What's In DFB's Cabinet?

[Evolvd]

I should’ve also added “polishing compound”.

Sponsored

 

[DFB5.0]

Yesterday I went on a day trip to Mitchelton Winery for my sister's birthday. I don't drink, so I wasn't there to sample the wares other than lunch at The Muse restaurant.

https://www.mitchelton.com.au/pages/muse-restaurant

Having been there a number of times in recent years, what interests me most when visiting this venue is the work put into the grounds, which consists of manicured gardens blending seamlessly into the native backdrop and riverbank. I particularly love how they have used hedging cut at apposing angles to the buildings they flank, as if they are part of the architecture.

Being a long weekend, the place was packed with well healed, toffee nosed Melbournians, most covered in fake tan and swimming in perfume. Oh honey, my tan is all natural. I'd make some pot shot at the carpark full of Audi's, BMW's and Porsche's, but my sister arrived in a Volvo XC60 and me in a Jaguar!

Taking the Jaguar was twofold. One, it was a chance to get some miles on it before rotating it back into storage, including a few Italian Tune-Up moments as well. Two, it gave me an excuse to wash it.

Surprisingly, there was very little bug strike to deal with, just some dust from the gravel carpark. Tyres were cleaned with Brake Buster, followed by Reset for the wheels and body. Drying Aid was ADS Amplify, Stoners for the glass and InnerQD for the interior and leather. For the tyres, I decided to give them a deep clean with mineral spirits, then applied Angelwax Elixir, then some Bead Maker for the wheels, which I find makes wheels pop and shimmer on the move!

Back to spec, the Jag then traded places with Big Blue, back home for the first time since late January.

Before returning home, I took the XR6 for a bit of a drive around the outskirts of town to stretch its legs. Of course, every time I get back into this car, it takes a little while to reacclimatize to the awkward driving position, which is so pronounced coming from the Jaguar's super-low seating position and how the cabin wraps around you. Also coming from the Jag, the big Falcon feels so heavy, where the Jaguar is agile and pointy in the front end.

But then on the flipside of that, the big Falcon is so effortless to drive. The Jag's 2.0 EcoBoost certainly needs the short gearing of the 8-speed auto to keep it on the boil, whereas the 4.0 inline 6 will do the same job without breaking 2000 rpm. Looking at the numbers, despite the Falcon being nearly 200 kg heavier and down two ratios over the Jag, capacity and torque do their thing and ensure the XR6 is faster.

 

[DFB5.0]

Tuesday is supposed to be sunny and 65 here so I'm taking off work to start the polish & ceramic project. Follow-up question to your earlier suggestions: Do I need to wash it after clay bar and before polishing with Reflect? Using Mother's Quick Detailer as lube for the bar.

Because you will be getting the car covered in liquid while claying, I clay directly after the decon wash but before drying. This does two things, it means you don't end up drying the car twice, and means you can simply rinse the car to remove the clay lube.

So I have Carpro Eraser to use after polishing and before ceramic, are you saying also use it between clay and polishing?

Here are a few instances where you would use a prep spray during the decon, polishing and coating process. Not all are essential, so pick and chose what you feel will suit your process -

- Using a prep spray before polishing helps remove any lingering chemical residue, which means when you get a light out to inspect the paint, you are getting a true indication of the paint condition.

- Removing that residual chemical residue also means you won't be loading the pad up as quickly, meaning you get more consistent performance. Just keep in mind that this potential residue will depend on what products you have used during the decon steps and is more than likely miniscule.

- For me, I like to use Eraser as the drying aid after the wash/decon/clay step. In this situation, you get the lubrication offered by Eraser, as well as helping evaporate away moisture and improve the bonding of your masking tape. This is the main reason why I use a prep spray at this point. (Not all prep sprays offer this lubrication, its one of the reasons why I like Eraser and Gyeon Prep. KCx PPS is nice too.)

- Using a prep spray after finishing a section means you can properly inspect your work.

- When wiping off heavier compounds, a prep spray can help break down the residue and reduce grabbiness. Obviously, having to fight to remove compound residue poses a risk of reintroducing swirls you just removed, usually on softer paints. (This wouldn't apply to a product like Reflect)

- A final wipe down prior to the application of a wax, sealant or coating. Be generous with the product, and allow it to dwell for about 30 seconds before wiping.

As I said, pick and choose what you need from above. I would be inclined to use Eraser during the drying process after the decon/clay wash. With Reflect, its wipes off so easy that you really won't need an aid, so a thorough post polishing/pre-coating wipe down will be fine.

My main advice would to be generous with the product, you need good coverage to be doing it properly, not a light misting. You want to see coverage like below across the whole panel (those pics were used for a comparison, I was only spot testing)

 

[skinnyb]

Care package came yesterday I can't wait to use it, my first experience with an ADS coating, I know it's the best . Got a good friend getting new wheels for his Bullitt, so gonna lay down some protection before he installs them... Then probably use the rest to re-coat his stock wheels before selling them...

 

[Evolvd]

Care package came yesterday I can't wait to use it, my first experience with an ADS coating, I know it's the best . Got a good friend getting new wheels for his Bullitt, so gonna lay down some protection before he installs them... Then probably use the rest to re-coat his stock wheels before selling them...

I got a bottle of this for my wife’s wheels too but I need to get my garage remodel done before I can do a full decon and polish.

 

[rcald]

I got a bottle of this for my wife’s wheels too but I need to get my garage remodel done before I can do a full decon and polish.

If you get an itch to drive down to Port Saint Lucie, we could knock out the coating. I have all of the ADS goodies, equipment, a/c garage and certified to apply the ADS Pro Quartz product (did three coatings last week including my newest Pony, Shelby GT 350). Would need 8 hrs to complete from start to finish and overnight for initial cure. Message me..................

 

[Evolvd]

If you get an itch to drive down to Port Saint Lucie, we could knock out the coating. I have all of the ADS goodies, equipment, a/c garage and certified to apply the ADS Pro Quartz product (did three coatings last week including my newest Pony, Shelby GT 350). Would need 8 hrs to complete from start to finish and overnight for initial cure. Message me..................

lol why do you think I’m remodeling my garage? So I can do all those things myself

 

[Mikepol2]

Clay bar-ing a car that has never been driven without ceramic (3 coatings in 8,000 miles) is about the easiest clay bar ever... it still picked up stuff but was done in less than an hour. Amateur tip: don't clay bar the matte hood decal, it doesn't work LOL. Wish I could start polishing but the pads aren't here till tomorrow rrrgh! Also the tape is useless, won't stick to anything.

 

[MAGS1]

Clay bar-ing a car that has never been driven without ceramic (3 coatings in 8,000 miles) is about the easiest clay bar ever... it still picked up stuff but was done in less than an hour. Amateur tip: don't clay bar the matte hood decal, it doesn't work LOL. Wish I could start polishing but the pads aren't here till tomorrow rrrgh! Also the tape is useless, won't stick to anything.

Really just need to tape the black plastic trim (chin spoiler, rockers, mirrors, etc) and the stripes. The stripes, I’d run tape the full length of the hood and tuck the tape under both ends of the hood. That should be good enough to hold while you polish. All you want to do is protect those edges so you don’t hit them with the polisher.

 

[DFB5.0]

Koch Chemie Rapid Rinse-less Wash RRW

Over the last 12 – 18months, it seems as if a new rinse-less wash hits the market every week! Where once it was a choice between Optimum No Rinse, McKee’s N-914 or Carpro ECH20, just about every brand is going down this path. And so, now Koch Chemie have a player in this segment, Rapid Rinse-less Wash RRW.

Koch Chemie (RRW) Rapid Rinseless Wash | Rinseless Car Wash – Waxit Car Care
Koch-Chemie - Rapid Rinseless Wash | The Rag Company

RRW was released in the US early last year but has only just now gone on sale in Australia. From what I can tell, RRW was created with heavy input from The Rag Company. In early testing, it was said to be on aggressive side, which led to KCx dialing back some of its cleaning ability. Still, looking at the specs and after hearing some feedback on the product, I would say RRW is one of the stronger cleaning rinse-less washes on the market.

As seems to be the current trend, RRW is a surfactant-polymer hybrid and contains Si02 to boost gloss and slickness. With a pH of 4.0, RRW has an acid leaning formulation, which would explain its higher cleaning capabilities. But that number raises to about 8.0 when diluted, which is where the claim of preserving existing waxes, sealants and coatings comes from.

How To Use –

The basic concept of rinse-less washing is that you rinse less. I say this because there are multiple ways to perform a rinse-less wash. Some will pre-rinse before starting, some will go straight to the wash, some will compromise and pre-treat the surface with the same dilution ratio mixed in the bucket and then commence the wash. Some will use a singular wash pad/sponge, some will use multiple towels/pads. The end result is the same, it’s how you got there that differs. Again, I say this because the following “Garry Dean”/Multiple Towel Method is how I rinse-less wash, but its not the be-all-end-all………………………….

1. Mix up your bucket solution. RRW is mixed at the same 256:1 as most other rinse-less washes on the market. I like to mix up 10-litres as it gives me plenty of solution to fill up my sprayer for the pre-soak. To 10-litres of water, add 40ml of RRW and stir with your hand to mix.

2. From this bucket solution, fill up your sprayer, in my case an iK Multi Pro 2 pump action sprayer. You can then add your towels to the bucket, in this case TRC Eagle Edgeless 500's.

3. I like to pre-treat the whole vehicle in one go, although if it’s a hot day, you may want to break the vehicle into sections. I particularly target areas with bugs and horizontal surfaces. The pre-soak starts breaking down and encapsulating the dirt/dust/bugs ect. Even though you don’t have lots of soap and water in play, it’s this encapsulation that makes rinse-less safe.

4. Take a towel out of your bucket and ring out till just dripping. Then fold the towel in half, and in half again. This gives you eight towel sides.

5. Working in sections, wipe in straight lines, swapping/folding to a new side of the towel as you go. This multiple towel method means a used towel never re-enters the bucket, which means your cleaning solution never becomes dirty. As you work around the car, grab a fresh towel as needed.

6. You can then dry the car as you finish a section, or like me, I go around and dry once I’m finished washing the whole car. You can use a drying aid, but quite often these rinse-less products are highly slick, so you don’t always need more lubrication. In my case, I paired RRW with QS, it would have been rude not to.

Usage Notes -

- I pick my mark with rinse-less. I know it can be used on heavily soiled vehicles, but my limit is a dusty vehicle with or without very mild wet road film. Outside of that, I’m using soap.

- Just because this wash method is called rinse-less, that doesn’t mean you can’t pre-rinse the car. Compared to a soap, you are not rinsing off the residue afterwards, rather you go straight to the drying process.

- If you struggle with dilution ratios like me, then the following website makes it easy – Dilution Ratio Calculator

- Mixing up your solution using warm water can be beneficial, but not crucial. I like using warm water for winter washing, if nothing more than to keep my hands warm.

- Depending on the size of the car, you will use about 1.5 – 2.0-litres of pre-soak solution. That’s why I mix up 10-litres.

- Specific to RRW, Koch Chemie stress not using this product in direct sunlight, presumably because of the acidic pH value. I would also avoid letting it dry on the vehicle.

- Because of its extra cleaning ability, I probably wouldn't use RRW for interior cleaning, clay lubricant or quick detailer duties. If you are buying a rinse-less for versatility, I'd probably favor ONR or N914.

- RRW has quite a nice floral scent, which will perfume your working area before, during and after the wash.

Final Thoughts -

Rinse-less wash products keep getting better and better, of which I think the most pronounced progress has been with the ease of drying. Some of the older products would end up being pushed around by the towel, whereas these newer options are easily absorbed into the towel without streaking or excessive effort.

RRW is certainly from the new school, it's easy to work with, offers excellent cleaning ability and smells great. If cleaning power is a key requirement, RRW is your product. If ultimate gloss, slickness and lubrication are your requirements, I'd probably still favor products like P&S Absolute, Gyeon EcoWash and ADS Hero.

 

[skinnyb]

Koch Chemie Rapid Rinse-less Wash RRW

Over the last 12 – 18months, it seems as if a new rinse-less wash hits the market every week! Where once it was a choice between Optimum No Rinse, McKee’s N-914 or Carpro ECH20, just about every brand is going down this path. And so, now Koch Chemie have a player in this segment, Rapid Rinse-less Wash RRW.

Koch Chemie (RRW) Rapid Rinseless Wash | Rinseless Car Wash – Waxit Car Care
Koch-Chemie - Rapid Rinseless Wash | The Rag Company

RRW was released in the US early last year but has only just now gone on sale in Australia. From what I can tell, RRW was created with heavy input from The Rag Company. In early testing, it was said to be on aggressive side, which led to KCx dialing back some of its cleaning ability. Still, looking at the specs and after hearing some feedback on the product, I would say RRW is one of the stronger cleaning rinse-less washes on the market.

As seems to be the current trend, RRW is a surfactant-polymer hybrid and contains Si02 to boost gloss and slickness. With a pH of 4.0, RRW has an acid leaning formulation, which would explain its higher cleaning capabilities. But that number raises to about 8.0 when diluted, which is where the claim of preserving existing waxes, sealants and coatings comes from.

How To Use –

The basic concept of rinse-less washing is that you rinse less. I say this because there are multiple ways to perform a rinse-less wash. Some will pre-rinse before starting, some will go straight to the wash, some will compromise and pre-treat the surface with the same dilution ratio mixed in the bucket and then commence the wash. Some will use a singular wash pad/sponge, some will use multiple towels/pads. The end result is the same, it’s how you got there that differs. Again, I say this because the following “Garry Dean”/Multiple Towel Method is how I rinse-less wash, but its not the be-all-end-all………………………….

1. Mix up your bucket solution. RRW is mixed at the same 256:1 as most other rinse-less washes on the market. I like to mix up 10-litres as it gives me plenty of solution to fill up my sprayer for the pre-soak. To 10-litres of water, add 40ml of RRW and stir with your hand to mix.

2. From this bucket solution, fill up your sprayer, in my case an iK Multi Pro 2 pump action sprayer. You can then add your towels to the bucket, in this case TRC Eagle Edgeless 500's.

3. I like to pre-treat the whole vehicle in one go, although if it’s a hot day, you may want to break the vehicle into sections. I particularly target areas with bugs and horizontal surfaces. The pre-soak starts breaking down and encapsulating the dirt/dust/bugs ect. Even though you don’t have lots of soap and water in play, it’s this encapsulation that makes rinse-less safe.

4. Take a towel out of your bucket and ring out till just dripping. Then fold the towel in half, and in half again. This gives you eight towel sides.

5. Working in sections, wipe in straight lines, swapping/folding to a new side of the towel as you go. This multiple towel method means a used towel never re-enters the bucket, which means your cleaning solution never becomes dirty. As you work around the car, grab a fresh towel as needed.

6. You can then dry the car as you finish a section, or like me, I go around and dry once I’m finished washing the whole car. You can use a drying aid, but quite often these rinse-less products are highly slick, so you don’t always need more lubrication. In my case, I paired RRW with QS, it would have been rude not to.

Usage Notes -

- I pick my mark with rinse-less. I know it can be used on heavily soiled vehicles, but my limit is a dusty vehicle with or without very mild wet road film. Outside of that, I’m using soap.

- Just because this wash method is called rinse-less, that doesn’t mean you can’t pre-rinse the car. Compared to a soap, you are not rinsing off the residue afterwards, rather you go straight to the drying process.

- If you struggle with dilution ratios like me, then the following website makes it easy – Dilution Ratio Calculator

- Mixing up your solution using warm water can be beneficial, but not crucial. I like using warm water for winter washing, if nothing more than to keep my hands warm.

- Depending on the size of the car, you will use about 1.5 – 2.0-litres of pre-soak solution. That’s why I mix up 10-litres.

- Specific to RRW, Koch Chemie stress not using this product in direct sunlight, presumably because of the acidic pH value. I would also avoid letting it dry on the vehicle.

- Because of its extra cleaning ability, I probably wouldn't use RRW for interior cleaning, clay lubricant or quick detailer duties. If you are buying a rinse-less for versatility, I'd probably favor ONR or N914.

- RRW has quite a nice floral scent, which will perfume your working area before, during and after the wash.

Final Thoughts -

Rinse-less wash products keep getting better and better, of which I think the most pronounced progress has been with the ease of drying. Some of the older products would end up being pushed around by the towel, whereas these newer options are easily absorbed into the towel without streaking or excessive effort.

RRW is certainly from the new school, it's easy to work with, offers excellent cleaning ability and smells great. If cleaning power is a key requirement, RRW is your product. If ultimate gloss, slickness and lubrication are your requirements, I'd probably still favor products like P&S Absolute, Gyeon EcoWash and ADS Hero.

Easily one of my favorite rinseless washes. I am glad you finally got to try it... I flip from RRW to Hero as my favorite and use them both back and forth. I use DIY Detail for heavy cleaning usually though with its heavy surfactant base. I also love to use it for polish removal on polish that is a bit grabby...

 

[50ALM]

I'll just leave this here!

More products coming from Pan the Advertiser.

 

[DFB5.0]

Koch Chemie Rapid Rinse-less Wash RRW

Over the last 12 – 18months, it seems as if a new rinse-less wash hits the market every week! Where once it was a choice between Optimum No Rinse, McKee’s N-914 or Carpro ECH20, just about every brand is going down this path. And so, now Koch Chemie have a player in this segment, Rapid Rinse-less Wash RRW.

Koch Chemie (RRW) Rapid Rinseless Wash | Rinseless Car Wash – Waxit Car Care
Koch-Chemie - Rapid Rinseless Wash | The Rag Company

RRW was released in the US early last year but has only just now gone on sale in Australia. From what I can tell, RRW was created with heavy input from The Rag Company. In early testing, it was said to be on aggressive side, which led to KCx dialing back some of its cleaning ability. Still, looking at the specs and after hearing some feedback on the product, I would say RRW is one of the stronger cleaning rinse-less washes on the market.

As seems to be the current trend, RRW is a surfactant-polymer hybrid and contains Si02 to boost gloss and slickness. With a pH of 4.0, RRW has an acid leaning formulation, which would explain its higher cleaning capabilities. But that number raises to about 8.0 when diluted, which is where the claim of preserving existing waxes, sealants and coatings comes from.

How To Use –

The basic concept of rinse-less washing is that you rinse less. I say this because there are multiple ways to perform a rinse-less wash. Some will pre-rinse before starting, some will go straight to the wash, some will compromise and pre-treat the surface with the same dilution ratio mixed in the bucket and then commence the wash. Some will use a singular wash pad/sponge, some will use multiple towels/pads. The end result is the same, it’s how you got there that differs. Again, I say this because the following “Garry Dean”/Multiple Towel Method is how I rinse-less wash, but its not the be-all-end-all………………………….

1. Mix up your bucket solution. RRW is mixed at the same 256:1 as most other rinse-less washes on the market. I like to mix up 10-litres as it gives me plenty of solution to fill up my sprayer for the pre-soak. To 10-litres of water, add 40ml of RRW and stir with your hand to mix.

2. From this bucket solution, fill up your sprayer, in my case an iK Multi Pro 2 pump action sprayer. You can then add your towels to the bucket, in this case TRC Eagle Edgeless 500's.

3. I like to pre-treat the whole vehicle in one go, although if it’s a hot day, you may want to break the vehicle into sections. I particularly target areas with bugs and horizontal surfaces. The pre-soak starts breaking down and encapsulating the dirt/dust/bugs ect. Even though you don’t have lots of soap and water in play, it’s this encapsulation that makes rinse-less safe.

4. Take a towel out of your bucket and ring out till just dripping. Then fold the towel in half, and in half again. This gives you eight towel sides.

5. Working in sections, wipe in straight lines, swapping/folding to a new side of the towel as you go. This multiple towel method means a used towel never re-enters the bucket, which means your cleaning solution never becomes dirty. As you work around the car, grab a fresh towel as needed.

6. You can then dry the car as you finish a section, or like me, I go around and dry once I’m finished washing the whole car. You can use a drying aid, but quite often these rinse-less products are highly slick, so you don’t always need more lubrication. In my case, I paired RRW with QS, it would have been rude not to.

Usage Notes -

- I pick my mark with rinse-less. I know it can be used on heavily soiled vehicles, but my limit is a dusty vehicle with or without very mild wet road film. Outside of that, I’m using soap.

- Just because this wash method is called rinse-less, that doesn’t mean you can’t pre-rinse the car. Compared to a soap, you are not rinsing off the residue afterwards, rather you go straight to the drying process.

- If you struggle with dilution ratios like me, then the following website makes it easy – Dilution Ratio Calculator

- Mixing up your solution using warm water can be beneficial, but not crucial. I like using warm water for winter washing, if nothing more than to keep my hands warm.

- Depending on the size of the car, you will use about 1.5 – 2.0-litres of pre-soak solution. That’s why I mix up 10-litres.

- Specific to RRW, Koch Chemie stress not using this product in direct sunlight, presumably because of the acidic pH value. I would also avoid letting it dry on the vehicle.

- Because of its extra cleaning ability, I probably wouldn't use RRW for interior cleaning, clay lubricant or quick detailer duties. If you are buying a rinse-less for versatility, I'd probably favor ONR or N914.

- RRW has quite a nice floral scent, which will perfume your working area before, during and after the wash.

Final Thoughts -

Rinse-less wash products keep getting better and better, of which I think the most pronounced progress has been with the ease of drying. Some of the older products would end up being pushed around by the towel, whereas these newer options are easily absorbed into the towel without streaking or excessive effort.

RRW is certainly from the new school, it's easy to work with, offers excellent cleaning ability and smells great. If cleaning power is a key requirement, RRW is your product. If ultimate gloss, slickness and lubrication are your requirements, I'd probably still favor products like P&S Absolute, Gyeon EcoWash and ADS Hero.

I had someone question the pH of this product moving from 4.0 to 8.0 under dilution. My initial research came across the following video, hone in on the 4-min mark -

Neat - pH 4.0
256:1 - pH 8.0



I have since measured this myself using 256:1 and neat -

Neat - pH 4.7
256:1 - pH 7.47

One thing I have learned with detailing chemicals and pH readings.................they don't always play out as you would expect. I've had some very strange readings over the years, well outside what you would think.

 

[Mikepol2]

Well my first attempt at DA polishing is done. Not sure it was worth the effort, it’s really hard to see any difference between before and after. Clay bar, polished with Reflect, Eraser prep, CQuartz UK 3.0. Glad I did not pay my detailer $1100 to do it!

 

[skinnyb]

Well my first attempt at DA polishing is done. Not sure it was worth the effort, it’s really hard to see any difference between before and after. Clay bar, polished with Reflect, Eraser prep, CQuartz UK 3.0. Glad I did not pay my detailer $1100 to do it!

Looks fantastic. Reflect is a VERY mild finish polish so it is only icing on the cake so to speak. But it is enough to take off any residual coating that might be left to give a nice clean surface for a new coating to bond to....

I did UK 3.0 on my deck lid and spoiler a couple weeks ago, my first attempt at it, I really liked using it. I topped with a coat of Carpro SIC for the second layer... Very impressive combination..

Sponsored