Angelwax QED review

I've been using this product for a few months now, its the first what you might call "Serious" quick detailing product that I have used across several cars.

 Its a spray wax type product, one up from the Demon Shine / Carplan type spray on shine and drying aids.

Application

I apply to a car after rinsing and with the bulk of the water removed but certainly not dry. Spray on and polish in with a microfibre.

Its a very simple to use product, the cloth glides very smoothly over the paintwork while working it in. There doesn't seem to be any magic amount of spray to apply or how wet the panel should be. Over application just results in a little more buffing and it taking slightly longer to evaporate.

I did experience on a slightly overly wet car that a slight haze, more akin to a full wax appeared but this just buffed away very easily.

Uses

Apart from adding some quick gloss to your paint work, this also acts as a very effective drying aid.
A quick wipe over with a microfibre and then applying QED just makes water disappear from panels, its quite remarkable.

Other quick detailers I have used are awful if applied to a wet panel, and take a long time and excess buffing to remove.

This product would be very useful for a post wax or polish wipe down, to remove any residue or dust.
Its highly lubricating and doesn't give any hint that the paint is suffering any abrasion.

Results

For this article I applied to our 2010  Skoda Roomster, which due to personal issues has not had the attention it deserves. There was no wax on the paint other than the contribution from a wash & wax shampoo.

The images below show it beading nicely and a nice amount of reflective glossiness even though it is a dull day and raining slightly while the photos were being taken. Application had been on Sunday evening, photographs taken the Tuesday evening after.

Pictures

Conclusion

I am very pleased with Angelwax QED, and will use it as part of my regular wash process across all our cars.

Whether you are a keen detailer looking for your next QD, or just someone who wants to quickly add a little more shine after a wash this is a product well worth considering. At £5.99 for a 500ml bottle it is good value and cheaper than various supermarket alternatives.

Roughly I think this bottle will give enough QED to do 10 or 15 applications, car size and paint condition dependant. If you car has lots of protection already then you should need very little, the Skoda having been somewhat neglected required a few more pumps per panel.

I will post follow up articles on Angelwax QED as I use it for different purposes and to provide some feedback on how well it lasts, does it build up with regular use etc.

Links

Angelwax QED @ Angelwax site

Price £5.99 per 500ml pump sprayer

Convert 22mm outlet pressure washer to Karcher Quick Connect

Having a few pressure washers, and a surplus to requirements Karcher extension hose, I thought I would do a quick guide on converting a non Karcher washer to use Karcher hoses and lances via the newer Quick Connect system.

Here's our starting point:

One old (Very old!) Challenge Pressure Washer:

Thse are the connectors on the Karcher extension hose we will be recycling for this project:

The important part for any conversion is the quick release collar at the top of the frame, that can be unscrewed from the adaptor to reveal a M22 female thread that will screw directly to most domestic pressure washers, Karcher or other wise.

Here is the quick release collar, from the now dismantled hose. These can be purchased on there own as you see here, or as part of a Karcher kit that includes a 7.5m hose and a Karcher gun.

As mine was being reclaimed, and as you can see has some battle scars I changed out the 10mm o-ring shown in the picture.

Now we need to find a home for this on our washer, here is our trusty challenge once more:

Unscrew the existing hose from the washer to be left with a nice M22 threaded outlet:

The next stage is to clean up the treads on the outlet and screw the Karcher quick connect on: 

Job done, one Challenge washer converted to use a Karcher quick connect hose and gun.

This should work with most pressure washers with a 22mm Male outlet including:

-Challenge
-Dirt Devil
-RAC
-Bosch Aquatec
-Silverline
-Older Karchers with a 22mm outlet

For Nilfisk washers you would need to add in a 1/2 inch Female to 22mm male adaptor between the washer and the Karcher adaptor above.

Karcher Steam Cleaner - Refurbished SC 1010 £50.99 unboxing

So after seeing some of the eco detailing posts on Detailing World, I wanted to have a go at using a steam cleaner on the car. I've seen many cheap ones on Ebay that people have been very pleased with, but I found the Karcher outlet had these refurbished models for £50.99 (+ £5.95 delivery).

I've always liked Karcher washers and have been very impressed with a Karcher  wet vac I recently purchased so thought I would give the branded one a try, rather than a cheaper Ebay unit.

What always concerned me when buying refurbished product is not knowing what you will get in terms of damage, visible wear to the body etc. Therefore I thought I would share my unboxing and first impressions with others.

Part One - Packaging

So its a refurbished machine and that means no pretty retail packaging:

It comes wrapped in this fairly sturdy branded brown box, no signs of excess trauma from its adventure through the courier network en route to me.

Also when opened the machine and accessories are very securely wrapped in machine folded brown paper rather than lots of polystyrene or blow moulded plastic:

The functional boxing doesn't bother me provided the contents are safe and secure. Also if one is buying a steam cleaner for eco detailing then recyclable rather than disposable packaging would defiantly appeal. One is not going to save the planet if the next years eco detailing is needed to offset the carbon footprint of a pretty coloured box!

Part Two - First Look

So on peeling back the first (of many!) layers of brown paper we get a look at the machine and it looks like new. Be careful when unwrapping as the parts are free in the box so don't get anything caught up in the paper.

Part Three - What's in the box

So all laid out and free from its cardboard cocoon we have:

• 1 Steamer unit with captive hose and mains lead
• Two Extension wands
• 1 Floor Brush with 1 cloth cover
• 1 Bristled hand tool brush with a cloth cover
• 1 Detail brush
• 1 Angled detail nozzle (Attached to trigger assembly)
• Instructions
• 3 De-scaler sticks

Part Four - Close ups

So first impressions were very good but what marks or scratches, if any, give this away as a refurbished unit.

Certainly in my case there was very little indication that the unit was anything other than brand new.

The body of the steamer and the accessories all seem unmarked as shown below:

The only marks I found were some scaly sludge around the water tank inlet and on the base of the tank cap:

Some of the sludge may actually be grease from close inspection but these are the only evidence I could find that this wasn't a brand new item.

Part Five - First try

So time to give this a try, I rinsed out the tank and added fresh water. The instructions do say cold but I added warm tap water and the machine hit pressure within about 5 minutes. Book time states approximately 8 minutes from cold to reach pressure.

Usage is very simple, fill up with a litre of water, secure the tank cap and plug in.

The power light and orange heating light will come on, once ready to use the orange light goes out.

I did find that a fair amount of water blows out of the nozzle before it starts to release steam, this may be condensed steam from the cold hose but it quickly clears.

On full power, there are two settings on the trigger, the machine emits a very powerful blast of steam. I ran it along the cooker where a very annoying crevice runs the full width of the unit and the muck was literally blown out the end. First lesson learnt, watch where the fallout will go, as I had to wipe water and grease off the neighbouring washing machine.

Next up I attached the extensions and floor brush and steamed an area of carpet that didn't smell too good. The carpet had been thoroughly Vaxed the day before but contributions from an elderly dog had caused some stink to take up residence in a small area. Not to panic the germophobes out there but it was probably some sort of bacteria.

A couple of minutes running the steamer over the affected area and all smells are now gone. I found this interesting as the carpet had been cleaned with carpet detergent mixed with disinfectant until the water running up the Vax nozzle was clear. The carpet certainly looks rejuvenated by the steam, the pile seems to be refreshed and it looks like new. 

Part Six - Conclusion 

Although I am yet to turn this lose on the car, I am confident that it will be very useful. Certainly based on my experience thus far I would consider another refurbished product from Karcher, and for the money I feel comfortable in recommending this steamer. At around half retail price it is a bargain.