Storing your car shampoo?

[DigiDan]

Id like to know what everyone else does for storage of their car shampoo products.

My current system is a bit unorthodox, but it works to my needs:
- Thoroughly washed and rinsed clothes detergent jug (the type with the spigot on the side)
- Combine a gallon of Meguiars Gold Class & a gallon of Turtle Wax Wash (the green stuff)
- Shake them up, and continue to add alternating gallons when it runs low

Im prepared to take heat on this process ...but it works for me as I get benefits from Meguiars GC, and it goes farther when its cut with Turtle Wax which gives me good results at a reduced cost. I like the spigot side of the detergent jug as I can dispense exactly the amount I want, very easily.

Just curious what everyone is doing to store product. Are you just leaving it in its original bottle/jug, or do you have a better system in place?

 

[Accumulator]

I leave my 3D Pink in the 5 gallon bucket and my Griot`s Car Wash in the oe gallon jug, both with pump dispensers.

Since the vast majority of my shampoo use is based on a diluted mix (for the foamguns and for the spray bottle I use for wheels/wells/undercarriage), I save up my old gallon jugs from Griot`s and keep a few gallons of the mix handy (~3.5 oz of each shampoo + ~121oz water = ~1 gallon).

Just FWIW, and at the risk of sounding like a Shampoo Snob (guilty, though I won`t spend for stuff like Ultima ), I always found GC to be awfully mediocre, and I wouldn`t want to drag it further down the scale by mixing it with that TW (which I used many gallons of before changing my ways).

 

[Accumulator]

Hey, apostrophes! Well, sorta....good enough for me

 

[DigiDan]

You called me out, so enlighten me please! What rec`s do you have for better shampoo for a cost-conscious detailer? Griots? Duragloss?

I just hooked up a foam cannon over the weekend, and I can clearly see the benefits of better soap and diluting it with the pressure.

Thanks Accumulator!

 

[JustJesus]

...

My current system is a bit unorthodox, but it works to my needs:
- Thoroughly washed and rinsed clothes detergent jug (the type with the spigot on the side)
...

If that works for you, no need to change it up

I do similar. I took a gallon jug of Listerine (from my work`s breakroom, after it was empty) and after thoroughly cleaning it out, I use it with a mix of 3D Pink and Griot`s Car Wash. It came with a pump, so that`s why I used it. Otherwise, I have my 5 gal bucket sitting on the garage floor, and other smaller bottles of shampoo on a shelf in the garage.

Hey, apostrophes! Well, sorta....good enough for me

That`s funny! I bet that made you happy. I didn`t even notice the "reverse apostrophe" until you pointed it out! Good eye, sir.

You called me out, so enlighten me please! What rec`s do you have for better shampoo for a cost-conscious detailer? Griots? Duragloss?

I just hooked up a foam cannon over the weekend, and I can clearly see the benefits of better soap and diluting it with the pressure.

Thanks Accumulator!

Accumulator uses the 3D Pink Soap mixed with Griot`s Garage Car Wash Soap, as he noted in his post above. 3D Pink alone is a pretty good value.

 

[Accumulator]

If that works for you, no need to change it up ..

Yes, that. Just because *I* am not satisfied by something that doesn`t mean it`s wrong for everybody. (Hence the disclaimer about my being a Shampoo Snob.)

...3D Pink alone is a pretty good value.

Yes indeed! When it`s on sale the 5 gallon bucket is a pretty good value.

 

[Bert]

I leave my 3D Pink in the 5 gallon bucket and my Griot`s Car Wash in the oe gallon jug, both with pump dispensers.

Since the vast majority of my shampoo use is based on a diluted mix (for the foamguns and for the spray bottle I use for wheels/wells/undercarriage), I save up my old gallon jugs from Griot`s and keep a few gallons of the mix handy (~3.5 oz of each shampoo + ~121oz water = ~1 gallon).

Just FWIW, and at the risk of sounding like a Shampoo Snob (guilty, though I won`t spend for stuff like Ultima ), I always found GC to be awfully mediocre, and I wouldn`t want to drag it further down the scale by mixing it with that TW (which I used many gallons of before changing my ways).

3D pink still comes in 5 gallon buckets? I thought that was discontinued?

 

[PA DETAILER]

When i get megs hyperwash or any other soap, i try to get the gallon. And i use the pump dispenser.

 

[rlmccarty2000]

You are really missing out on the Ultima. Catch it on sale next Black Friday. It may be the best soap on the market for coated cars.

 

[ViperGuy21]

I`ll throw in my recommendation for Optimum Car Wash to complicate things a little more

 

[LEDetailng]

When my optimum car wash was all gone I used the empty bottle for Duragloss 902. I also like using old hand soap pumps and squeeze bottles. I store my Meg`s D114 in a hand soap pump. Easier than using the gallon every time.

 

[Accumulator]

You are really missing out on the Ultima. Catch it on sale next Black Friday. It may be the best soap on the market for coated cars.

I for one believe you guys who say that Ultima`s shampoo is All That, but with my per-wash shampoo consumption I`m simply never gonna find it cost-effective

 

[Mr. Slick]

I just get Meg`s gallon sizes of soap for $9 at Costco also have two mirror glaze soaps but I`m not sure what the difference is other than smell and it`s more expensive

 

[Accumulator]

Mr. Slick- IME the M62 is *much* better than most OTC shampoos. Better lubricity and encapsulation than stuff like Gold Glass.

It was M62 that started my transition from Shampoo Egalitarian to Shampoo Snob, though these days I relegate it to wheels/wells as even *it* isn`t good enough for me any more.

After *years* of believing that, basically, "all shampoos work out the same" and shopping by price, I realized through experience that I`m *FAR* less likely to instill wash-related marring when I use top-quality shampoos. Heh heh, otherwise I sure wouldn`t spend the extra money!

 

[House of Wax]

I would agree on the Gold Class.....does nothing for me.

Optimum Car Wash, HD Wash, and CarPro Reset are a couple I like. I usually just leave stuff in whatever container it came in.

 

[Mr. Slick]

Mr. Slick- IME the M62 is *much* better than most OTC shampoos. Better lubricity and encapsulation than stuff like Gold Glass.

It was M62 that started my transition from Shampoo Egalitarian to Shampoo Snob, though these days I relegate it to wheels/wells as even *it* isn`t good enough for me any more.

After *years* of believing that, basically, "all shampoos work out the same" and shopping by price, I realized through experience that I`m *FAR* less likely to instill wash-related marring when I use top-quality shampoos. Heh heh, otherwise I sure wouldn`t spend the extra money!

Thanks. What high priced shampoo is even better? How about Swissvax car bathe?

 

[Accumulator]

Thanks. What high priced shampoo is even better? How about Swissvax car bathe?

I`ve never tried that one and I only buy stuff that`s available in gallons.

IMO you don`t need to go real exotic or pay a (really) high price, the HD/Duragloss/Optimum are all good and cost-effective.

FWIW, I`m still mixing Griot`s Car Wash and HD 1:1.