Still use Sonax BSD? My experience...

E

evan631

New member
I accidentally ordered a bottle of Sonax BSD from Amazon. Rather than cancelling the order I decided to give it a try. I am not a detailer, just someone that likes to take car of their car.

I recently purchased a new car and haven`t had it detailed other than how the dealer delivered the car. I`ve done several washes, but noticed during the last wash i wasn`t getting much beading when I soaked the car down. I finished my wash and re-soaked. I then used the Sonax BSD as a drying aid. Spray a bit onto the wet hood and dried.

Two-three weeks later... the car was fairly dirty (but too cold to wash). However, after a recent rain storm I am still getting a good bead, and once the car was dry it looked like it was just washed.

What`s your thoughts on Sonax BSD? Are you guys still using it? How are you using it? I know it`s an older product, but just wanted to see what you thought.

As for being too cold to wash....I am having a hard time coming up with a plan for winter wash here in NY with no access to a hose in condo. I checked out the self-wash spot that is local to me, but they have brushes on the power washer...that`s a big NO for me. I need to see if i can use the washer with out the brush, and use my own mitt and rinse bucket.

-Evan
 
Sonax BSD is still used by many members here and, along with its big brother PNS, it’s a forum favorite. It does bead and self clean well.

Not sure where in NY you are, I’m from Syracuse. I can’t help too much with the winter condo issue, I do Rinseless washes (RWs) in my garage during the winter. You could try a RW at the car wash bay after doing a spray down if that’s possible where you are. But it should be above freezing to do an RW, otherwise it freezes on the paint. 35-40 degrees is fine if it’s not real windy.
 
BSD is awesome... still use it personally. I`m trialling a home brew concoction of 50/50 BSD and Megs HCW in a 256:1 ONR solution - I think it should be named BEAD KEEPER
 
bodidly22 said:
BSD is awesome... still use it personally. I`m trialling a home brew concoction of 50/50 BSD and Megs HCW in a 256:1 ONR solution - I think it should be named BEAD KEEPER
Click to expand...

Does your HCW separate in the ONR solution? Mine does, however I tried the mix at 1oz ONR: 30oz H20: 1oz HCW.
 
I still use both. I think it`s a great combo for those who don`t want to dive into the world of coatings!
 
BSD is still one of my absolute favorites. Relatively easy to work with, smells delicious, price is great for how much you get in the bottle, and it has some of the best hydrophobics for a spray detailer/sealant on the market. Durability tested at 4 months and it was still hanging on by a thread without re-topping on the daily driver. Only thing missing is slickness, which in my environment with our hard water is one of the first properties to die down for most of the products I work with. The PNS + BSD combo is one that I could live with forever, and not break the $45 price point for both.
 
Loach said:
BSD is still one of my absolute favorites. Relatively easy to work with, smells delicious, price is great for how much you get in the bottle, and it has some of the best hydrophobics for a spray detailer/sealant on the market. Durability tested at 4 months and it was still hanging on by a thread without re-topping on the daily driver. Only thing missing is slickness, which in my environment with our hard water is one of the first properties to die down for most of the products I work with. The PNS + BSD combo is one that I could live with forever, and not break the $45 price point for both.
Click to expand...

If you need something slick, give Mckee`s 37 RFW&W at 1-2oz : 30-29 oz H2O : 1oz OPT OCW, a try. So far it is the slickest combo next to DPC Revive + Reflect. In due time I would really like to try out Ultima Acrylic WW and Acrylic Wax for QD duty, as research and intuition tells me that it will be slick. For context, just received a bottle of Mckee`s 37 Trademark Extender Spray Wax, the RFWW/OCW combo is noticeably slicker than M37 TESW. Dust is a huge issue for me, and I want to minimize its desire to be attracted to the car, I think the acrylic will be one of my best tools to help fight dust. Back to scheduled programming:

I`d love to try BSD, have read and seen great things about it, however I`m too cheap for it. If I am using a QD it needs to be super affordable, super slick, and not require intensive washing to clean from mf towels.



OP: My current wash process (applicable to cold weather):
Gather supplies
Drive to coin-op
Wash wheels via waterless wash technique (coin-op is close to home, wheels stay cool)
Pretreat the vehicle w/ whatever mix I have in the Scott`s garden sprayer or IK9
Walk around the vehicle again to unload garden sprayer or IK9
Wait a minute for pretreat to work its magic
Rinse car off with regular rinse water
Rinse car with spot free rinse
One section at a time, pretreat panel with ONR at 256:1 for added lubrication (can use tap water)
Go around vehicle completing rinseless wash
Dry each panel at a time with drying aid of choice
Finish all the little things like door jams, wheels and tires, windows, etc.

For a winter application:
Keep the vehicle turned off when washing the wheels
Turn the vehicle back on for pretreatment until the end, keep the heat blasting to help increase panel temperature. This method works, for me, in temps ranging from 32F to 20F. I haven`t tried temps colder than 20F outside, I mean, would you? The main goal is to keep panel surface temp above 32F, the higher the better. Unfortunately the colder the ambient, the harder it is to retain the panel surface temp.
 
evan631- Nothing wrong with "Older-Tech" products. Glad it`s working so well for you. MAYBE...it`ll work so well that you could do OK with a Touchless carwash, if you can find one.
 
TheMeanGreen said:
If you need something slick, give Mckee`s 37 RFW&W at 1-2oz : 30-29 oz H2O : 1oz OPT OCW, a try. So far it is the slickest combo next to DPC Revive + Reflect. In due time I would really like to try out Ultima Acrylic WW and Acrylic Wax for QD duty, as research and intuition tells me that it will be slick. For context, just received a bottle of Mckee`s 37 Trademark Extender Spray Wax, the RFWW/OCW combo is noticeably slicker than M37 TESW. Dust is a huge issue for me, and I want to minimize its desire to be attracted to the car, I think the acrylic will be one of my best tools to help fight dust. Back to scheduled programming:

I`d love to try BSD, have read and seen great things about it, however I`m too cheap for it. If I am using a QD it needs to be super affordable, super slick, and not require intensive washing to clean from mf towels.



OP: My current wash process (applicable to cold weather):
Gather supplies
Drive to coin-op
Wash wheels via waterless wash technique (coin-op is close to home, wheels stay cool)
Pretreat the vehicle w/ whatever mix I have in the Scott`s garden sprayer or IK9
Walk around the vehicle again to unload garden sprayer or IK9
Wait a minute for pretreat to work its magic
Rinse car off with regular rinse water
Rinse car with spot free rinse
One section at a time, pretreat panel with ONR at 256:1 for added lubrication (can use tap water)
Go around vehicle completing rinseless wash
Dry each panel at a time with drying aid of choice
Finish all the little things like door jams, wheels and tires, windows, etc.

For a winter application:
Keep the vehicle turned off when washing the wheels
Turn the vehicle back on for pretreatment until the end, keep the heat blasting to help increase panel temperature. This method works, for me, in temps ranging from 32F to 20F. I haven`t tried temps colder than 20F outside, I mean, would you? The main goal is to keep panel surface temp above 32F, the higher the better. Unfortunately the colder the ambient, the harder it is to retain the panel surface temp.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the ideas!
 
Not sure if we have any touchless car washes here on long island. I will look into it.

Accumulator said:
evan631- Nothing wrong with "Older-Tech" products. Glad it`s working so well for you. MAYBE...it`ll work so well that you could do OK with a Touchless carwash, if you can find one.
Click to expand...
 
BSD is still my favorite quick detailer. Easy to use and provides amazing self cleaning properties. I`ve tried many after and always come back.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top