Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

[larry0071]

My parents took their 2011 Lexus IS250C on a trip from Pittsburgh to key west, to Panama City Florida, Norfolk VA, and finally back to Pittsburgh. They left with the car clean and coated in Four Star UPP and Meguiars Ultimate Quick Wax. They pulled out into a snow storm a couple weeks back and once they got to Florida the car was run through a touchless car wash to unsalt it and make it look acceptable. That was the last time the car was cleaned before today.

So, I made a run to see T at www.autoality.com for some Meguiars products that could help me clean this beautiful Pearl white car in a garage that does not have floor drains and while it's 10 degrees outside and 6 inches of snow on the driveway.

In comes the D114, a second wash bucket with grit guard, and a Meguiars microfiber wash mitt.
I used 2 buckets in an attempt to control contamination of my D114 from the salts and other chemicals on the car. I will use the bucket with D114 to wet the MF wash mitt, go to the car to delicately touch the car and soften as well as pick up contamination and finally do a clear water rinse in bucket #2. Then I wring or the mitt and go back to bucket #1 with the D114 at 2 cap fulls per gallon of hot water.



I bet your wondering if this is another test of a relatively clean car and in laboratory conditions. I can assure you, not a chance. This could only be topped by cleaning an off road vehicle. This folks, is an ugly, dirty, heavily contaminated vehicle. The garage is at 60 degrees with gad heat moving air. This is not a clean room, it's a real life garage for getting things done.



















Your getting the picture, right? This is a dirty, salty car.

So, your thinking to yourself that this new fangled rinse free wash fad could never tackle this without really doing damage, and I'm about to find out! Being that I do the polishing and paint maintenance on this vehicle, if I swirl or otherwise mark the clear coat, I'm the person that fixes it and brings it back to near perfect.

Shall we see what happens? Let's go!

[larry0071]

Re: Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

Okay. I had a process with the 2 buckets as discussed, I had the right product and I mixed at the Meguiars recommended ratio of 2 cap fulls per gallon of water. (subject to user adjustment based on need to lightly clean or go fully to stripping prior to a new detail or performing paint work.)


I did use hot water in both buckets.

Also, you can not move fast on a car this dirty. This is where you pre-spray the panel with a D114 solution to wet the panel and begin letting the solution soften and lubricate the panel.

Then use a slightly saturated (yes, dripping water) microfiber mitt and lightly and slowly begin to move while rolling the edge up the keep a fresh surface advancing into the dirt.

On this car, this means that your not moving fast or far before your going back to the clear water for a hearty and agitating rinse and hard wring-out before going back for the D114 solution to begin again.

At times I would add more product by spray to keep the panel well wetted and dripping in D114.


I would do the spray, the initial wipe over entire panel (many trips to clear water rinse and D114 buckets for a panel), a follow up D-114 wipe over entire panel, a long knap MF wipe , a second long knap MF dry wipe.

So this process repeated until I was done with the body and similar process was used on the dark smoked Grey wheels. These wheels are great because they allow your hand to reach right in between the spokes and no wheel brush is required.

Once all was wiped and dried, a complete spray and wipe with Ultimate Spray Wax was done.


The end results amazed me! After a quick blast with the ultimate quick wax, it looked as if this car never left 2 weeks ago, aside from the salt covered wheel wells and salt covered undercarriage



























I call the D114 a raging success! If it will allow me to clean a car from this level of contamination, what I would call a level 3 condition, and provide enough surfactants and lubrication to safely lift and remove the material on this car, for an average warm climate detailer this can be your goto product with no fear of adding damage to your (customers) car or truck.

Disclaimer: This insanity is not recommended or otherwise endorsed by the Meguiars company. I am not speaking for Meguiars and I recommend that you do not try this at home. I have the skill and equipment to correct any damage that I may have imparted on the finish of this car and as such I accepted full responsibly for any damage and for the required correction required should this test have proven to fail. This car will also get a full detail with a full body Ultimate Polish come spring.

I hope your now a believer! Your lightly dusty car can safely and easily be cleaned with this method and product while providing ample protection for your paint and your sanity.

The following is my current weather that precludes a proper wash.

[The Guz]

Re: Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

Nice write up and very nice results. Thanks for the detailed posts.

[larry0071]

Re: Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

I like to see tests of products in more real world conditions. Many of the cars I see being tested on from Meguiars temperate area of California are what we call clean cars here! This is a car that was actually much cleaner than the average vehicle being driven around on our roads here in Western Pennsylvania at the moment.

So this test was for those of us that live in the dirtier and saltier areas and it provides a benchmark that those California folks can use to say that in their conditions, this product is so amazing and safe that they have no reason to not start stocking and using today. And for the folks in an area more like us in Pa, you can now see that when we have some spring rains or summer rains, this product is more than up to the task of a mid week wipe down.

[jarred767]

Re: Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

Great write up, I loved all the details and pictures to go along with it!

I'm a huge believer of D114 and use it whenever I get stuck working in a parking garage, or a personal garage like yours. Its does great work, I've done some pretty dirty cars with it as well and it does a great job. I've found that if you rush the drying process it can end up a little streaky, so if I'm not doing a full detail on a car, I'll do exactly what you mentioned and hit it with a quick coat of D156 (also and amazing product).

Out of curiosity, on a car this dirty, how long would you say that it took you for this process?

[Daniel Kinder]

Re: Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

Thanks for the review, great job!

Seriously though do you call that dirty,you should see vehicles around here where our coal trucks come off the mountains and bring the mud with them! (Just kidding) How many times did you have to refill your rinse bucket buddy?

I reread a couple times and checked pics but did you have a grit guard in both your bucket, looked like you did have one also in your rinse bucket?

I've not had the chance yet to get to try this product and have been patiently waiting for an order this spring or maybe sooner.

I think you tested it pretty good with the salt and all the road grim and the after pics look great! I'll be getting a gallon of it!

One last thing, your like me in that you need to invest in a big red & black craftsman cabinets to store all your Meguiars products!

[larry0071]

Re: Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

Jarred,

As you likely can tell, this wasn't about speed. Had it been warm out (35 degrees or so) it would have been faster and more complete to do a hose and bucket wash.

I spent easily an hour and a half from getting product ready to finishing the UQW spritz.

The hose and bucket would have allowed me the freedom to also flush out the wheel wells and outer suspension parts as well as some amount of the uni body of the salt residue. As it is now, in a month or so when the temps get up to the mid 30s it needs to go out into the driveway for a proper flushing of the corrosive residues coating the underside.

I just got the Karcher chassis washer last week, so I'll be using that when this weather makes the change to spring.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00717LVGM

To use this with its proprietary attachment to a pressure washer, I will also be buying a karcher 5 series 2000 psi pressure washer. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004P5...f=pd_aw_sims_7

Then I'll be best able to get the underside of my vehicles reasonably cleaned off the corrosive winter road maintenance chemicals.

You see, our vehicles typically have shiny paint and running drive trains while the body and uni body/suspension are literally rusting apart and falling from the car. We rust from the back side and it comes out through that paint. So while detailing our cars will make the paint shine, the rust will blister up under that paint and holes will collapse under the paint. Suspension arms rot in half, floors have holes eaten in them, struts and Springs fall apart, door bottoms completely vanish as well as entire rocker panels.

So, while detailing the paint is fun and rewarding, it's not truly where the battle needs to be waged. The true battle is won from the under and back side of all of these parts.

[larry0071]

Re: Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

Stang,

Both buckets have grit guards.

If you use much product through the year, you really need to join the detailers Club at www.autoality.com and buy at the club prices. I've spent around $500 since I joined in November, that number would have been easily $800 had I been buying retail. It's only $100 a year to be in the detailers Club. You easily make that back within one or two orders and then it's all profit for the rest of the year.

[larry0071]

Re: Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

Also to stang,

This car is about as "dirty" as I would attempt this on.

The truck beside it, in my humble opinion is just to crusty for even this great product. This things needs a thorough beating with a soapy sponge!

[RPPM]

Re: Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

Living in the Burgh, and a black car to boot, I have used D114 on it when it looks like your truck. Two bucket, Grit Guards, patience and good technique=no problems, even when it is THAT dirty. I also agree with you about "T" and Autoality. He is a 5 minute drive from my house. He offers great shipping prices (much better than Autogeek and others) and is a great guy. Customer service is something he takes seriously. I highly, highly recommend him.

[Ghawk]

Re: Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

I actually just did my first rinseless wash this morning! I was a skeptic at first, but as we are having one of the coldest winters down here in a while, the old two bucket was not an option, I needed a way to keep my car clean. It's an amazing product, very different than a traditional wash, but still felt very safe! I used a bunch of microfibers and a two bucket system, and presoaked the panels before wiping with a garden pump sprayer with diluted solution.

Dried nice and streak free, and inspection revealed no scratches or swirls installed!

This in no way replaces a traditional wash for me, but for light to medium dirt on a well maintained car, it works wonders!

Thanks for the write up Larry,

Griffith Hawk

[larry0071]

Re: Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

You did the pre wet solution like I did. I would not want to try this product on a truly dirty car with dry dirt that's first exposure to product were while the grit was being mechanically influenced by microfiber towel. To me, the pre mist of the solution onto the surface will better coat, suspend and lubricate so that when you do take the fibers to the paint, the protection of the product is already in place.

In nice weather with no rain and just the normal road dust, I might be able to convince myself that this can be a quick and safe procedure for those times when you want to just ratchet back to that just washed look. I still like the idea of the hose and 2 bucket wash, but there is a place for this in my arsenal.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

Really a great write up on a truly fantastic product!

Regarding a vehicle as dirty as the truck you pictured, a safe way to clean that is to first run it through a coin op wash just to pressure wash the heavy stuff off it, then bring it home and do the full D114 wash process. At the coin op just do the pressure wash - no bucket, no mitt, and of course NEVER the brush at the coin op place! Pressure wash the heavy stuff off and the final clean up with D114, or even D115 for that matter, is a breeze.

Oh, and for those nasty wheel wells that are always detracting from an otherwise clean car, give this a shot: after washing the car as you described, take a toilet brush and use it along with the remains of the D114 to scrub the wheel well liners and then wipe them dry with an old terry towel. Dress them up with some M40, Hyper Dressing, Natural Shine, or that old bottle of Armor All you still have laying around

[STRIFE]

Re: Extreme test of D114 Rinse Free Express Wash

^^^ What's Armor All??

[larry0071]

Mike, the problem here is that is 10 degrees out and snowing on and off daily. By the time I drove back home from the car wash place the trick would look similar to this again. The tires stick out really close to the edge of the body and it throws a mist all over the truck as you drive the on the brine water roads. The lexus tires are tucked in enough that it doesn't make quite the spectacle of itself with regard to the road fluids.

I'm going to just let the lexus rest until we heat up into the mid 30s again so I can take it out and really attempt to flush the uni body and suspension out.