Hello Folks,
What Is It?
Duragloss # 931 Rinseless Wash with AquaWax
What Does It Bring to the Table?
A recent import to the UK that extends the growing number of rinseless wash
products that also contain wax, available in two sizes from Serious Performance.
The arrival of Duragloss #931 Rinseless Wash With Aquawax in the UK means a quick
and easy way to wash any vehicle anytime, anywhere without water hoses or waste.
This unique formula captures the dirt with a lubricating Polymer which prevents
scratching.
What Am I Testing it On?Code:Directions: Add o.5oz (approx 4 capfuls) of #931 per US gallon (3.8 litres) of water. (use 1.0oz if heavily soiled). Wash one section at a time using a good quality washmitt Wipe dry using a high quality buffing towel such as our Serious Performance Uber Drying or Uber Detailing MF Towels - Job Done!
My Renault Laguna Coupé
- 1st wash of 2013 - car treated with Serious Performance Liquid Wax in
back in December 2012- 2nd wash today where no QD was applied at the last wash
What Do I Think of it?
Well, my first clean of the year occurred around 10 days ago. The car, having
not been washed since well before Xmas, was really not _that_ dirty. While the
vertical surfaces have Harlys Wax on one side and the FK Sealant Wax combo on
the other, the horizontal surfaces had also been topped with two QD coats of
Serious Performance liquid carnauba wax, two washes apart.
Over the winter, there's been news of various new products hitting our shores
that fall into the same category, however, I decided to hold out and buy the
Duragloss Rinseless Wash #931 with Aquawax. The addition of a wax to my mind
limits the versatility of a rinseless wash because there are many occasions where
all you need is either some cleaning power or lubrication for an MF cloth. Wax
would just get in the way and force a different choice.
So to my first go with the Duragloss#931. The first problem was achieving the
correct dilution. The numbers on the bottle, and indeed those shown on the SP
web site that I've quoted above, are fine if you have extremely hard water.
In common with most stuff that comes from the USA that you need to dilute these
numbers are way too strong if you live on the Europe side of the Atlantic.
I totally ignored the 3floz to 16floz ratio that was recommended - my starting
point being 6 capfuls or just 1.5floz to 1.5 litres - oh, and as I found out during
use, even that was still a bit too strong. I do use softened water. For a QD, it
looks like parity with another popular rinseless wash - a starting point of 32:1
would be my recommendation.
This review is really just a preliminary look at a product that's been waited
for in the UK for a while. For starters, I have not fully tested this product
under what I'd consider to be ideal conditions, e.g. in warmer ambient temps.
So, I haven't tested it for resisting evaporation or its use as a clay lube.
However, what I did for my first go was test this product at the very sharpest
end. Regular readers of the Disabled Detailing thread will know that I've often
discussed the swirls on my Laguna as the result of taking a similar test a step
too far, back in the winter of 2009/10.
So, I put the #931 right in at the deep end battling the salt monster! Of
course, I went at this very gingerly(!) as I wasn't about to deliberately
inflict new swirls into the paint. So, I was not intending to continue to the
bitter end come what may.
This photo shows how well the paint colour hides the dirt!
Being ready to stop at any point and substitute with a bucket wash using
another product was my starting point. After just 2 swipes, having sprayed #931
liberally and left it to dwell (mandatory for this type of cleaning!), this was
the cloth...
Of note and in direct contrast to other products I've used, there aren't any
discernible leading edges of dirt, despite my having slightly rotated the cloth
"en passant". After what seemed an age, the surface did dry. There was a huge
temptation to get in there and help it on its way, but I managed to resist it.
However, as I was to find out the following day, that is a totally wrong approach!
It _is_ necessary to get in there and help it on its way with drying! To me, that is
a huge negative, because when you use a QD product like a waterless wash,
which is essentially what I'm doing, then in my opinion the less wiping of the
surface that's required, the less risk there is of inducing swirls through drying.
So, what does happen when you don't buff-off? Well, you get rubbish beading
and what looks like water-spots as seen below...
The above was taken just 24 hours after yesterday's wash. I can confirm that it
isn't dirt as this wasn't repeated on the glass that I had cleaned with another
product. What we're seeing here is the #931 being kind of re-activated by the
water and then drying flat. I need to assure that there's no damaging effect
to the surface like proper water-spots!
Of course, upon re-reading the instructions, a final drying wipe _is_ needed, even
for the QD mixture.
Back To My Original Day's Work
So, did I inflict a whole new swirl heaven (hell)? Ummm, nope...
This is my car at four years old and in that time it has mostly been washed
by waterless or rinseless wash processes.
There were a few clues to suggest that I'd over-egged the dilution. First off,
it was quite easy to overwhelm the MF cloth and that left behind a small
amount of dirt residue. That might have been exacerbated by my liberal
spraying of the surface.
There were other places where the cleaning needed just a tad more persuasion
- still miles away from what could be described as rubbing. Anyone who's used
to using polymer cleaners will know that if you overegg, you work against yourself.
The dilution needs to leave room for the dissolved dirt to be absorbed.
Not a good photographing day, but here's the bonnet after...
At no point did I feel, this is too risky I should stop. For its first test the
#931 passes with flying colours. One thing that reminded me that I wasn't
using my usual rinseless wash product was the smell - not overpowering,
but a sweet herbal fragrance that's slightly sickly.
As for the finish, well Aquawax is a new product to my experience and it's fully
synthetic. For my personal taste it is borderline glassy, though it does preserve
the depth of the existing wax. So, to finish off, here's a couple of pictures of
the completed clean. Do ignore the wheels, they're for next time I get to brave
the elements...
Pro's
- Easy to use
- Gives a good result
- It's very economical, especially at the lower dilutions needed in the UK
Cons
- Not as versatile as plain waterless washes
- Finish is borderline glassy which shows its synthetic roots
- The drying process needs assisting in that it requires a final wipe. If neglected,
you get an effect that looks like water-spotting as the chemicals get re-activated
then dry flat
Where Do I Buy It?
Duragloss #931 Rinseless Wash with Aquawax is available in two sizes from Serious Performance.
starting at £9.95 + p&p for the 16fl. oz size.
Acknowledgements
My thanks once again to Alex at Serious Performance for his help.
Regards,
Steve
