DFB's Soap Shoot Out

[Evolvd]

I REALLY like the Active canon. It has a more "premium" feel to it. Although on full bore with my Active 2.0 it drinks product quicker than the MTM does. I can blow thru a full bottle in one pass around the vehicle no problem whereas the MTM if I am quick I can foam down twice on one bottle of product. Also the pickup tube is much thinner ironically and more flexible so it can draw at all angles much easier. It does lay down much thicker foam due to it being a heavy drinker . Overall I love it, however I am a bit apprehensive at times not to drop it with the bottle. Oh the clear bottle is nice to know where you are. You can't see thru the MTM bottles at all hardly.

Improved Garage on YouTube did a compare of all the top cannons and measured their panel impact ratios. The active definitely draws more mix from the bottle which means you can use less products. Might want to try 1:12 or 1:15 ratio next time.

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[skinnyb]

Your obsessiveness is apparent, Alex and I expect most of us can relate, I sure can. I don't have a half dozen cannons but I was surprised at the short time a full bottle gives you with GSF. I easily get two passes with an MTM and Reset, typically with product left over.

But what I REALLY wanted to ask is, is a cup of coffee part of your detailing procedure? <smile> No fan of Keurig here but the wife has one every morning. I prefer a pour-over. :=)

Yes, a Dunkin K-Cup and a little chocolate syrup and I am good to go for the day.

 

[GT 550]

But what I REALLY wanted to ask is, is a cup of coffee part of your detailing procedure? <smile>

Hmmmm votes for a new thread?

'What's in skinnyb's kitchen'

 

[50ALM]

Based on the stupid pricing (somebody is gouging somewhere, because other imported brands are not this OTT):

When something is 2.4x the normal $34.95 price of an established and proven product, then I guess this happens:

I would have tried it, had it been priced competitively.



Quod Erat Demonstrandum

 

[skinnyb]

Hmmmm votes for a new thread?

'What's in skinnyb's kitchen'

Well I'm a mid age bachelor so "not much"

 

[skinnyb]

Based on the stupid pricing (somebody is gouging somewhere, because other imported brands are not this OTT):

When something is 2.4x the normal $34.95 price of an established and proven product, then I guess this happens:

I would have tried it, had it been priced competitively.



Quod Erat Demonstrandum

What a shame, but I would NEVER EVER consider buying ANYTHING from that shiester..... What a waste of good air...

 

[skinnyb]

Well I feel like I participated in this Soap Shoot out this past week . Washed 3 Mustangs Sunday and then my Mazda yesterday afternoon. Used a different soap for each of them ... The White S650 hadn't had a proper wash ever I don't think... Used the delightful Carpro Lift/Reset combo. What a great duo... Hosed down with iron remover first then hit with lift to prolong due to me being in direct sun...

My Mach 1, I used Opticoat M wash. Love that soap, very slick and is just delightful to use, and smells fantastic....

My buddies Mach 1 I used the KCx Active Foam and GFX combo since I was feeling a bit festive the first week of spring here in East TN. His car is coated and well maintained but hadn't been cleaned in a while so I did a "coating maintenance wash" for him. Active foam as a pre foam is very effective, but not a sledge hammer on your coating... And GFX smells so awesome, transports you back to December 25 ...

Then my Mazda, it wasn't too dirty so Shine Supply Shift was on tap for it. It is gentle, cleans well, slick and smells good....

I also rotated NV snow into the mix on my Mazda last weekend, that is a fantastic soap as well... Whew what a week

 

[50ALM]

Well I feel like I participated in this Soap Shoot out this past week . Washed 3 Mustangs Sunday and then my Mazda yesterday afternoon. Used a different soap for each of them ... The White S650 hadn't had a proper wash ever I don't think... Used the delightful Carpro Lift/Reset combo. What a great duo... Hosed down with iron remover first then hit with lift to prolong due to me being in direct sun...

Nice collection there Alex, but now I'm sad.

Seeing an Oxford White S650 with the rear wing spoiler that I really wanted, but.... because Ford AU (or FoMoCo) determined that we couldn't order the spoiler if we had the MagneRide option. Limited build variations for us down in the Colonies - bah humbug!

My ride anyway:

And the aftermarket here doesn't have much on offer as yet either in the spoiler dept.

Swapping out those OEM chromed 5.0 fender badges for the Black Pack versions was on my to-do list this week.

 

[DFB5.0]

A condensed spreadsheet view of each soap review, current as of February 2026.

 

[UNSAFE]

This soap review is awesome! Thank you for creating it. Would you be able to post it as a single attachment so we can open it in a full screen view? Maybe a protected file? Thanks!

 

[Noleftist]

I read about and also seeing videos where people talk about taking one car soap like a pH neutral Carpro reset, and then adding in say Superior Products, Muscle Magic, or Dark Fury or
Koch Chemie‘s Green Star to make it more alkaline and stronger cleaning. But when you do this versus buying a straight up our alkaline soap to begin with is there any more or less question or caustic problems? In other words, is it clearly safer to just buy a high alkaline car soap versus using different car, cleaning products and mixing up your own?
or maybe even using non-car specific alkalines or acids such as throwing in some vinegar into car pro reset to make it acidic

 

[DFB5.0]

I read about and also seeing videos where people talk about taking one car soap like a pH neutral Carpro reset, and then adding in say Superior Products, Muscle Magic, or Dark Fury or Koch Chemie‘s Green Star to make it more alkaline and stronger cleaning.

But when you do this versus buying a straight up our alkaline soap to begin with is there any more or less question or caustic problems? In other words, is it clearly safer to just buy a high alkaline car soap versus using different car, cleaning products and mixing up your own? Or maybe even using non-car specific alkaline or acids such as throwing in some vinegar into car pro reset to make it acidic?

Short answer - Yes, it's "safer to just buy a high alkaline car soap".

Long answer - There seems to be a subset of people in life who think they are being ripped off on every single purchase they make. This then leads them to thinking they can outsmart the rest of us and the companies making consumer goods by making their own. In reality, when all things are considered, they only save a few pennies and have spent more time and effort getting there.

I get this all the time, ".......I just make my own xyz............."

Example 1 - Prep Sprays
These are used before and after polishing to remove chemical residues and polishing oils. In particular, these are very important to the success or otherwise of a ceramic coating. Every single detailing brand sells their own prep spray, most of which have an isopropanol alcohol base. This then leads to people thinking they can just make their own by buying some rubbing alcohol, cutting it with some water, then sending it. This ignores several key factors -

- IPA can sometimes soften clearcoat on certain paints.

- IPA + water has no lubricative properties. Products like Carpro Eraser and Gyeon Prep have an additive to provide lubrication without compromising its ability, thus avoiding the towel marring you just polished out.

- IPA on its own evaporates far too quickly, which doesn't provide enough time to properly break down the oils and residues on the surface.

- Ceramic coatings are expensive, starting from at least $60, most sitting around $100 - $150. To not spend the extra on the matching prep spray with the mindset of saving money just doesn't compute. Then these people wonder why their 3-year coating only lasted 12-months.

- Carpro Eraser isn't outrageously priced, starting at just $3.99 for a 50ml bottle, then progresses from $15.99, $22.99 and $89.99.

- The time and effort buying IPA and demineralized water, measuring it out, finding a bottle to spray it with...................................you aren't saving as much as you'd think. And even then, you are left with a less capable solution that may pose a risk to the clearcoat or compromise your chosen LSP. But hey, I'm no chemist, what would I know.

Example 2 - Iron Removers
I recently came across this question in a detailing group, "can you just make your own iron remover?". Most who use these products know that the main active ingredient in these products is called sodium thioglycolate. Well then, that's easy, just buy some sodium thioglycolate and go to town. Yeah right bud, good luck with your science experiment on your own or your customers cars.

For the record, sodium thioglycolate is just ONE ingredient in an iron remover, it's balanced by a variety of other compounds to provide safe, reliable performance. Unless you are a chemist, save yourself the time and JUST BUY THE IRON REMOVER off the shelf.

Example 3 - Detail Sprays
Back in the day, there was this trend of taking Carpro Reload and cutting it with Carpro ECH20. The idea being you have high lubrication from the ECH20 and the protection and gloss enhancement from Reload. Carpro cottoned on to this and created such a product and named it EliXir....................... a ready-made solution.

And yet, the backyard chemists still proclaimed they were superior for mixing their own. So, instead of making one purchase, they made two in having to buy both Reload and ECH20. And then you have to mess around finding the right blend of these two products so that it played well (lack of streaking ect). JUST BUY ELIXIR AND BE DONE WITH IT, you aren't saving money, you aren't smarter than the Chemists who created those two products or the one they made in response to the backyard chemists.

Example 4 - Soaps
This one arrives at your question. Yes, you can add Green Star to GSF, from memory this helps raise the pH from 7.5 to about 10.0 or thereabouts. Green Star is naturally foamy, so adding it to a soap won't hinder it in that regard. But Green Star is effectively a degreaser, a very capable one with a wide dilution ratio window. Do you always want that going down on your paint? Probably not.

No doubt you can tailor your cleaning power with GSF+GS, but what are achieving, and how much time, product and effort do you burn through in arriving at that sweet spot. Why not just cut to the chase and buy an already mixed and thoroughly tested product like Koch Chemie Active Foam (pH 9.5) or Super Foam (pH 12.0).

Long story short, without a chemistry degree, you really shouldn't be playing with this on your car, and especially a customer's car.

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