Adams Ceramic waterless wash reviews

It’s $37.42 on Amazon, and you won’t have to wait for Adams long shipping time.

 

I mix my own as well, and haven’t actually tried the official Elixer product. During the warmer months, I gravitate more toward ONR and Opti-Clean. Since they don’t contain any additives for protection, they wipe off easier in the heat. With it staying so hot here, Ech20 and Elixer tend to be harder to wipe off and have a tendency to streak.
This is likely what caused my streaking issue with the Adams, especially since no one else has experienced it. Anything with sio2 has always been more difficult for me to wipe off in the heat. I did park in the shade, and waited for it to cool down before I did it, but it was still pretty warm and humid.
I generally switch back to Ech20 in the fall and spring, and don’t have as much difficulty.

And yes, it is definitely slicker than Elixer. That’s why I wondered if adding more Reload would make it similar. That said, I wouldn’t think you could duplicate the Adams while staying in the same price range. I’m pretty surprised that they have it priced so low. Being cost effective is not generally a strong point for Adams.

This is definitely a great find @driverdog . I’m hoping I get some rain so I can see how it performs. If time, weather, and my motivation cooperate, I’ll be doing a good polish on my truck soon. That’ll take it off, so I. Hoping to see some rain before then.

I’m not sure I’ll be using this on my truck a whole lot. Over the last few months I’ve really taken to using waxes more than I have in the past. I’m just really enjoying the look that paste wax gives me on the black paint. I use Hydro2 as a base for everything I do though.

I’ll definitely be using this on the other vehicles, and probably my truck on occasion. As far as I know, there isn’t a direct apples to apples produce to compare this to, so it may be unique. (It will get copied by others if it gains traction though.) A lot of quick detailers contain sio2, but I’m not sure if any waterless washes do. Mothers has a “waterless wash and wax”, that I have used, but it certainly doesn’t do what this does.

A true waterless wash that provides a great sealant also? That’s pretty awesome. This can’t have been out long, or I would’ve seen it before. I can’t really find many reviews or videos about it even now. This looks like yet another product that the Tundras.com crew was ahead of the curve on. Those are great, because being an early reviewer with a lot of views seems to cause google to prioritize the site on searches, which drives more people to our site.

Awesome find Jim! Thanks for trying this out and sharing it!

 

I wonder what would happen if I mixed some Beadmaker in with this....

 

I'm serious where all this is going too. And how about that build your own spray idea from waxaddict? You could maybe customize a spray with 10,12, maybe 20% sio2, but then do you need to apply it like a coating? All very interesting, especially with polymer technology coming along to rival sio2.
I will say that this Adams stuff is very interesting to me, because it's a waterless wash, and 10% sio2 is a lot. I think reload is around 7% and ech2o 2%, don't quote me on those though, so elixir is close but not quite the same %. Anywho its definitely cool where things are going, there are a lot of products out there that make our lives easier, but makes us poor trying them all out lol.

 

I wouldn’t say it’s hotter than normal, but it generally doesn’t even cool off much here until around Halloween. Pretty much May to November I’m limited to early morning hours to do washing in. Even then I’m racing the shadow of my house to get it done.

@Pudge can’t wash in the winter, so we do a kind of shift change between us.

As for where this is all going? Who knows, but it’s interesting. Just in the couple of years I’ve been doing it, it seems like companies are putting out new stuff like crazy. On a podcast I heard one of the big guys (can’t remember who it was, maybe Barry Meguair?) say that more new things have been developed in the last five years than in the previous twenty.

That does happen in a lot of industries. In my own, lighting didn’t change a bit for decades, then completely evolved over the last 5-10 years. I just had a rep in here asking what they could do to get more of our light bulb business, since we used to buy a lot more from them. I just told him there wasn’t anything he could do, since there just wasn’t a whole lot of need for them anymore. Honestly kind of weird I had to tell him that.

 

Still white though. Since you’re at Tractor Supply, grab a buttload of that New Holland Red paint that @NewImprovedRon found and mix it with your detail spray.

 

Maybe it’s the black paint that makes the streaks show up.

 

I have also. A couple of times.

 

Not to derail, but this brings to mind something I’ve read before:

Apparently the Japanese have a big superstition about the color black. It supposedly represents evil, death, etc in their culture. For this reason, Toyota has never released a black vehicle that doesn’t have any metallic “glitter” in it. I’m not positive it’s 100% factual, but I found it very interesting.

I had hoped to see at least some rain before the weekend hit, so I could get a real comparison of the two products. As of now, I have Adams Ceramic Waterless Wash on the passenger side, and Beadmaker on the driver’s side.
I did a complete wipe down of the truck with Opti-Clean first, since it doesn’t have additives. I covered half of the hood and tailgate with large towels, so as not to overlap the two, and applied Adams. I then switched the towels to the other side and did the Beadmaker. I did not do the roof, windows, or windshield.
To be completely up front, I did not strip any existing products from the truck first. There is Hydro2 that I’d applied probably two months ago? Additionally, I applied Shine Supply Signature Shine Wax around a month ago I believe. (I’m sorry, but I don’t keep a record of exactly when I put stuff on, so I have to guess.)
The wax had likely degraded significantly before I did this, so I don’t think it is going to affect the Adams and Beadmaker much, if any.
The Hydro2 doesn’t concern me at all, as I pretty much have that as a base on any vehicle I do no matter what. I don’t think it has ever had a negative effect on any other product. The only exception to this is when I use Jescar Powerlock. I never use that with anything else outside of some early testing I did last year.
Now, if it doesn’t rain, I’m likely going to be doing at least a few panels of polishing with my new Griots G9. I really want to get to work with it, and hopefully share my thoughts on it here. If I do that, it will obviously prevent me from being able to judge the Adams long term. I’m not sure what I’ll put back on the truck once I polish it. It probably depends on how much I get done.

 

Think I screwed up and bought the WRONG product Adams WW- not WW Si02 ??
I see u guys using WW Si02 as top coat ??

My 18’ tundra is garage kept weekend warrior (thx to take home work truck) I’ll spend 3-4 hrs washing / dry / spray wax / detailing truck- then a week later weather I drive it or not it’s “DUSTY”/ road dust and wanted to try a “WW” product- when I don’t have 3-4 hrs to do complete wash/ DETAIL !!

I’m VERY Leary about wiping truck down with NO water!!

Has anyone used this product in this situation as a “cleaner” - I plan on using a detail/ spray wax as final coat/ buff shine ????

Thx for any help/ suggestions
@driverdog
@SouthBoundSteve
@War Machine

 

The product being discussed here is actually the one on the far right of your picture.

As for “waterless” washes, they are generally safe if it’s just dust, pollen, road dirt, etc. Most of these contain lubricants to protect the paint during wipe off. I haven’t used this product as strictly a cleaner yet, but I do use others regularly. Mainly Opti-Clean, Optimum No Rinse, and Carpro Ech20. The Opti-Clean is a “waterless” wash, and the other are “rinseless” washes.

The difference between those two is method:

Waterless is a “spray and wipe” product like this one. Spray it on and wipe it off pretty much like 409 or Windex is used in your home, but made for car paint.

Rinseless uses a bucket and towels / mitts like a normal wash, but you don’t have to use a hose or spray to rinse it off. You soak your towel or mitt in the bucket with the solution. Then you use it and a drying towel to wipe on and wipe off.

So, which one to use depends on how dirty the vehicle is. It’s honestly something you have to use your own judgement on. Rinseless is better for heavier build up.

Light dust from sitting in your driveway all week? Waterless wash.

Heavier dirt from driving all week? Rinseless wash.

Caked on mud and dirt? Get the hose out.

Both of these are perfectly safe, assuming nothing hard is caked on. Rinseless washes are starting to become the standard for mobile detailers, and it’s what I do most of the time. I’d say 75% of the washes I’ve done on my black Tundra were done with ONR or ECH20. The only scratches I’ve gotten were from my own carelessness, not the product. Just make sure you don’t keep wiping with the same towel or side of the towel. Use a fresh surface for every pass if you want to be extra careful.

Even when I have a lot of caked on dirt, I’m likely to just rinse it off with the pressure washer, or rinse it off at a self serve car wash, then do the cleaning with rinseless.

Others here feel free to correct me if I got anything wrong, but unless your truck has caked on mud, this product is going to be perfectly safe as long as you are careful.

 

Thx @War Machine

Appreciate ur time !!

 

Good demo and review from a highly respected detailer:

https://youtu.be/fnQPuDbSOxk

 

So, I tried to get a better answer for you just now. I have a bottle with me in my truck, so I asked a coworker if I could test a panel on his car.

I did try it a little, but not very successfully. His car was dirtier than I’d like for a waterless wash, probably even rinseless. Nothing caked on, but probably needed at least a high pressure rinse.
Also, the only towels I had on hand were a pack of Costco microfiber towels. These are really decent towels at a great price, but I don’t generally use them on paint. They are thin and not soft enough for my liking. I use them for windows, wheels, bumpers, and household stuff.

He’s also in desperate need of a paint decontamination, so his paint feels really rough. The roughness of his paint scared me off of putting any pressure on the towel.

On top of that, it’s not my car, so I was very hesitant to push the envelope at all.

All this to say that I have absolutely nothing to add to my previous statements.

 

Alright, we got some rain over the last couple of hours. Beading was nearly identical. When I drove down the road, the water on the Beadmaker side flew off SLIGHTLY faster, but almost the same. I’m probably the only person who could tell the difference.
Water behavior was a bit different. Beadmaker beads do this thing where they consolidate into bigger clumps of water and fly off. The Adams just blew off in little pieces. Makes no difference in performance, just a cool effect I always enjoy with Beadmaker.

So, my observations so far:

Gloss is equal.
Beading and hydrophobic properties are equal.
Beadmaker does have a better feel to the touch, but it apparently doesn’t give it a performance advantage.
Adams can be used to clean, where Beadmaker cannot.
Though I haven’t used it long enough to know for sure, I’m absolutely positive that Adams will be more durable. The sio2 pretty much guarantees that.

The only negative I see is the extra effort required to keep it from streaking, and that is minimal. Of course, others here have had streaking issues with Beadmaker, and I never have. That could be chalked up to climate or differences in technique.

At this point, unless some other issue arises, I would definitely recommend Adams Ceramic Waterless Wash over Beadmaker.

 

Just ordered the kit from Amazon.

In the Adams demo they show it used on glass. Has anyone tried this and if so what are your thoughts?

 

Thx for the info GENTS !!!

Since I had the Adams WW on hand and truck was dusty I went ahead and followed Adams direction and “cleaned” one panel at a time the spray really removed the “dirt” - towel was dirtyer then I expected !!

After cleaning I applied turtle wax - wax as u dry spray and buffed each panel to nice gloss

All in all I’m HAPPY with my first “waterless wash” !!

 

Here I’ve been this whole time using used beach towels, Taco Bell napkins, and leaves.

 

I wash my towels by themselves with 1oz tide free and clear, and 1-2oz of microfiber detergent (I have a few different types but eventually will settle with 3D Kleen cuz it works great and is under $20 a gallon). I use 2oz when they are really dirty or I am adding buffer pads to the load, but normally 1 oz OS enough.
I use hot water wash, with a double cold rinse cycle and extra spin cycle as well. This is after a lot of trial and error. And I seem to finally found a good combo that leaves no soap residue and cleanses very well. I have a top load HE machine. They towels come out almost dry. I then use the air fluff mode on the dryer with NO heat or EXTRA LOW heat to finish them off, air drying would probably be the best option for drying.

 

Jason, next time you want a test vehicle, be more than happy to meet you somewhere!

FINE, I’ll bring you a 6-pack of your fave brews!!

 

Have her try those ratios, I find using very little, sometimes zero regular laundry soap works well. Also make sure that there is no other laundry mixed in with it. Sometimes I will add my microfiber bath towels to a load, the my come out like new and super absorbent too.

 

Or we could give me the benefit of the doubt, and assume I both know how to care for towels, and that I know what the difference between streaking and residue from a towel is. I never said I had streaks, I said it wanted to streak more than Beadmaker, which can be said about any product with sio2 in it.

This is a great product, but nothing is perfect. We have to be capable of objectivity here....just a thought.

 

The more that I use this stuff, the more I like it. I tried it for the first time the other day but that was more as a topper after a foam cannon wash and hand wash (my truck was filthy after spending a week on Block Island). That was Tuesday. Today, I hit the truck quick with it again. We had some decent rain during the week. I'm pretty happy with it. I will use it on my wife's vehicle later.

VS Beadmaster, I like this stuff a lot more. I know everyone loves Beadmaster but I am less than thrilled with it. My wife has a dark metallic blue vehicle. No matter what I do I usually get some streaking with BM on her vehicle. Perhaps it isn't playing nicely with the wax that's on it? Don't know. But the streaks show. My truck is cement, being lighter I never really noticed any streaks (they may still be there I guess). It will be interesting to see what happens with her vehicle later. She has a Range Rover Sport, her paint/finish really pops when clean/waxed/etc, more so than mine.

 

Looks great, that hood pic with the sunset is really nice.
You use that clay mit a lot and have great results. Do you use it with your wash soap? Spray detailer? Clay lube? Foam?
I think you will be the first to see how many jobs a clay mit will last for. I have used mine about 5 times. Some say you can get 30-50 full cars out of one mit.

 

May be a dumb question, but, I haven't been into detailing in a decade or so and last time I was into there was only a claybar as far as I know. does the clay mit do the same things as a clay bar?

 

Yes it does pretty much everything a clay bar does but it's easier and faster. Some keep real clay on hand for tight areas and glass but the mits, towels, pads all work very well

 

What are your thoughts on this new waxaddict elements product line? Being able to buy a bottle of "pure" sio2, carnuba, or ceramic to add to your spray bottles seems pretty cool. But we are not chemists so I'm not quite sure how itll work out. I assume it's safe to add to other brands products but im really curious how this will pan out. The website does give a few "recipes" which is pretty cool. Also found it interesting that they state adding colors and scents can decrease certain properties of each product. I like the idea of a colorless, odorless, pure detailing product.

 

So I ordered a 12oz bottle of this. Website product description has it at 10%. Arrived today and bottle is labeled at 7%.

Called Adams to see if maybe I got an old batch or what the deal was. At first the rep was confused and said yeah they are all 7%. I said I thought the formula changed and it was now 10% and besides your own product description lists it at 10%. He checked, agreed I was correct on that and said hold on and let me ask someone. When he returned he told me that he just spoke to the product developer and the developer told him it can be anywhere between 7-10% and every batch is different.

My response was that that seems strange at best and inconsistent. He just said "yeah, I don't know, that was literally the guy who developed the product."

So not exactly confidence inspiring. Seems like a BS answer to me. But admittedly I know very little about detailing chemical formulations. That's kinda their job.

Still look forward to using it but kind of weird not even knowing if I am using the right stuff.

 

Picture? I'm curious now. I bought 5 bottles and didn't look at the labels.