Grit guard for the soap bucket

[Kdawg15]

Hey guys,

 

Just joined up the forums, posted a brief hello in the new member check in! I already have a question regarding something I've run into recently. I've noticed that with my new 5 Gal wash buckets with grit guards, I usually end up wasting a gallon of soap solution at the bottom. Basically, where the grit guard comes up to, there's probably a gallon of soapy water that I can use if the grit guard wasn't there.

 

 

So, the question here is: Would there really be much of a difference in the levels of grit if I just use one grit guard (or both) in only the water bucket rather than wasting all of that car soap when dumping out the buckets at the end of the wash?

 

I know it's best to take every precaution possible when protecting your paint, but that ~gallon of perfectly fine soap solution is going to waste which is something I don't like to do! This might be different for everyone, but I really see no grit on the bottom of my soap bucket everytime I wash the car. Your thoughts?

 

[Beemer]

Just because you can't see grit doesn't mean there isn't any there.

 

Soap and water is cheap.

 

The grit guard keeps the grit at the bottom of the bucket where it belongs.  I say leave it there and just make more soapy water.

[Feets31]

I often set my guard on the side of my bucket.  It is easier for me to scrub the wash mitts that way.  But then you have to watch dipping too far into the bucket as you could catch some of the debris from the bottom on your wash mitt and end us scratching your car.  

[Kdawg15]

Thanks Feets and Beemer for your input,

 

I guess I'll just stick to it and if I hit the grit guard before I'm done, spray some water in as I wash the very bottom sections of the car last. Guess this was more about opinion, and your opinion seems legit to me!

 

Cheers!

[Kingsford]

Just curious what are you washing and how big of a bucket are you using?

 

I have a 5 Gallon Bucket and can wash my entire truck with some left over above the grit guard.

[Kdawg15]

I'm using 5 gal buckets as well and currently using Meguiar's Gold Class shampoo. The dilution on the bottle says 4 capfuls (1 ounce) per gallon of water and I usually use about 2.5 gallons per wash on the small Mazda. Haven't tried Adam's car wash shampoo yet but the wash here in Canada comes to 70 bucks a gallon with shipping, I can get the gold class gallon for about 10 bucks locally!

 

Is there a lower dilution ratio with Adam's car shampoo?

Edited May 9, 2015 by Kdawg15

[Kingsford]

Yaaaaaa thats your problem... Adam's Shampoo is much better than that. Requires a few ounces for a 5 Gallon Bucket and gets much better suds and goes a lot further. 

 

Only $50 a Gallon on the Canada Site and I'm pretty sure there is a 10% off Coupon for Adam's Canada too which would make it $45.

 

http://www.adamspolishes.ca/p-33-adams-car-wash-shampoo-refill.aspx

 

I also believe the soap you are using is concentrate so it wont be nearly as good. Be sure when you fill your bucket (when you use Adam's) to keep the nozzle close to the surface of the water to get good suds without overfilling it or getting a ton of suds and no water (caused by holding the nozzle far away).

Edited May 9, 2015 by Kingsford

[Kingsford]

Looked it up. Megs says for the product you're using to us 1oz for every gallon, 5 Gallons = 5oz.

 

Adam's Shampoo most people (including me) use 2-3oz per 5 Gallons. 

 

So if you do the math. 64oz of Megs will last you at 12 washes @ 5oz per wash. With Adam's Shampoo using 2oz per 5 Gallons for washing you could wash 32 times with 64oz (half a gallon) so thats 64 washes per gallon. 

 

Even more math... Megs will cost you $50 (for 320oz) to wash 64 times and Adam's will cost you $45 (for 128oz) to wash 64 times and... AND Adam's will give you better results.

 

No brainer for me. I'm a numbers guy if you can't tell.

Edited May 9, 2015 by Kingsford

[The Guz]

I have one problem with your math.  Nobody fills up with 5 gallons of water.  3-3.5 gallons of water at most.  Megs Gold Class is actually a decent OTC soap.   Can't really beat that or Adams soap as they both clean very well.

[avvblanc01]

I actually have both adams and megs soaps in the garage, and since I was washing a friend's car this weekend, decided to use the megs for the first time in a few months.

I seriously could not believe how much more megs soap I had to use to get close to the amount of foam I get from the blue adam's soap, and despite that, I ran out of water and soap in the bucket. Normally with the Adam's stuff, I have soapy water left over. 

 

Im not one to jump on a company band wagon, but adams soap is seriously amazing compared to the Megs stuff. 

[Kdawg15]

Wow, this post quickly went from grit guards to choice of soap . I did some number crunching myself - based on no coupon I see available as of today, the Adam's gallon comes out to $72.40 ($20 bucks for shipping!). The Meg's Gold Class I can pickup a gallon with tax for about $13.40. If it's on sale, then basically for $10 bucks at Costco.

 

Michael has a point that I don't use a whole 5 gals as I mentioned before, usually half the bucket so 2.5 gallons. With the Meg's I get 51 washes with 2.5 oz per wash and 128 washes with Adam's with only 1 oz per wash. Basically, I have to use 2.5 times more Gold Class to get the same amount of washes which works out @ $13.40 * 2.5 = ~$34 bucks, half the price of Adam's car wash shampoo.

 

Now, I'm not trying to say one brand's necessarily better than the other, but on cost alone the Meg's GC is the winner in my eyes. Beyond cost, I really like the product and have no complaints with it - it produces a lot of suds and is crazy slick, no swirl mark problems.

 

Could Adam's be better, sure it can and no doubt in my mind it's a fantastic product. However, given where I live and the availability, I'm sold on Meg's Gold Class as of now unless someone literally breaks down the chemistry behind the products and shows at a microsopic level, why I should shell out the additional do-re-mi for Adam's shampoo.

 

Now if only my deep wheel cleaner and turbo stick could get here faster! I have to work on some Acura MDX wheels that weren't properly cleaned for a few months due to a medical reason, hopefully the turbo stick blasts away the caked on cr

Edited May 10, 2015 by Kdawg15

[goheels]

Wow, this post quickly went from grit guards to choice of soap . I did some number crunching myself - based on no coupon I see available as of today, the Adam's gallon comes out to $72.40 ($20 bucks for shipping!). The Meg's Gold Class I can pickup a gallon with tax for about $13.40. If it's on sale, then basically for $10 bucks at Costco.

 

Michael has a point that I don't use a whole 5 gals as I mentioned before, usually half the bucket so 2.5 gallons. With the Meg's I get 51 washes with 2.5 oz per wash and 128 washes with Adam's with only 1 oz per wash. Basically, I have to use 2.5 times more Gold Class to get the same amount of washes which works out @ $13.40 * 2.5 = ~$34 bucks, half the price of Adam's car wash shampoo.

 

Now, I'm not trying to say one brand's necessarily better than the other, but on cost alone the Meg's GC is the winner in my eyes. Beyond cost, I really like the product and have no complaints with it - it produces a lot of suds and is crazy slick, no swirl mark problems.

 

Could Adam's be better, sure it can and no doubt in my mind it's a fantastic product. However, given where I live and the availability, I'm sold on Meg's Gold Class as of now unless someone literally breaks down the chemistry behind the products and shows at a microsopic level, why I should shell out the additional do-re-mi for Adam's shampoo.

 

Now if only my deep wheel cleaner and turbo stick could get here faster! I have to work on some Acura MDX wheels that weren't properly cleaned for a few months due to a medical reason, hopefully the turbo stick blasts away the caked on crap,

 

Eh bud, just goin for a rippp! (Canadian jargon)

Almost everything at Adams will cost more. The foam gun, detail spray (others offer concentrate which is significantly cheaper) etc. however, you need to figure out whether the increase in quality (sometimes yes, sometimes equal) for Adams products is worth the premium. Holding off for major sales is usually my strategy