# Testing out wash pads ( micro marring ) Adams, Gtechniq, Dooka OSHA



## markcaughey (Apr 3, 2015)

After noticing some pretty bad markings on my paint from washing i decided todo some testing of different wash pads and mitts to try and find one that is the most kind to the paint. The marks on the paint were similar to swirling but all in straight lines basically all following the pattern that i use my wash pad. I believe the marks have been caused by the Adams wash pad as that is when i started really noticing them.

**This post is not to bash any products Im well aware that the paint on my car is particularly soft. I have never had any bother with any of these pads when using on cars with factory paint. The purpose of the test is basically to find a pad that marks the soft paint on my BMW the least 

I polished the bonnet, boot lid and one door completely removing all the light marring and then panel wiped them so each of the panels i was testing on had perfect paint and no protection on them whatsoever. I then drove the car around 50 miles so it had some dirt on it and was a fair test, then washed it

*Wash Method* 
Rinse 
Citrus pre wash 
Rinse 
Snow foam 
Rinse 
Snow foam 
washed with pads and mitts 
2 bucket method grit guards 
Adams shampoo 
Dried, patted dry with CarPro fat green BOA drying towel ( excuse the fluffs )

While washing i was extremely careful, basically applying no pressure and just dragging the pad across the paint.

*The results*

*Adams pad*

I used the top of the boot lid as a test area for this pad


























There was some pretty noticeable marks after just one wash as you can see, think i can safely say this is what has caused the marks on my paint as the whole car is covered in the same type of marring which is actually more noticeable as its a build up over several washes.

Its a pity as i do really like the Adams pad, it holds tonnes of product and is so easy to maintain always washes up great.

*Gtechniq Mitt*

I used the drivers side half of the bonnet for this one


























This pad also inflicted some of the same type of marring but i would say it was less noticeable

*Dooka OSHA Pad*

I used the passenger side of the bonnet as a test area for this pad. I also used the door but can't really count that to be fair as the bonnet and bootlid were painted at the same time so its the same clear coat on each panel, the door has also been painted at some point but not at the same time so could be softer could be harder.










The obligatory Dooka Pad pose :wave:


























Paint on the door was still pretty much perfect










The Dooka pad did also cause some very light marks but these were barley noticeable and as you can see i couldn't get them to show up on the camera but i could see them in person but only just. It certainly caused the least out of all the pads and is definitely going to be the pad i now use for this car.

Also considering this was all with no protection on the paint whatsoever. Im going to be putting Gtechniq CSL and EXOv3 on the car soon so that should make a big difference and I'm hoping that with the coatings Along with the Dooka wash pad i can keep the paint reasonably swirl free. Getting the coatings on without marking the paint will be fun though !!!


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## NateQ (May 3, 2015)

Awesome test. Thanks


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## LewisChadwick7 (Aug 22, 2014)

very interesting and cheers for doing this! as you say your paint is very soft! i use the adams wash pad on my fiesta ST and checked it very closely yesterday after i saw your comments on another thread but couldnt see any damage under the light thankfully but i'm going to keep an eye on it no though! i know fords paint is soft/intermediate so might be a bit more forgiving than your bimmer


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## sm81 (May 14, 2011)

Your car could be good test bed for rinseless wash test.

Manufacturers claims that rinseless wash doesn't cause swirls because they are super lubricant but I doubt it.

ONR vs Wolf's vs Carpro would be nice to see:thumb:


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## markcaughey (Apr 3, 2015)

sm81 said:


> Your car could be good test bed for rinseless wash test.
> 
> Manufacturers claims that rinseless wash doesn't cause swirls because they are super lubricant but I doubt it.
> 
> ONR vs Wolf's vs Carpro would be nice to see:thumb:


I can pretty much guarantee they would make and absolute mess of my paint :lol:


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## sm81 (May 14, 2011)

markcaughey said:


> I can pretty much guarantee they would make and absolute mess of my paint :lol:


Make a test?:thumb:


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## chongo (Jun 7, 2014)

I've been using the Adams wash pad now for about 8 months and to be honest I've never seen any damage at all besides 1 very fine scratch on the bonnet which I inflicted:wall: but saying that my car and the old Merc did have hard paint:thumb: but now I think I will purchase the Dooka pad because of the great reviews it's getting. Great review mate:thumb:


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## neilmcl (Mar 26, 2010)

Were all these pads/mitts new and had they been washed first before use?


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## markcaughey (Apr 3, 2015)

I don't have any waterless wash products and would be a waste of money to get any as I would never use them. I would happily do a test if someone wants to send me some product to use. Aslong as it's before I do the coatings. 

The Gtechniq is the oldest around 15 washes the Adams around 5-6 washes and the Dooka had only been used once before. All pads had been washed before use


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## EliteCarCare (Aug 25, 2006)

So if I'm reading this correctly...

*Wash Method* 
Rinse 
Citrus pre wash 
Rinse 
Snow foam 
Rinse 
Snow foam 
washed with pads and mitts 
Dried, patted dry with CarPro fat green BOA drying towel ( excuse the fluffs )

You're not actually washing with any shampoo, you're just using the snowfoam as the wash chemical?

If this is the case then you will definitely get some sort of marring as the snowfoam won't be lubricated like a good shampoo is and will not offer any protection against marring.

Or have I missunderstood the post and you did use a shampoo?

Alex


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## markcaughey (Apr 3, 2015)

EliteCarCare said:


> So if I'm reading this correctly...
> 
> *Wash Method*
> Rinse
> ...


Sorry yeah shampoo was used plus 2 bucket method with grit guards, just thought That would go without saying on here but your right enough I will add that in.


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## EliteCarCare (Aug 25, 2006)

No worries, definitely worth mentioning which shampoo you used as it's an important part of the test. :thumb:


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## DrEskimo (Jan 7, 2016)

I still find it incredible that the Adam's washmitt, as fluffy as it is with all that pre-wash and shampoo, can still cause damage....

I would very much like to see this test repeated with Gtechniq 

Would also like to see it with just a wax, but appreciate that's a tall ask


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## sm81 (May 14, 2011)

markcaughey said:


> I don't have any waterless wash products and would be a waste of money to get any as I would never use them. I would happily do a test if someone wants to send me some product to use. Aslong as it's before I do the coatings.


I don't have at the moment any but maybe somebody can send him small sample bottles that we can read nice review about them.


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## Teufel (Feb 21, 2016)

Use both the dooka wash pad and the Adams pad both are great in my opinion prefer the Adams a little bit more but it's too big for some task why I still got the dooka pad .
Can it be that you paint is really soft ?
Did you remove fillers from the polishes b4 your drive with panel wipe or Isonol ?
Both my cars look spot on , my work car is black get a wash every week and looks after 10k still like new , got trouble to see the pad caused it.


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## jamiepollock643 (May 12, 2013)

I regularly use the Adams wash pads, two differently marked ones, one top one bottom and a small dooka for the very bottom. Personally both of our cars are hard paint but never had any issues at all with the Adams pad using gyeon bathe/Adams shampoo/G-Wash/Nanolex pure as regular shampoo, gyeon is like an ultimate combo of slickness and suds however.


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## markcaughey (Apr 3, 2015)

Never really thought of the shampoo having much of an impact. Adams stuff is good but doesn't really seem that slick, what would people recommend as a shampoo for soft paint ?


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## Teufel (Feb 21, 2016)

markcaughey said:


> Never really thought of the shampoo having much of an impact. Adams stuff is good but doesn't really seem that slick, what would people recommend as a shampoo for soft paint ?


Find the Adams shampoo really good my direct favorite after Zaino Z7.
Always add 30ml of ONR to my wash bucked as Nd let my pad soak in it for good 15-20 minutes feels it adds some lubrication .


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## Surrey Sam (Dec 29, 2008)

Great write up.

I'd like to see someone do a similar comparison between a Wash Mitt & Wash Pad from the same manufacturer company. 

I'm sure wash pads inflict more marring from having to apply downward pressure. A wash mitt on the other hand (pun intended) allows you to manoeuvre the wash medium around the panels without having to create downward pressure.


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## uggski (Jun 29, 2016)

Surrey Sam said:


> Great write up.
> 
> I'd like to see someone do a similar comparison between a Wash Mitt & Wash Pad from the same manufacturer company.
> 
> I'm sure wash pads inflict more marring from having to apply downward pressure. A wash mitt on the other hand (pun intended) allows you to manoeuvre the wash medium around the panels without having to create downward pressure.


I have the Adams Wash Pad and you don't need to apply any pressure. The weight of the wet pad is more than enough.

Lately I have noticed minor swirls in the paint on my Nissan Juke. Not sure if it is from the pad. I think it's more likely that it's from the grime the car picks up as it's the DD.

I think it's my wash method as I can't always wash the car as often as I would like in winter due to only being able to do it on weekends and the weather not always cooperating. So the dirt accumulates and is really hard to get off even with a snow foam, prewash and Powermaxed TFR. So ideally experimenting with getting as much of the grime off before touching it with any sort of pad or washmitt.

Any recommendations welcome.


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## galamaa (Aug 3, 2014)

I am glad that you brought out this test. Hell yeah, I have used many and many wash mitts and yes, they marred the paint. Even if I use the same producer, they have different quality (I don`t want to say, which products) but this is merino wash mitt (merino hair is almost 6 times thinner than usual lamb hair. Much softer) They are different, if you touch them - one is harsher than another and this harder causes pretty good marring. I have tested a lot prewashes and shampoos, using different methods. Wash pure and dirt panel - results are the same. Same marring. 
Already thought, that I must test dooka. Maybe it`s right time, because someone else has also found, that this marring is caused by the wash mitt.


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## markcaughey (Apr 3, 2015)

DrEskimo said:


> I still find it incredible that the Adam's washmitt, as fluffy as it is with all that pre-wash and shampoo, can still cause damage....
> 
> I would very much like to see this test repeated with Gtechniq
> 
> Would also like to see it with just a wax, but appreciate that's a tall ask


Im afraid once the paint has been corrected and coatings are on the only pad going near the paint will be the Dooka, however it will still be interesting to see how it holds up over time as the Dooka did still mark the unprotected paint ever so slightly


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## Gussy (Oct 12, 2007)

Surrey Sam said:


> I'm sure wash pads inflict more marring from having to apply downward pressure. A wash mitt on the other hand (pun intended) allows you to manoeuvre the wash medium around the panels without having to create downward pressure.


This. I've never liked wash pads for this reason.


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## markcaughey (Apr 3, 2015)

Just thought i would report back after doing Gtechniq coatings

I haven't washed the car yet but i did do some tests while coating the car and the Crystal Serum Light Plus EXO v3 seem to have significantly helped the soft paint on my car from marring so easily which I'm well chuffed with.

I will definitely report back after a few washes and let use know how the paint is looking

Lets hope i can keep it looking like this


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## todds (Feb 17, 2015)

I read on various forums in the usa a few months back that many people found that the adams wash pad and the chemical guys wash pad caused marring and i think i posted same on this forum as i was seriously thinking of buying both of those at the time and was doing research on them. Thats good news about the dooka wash pad as i was thinking of getting one. 
regards
todds


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## trv8 (Dec 30, 2007)

markcaughey said:


> I polished the bonnet, boot lid and one door completely removing all the light marring and then panel wiped them so each of the panels i was testing on had perfect paint and no protection on them whatsoever. I then drove the car around 50 miles so it had some dirt on it and was a fair test, then washed it


Slight flaw in your test......and I'm not being funny .......but there are no pics of the panels after being polished at the start of this test.


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## MBRuss (Apr 29, 2011)

Gussy said:


> This. I've never liked wash pads for this reason.


Likewise. The mitt doesn't even need to have the weight of it and the water pressing down on the panel - you can suspend your hand above the car and lightly drag it over with no real weight on it at all.

Also, you're more likely to drop a pad on the floor than a mitt, and you can keep your hand nice and flat inside the mitt when washing, which helps, whereas I guess you have to kinda grab a handful of pad just to hold it and move it?


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## markcaughey (Apr 3, 2015)

Oh well after just one wash I can already see some light marring on the bootlid, roof and bonnet. Looks like there is no hope for my paint at this point ! 

At least the car looked good for a day !

It is very minor to be honest the car still looks better than most on the road. I just hope it doesn't build up over time and end up a mess again ! 

Only time will tell


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## markcaughey (Apr 3, 2015)

Just tried to take some photos to post up of what I'm talking about and to be hones they are very minor I can't get them to show on camera at all. 

Compared to the marring before when the car was washed with no protection it's still a huge improvement


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## Smanderson117 (Jan 19, 2015)

Very strange that your car has really soft paint as most BMW's are renowned for hard pain?


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## markcaughey (Apr 3, 2015)

Smanderson117 said:


> Very strange that your car has really soft paint as most BMW's are renowned for hard pain?


It's pretty much all non factory paint on my car mate 👎


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## keithjmason (Oct 22, 2012)

MBRuss said:


> Likewise. The mitt doesn't even need to have the weight of it and the water pressing down on the panel - you can suspend your hand above the car and lightly drag it over with no real weight on it at all.
> 
> Also, you're more likely to drop a pad on the floor than a mitt, and you can keep your hand nice and flat inside the mitt when washing, which helps, whereas I guess you have to kinda grab a handful of pad just to hold it and move it?


Dooka Pads are so soft, but I do prefer a Mitt.. if only there was a Dooka Mitt


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## ncd (Dec 12, 2005)

I bought an Adam's pad but to be honest I've found it to big to use effectively. I've not exactly got small hands, but haven't enjoyed using it, so may relegate to wheel duty. So now going to look for something else... 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


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## Sicskate (Oct 3, 2012)

I've had my Adams pad for about 3 months, but I'm still yet to use it  

Sent from my FRD-L09 using Tapatalk


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## ah234 (Nov 10, 2015)

ncd said:


> I bought an Adam's pad but to be honest I've found it to big to use effectively. I've not exactly got small hands, but haven't enjoyed using it, so may relegate to wheel duty. So now going to look for something else...
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


I must say I found the opposite, I love the size. However worth looking into the dooka pad, the large is slightly smaller and you have the option of medium too


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## ncd (Dec 12, 2005)

ah234 said:


> I must say I found the opposite, I love the size. However worth looking into the dooka pad, the large is slightly smaller and you have the option of medium too


Thanks, I think I may look into one of those or may go the wash mit route. Oh the choices.


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## dax (Dec 9, 2016)

ncd said:


> Thanks, I think I may look into one of those or may go the wash mit route. Oh the choices.


Another one... 

I could never easily work with wash mitts, too big for women wrists.  I then discovered the Microfiber Madness Incredipad and love these! Size is: 8" x 6" / 20 x 16cm and 1.5" / 4cm thick.


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## Dunc2610 (May 23, 2011)

What size Dooka pad do people tend to opt for, the medium is smaller than my current MF Madness one, and the large is a bit bigger. I've got big hands so I'm leaning toward the large, however they never seem to have them in stock


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