I've tried Stage One Pre Wash a few times this past winter weekend. Stage One is a spray on liquid that you use one the dirtiest spots of your car prior to the first rinse when washing.

Stage One lifts and loosens dirt without you having to touch the car. The obvious advantage here is that you are not grinding in dirt and grit potentially causing scratches or swirls.

Now I always use a shampoo when washing my cars because I want the lubrication it provides. And of course a good shampoo lifts dirt as well. But using Stage One before I even put a hand to the car really removed an amazing amount of grit-virtually all of it. Far more than just hosing with water. I even tried to replicate my own mix with a diluted shampoo mix. It didn't work nearly as well as Stage One.

Stage One is an almost clear, non-foaming, non-sudsy liquid. Spray a fine mist of it on a dirty car and you can watch the dirt/grit literally start to run off.

I used it on the back of my Mini Cooper S which attracts debris like a magnet. It works great on wheel well areas, around sills, anywhere that gets especially gritty. For me, this is going to be a boon in the winter season when I hate touching the car with the salt stuck all over it. Even with a soaking and shampoo filled mitt it can still cause scratching. Stage One will help a lot.

I had some concerns with what it does to wax durability but so far I have noticed no effects. (I have Zaino Z2 Pro on the test cars.)

Sorry I don't have pictures...the camera has died. But it was pretty amazing. What's more, it felt grit free.


Stage One

 

But why didn't you post it in the review section? That way, others that have used the product can add comments in one location.....

Just a thought.

Matt

 

Sounds interesting. Some of our local do-it-yourself car washes (which I'm reduced to using this time of year) have a pre-wash that can be used before switching the soap on and it does seem to work well. I wonder if Stage One is a similar formulation? I'll be curious as to what effect it has on wax durability when you've had more experience with it, particularly on Zaino.

Mark

 

Good idea, I will.

 

Not so worried about it stripping Zaino... I'd be more interested in hearing what it might do to carnuba. The finish fanatic in me doesn't trust even the touch-free car washes as their detergents must be harsher than my Zaino auto shampoo to remove dirt without any contact, though I guess stripping some wax off would be preferable to swirl marks... Maybe it is something to have handy in the garage, reserved for those extra dirty days.

One more product to add to the shelf... Damn you Brad!!!

Brad: Did you try the Swiffers?

 

Yes, I'm fully Swifferized now. I must admit, I like 'em! Great tip!

 

Where do you get this stuff? I did a Froogle and the only place that popped up was SportsCarCare.com. Can you get it at your local auto parts store?

 

I don't think it effects NXT that much so I would think (because people say Zanio lasts longer) that it won't do much at all to Zanio.

 

Follow the link at the end of my first post. It's only available online.

 

BradB,

Any tests with brake dust? The car wash hasn't been that impressive with my white wheels .

 

Thanks. I totally missed the link.

 

I wouldn't use it for that. It would work sort of ok, but it's not made for that and is best suited for dirt/debris lifting rather than brake dust removal.

Get THIS! It's safe on all wheels and even diluted it cleans great! Great value.