How to use QEW (Quick Easy Wash)

From Taurus Car Club Maintenance and Modification Wiki

I have had a few people ask me how to keep their car clean during the winter and how I do it. The answer is simple: QEW. A few have said they want to get it, so I decided to take some pics washing mine this weekend and write an article on how to do so. QEW is not as straight forward as regular washing, so you do have to be careful.

Background:

QEW has been around for a little over 10 years (to my knowledge). It was developed by a company to use at RV parks, because they won't allow it. You can get QEW from www.protectall.com or find a dealer from their website. I get it from an RV dealer locally. It comes in 16 oz, 32 oz, or one gallon. It is a bit expensive for car wash (a 32oz is almost $20 and a gallon almost $40 where I get it), but it's worth it

QEW is unique in that is does not require rinsing after washing, making washing as simple as a couple gallons of water. It is anti static and water repellent, so it is unique in the way it washes and comes off, both the paint and the mitt you use. There are a few other imitators out there, but none have promised and delivered as QEW has. QEW will not scratch or harm your finish when used correctly (used correctly important here). Detailers picked up on it because huge water tanks for washing cars can be a pain, and some areas have laws dealing with water recovery. It is also quicker to wash a car with QEW. Most are skeptical about it until they use it and learn to use it correctly, but I trust it now I have used it, and other pros that I know use it on cars that cost many times more than my house (lambos, ferraris, bentleys, you name it).

Let's get started!

So, here is my car... dirty as it gets (or probably has ever been!).... It was in the low 30's doing this, but I have used it at 20 degrees with no problem. One thing about QEW, if your car is caked and super dirty, go to a car wash and spray it off with water only to get the major grime off, this will make it easier and safer to use QEW.

Man is she dirty

So lets get some stuff we are going to use (this is some of my detailing stuff, and no it's not all of it

I always use the two bucket method (one for wash, one of water to dilute out dirt), but it is essential in using QEW. The blue bucket is one gallon of water with the approriate amount of QEW mixed in. The green bucket is a rinse bucket to put the mitt in after washing a section to let it release the dirt into the water.

Here are some of my towels/washrags, etc. The stack of blue/yellow/white ones are microfibers that I use for drying. MF's or waffle weaves are the only ones I trust on paint, MF won't scratch. So I use MF's on my paint.

The star of the show, QEW!

One thing about QEW, everyone kinda has a different method, just follow the basics (amount of QEW and the other things I will outline) and you will be fine. Some like to throw an ounce of QD (Quick Detailer) in the wash bucket to help with streaking (which can happen, especially if you are not careful), but I prefer to wait until the car is washed and just QD the whole car.

Here is my mitt, I like sheeps skin mitts, that or lamb's wool are very popular.

Here is a bottle of QEW mix, mixed the same way I mix the wash bucket. I spray this on a section before I wash it, it helps, especially if the area is very dirty, a must. I will use almost the whole bottle washing one car.

Here is the top of the car, all dirty -->

Spray some QEW mix on the top

Dip the mitt in the wash bucket, then run your hand over it to get most of the water out, you dont want it dripping a lot. Lay it on the panel. Do NOT apply pressure. The weight of the mitt is enough.

Wash the area. Here is an important tip: Do a small section at a time. QEW dries quickly and you will have to rewash. A door or a hood at most is way plenty. Your mitt will appear dirty. Put it in the rinse bucket and leave it be. Dry your panel with the towel. I do a chase method. Dry with a towel and chase after it with a second. When the first becomes too wet, make the chase towel the nubmer 1 towel and use a new towel as the chase towel.

Here you can see where one part is washed and the other is not:

Paint is clean after QEW (wheels and wells haven't been touched yet, that is last, and I use a different chenielle mitt for those).

Now take your mitt out of the rinse bucket and you will notice that it looks cleaner. Wring it out some and re dip it in the QEW bucket. Repeat on the rest of the car. If you are not careful about drying, streaks will appear and you will need to rewash or use a QD on it. (I forgot to take pics of this doh)

After washing the car, you will notice the water is dirty, especially the rinse one. After dumping you will notice the dirt remains at the bottom, something different than you are use to. QEW makes the dirt separate. After I wash, I use a couple MF towels and a QD and go over the car, and do my other routine stuff (windows, plexus on the lights, etc) which I won't go into great detail about because this is about QEW br /> After a few times of using it you will get the hang of it, just use the proper ratio of QEW, do small sections, and dry quickly to prevent streaks. Those are the major keys, you will learn how to do a technique that wokrs best for you...everyone uses QEW a little differently.

Now that you washed it, you have this to look at

Perfect, nah, this was a quickie wash, but its lots better

Hope this helps, and of course, if you have any questions, feel free to ask

Thanks to TCCA member n2_space for writing this article.