# AF citrus power vs AS G101



## domandmel (Mar 16, 2012)

hey guys,

i am running out of G101, but have been looking at citrus power as a possible replacement. what is everyones thoughts? is one better than the other?

obviously g101 is probably better value for money, but if AF is better at de-griming then thats always better


Cheers for everyones help

Dom


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## cossierick (Jan 19, 2011)

Supose it depends what your using it for !!

Id use g101 for full clean and detail in different diloutions for wheels/arches, engine bay etc 

Then id use citrus power as a pre wash every week to maintain my lsp 

rick


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## domandmel (Mar 16, 2012)

it was to use one or the other as a pre wash to cut through grime on the lower parts of the car, badges, door shuts etc....
or do they have their own uses for different parts of the car?


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## bigslippy (Sep 19, 2010)

Citrus Power is LSP safe , so if you have any protection on your car , this would be more suitable:thumb:


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## great gonzo (Nov 4, 2010)

To very different product really.


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## domandmel (Mar 16, 2012)

great gonzo said:


> To very different product really.


if thats the case then its not best to substitute one for the other, rather use them together in different areas?
do fancy trying the citrus power tho, after watching the video of it on PB website it looks amazing!


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## Ryan (Feb 18, 2008)

domandmel said:


> if thats the case then its not best to substitute one for the other, rather use them together in different areas?
> do fancy trying the citrus power tho, after watching the video of it on PB website it looks amazing!


love AF citrus power, my only criticism (if it is one) is that you will find you go through a lot of it very quickly (esp in winter). At least I do anyway. Thus it can be costly. Very good product though.

As said above, G101 and CP are two different products.


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## gav1513 (Apr 16, 2009)

i always thought g101 was more of an apc? if thats right they are 2 different products, citrus pwer is a great pre wash but very expensive if your going to do the entire car with it, i use it for a pre wash on the front end and wing mirrors in the summer cause i havent found a product as good as it for breaking down dead insects


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## domandmel (Mar 16, 2012)

thanks guys, might have to invest in both. G101 to replace what i have used and citrus power to try it out


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## great gonzo (Nov 4, 2010)

domandmel said:


> thanks guys, might have to invest in both. G101 to replace what i have used and citrus power to try it out


Not a bad idea mate, g101 is not expensive and will dilute a VERY long way, as its said has 101 different uses.


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## domandmel (Mar 16, 2012)

i have also just stumbled across autobrite citrus wash multi purpose cleaner which seems to do everything g101 and citrus power does....anybody any views on this product?


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## TooFunny (Sep 18, 2012)

Have a look at valetpro citrus prewash, dilutes down well to 1:8 to 1:10 is lap safe and much better value than af citrus.


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## DetailMe (Jan 13, 2011)

Autosmart hazsafe is more akin to citrus power. Great stuff, it's what I use
Chris


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## gav1513 (Apr 16, 2009)

i use autobrite citrus wash as a pre wash on my car, not as good for removing bugs like citrus power hence in the summer i use CP for that but always prewash the rest of the vehicle in AB citrus wash and pressure wash off and cannot recommend it enough, i have it diluted down to something like 15:1 and cuts through the dirt and grime easily and is lsp safe just like the others


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## domandmel (Mar 16, 2012)

thanks gav, may have to give the AB stuff a whirl


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## gav1513 (Apr 16, 2009)

you wont be dissapointed, its good stuff, i mix 300ml to 5L litres of water in my pressure sprayer and gets rid of 90% of the crud, i would suggest for the summer months getting citrus power for the bugs though, which makes CP last quite a while


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## cam73 (Oct 5, 2008)

AF Citrus Power in the 5 litre containers works out a third of the cost of R222 Total Auto Wash I previously used for the same task. I would agree with the comments above that it's a different product than G101 (which itself is a versatile APC). I use Citrus Power on the front, rear and lower parts of the sides. It doesn't need to be used over the entire car as part of a routine wash; it's better considered as a 'spot' treatment. :thumb:


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## RDB85 (Dec 28, 2011)

G101 is not really a prewash more of a really strong APC. As it will remove all wax from the car even at 10:1. Ive recently bought some Britemax Grime Out which can be used as an APC and a Prewash among st other things. Looks really good to me


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

they are two totally different G101 is a caustic cleaner so will out perform CP in everyway simply because of its make up. It really depends on the application and how much grime you want to remove. also after G101 you will have to apply some additional protection.Also I do notice that people do not really look closly at teh dilution ratios of G101 which can lead to some issues if you are not careful!


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## RDB85 (Dec 28, 2011)

Ronnie said:


> they are two totally different G101 is a caustic cleaner so will out perform CP in everyway simply because of its make up. It really depends on the application and how much grime you want to remove. also after G101 you will have to apply some additional protection.Also I do notice that people do not really look closly at teh dilution ratios of G101 which can lead to some issues if you are not careful!


Well said Ronnie. Even G101 at its weakest it still is a very powerful cleaner


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## domandmel (Mar 16, 2012)

i have read that G101 is a potent product and if left or diluted wrong can leave staining etc... may use g101 for door shuts and under bonnet and use a citrus based cleaner for the bodywork. i know what else to put on the old xmas list! cheers for all your help guys


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## Idea (Dec 13, 2012)

Thx for the tip


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## Tank. (Dec 26, 2011)

Just to throw something else in the mix something like tango is perfect for door shuts and under bonnet

Has cleaning properties and also adds gloss


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## FiestaDan (Jul 10, 2012)

Ronnie said:


> they are two totally different G101 is a caustic cleaner so will out perform CP in everyway simply because of its make up. It really depends on the application and how much grime you want to remove. also after G101 you will have to apply some additional protection.Also I do notice that people do not really look closly at teh dilution ratios of G101 which can lead to some issues if you are not careful!


G101 isnt caustic, its alkaline with a ph of 13


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Dilute the 101at like 10 or 15 to 1 and usecthat as a prewash it should be lsp safe at that rate, but still got plenty of kick to clean.


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

FiestaDan said:


> G101 isnt caustic, its alkaline with a ph of 13


Sorry Dan im afraid you are very wrong if you read teh label it states in capital letters

CAUSTIC AKLK LIQUID N.O.S
(SODIUM POLYPHOSPHATE, SODIUM HYDROXIDE)

its a caustic product im afraid.


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## domandmel (Mar 16, 2012)

Tank. said:


> Just to throw something else in the mix something like tango is perfect for door shuts and under bonnet
> 
> Has cleaning properties and also adds gloss[/
> 
> ...


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## FiestaDan (Jul 10, 2012)

Ronnie said:


> Sorry Dan im afraid you are very wrong if you read teh label it states in capital letters
> 
> CAUSTIC AKLK LIQUID N.O.S
> (SODIUM POLYPHOSPHATE, SODIUM HYDROXIDE)
> ...


The product in NEAT form contains a small amount of Sodium Hydroxide. Once diluted in ready to use form it becomes non-caustic.

Let me give you an example of how misleading reading MSDS sheets can be. Lets say Autosmart started selling G101 ready to use in diluted form in nice fancy bottles. The MSDS sheet would then change and the sodium hydroxide content would be so small it would not legally be required to be listed in the hazardous ingredients and no one would be any the wiser that there was any sodium hydroxide in it! The MSDS is referring to the NEAT product.

The same thing happens with many things and a good example is Coca Cola which in its neat form is highly corrosive but when diluted it becomes safe enough to drink.

Dont get too carried away with the whole Sodium Hydroxide thing. It is used in many every day items, even things like face and hand washes can contain sodium hydroxide in small amounts

not my answer as i found was here: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=3467802


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

Would really love to continue but if the goal posts keep changing to suit then there is no point as you already have made up your mind but it is a caustic product Autosmart mention this themselves so why try and change it by saying one thing then another? 

Its a very unfair test as its like putting a fiesta 1.2 up against an RS focus The G101 will win as its a far more agressive cleaner due to its chemical make up.

I think I can recall your exact reply was G101 isnt caustic, its alkaline with a ph of 13 

The info posted is a vast simplification and has chemical inaccuracy. Autosmart themselves accept teh risk of caustic because they provide a caustic free product called HAZSAFE.

I simply replied quoting the label and that you were mistaken and I clarified the issue now your saying its only a tiny bit caustic but thats alright as its safe so was smoking 30 years ago. lol

hooroo.


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

With car cleaning chemicals, a lot of people make a great deal of the pH and whether a chemical is caustic or not.

People then often go off and quote the data supplied with the MSDS (if available).

What people often *do not *take into account (and as a result often try to start a mass panic) is the actual chemical that they *apply* to the car.

In the case of shampoos, snowfoams and APCs, the product applied is diluted with water, sometimes at massive dilution rates.

Thus a chemcial with a pH of 13 as a neat chemical, used through a snowfoam lance can have a pH of 11 when it hits your car (based on a rough approximation using 100ml of neat product topped up to 1 litre in the snowfoam bottle and the snowfoam lance having a 1 to 100 dilution factor)

The firebreathing chemical that everyone runs screaming from is now a much safer product when it hits your car.

A pack of litmus papers can be picked up for a couple of quid, so anyone can easily test the ph of what you apply to your car.


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

Personally i now feel people.like to quote anbout not wanting to strip protwction and have safe for lsp products and whel safe cleaners but in reality most dont care and all people want are bulk trade chemicals that clean quickly and agressivly and dont bother what the product is.


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## inkey (Jan 22, 2010)

I agree with rollo on this I wouldn't dream of using g101 on the paint. Or even comparing it to citrus based product. If you want something decent that will clean your paint while being safe at the same time have a look a citrus preclean. It's great and no worrys about it fading plastics.


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

After 20 + years of using G101 i have never had any major issues with it staining or destroying things ( it doesnt like the stripes on a caravan it pulls the colour out but thats the stripe NOT the product) tango is good but doesnt have the same degrease ability.
If you are using something like 101 on aintwork then its pretty safe to say
A you know what your doing
B your going to start from scratch and re protect the paint anyway.
Its not really a good tfr hazsafe is better for that but it is good for aches wheels etc.
Yes an alkaline product can be caustic too.
Caustic meaning can cause burns.


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## The Doctor (Sep 11, 2007)

Caustic aka sodium hydroxide is a term used by marketing people. Chemists refer to caustic as any chemical that destroys human tissue. Chemically there are lots of different kinds of caustics and it is the type and the quantity that is important, nothing else. Whilst G101 is actually caustic when neat, it becomes non caustic in use once diluted eg. It won't destroy human tissue. Yes G101 can be quite aggressive when neat and is far too aggressive to use on paintwork when neat but once you add 90%+ water you have a much milder ready to use product with much lower than 1% sodium hydroxide. 

Hazsafe was originally developed because some trade users have very strict health and safety and are not even allowed anything that is even classed as an irritant on site. Notice that Hazsafe has no warning symbols on the label. The other reason it was developed is because some vehicles have very sensitive bare alloy trim that marks easily. 

Saying that I personally wouldn't use G101 as a regular pre wash. It is such a good cleaner due to its make up that it will degrade waxes pretty quickly even when diluted heavily. It is designed as a complete all purpose cleaner in every sense of the word so it will try to remove every single foreign object it comes into contact with including waxes and sealants. Hazsafe, Envirowash and ultra mousse are my prefered choice of regular pre wash products as far as Autosmart goes, maybe sometimes Actimousse if the vehicle is very heavily soiled.

Citrus pre washes are basically a kind of tfr with small amounts of citrus terpenes blended into them. They smell nice, sound sexy (like synthetic oil) and they feel special but in all honesty citrus itself is not a great cleaner of general road dirt and it is not Lsp safe because it is a strong solvent. Citrus will dissolve tar so your wax doesn't stand a chance! You would be as well trying to pre wash the car with paraffin since it is very similar in what sort of soiling it will remove. 

Find a product that you like and use it. Don't get too ate up on what might or might not be in it. 




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Well put doc


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## sxi tez (Jan 29, 2012)

Doc talks sense!


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