MikeyC

How to keep your car clean is a hot topic this time of year for those who live in climates that experience snow. I've always tried to keep my car off the roads this time of year, but when I do drive it I usually take it to a touchless car wash afterward. I would prefer to hand wash it, but I don't like the idea of getting frost bite just to wash my car. So after reading so much about it on Autopia.org, I decided to try some QEW (Protectall Quick & Easy Wash). It's similar to traditional washing except that the solution does not foam and instead of rinsing off the car and then drying you just dry each panel after you wash it. So, the whole process only uses a couple of gallons of water and can be done inside the garage even without a drain.

QEW does not provide the same amount of lubrication as traditional wash solutions so it should not be used on extremely soiled cars. If your car is very dirty you should rinse it with a hose first or pre-treat the dirt prior to using QEW.

Overall, I thought QEW was decent and would likely use it again during the winter. Using QEW took roughly the same amount of time as a traditional wash and was very easy. I also put a coat of Optimum Car Wax (OCW) on afterward. OCW was surprisingly great. It was a little tougher to buff off than other waxes I've used, but that could be due to the cold weather. It made the paint very wet looking and made the metal flake in the paint "pop."

moonsurfer

Your car looks great. That product looks like it works very well. I bet it has a slight pucker effect on you when you are going over certain sections while worrying about scratches.

FearlessFife

Where did you pick up the QEW at?

Car looks good.

MikeyC

A lot of RV stores carry it. You can use the retailer locator on the company's website to find a local place to buy it or you can buy it directly from the company.

I'm still working on my technique with QEW to make sure I am using it most effectively. Luckily my car barely had any dirt on it. So, I wasn't too concerned about my technique. I was ringing out the wash mitt slightly so that it wasn't dripping wet and I think that was a problem.

aronparsons

I'll vouch for QEW as well. I use it for a slightly different reason (apartment complex, expensive wash stalls elsewhere) and it gets the job done. I use 2 buckets to keep the wash bucket clean(er), and it seems to work well. I think a good hose wash is in order once in a while, but if your car's not caked in crap you should be good to go.

jimmij

That looks great. I will need to pick some of this up for the winter

Ubetit

MikeyC, I keep a 32 spray bottle filled with a little QEW and a little FD. I spray the panel or two ahead of the one i'm working on. It seems to suspend the dirt better by time I get to that panel. I've also found over the years that a wet wash mitt works best. I give mine a quick squeeze to get some water out but that's it.

s2ksimon

nice work.. I don't use it personally as I've got my heated garage and run the hot water from laundry to garage as my only way to continue detailing when it frigid outside

colo_s2k

I had used this product years ago, but had forgot all about it. Thanks for the post!! It looks like my local Wally World has it - so I will pick up a jug of it this weekend and give it a try again.

MikeyC

What's FD?