Car Shampoo

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l5foye

Active Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2003
Messages
926
Location
N.Ireland
Car
ML 300CDI
Does anyone know of a car shampoo which does not leave streaks? I would like to be able to give the car a quick wash and hose down (in between proper cleaning) . I have tried Autoglym, Zymol and many others but find they leave streaks which show up badly on a black car.
I thought at time of purchase paying for Supaguard was a good idea but now I now think I was wasting my money. Anyone else disappointed with Supaguard?
 
To be honest mate the main reason for the streaks might be your water, not the shampoo. If you live in a fairly hard water area, this is a fact of life, unless you gedt yourself a water softener. This attaches in series to your hose tap and removes the water spots / streakiness you speak about.

Although to be fair, black paint is a swine to wash, particularly in warm weather. I'd try and wash the car late in the evening when the sun is lower, or in the shade if at all possible.

I use Zymol products all the time and only get streaks if I wash either car in direct strong sunlight. To minimise this I tend to wash panels at a time then rinse and dry. A PITA, but it works.

Cheers, Greg
 
I agree with Greg, sounds like you need one of those in-line water softeners to really avoid the streaks, but a black car will always show them.
 
I find a combination of Mer car shampoo followed by a leathering off with an autoglym synthetic chamois leather brings my midnight blue W202 up a treat, with no streaks. Tip when using a chamois leather, always use the full leather (i.e. opened out) to go over the car to take most of the water off initially.
 
i use the halfords Advanced shampoo, its not bad! doesnt leave shampoo marks either!
 
Zymol Shampoo (from Halfords) - smells too good to be using on the car !! A little goes a long way too :D

S.
 
The only way to get rid of water marks is to dry your car after using the hose... I now use a microfibre cloth and not a chamois.

Actually, there is another way - you need to connect your jet wash to a water butt (spelling?) and use rainwater instead of tap water. Rainwater leaves no watermarks.
 
Last edited:
sym said:
Zymol Shampoo (from Halfords) - smells too good to be using on the car !! A little goes a long way too :D

S.
Sym,

Lemmie guess... you bath in Zymol? :D better than Radox any day eh? :p

S.
 
Steve_Perry said:
Sym,

Lemmie guess... you bath in Zymol? :D better than Radox any day eh? :p

S.

No need ... end up smelling of the stuff for about a week after just washing the car !!:D
 
I have access to some very handy Reverse-Osmosis equipment at work.

When you are dealing with water that pure, you are unlikely to get any streaks! :D

Regarding water softeners, you would be wise to check that you have not got any salt carry-over before you start using the water regularly, otherwise you may be using MB's 30-year warranty a little earlier than anticipated!

Cheers,

Will
 
On a more serious note, I find that the best way to minimise streaks on dark coloured cars is to use a flexi-blade.

I wash and rinse the car thoroughly, and use the flexi-blade to remove the majority of the water quickly.

Then finish off by drying the whole car with a chamois leather (or equivalent). This way you are not constantly spending your time wringing out your 'leather' = a quicker dried car = reduced streaks! :)

Can be done very quickly if you need too! ;)

Cheers,

Will
 
Will said:
I have access to some very handy Reverse-Osmosis equipment at work...
Ooh what brand? I used to work in the membrane filtration industry, we mainly used Osmonic/Desal RO membranes but often used Koch and Stork too. Ohh and also PCI membranes I guess :rolleyes: (Heh that's who I used to work for).

S.
 
Steve_Perry said:
Ooh what brand? I used to work in the membrane filtration industry, we mainly used Osmonic/Desal RO membranes but often used Koch and Stork too. Ohh and also PCI membranes I guess :rolleyes: (Heh that's who I used to work for).

S.

Various - some Gambro CWPs, portable WROs, as well as some DWA portable machines and some Purite water plants. Some historical Elga stuff too.

Cheers,

Will
 
plgibson said:

Hi @plgibson have you got this system? do you know how good it is, I live in a very hard water area, so if it works it would save me hrs of hard work
Thank
Jim T
 
And not much sunshine :p
 
:eek: take that Fuzzer :D :D
 

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