WHAT IS PREWASH?

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WHAT IS PREWASH?

Pre-wash, or as it's called in English. A PREwash.
What is it, what does it do, and why is it a good idea?

Essentially, a pre-wash is something you use to loosen dirt and grime before you start washing the car.
This means your wash mitt, washpad, cloth (or similar) will have much less dirt to remove, and your wash will simply be much easier for you.
Forget about the need to use 3 buckets when washing your car. With this method, you'll experience fantastic, quick results and completely without scratching or damaging the car's paintwork.

WHY DO WE PRE-WASH THE CAR?

Your car can be covered in dirt, insects, road film, salt, etc., which is obviously not optimal for washing the car.
When you wash your car, you move the dirt from your car to your wash mitt and then around. You can minimize this risk by using two buckets. One with soap and one with clean water, and then rinsing your wash mitt thoroughly after each panel. Even if you reduce the risk of scratching your car when washing "the correct way", you are still not risk-free.
Any form of mechanical cleaning will always carry a small risk. If the surface is dirtier, the risk increases.
So pre-wash removes much of the dirt without the need for mechanical cleaning.
Unfortunately, pre-wash is not strong enough to completely clean the surface, so some manual work is still needed ;)

WHICH PRODUCTS FOR PRE-WASH

SNOW FOAM

This is probably the most well-known form of pre-wash, where you foam the entire car with soap, let it sit for a few minutes, and then rinse it off.
Even though it produces a lot of foam, looks cool to the neighbours when they look over at you, and gives a good effect if you're recording a YouTube video of yourself washing your car, it doesn't really have much effect on the dirt itself, especially road film.
Yes, it can help loosen any mud on your car, but with a pH-neutral product, which most snow foams are, you won't get any cleaning power.
This has been proven many times. It's even been proven many times that you might as well just save the soap and rinse it with clean water at this stage.
If you're someone who still loves to completely foam the car and watch the thick foam fall to the ground in large clumps, then I can recommend Stjarnagloss snö.
It gives you exactly what you love: very thick foam and it looks fantastic when you rinse it off. It's almost like you're rinsing off crystals.
If you want a snow foam with a bit more bite, I can recommend P&S Pearl. It's not pH-neutral, but pH-balanced with a pH balance of approximately 9, where neutral is 7.

APC / DEGREASER ETC.

APC, which is an all-purpose cleaner, or a degreaser, is essentially a chemical way to clean the paintwork.
It is typically very alkaline or acidic. It's a great way to remove a lot of dirt and grime from the car without having to touch it. However, you need to be very, very careful that it is diluted correctly and it must never dry on the surface.
If it dries on, for example, windows, plastic, etc., it will most likely leave stains that can be almost impossible to remove.
The advantages of this method are that it's relatively inexpensive, it's fast, and you get really visible results quickly.
You also don't need a pressure washer with a foam cannon or similar.
You can simply use one of your favorite bottles from IK sprayers, for example.
We really recommend Stjarnagloss först X, which is an incredibly strong pre-wash that can be used for cleaning your engine bay, removing oil and dirt, for your wheels, etc.
Just remember to dilute the product for the specific use. If you need help, ask Jens here.