Soap Test

I

imported_Intel486

New member
I really need as many people to help come up with ideas for this one. Soap seems to be the hardest thing to test and I'd like to be able to put together a decent soap test. I'll be having a lot of free time in a few weeks so I'll be able to do it but need some info from you all. I wanna have everything setup so I can do the test in a few days.



First, what do you look for in a soap? So far I know you want lots of sud action. You want it to clean bird droppings, bugs, and other road grim off but leave wax. You want it to be slippery so it helps the dirt slide off and not scratch your paint. Anything else?



So, I'd like to be able to test how well it lubricates the surface, How well it suds, and how well it cleans w/o taking off wax.



Now, the lubricating part. This seems hard. I will have to do a test where I just feel it with my hands but there has to be a better way. I was thinking I might get some small pieces of metal and paint them. Then I'll use some sand and filtering out the big stuff so I just get that very light dust. Then I'll put that on a piece, wash it off, then inspect under bright lights. I'd have the piece polished to perfection first though. I'd have to redo it for every piece though... Any other ideas?



Cleaning ability is hard since it needs to take dirt off without removing wax. Maybe the ablility to remove dirt isn't a factor. Maybe if the soap lubricates better, then the friction from your wash mitt will be enough to pull stuff off the paint. Then the slipperyness of the soap will protect your paint? What do you think?



From this thread, ( http://www.autopia-carport.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8339&highlight=soap+testing ) PathfinderGuy recomended using grease on a plate of glass. Now, car soap shouldn't remove the grease should it? Only a detergent would remove the grease and if the soap is removing the grease then it would also remove wax? Right? Since a detergent treats wax like grease. So maybe I can use grease to check to see if the product would remove wax? Correct? If the soap doesn't take the grease off, then soap won't take wax off.



Any other ideas for testing soap or any other tests I could do?
 
Smell...mmmm



Tropical is always nice.



Of course, smell and price would have to be tie breakers since they aren't all important.



Be sure to include Zymol (made by TW) ;) .
 
OK, so I guess I should do a price and smell thing. Cheaper is not always better but it helps... and I sure do love the smell of the ProWax's Cherry Suds.
 
Some soaps claim to help restore the top layer of carnauba (Zymol by TW I know does this, afew others as well). You could test to see if the soap does have some slight carnauba content. This would be very good to know if you are doing a wash inbetween sealant layers, you definetly don't want carnauba left behind.



Some soaps claim to enhance the shine, wouldn't be a bad thing to test. How does it enhance the shine (quickdetailer type oils in the soap?), does it actually make a difference, etc



This would be pretty easy to test, just have a clean pannel, wash one side with the soap and see if that side looks better when dried.
 
It's less objective than price but IMO more important: Value.



For example, if something was $4/gal and didn't work so good, that's not good value. OTOH, my big Target bottle of Meg's Gold Class ($10/gal) seems to be pretty good value.



If you wanted to steer clear of the subjectivity (ha! :) ) you could at least calculate $/wash given the cost/oz. and oz. required/gallon of water.



Can't wait to see!

Robert
 
StyleTEG said:
Some soaps claim to enhance the shine, wouldn't be a bad thing to test. How does it enhance the shine (quickdetailer type oils in the soap?), does it actually make a difference, etc
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Can't we just add 5 drops of Klasse Glaze or your Zaino sealent into some mild car soap for a very light wash to wash and restore the shine or does the product HAVE to sit for a specific amount of time or else you wont get any results whatsoever.



For a car soap to help the shine of Zaino or Platinum I bet there is a little polymer sealent in the wash itself, how else could a soap that cleans off dirt and grease help the shine, it is supposed to strip greasy oils and stuff like that, not add them. Do you think there is another hidden chemical in the soap that allows the sealent to flash cure as it hits the paint so by the time we rinse off the suds the shining chemical is some how already cured. I don't know how it works but I have a good feeling there is a polymer sealent in the car wash.
 
Can't we just add 5 drops of Klasse Glaze or your Zaino sealent into some mild car soap for a very light wash to wash and restore the shine or does the product HAVE to sit for a specific amount of time or else you wont get any results whatsoever.
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I have wondered the same thing myself. I remember a post awhile back, about making a QD out of Klasse SG, by mixing a cap full into distilled water. I never tried this because SG isn't going to have any lubrication, and it is supposed to go on the car dry.
 
And I would do a search on "suds" or "suds" and "darbh." The topic of suds has been discussed for quite a while; most of us believe it has little to do with lubricity.
 
BW said:
And I would do a search on "suds" or "suds" and "darbh." The topic of suds has been discussed for quite a while; most of us believe it has little to do with lubricity.
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I was not going to do a suds test because I thought it incresed lubricity. I agree that it has nothing to do with it.



The reason I want to do it is because 1) some people like to wash with suds only and 2) Some people believe the suds hold the dirt in suspension waiting to be washed off.



I want to include that test so people who are looking for a soap with lots of suds can find one.
 
Perhaps the pH might be a consideration of how strong a soap may be (testing the pH of the correction dilution rather than full strength since that's not how it is used).
 
Meguiars Gold Class soap claims that it provides a "sheeting" action to make it easier to dry the car.



In normal conditions we want "beading"



Could this be tested?



:nixweiss
 
YoSteve said:
Perhaps the pH might be a consideration of how strong a soap may be (testing the pH of the correction dilution rather than full strength since that's not how it is used).
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What do I need to get a Ph reading?



cvcaelen said:
Meguiars Gold Class soap claims that it provides a "sheeting" action to make it easier to dry the car.



In normal conditions we want "beading"



Could this be tested?
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Sheeting means the water will run off the paint instead of sticking. For drying purposes sheeting would be better but I can figure a way to test it. Not sure how it makes the water sheet though without leaving something on the surface.
 
The easiest way I can think of is to buy some pH strips from a pool shop. You dip them into what your testing and compare the color to a scale. Where tenths of a point matter, this may not be very accurate.
 
The recommendation I believe was to use Klasse All in One with water to make a QD. If I remember right it was about 1 1/2 oz AIO with about 12 ounces of water. There were comments that it did work but agreement that most purpose made quick detailers were better.
 
You could also get pH testing strips at pet stores/aquarium shops. Since most soaps are alkaline, you could get the alkaline kit and you'd get better accuracy that way. But why is pH necessarily a test of soap strength or cleaning power? Isn't it just a test of how alkaline it is with no relation to actual cleaning power? I vaguely remember a high-school test where I found out Dove hand soap was neutral or acidic rather than alkaline....



It still might be a good idea to do a pH test though, since you could use that to judge "harshness" (assuming they don't all turn the strips dark blue :D).





Oh yeah, could you also please note what each soap smells like? It'd be nice to have one reference for soap scents.:xyxthumbs
 
JustinTRW said:
The easiest way I can think of is to buy some pH strips from a pool shop. You dip them into what your testing and compare the color to a scale. Where tenths of a point matter, this may not be very accurate.
Click to expand...



hmmm I should have thought of that... I mean, I have a freaking swimming pool too :P I don't have the dip sticks though, I have the thing you put a little water in each tube, add drops of stuff, count the drops, look on a chart, etc. I think I'll get the dip sticks though.



4DSC said:
You could also get pH testing strips at pet stores/aquarium shops. Since most soaps are alkaline, you could get the alkaline kit and you'd get better accuracy that way. But why is pH necessarily a test of soap strength or cleaning power? Isn't it just a test of how alkaline it is with no relation to actual cleaning power? I vaguely remember a high-school test where I found out Dove hand soap was neutral or acidic rather than alkaline....



It still might be a good idea to do a pH test though, since you could use that to judge "harshness" (assuming they don't all turn the strips dark blue :D).





Oh yeah, could you also please note what each soap smells like? It'd be nice to have one reference for soap scents.:xyxthumbs
Click to expand...



Well, a lot of places claim their soap is PH balanced so it won't hurt your previously applied wax. I'm assuming the more neutral the soap is the less wax it'll remove when you wash.



Also, I just found out smell of soap is very important. I've been using Prowax's cherry suds and it smells like cherries. Very nice to wash with. I recently bought a gallon of ProWax's C-60 Super Car Wash. It smells like my dog's flea soap. Smelled like I was washing a giant wet dog!
 
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