Mr. Clean car washer???

[Matt_S]

I have a black Monte Carlo SS. My wife gave me one of these for my birthday back in November and I've just started using it. It does work as advertized. My car comes out spotless after washing with their soap and rinsing with the filtered water. There are a few things I've noticed about it, though...

First, the rag that I use to soap it up never seems to come clean, even after a run through the washing machine. There seems to be something about that soap that causes the dirt to stick to the rag like glue.

Second, it seems to be easier, at least for me, to miss spots, compared to using a bucket and car sponge. A little more care will fix that problem, though.

Third, the swirl marks seem to be more noticable with this. I suppose this sort of confirms what Patman said about the shinyness. It seems to make the surface a little "too clean."

Overall, however, I am pleased with it. It does a good job and there is no lint on the surface, which is very nice on a black car. Also, with the way the rear spoiler and trunk lid are installed on this car, it is hard to get the back end dry with no water spots. The Mr. Clean takes care of that.

 

[Patman]

This morning I washed my car the way I always did before, with Armor All car wash soap and my good ole chamois. The finish is definitely shinier! No more Mr.Clean AutoFade for me!

 

[Neil Womack]

I betting the surfactant is drying on your paint jobs and highlighting any scratches like swirl marks.

My di-ionizer leave no film on the paint.

 

[Darryl]

I have used the Auto Dry on my wifes '03 Accord (Graphite) at least 35 times and it looks great.

I'm super picky about my finishes (and everything else

) and the shine looks perfect.

Although, I do wax my truck and car once a month. (I told you I'm picky.

)


Darryl

 

[Dr. T]

The conflicting reports are weird. I bought one last weekend, but it's still in the box. I'm afraid to use it if the finish will appear dull.

I'm currently in vogue with Mother's car wash and wax. Finish is impecable.

Do you guys think the wax is stripped by the Mr. Clean product and that accounts for the diminished shine? Is the soap too akin to dish washing soap perhaps?

 

[Matt_S]

Don't get me wrong, my finish is shiny after using it. In fact, with no lint on the surface, it looks downright awesome. It's just a little easier to see the swirl marks. On a lighter color, that won't be an issue, but on my black vehicle it is.

I certainly don't think it strips the wax. In fact, the soap is not very strong and doesn't foam up much. It is just enough to remove the dirt.

Also, my car does need a good wax job, I just haven't had a chance to do it after the winter. Perhaps that will fix the swirl mark problem.

My advice is to go ahead and use it. It certainly won't hurt anything. The only thing is you need to use a rag or sponge that can be run through the washing machine afterward. As I mentioned before, the dirt will stick to the rag like glue. It will come off in the wash.

[ May 13, 2004, 10:58 AM: Message edited by: Matt_S ]

 

[Patman]

In the case of my dark red Firebird, it definitely made it less shiny, although there is no wax on it right now, as I haven't waxed it since last spring. So I'm not sure why it made my finish dull, but without a doubt it did. Since I reverted back to my old soap and chamois, my car shines nicely again.

 

[LarryD]

Just purchased one and it seemed to do a good job on my white, pearlized finish. The enclosed literature says you might clog the unit if you use any soap other than theirs. I suspect that is not true. What product comes to mind that when added to water prevents spots? Something like Jet-Dry which is used in the dishwasher. I bet we could make up a home-made solution that would work as well and be a lot cheaper than their wash.
It's just a matter of getting the right ratio of cleaner/Jet-Dry. We'd probably need a low-sudsing type cleaner or maybe a standard dishwashing fluid like Dawn would work fine. Anyone good at figuring out this type of thing?

[ June 01, 2004, 09:02 AM: Message edited by: LarryD ]

 

[Ray H]

I had also suspected for a while that the Mr. Clean "AutoDry" shampoo contained a polymer similar to Jet-Dry, and that the filter was just that - a filter. But, according to the literature that's packed with the AutoDry kit, that's not the case. The "filter" is packed with ion exchange resin in addition to the filtration medium. In the mist setting, the AutoDry device is supplying filtered and de-ionized water and may well be cheaper in initial purchase price as well as consummables than the single purpose de-ionizing misters Neil referenced available through home improvement centers. While Proctor & Gamble warrants that the AutoDry shampoo will not strip wax, I don't believe the same can be said in the use of aggressive, grease-cutting, hand dish-washing detergents such as "Dawn", "Ajax", etc. known to be finish dullers. Something gentler such as one of the "no tears" baby shampoos might be acceptable. (Believe it or not, at the dawn of the popularity of corneal hard contact lens wear in the early-mid 50s, diluted baby shampoo was routinely recommended for lens cleaning!) In any event, I'll leave it to braver souls than I to experiment on their own cars' finish and report their results on this forum... I suspect some who've had less than sterling results with the AutoDry system have gone directly from sudsing and sponging the dirt off their cars directly to de-ionized misting. The clearing of the soapy solution should be done with the normal tap water rinse setting, (with perhaps a little coincidental "help" with gentle application of a thoroughly rinsed, wet sponge to assure removal of any dirty suds solution adhering in polishing swirls) and then shift to the de-ionized water mist setting. By the way, the Mr. Clean shampoo does NOT strip wax. A waxed car will bead once the shampoo solution is thorougly rinsed off and the de-ionized mist is applied. The de-ionized water beads remaining on the finish, brightwork, and windows will then dry without spotting. That's also covered in the literature and on the box supplied with the unit in several places. My car also has a white pearl finish, and my results have been stunningly spectacular - exceeding my wildest expectations! Where has this system been all my life!?

By the way, for anyone interested, you can access the AutoDry web site through any search engine and register to receive two $5.00 coupons good until June '05 by mail in case you missed or don't wanna wait for newspaper coupons.

(Uh, don't wanna rub salt in an open wound*, but how many of you Mooselanders'll be flying down to Florida for tomorrow's final playoff game - sitting in a "Sea of White"?...

*Yes I do.

)

[ June 06, 2004, 09:31 AM: Message edited by: Ray H ]

 

[Patman]

quote:

---

I suspect some who've had less than sterling results with the AutoDry system have gone directly from sudsing and sponging the dirt off their cars directly to de-ionized misting. The clearing of the soapy solution should be done with the normal tap water rinse setting,

---

Nope, in my case I did fully rinse off all the soap with the regular rinse cycle first, then I used the deionizing setting and I still found my finish to be dull looking.

I sold my Mr.Clean unit to a guy in my car club for $15. I didn't want to wait 3 months for Mr.Clean to send me a refund.

 

[Ray H]

Sorry to hear of your disappointing results, Patman, but glad you didn't have to eat the cost or wait for a refund. Since I bought mine last week, I've washed two cars and a pickup in less time than it used to do any one of 'em, and with better final results. I live in a moderately hard water area to boot.

 

[Bebop]

Finally used it today, to my surprise, worked as advertised .

There is a $5 coupon in Sunday's insert and Target is selling it for $16.

[ June 07, 2004, 12:40 AM: Message edited by: Bebop ]

 

[lobo11]

For those interested in a more permanent solution, I was checking Sportmasters web page for some tonneau cover info. when I saw they ofer a car wash filtering system. I have no idea s to the cost, ease of set-up, etc. but if someone is interested, take a look under their other products.

 

[LarryD]

The smallest unit (1000 gal cap) goes for $485 so I guess the Mr. Clean filter is a real bargain.

All the models are here.

http://www.spotfreeh2o.com/models.html

 

[lobo11]

Ouch!! Lucky for me I am not one of those people interested, but thanks for finding the pricing info.