Suds vs Lubricity vs ???

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FrizzleFry

New member
So recently a topic was brought up over at another forum. The discussion was dealing with "which car wash do you use." Well several responses pointed to an interesting product. In the directions for the products use, it says to pour the shampoo into the bucket of water and stir. This of course we call know would not create any suds. So are suds important or is high lubricity key to keeping the dirt off your car when you wash?



From my knowledge I've always considered high sud content to be better to work with when washing anything. Be it dishes, my hair, body, car, etc. Be interesting to find out others opinion on this topic.
 
High lubricity is more important than suds. I take it you've never used QEW?

QEW has virtually zero suds, but many of us use it to remove salt and dirt on a regular basis.
 
White95Max said:
High lubricity is more important than suds. I take it you've never used QEW?

QEW has virtually zero suds, but many of us use it to remove salt and dirt on a regular basis.
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I've never used QEW. Been meaning to but just never got around to it. :)



I understand the purpose of it being slippery... but just by stating it is more important does not really answer the question. As for the other statement that suds are just air... no they aren't just air. They also consist of the liquid from the solution. Are suds not just another way to help create an additional barrier from the contaminants you lift off?



How does one qualify a product for lubricity. Should suds not even be considered?



I'm wondering if anyone here understands what I'm trying to explain... if not it's all good :LOLOL



As for QEW... not sure I would use that on a black accord... maybe someone could prove me wrong as I do not want to polish that PITA car again.
 
The high lubricity is what allows the dirt and contaminants to be lifted away from the paint and suspended while they are rinsed off of the car. Suds can be produced by any soap, whether high lubricity or not. So just because something has tons of suds doesn't mean it's going to be good at lifting/suspending dirt particles away from your paint.
 
FrizzleFry said:
As for QEW... not sure I would use that on a black accord... maybe someone could prove me wrong as I do not want to polish that PITA car again.
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Scottwax uses, as I'm sure many others do with great success on very dirty cars. Proof here on the black truck.



878qew_on_black.jpg




878qew_on_pearl.jpg
 
I must say I dtruggle with QEW on my toyota paint but use it fine on most other paints. I have just about perfected it on the toyota paint but the process is no longer quick or easy lol!
 
SpoiledMan said:
Honda paint is pretty soft. One wrong move and out comes the polisher.
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definitely why I posted what i did :) I'm glad others agree.



I just washed that damn accord again today... thank god no marring... but there's one spot where someone must've rubbed their *** against the door. dammit. ah well. i'll save that for another time.
 
So, what shampoo are you using? I've been using NXT for the past few weeks now, and imo the lubricity is great. I will switch to QEW when the temps get really cold (sub-freezing), but NXT until then.
 
I've always beleive suds are just a by product & don't prove anything about the wash's merrits apart from maybe making you feel better about it.
 
While I'm always harping about lubricity, it's my understanding that the suds help encapsulate the dislodged dirt and suspend it away from the surface of the panels, thus helping move it off the paint without marring.



IMO this whole vehicle washing (without marring) thing is a rather specialized situation, and the Ask a Scientist link (while good and informative, I'm not knocking it) doesn't consider some of the things specific to this kind of cleaning.
 
Hi Mr Jucy



I like 75% water and 25% suds

Without suds the wash water will dry up before you get to remove it and I like to use my mix of 1Z perls and 4 star UAS on the car

1Z is the shampoo in bucket, four star goes on paint and the sonus mitt before doing a final pre wash rinse (need a hosecoil foam gun)

the perls isn't that sudsy but very high lube ratio, the four star provides the suds and the beautiful cherry ripe scent (great with warm water) and that combo keeps my paint slick and shiny

The four star on mitt after it's dunked in bucket with cuff open , is then wringed on each panel (top down) to remove any dirt I've missed with pre wash rinse



Have used QEW and I actually prefer to use it after being mixed with AIO , demineralised water and Poorboys Pro polish as a clay lube (QEW makes the lube a little sudsy and increases the amount of time it takes for the lube to dry) so you can clay using less lube and it will never get sticky and leave residue on the surface.
 
Accumulator said:
While I'm always harping about lubricity, it's my understanding that the suds help encapsulate the dislodged dirt and suspend it away from the surface of the panels, thus helping move it off the paint without marring.



IMO this whole vehicle washing (without marring) thing is a rather specialized situation, and the Ask a Scientist link (while good and informative, I'm not knocking it) doesn't consider some of the things specific to this kind of cleaning.
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I'm with you on this one. I bought some QEW just in case some day I need it or to add to the regular car wash.
 
BenP said:
I find Meguiar's Hyper Wash has really high lubricity and great suds if you use slightly more than they recommend.



Ben
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Yea I'm w/ you on that one... I also use Menzerna Auto Shampoo at a higher concentration. I'm still a bit believer in suds helping keep the dirt off the surface.... so I'll stick to that. :)
 
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