The Disappointment Thread!

[Evolvd]

They also have a cleaner and protector for artifial leather as well -

Cleaner for Artificial Leather with Sponge | 200 ml | 11096-en (colourlock.com)
Protector for Artificial Leather and Plastic - Surface Seal and Protection | 150 ml | 11065-en (colourlock.com)

When I ordered, I got both systems, but tend to just use the "leather" versions.

Cool, I’ll have to check it out. The first Colorlock Mild product says it’s good for synthetic leather too so I’m guessing it’ll work on vinyl.

Sponsored

 

[geep81]

Can I ask what glass cleaner you recommend? I currently use invisible glass.

 

[GT 550]

Can I ask what glass cleaner you recommend? I currently use invisible glass.

All secrets revealed in a sticky here:

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/whats-in-dfbs-cabinet.175925/

 

[DFB5.0]

Can I ask what glass cleaner you recommend? I currently use invisible glass.

Invisible Glass is one of the best, if you want to try something new, Gyeon Glass Cleaner is brilliant too.

 

[DFB5.0]

Cool, I’ll have to check it out. The first Colorlock Mild product says it’s good for synthetic leather too so I’m guessing it’ll work on vinyl.

Considering the mixture of vinyl and leather in cars today, I questioned the same when approaching the ColourLock brand and didn't really get a clear answer.....................so I ordered both the artificial and real leather product lines. In reality, the regular line of cleaners work just fine on synthetic/artificial leather and vinyl.

Another leather cleaning product, one that is a more economical, would be Koch Chemie Pol Star. This comes in concentrate form and is diluted down to suit the application. Pol Star is pH neutral, so safe for use on leather, as well as fabric and Alcantara. I have been using it at 6:1 and teamed with a leather cleaning brush or the VLB brush.

Koch-Chemie - Pol Star | The Rag Company
Vinyl & Leather Interior Scrub Brush | The Rag Company

 

[MAGS1]

Invisible Glass is one of the best, if you want to try something new, Gyeon Glass Cleaner is brilliant too.

Did you see Gyeon has released Glass+ now? Supposed to leave a bit of ceramic coating like properties on the glass as well. I just coated all of my glass with Gyeon View (kit with Repel as the coating) yesterday but am thinking of picking up Glass+ as a cleaner/topper.

 

[DFB5.0]

Did you see Gyeon has released Glass+ now? Supposed to leave a bit of ceramic coating like properties on the glass as well. I just coated all of my glass with Gyeon View (kit with Repel as the coating) yesterday but am thinking of picking up Glass+ as a cleaner/topper.

Yes, I have heard good things about it. Does that mean I need to buy it and report back?

 

[GT 550]

Does that mean I need to buy it and report back?

No, you must not. Don't do that. Don't. Do that.

 

[DFB5.0]

No, you must not. Don't do that. Don't. Do that.

Well, I went looking for it at the usual places, seems Gyeon have not released it in Australia yet.

 

[MAGS1]

Well, I went looking for it at the usual places, seems Gyeon have not released it in Australia yet.

Oddly enough, I can’t find here either. Must not be released to the public yet?

 

[Yorkshire_OH]

Autoglym Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner

Today, we are going to “Step Back in Time”………………..



Sorry, I got distracted there!

Today, I’m thinking back to early 2008 and a 21-year-old DFB. I had a brand-new FG Falcon XR6 on order and I was researching products to help maintain this milestone moment in my car buying history.

At the time, I had been using a variety of Mothers, Meguiar’s and Armor All products. Don’t flame me here, I didn’t know any better, like any 21-year-old to be honest. Buying my first brand-new car, I wanted to step up my game, this mindset eventually landed me in the Autoglym ecosystem. Back then, Autoglym were actually a higher-level brand in comparison to how commercialized the brand is today and how they have lagged behind the industry innovators.

I decided to use their Super Resin Polish in tandem with Extra Gloss Protection. When the car arrived, these worked extremely well on the Sensation Blue Paint. While today, both are way off the pace, but at the time they certainly had a place.

I had also bought their Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner, and this is where this post is headed.

Being pH balanced and apparently highly concentrated, this soap was designed to deep clean while still being safe to use on waxes and sealants. It also left behind a conditioning agent to improve water sheeting, and therefore improving the rinse process and gloss levels. At the time, this soap held a premium over what I had been using beforehand.

Keep in mind that back in 2008, foam cannons were not a widely used detailing tool. Washing your car was purely focused on buckets and sponges. Adding the one capful of Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner to a 10 liter bucket, the soap was extremely flat and just felt like something was missing.

Now, I can here you saying “but DFB, the product listing clearly states this is a low-foaming soap”, well again, back then there was really no need for a soap to be high foaming. This line in the product listing was clearly added later on when Autoglym started to cater to the foam cannon market with other soaps.

What I hated most about this product was the complete lack of suds. And while it was certainly slick, it felt all wrong to me coming from a suds crazy Meguiars soap. Adding more soap to the bucket and agitating it with the hose certainly helped, but those suds were gone by mid wash. And from memory, the scent was unremarkable.

But that was then and this is now, and I can’t help but see this soap as completely irrelevant. It doesn’t foam, leading Autoglym to introduce more suitable soaps. The glossing and conditioning agents make the soap undesirable for ceramic coated vehicles. So you are now dealing with a soap that has a very narrow window of users. These days, NV Snow commands a $10 premium over the same size bottle of Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner, a premium that is worth every additional cent! For a readily available option, a few more dollars buys the excellent Gyeon Bathe at Repco.

It’s lack of performance, combined with the price premium it commanded at the time, makes this the most disappointing detailing product I have experienced. It just did not live up to my expectations that I had set in my mind for my brand new XR6. I would eventually go back to Meguiar’s soaps until I discovered NV Snow many years later.

Always got great results with AutoGlym Super resin polish paired with Extra Gloss Protection on my old car. Still do on cars now but I moved to the Supreme polish rather than the SRP as it definitely worked better on darker coloured cars.

 

[DFB5.0]

Oddly enough, I can’t find here either. Must not be released to the public yet?

Found it, doesn't help you though, sorry................

Gyeon Q2M Glass+ 500ml | Product | Car Care Products Australia

 

[GT 550]

Found it, doesn't help you though, sorry................

Not sure how well the exchange rate works in reverse but @MAGS1 can probably buy it and get it sent for half what we'd pay so could it be worth it.

 

[DFB5.0]

WOWO’s Show Stopper

Wowo’s are a Scottish brand that came to prominence when The Rag Company brought them into the TRC store and put their marketing efforts behind it. From there, the brand started to appear across the wider network of TRC’s distributors, including Australia.

Due to a variety of reasons, one of which being Covid supply constraints, The Rag Company made the decision to step away from importing, distributing and carrying the Wowo’s brand. Soon after, the brand and its product range were sold to a new investor. Today, the brand continues to make their products in Scotland for sale around the world, Australia included.

I only recently tried and enjoyed a selection of Wowo’s products, including the excellent Detailer’s Shampoo, Interior Finisher and Glass Cleaner.

However, it’s Wowo’s Show Stopper that lands the brand on this page.

Show Stopper is an instant, pure gloss enhancer that does not alter the attributes of the underlying coating, sealant or wax. Described as “a bottle of pure gloss”, Show Stopper is a quick way of adding additional gloss to your paint, while also being suitable for glass, plastic and trim. It offers absolutely no protection or cleaning ability, or longevity for that matter, making it suitable for regular use as a drying aid. Application is an easy spray and wipe operation.

If you think that sounds familiar, well that’s no surprise. When Wowo’s was discontinued by The Rag Company, Show Stopper left a void in their store. From what I can gather, The Rag Company had P&S reverse engineer Show Stopper, the result being Dream Maker that launched a couple of years later. And this is why Show Stopper is featuring here.

I hate Dream Maker! It’s a streaky headache that really doesn’t live up to the hype or quoted ease of application. Show Stopper is no different, except without the delightful watermelon scent. Sure, it leaves the paint super glossy, but to achieve a streak free finish is harder than it should be.

Of course, I knew the backstory of Wowo’s and Dream Maker that followed, but I was curious to see if these two products were in fact similar or was the original easier to work with. Well sadly, it was the former and once again, this was a disappointment of the “should have known better” type.

 

[DFB5.0]

Recessed Lug Nut Brush

I can’t quite remember where I got one of these, but it’s telling that none of the usual suspects (in Australia) carry these anymore, and that’s a good thing! They are however widely available through Amazon, AliExpress and Ebay. This item was not cheap and cheerful, rather a classic case of cheap & nasty!

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...ecessed+Lug+Nut+Wheel+Cleaning+Brush&_sacat=0
https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=reces...d+lug+nut+brush,automotive,233&ref=nb_sb_noss
https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholes...+Brush+With+Handle&spm=a2g0o.detail.1000002.0

These tools consist of a t-shaped handle with slim “fingers” and a recessed foam head. The central recess allows the brush to slide over the lug nut, cleaning both the nut and lug socket at the same time. These foam inserts were replaceable when needed. A great concept............but poorly executed.

Within a short period of use, the foam insert would work itself away from the handle and would often be found floating in the wash bucket.

Another issue that needed careful management was the plastic fingers protruding beyond the foam insert, potentially scratching the hell out of the lug socket in the process.

I got this thing before the advent of really informative detailing Youtube videos, in a way I was teaching myself via trial and error. This brush seemed like an ideal addition to my arsenal but ended up being a dud. At the very least, it was a gateway to bigger and better things. I think I still have this thing floating around at the bottom of my brush drawer…………………….not for much longer though!

For lugs, these days I’m using either a soft synthetic brush for soft/black finishes, or a boars hair brush for more resilient surfaces.

Sponsored