QEW.....oh my

Let me just start out by saying I was VERY skeptical. I mean come on, how could you wash a dirty car without rinsing or needing a hose? Initially I used probably a little less water on my microfiber towel than I should have, but I loaded that sucker up and it cleaned much better :2thumbs:



It was so easy to use, even though it took about 40 minutes for me to do the whole car. I took my sweet time, since I didn't want to rush anything. I could probably do it in 20 minutes on my next try. My car was filthy today too. Hasn't been washed in almost 2 weeks and it has been raining here. My car is sparkling now!



I love this stuff! I think conventional washing will still have its place when the car is really dirty or when I clay it, but this stuff makes weekly washes a breeze once you get the hang of it! I definitely need to find a quality sponge instead of the MF towel though. Clearkote Quikshine made the paint super slick during the drying step. I currently have UPP as my sealant. I didn't QEW the glass, so I just used Eagle 1 20/20 as normal. Good, good stuff!



Now I need to get another bucket (I used my garage sink and warm water as a rinse bucket, I didn't like walking back and fourth), a sponge, and a nice quality MF drying towel.
 
I love QEW as well, a great concept that performs very well. I've been using a cotton chenille wash mitt to wash and a WW to dry. Works great and leaves a great finish, plus the ability to use warm water on cold days is always nice.
 
Welcome to the club of QEW-supporters! Everyone's a bit skeptical until they try it. Try adding some QD to the wash solution. It eliminates the need to QD afterward.
 
I too was skeptical, but I just tried mine yesterday on my buddy's car (lol) and it worked great! His truck was dirty as hell and hadn't been washed in over two weeks, with 3 rains since. No marring I could see and it seems to disolve the dirt, weird, but works great!
 
I just went out to the garage to S&G my car. I ended up dusting/QDing the horizontal surfaces, and just using QEW/S&G on the vertical panels. It's so easy to use QEW, so why not? :)
 
Neothin said:
Did you get any marring by using the QEW on a dirty car? This is what I'm most concerned about.



None at all, from what I can tell! At first, the MF towel may have been a little dry, but then I allowed it to soak up more of the water/QEW mix so there would be more lubricity. I got the hang of it now!



White95Max said:
Welcome to the club of QEW-supporters! Everyone's a bit skeptical until they try it. Try adding some QD to the wash solution. It eliminates the need to QD afterward.



Great idea! The QS really helped during the drying process both in slickness, and making it easier to dry.
 
Couple of questions for the QEW detailers.



Would the Ultra plush Chenille wash pad (from Meguiar's) be the proper washing instrument for QEW?

Is there anything better, I like the wide body brush from Meguiar's for SUV's and trucks for the top of the roof, I'm guessing this would not work for QEW. A ladder and a wash pad would be the best way to wash a tall vehicle?



Is a two bucket wash method better, or just a waste of water for a mobile detailer. Is a grit guard benficial for QEW (or detrimental if that is possible).



Is a waffle weave towel (from Pak Shak or Excel Detail) or a water magnet towel the best way to dry a car washed with QEW or just a regular MF towels or anything else?





Another question, for the detailers who use QEW, and don't use a mat to recycle water, how do you detail the engine without depositing more than 2 gallons of water? I'm wanting to do mobile without using a reclamation mat, and also not carrying 50 gallons of water, just 15 or 20 total gallons in my truck in 5 gallon containers. QEW sounds like a GODSEND for the 2 gallon rule, but worry about needing a pressure washer for detailing engines/wheels (wales)/ tires/ undercarriages etc. Will a steam cleaner and just QEW clean everything I need to do? How much water will a pressure washer dump cleaning an engine do u think on average?



Thanks for any help/suggestions. But it's better than me PMing the detailers out there ;)
 
I use MF towels to wash and dry my car when using QEW.



I use the two bucket method (yes it's most definitely a good idea) with QEW, and I have a GritGuard in my 5gal rinse bucket.



I detail engines by hand. No pressure washer needed.
 
1. The Meguiars chenille pad works great, I have several.

2. The grit guard is a good idea for any type of bucket washing.

3. I've done fine for more than 12 years using the one bucket method. I do go to two buckets on really filthy cars, mostly to preclean the nasty stuff first, then QEW wash as normal.

4. I use terry cloth towels with a deep nap for the first drying pass, than quickly follow with a plush mircrofiber towel.

5. I rarely deep clean engines due to liability concerns.
 
Scottwax said:
1. The Meguiars chenille pad works great, I have several.

2. The grit guard is a good idea for any type of bucket washing.

3. I've done fine for more than 12 years using the one bucket method. I do go to two buckets on really filthy cars, mostly to preclean the nasty stuff first, then QEW wash as normal.

4. I use terry cloth towels with a deep nap for the first drying pass, than quickly follow with a plush mircrofiber towel.

5. I rarely deep clean engines due to liability concerns.



Scottwax,





For Toyota Camry or MB E class size car, how many gallon of QEW do you use to wash this size of car?



I always end up 2 gallon without cleaning wheels.



Thanks.
 
I use the two bucket method, two sheepskin mitts, and I give each panel a couple shots of Eagle One Wax-As-You-Dry before drying them.



I definitely could not live without QEW!
 
White95Max said:
That would all depend on how dirty the car is.



The car wash weekly. It isn't that bad at all. Just thinking I might need to cut down the QEW If the rest of the pro are using less of this stuff.
 
Okay, so QEW works on the paint and windows but my wheels get much dirtier than the car. If I don't use a hose or a stream of water to wash/rinse the wheels, and use QEW with a MF towel, mitt or sponge, the dirt will never wash out of that. I have quite a few MF towels dedicated to final wheel cleaning and none of them wash clean. I am curious how you clean the wheels/tires when using QEW.
 
rad21 said:
Okay, so QEW works on the paint and windows but my wheels get much dirtier than the car. If I don't use a hose or a stream of water to wash/rinse the wheels, and use QEW with a MF towel, mitt or sponge, the dirt will never wash out of that. I have quite a few MF towels dedicated to final wheel cleaning and none of them wash clean. I am curious how you clean the wheels/tires when using QEW.



My wheels are filthy as well. I should have used a terry cloth, but I used a MF towel on my wheels last night with QEW. I was able to rinse it in my sink filled with warm water, then I used a laundry bar soap and lathered the towel up in that for about a minute. Then I did a few more rinses and the towel came out good enough to be used as a dedicated wheel towel from now on lol. It was black when I was through with the wheels, and now it only has a few spots that are still stained.
 
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