APC will not provide the necessary lubricity to wash without marring the surface, IMO.
 
mikebai1990 said:
I don't think that using an APC as a substitute for a car wash is a good idea, unless you are trying to strip wax. Furthermore, the Meguiars APC will not provide the necessary lubricity to wash without marring the surface, IMO.



Just to clarify, I'm talking simply about as a pre-wash not in the wash bucket.



I know that in a low enough dilution it will strip wax, I'm interested in peoples experiences of what shifts the most dirt as a pre-wash without stripping wax/lsp.
 
I played around with all the various applications of TAW back in the day when I first started using it. IMO it's a pretty fine line between cleaning and stripping; even in weak concentrations it's mighty hard on LSPs. The TAW simply doesn't work very well for what you're contamplating (or at least it didn't for me) and I'd much rather use a stronger-than-normal shampoo mix for the job.
 
Back
Top