# Grit guard at the top of bucket?



## ///M Sport (Apr 5, 2009)

Hi everyone, 

I was thinking at the weekend, does it make more sense to have the grit guard at the top of the bucket than the bottom?

Thinking being, grit and debis will generally fall and sink to the bottom of the bucket and if your not having to dunk your mitt to the bottom of the bucket to reach the guard there is less chance of disturbing the debris and it should in theory stay way from the mitt and remain at the bottom of the bucket. 

Having the grit guard at the top makes it more accessible so your mitt can be dragged across the guard easier and more effectively. 

So with that said, I bodged some hooks together which allowed me to suspend my grit guard approx 5/6 inches from the top of the bucket, filled the bucket to the top and got washing. 

Took a bit of getting used to, but when I was done, I’m convinced I had more grit/debris in the bottom of my bucket than usual. 

Thoughts?


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## In2detailing (Feb 23, 2016)

Generally buckets are narrower at the bottom and wider at the top, would there not be quite a large gap around the edge if it was nearer the top of the bucket?

The newer style grit guards are designed so that once dirt is at the bottom of the bucket, it cannot come back up, no matter how much you disturb the water. Having them at the bottom and forcing you to dunk your mitt generates the 'force' needed to push the water (and dirt) down the bucket and through the guard. Without that force the dirt cannot get pushed down and trapped


Imran


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## garage_dweller (Apr 10, 2018)

Once you’ve used that 5-6 inches of water, that’s above the grit guard, what do then use to wash your car? Or am I missing something?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

As above, check the new style grit guards here:


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

You are not supposed to rub your mitt on the grit guard. It is not a washboard.

The "idea" behind the gritguard is it creates a "stilling" area at the bottom of the bucket where the grit/dirt settles. i.e. it is supposed to stop the dirt /grit from being stirred up as people "plunge and thrash" their mitt into the bucket.

IMO a total waste of money. I don't plunge the mitt deep into my wash or rinse bucket or stir it around like a whirling dervish.
The mitt just needs to be dunked gently in the wash bucket to soak up the washwater. Once a panel is wiped, then the mitt goes into the top of a full rinse bucket and is gently rubbed to dislodge any dirt in the mitt.


The wash bucket never gets dirty and so even when getting low, there is no grit or dirt to pick up. The rinse bucket is always full and so any grit/dirt sinks to the bottom, (a long way from the top) where the water is still (because I don't thrash the mitt around).


And finally, with a decent pre wash /foam, even the dirt in the rinse bucket is minimal, so very little to stir up anyway.


Edit - just seen the video above, and what on earth do these people think they are demonstrating by plunging the mitt up and down like a mad thing. What do they think they are achieving, apart from stirring up the dirt in the bottom of the bucket?


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

In2detailing said:


> Generally buckets are narrower at the bottom and wider at the top, would there not be quite a large gap around the edge if it was nearer the top of the bucket?
> 
> The newer style grit guards are designed so that once dirt is at the bottom of the bucket, it cannot come back up, no matter how much you disturb the water. Having them at the bottom and forcing you to dunk your mitt generates the 'force' needed to push the water (and dirt) down the bucket and through the guard. Without that force the dirt cannot get pushed down and trapped
> 
> Imran


Sorry Imran, I respect your store and your service, but all this nonsense about pushing dirt through the guard where it becomes trapped in the "netherworld" is absolute marketing poppy****.

There is not a shred of truth in these claims, and there is no scientific basis, unless these individuals have overcome the laws of physics.

Ask an expert in fluid dynamics what they think of these claims......


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## ///M Sport (Apr 5, 2009)

I should have said guys, the guard is in the top of the RINSE bucket. 

Someone said about the grit guard not being used as a washboard..... While that description might be a bit excessive, rubbing the mitt against the grit guard will no doubt encourage the dirt and debis to dislodge. Try it. 

The bucket being narrower at the bottom is true. But when my grit guard is at the top, I have a 1 cm space around the edge at most, which I don’t think makes the difference to theory at all. 

I’ve always been a bit dubious of the claims of grit guards, while I think the claims are a little excessive, i do think they help no matter where they are in the bucket. 

Dirt and debris do sink regardless so you will see residue at the bottom of your bucket with or without a grit guard, but will see more with then without. But if your going to force your mitt into the water with such force to disturb the water the debris will move around the bucket, guard or not. 

I think you only really need one grit guard in the rinse bucket and in my experience i’ll be keeping mine at the top!


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## ///M Sport (Apr 5, 2009)

garage_dweller said:


> Once you've used that 5-6 inches of water, that's above the grit guard, what do then use to wash your car? Or am I missing something?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I should have explained better, the guard is in the rinse bucket only, not the wash bucket. The 5-6 inches of water remains clean as the dirt and debris naturally sinks to the bottom. Because you can't dunk your mitt the dirt and debris at the bottom has much less chance of getting disturbed.


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## Daniel Schipani (Feb 12, 2017)

Hey! Good thing our engineer thoroughly studied Fluid Dynamics to make the Dirt Lock work efficiently. :buffer:

The result is water and debris flowing in a downward motion and the filters on the back act like a valve to trap particles under the screen. The same process is used but on a much smaller scale in reverse along the sides of the Dirt Lock to cycle clean water above for re-use, creating a suction effect.

Fluid dynamics can be a pretty powerful tool if used correctly! :thumb:

You can see the results here for our Dirt Lock bucket insert: 




You can also find ton's of review video's online.

Cheers from Canada :wave:


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

Daniel Schipani said:


> Hey! Good thing our engineer thoroughly studied Fluid Dynamics to make the Dirt Lock work efficiently. :buffer:
> 
> The result is water and debris flowing in a downward motion and the filters on the back act like a valve to trap particles under the screen. The same process is used but on a much smaller scale in reverse along the sides of the Dirt Lock to cycle clean water above for re-use, creating a suction effect.
> 
> ...


Is it me or was the thrusting motion of the washmitt quicker and longer for the "bare" dirtlock section of the video? 

Also why the need to push a mitt to the bottom of the bucket? Is the wash solution much better down there than at the top? And if in the rinse bucket, is the rinse water better at rinsing than at the top of the bucket?

Snake oil of the highest order ……


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## ///M Sport (Apr 5, 2009)

I’ve kept the grit guard at the top of my bucket the last few washes and I’m convinced I have more debris left at the bottom of the bucket after washing.


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## \Rian (Aug 23, 2017)

///M Sport said:


> I've kept the grit guard at the top of my bucket the last few washes and I'm convinced I have more debris left at the bottom of the bucket after washing.


Can you elaborate.

I use a grit guard in my wash bucket and a grit guard with washboard in my rinse bucket.

Are you just using 1 grit guard in your rinse bucket or in both, do you use a washboard etc???


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## GSVHammer (Feb 7, 2009)

I actually use the Gritguard Washboard add on for my Gritguard in my Rinse bucket. So I am actually rubbing my wash mitt on the Washboard.
This helps remove the dirt particles from my micofiber mitt. Really useful during the winter months.


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## ///M Sport (Apr 5, 2009)

Rian said:


> Can you elaborate.
> 
> I use a grit guard in my wash bucket and a grit guard with washboard in my rinse bucket.
> 
> Are you just using 1 grit guard in your rinse bucket or in both, do you use a washboard etc???


Hi Rian,

Grit guard is at the top of the rinse bucket - 5 inches beneath the water level, meguairs yellow bucket, so pretty deep. Mitt is rubbed on the grit guard and the dirt particles sink to the bottom. As you can't physically dunk the mitt any further than the first 5 inches of water the chances of disturbing the dirt particles which have sunk to the bottom of the bucket are very low.


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## \Rian (Aug 23, 2017)

///M Sport said:


> Hi Rian,
> 
> Grit guard is at the top of the rinse bucket - 5 inches beneath the water level, meguairs yellow bucket, so pretty deep. Mitt is rubbed on the grit guard and the dirt particles sink to the bottom. As you can't physically dunk the mitt any further than the first 5 inches of water the chances of disturbing the dirt particles which have sunk to the bottom of the bucket are very low.


Interesting theory, what happens when youve used the first 5inches of water, do you refill or topup, or move the girt guard down?


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## blurb (Feb 13, 2008)

I'm probably doing something like this by just having two cheapo grit guards stacked in my rinse bucket. Arguably a better option as you have more "baffling" to reduce turbulence kicking up the dirt when dunking.


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## ///M Sport (Apr 5, 2009)

Rian said:


> Interesting theory, what happens when youve used the first 5inches of water, do you refill or topup, or move the girt guard down?


No need to refill or top up. The top five inches of water is theoretically the cleanest section as the dirt and debris has sunk well beneath this.

P.S - thanks for the suggestion over numerous posts on monkey mitts for the wheels - makes life much easier!


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## ///M Sport (Apr 5, 2009)

blurb said:


> I'm probably doing something like this by just having two cheapo grit guards stacked in my rinse bucket. Arguably a better option as you have more "baffling" to reduce turbulence kicking up the dirt when dunking.


Hi blurb,

Yes it sounds like you're following the same theory. The higher the grit guard the less chance of disturbing dirty water. I would also argue that the higher the grit guard the more chance you have of using it effectively as a washboard. The deeper the bucket, better still.


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## Actrosman (Oct 23, 2013)

Grit guards? 2BM? How did we get by all those years ago! I use 2 mitts.....1 for top 3/4 of the car and the other for the bottom bits.....when filling the bucket from the tap I tend to let the water flow down the side after giving it a gentle 'slosh' about to mix the shampoo in....who needs a fancy pile of bubbles on the top? No bubbles for any remaining debris to cling to when 'dipping in' to wet it again.....and certainly no dipping down the bottom.....ooh err Mrs!


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## Arvi (Apr 11, 2007)

What you need is a new velvet lined lint free organic bucket and siberian husky hair washmitt and after each wipe on a panel, discard and buy another. Only dip in 1.25mm otherwise you risk your car turning into a Fiat Multipla.


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## \Rian (Aug 23, 2017)

Arvi said:


> What you need is a new velvet lined lint free organic bucket and siberian husky hair washmitt and after each wipe on a panel, discard and buy another. Only dip in 1.25mm otherwise you risk your car turning into a Fiat Multipla.


Read this in work and laughed out loud, had a few funny looks but made me smile


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## \Rian (Aug 23, 2017)

///M Sport said:


> No need to refill or top up. The top five inches of water is theoretically the cleanest section as the dirt and debris has sunk well beneath this.
> 
> P.S - thanks for the suggestion over numerous posts on monkey mitts for the wheels - makes life much easier!


Thanks for the reply, I was referring to what happens when youve used the first 5 inches and the waterline is below the grit guard


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## DavieB (Aug 14, 2009)

.....what about one wash bucket multiple mits, plus an empty bucket to put the used mit in, then chuck them in the washing machine ready for next time.


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## ///M Sport (Apr 5, 2009)

Rian said:


> Thanks for the reply, I was referring to what happens when youve used the first 5 inches and the waterline is below the grit guard


The water line never goes below the grit guard, if anything the water level goes slightly higher - the guard is in the rinse bucket don't forget.

Mitt into wash bucket > clean panel > mitt into rinse bucket agitated against guard , excess ,inquisitive squeezed into rinise bucket > mitt into wash bucket...


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## ///M Sport (Apr 5, 2009)

DavieB said:


> .....what about one wash bucket multiple mits, plus an empty bucket to put the used mit in, then chuck them in the washing machine ready for next time.


Nothing wrong with that either, you just need quite a few mitts if not using a rinse bucket at all. I bought a set of the largest mitts I could find and when folded you can effectively get 4 clean sides from one mitt.


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## Daniel Schipani (Feb 12, 2017)

Hello everyone! We have been working hard to provide some clear footage and information for everyone to truly understand bucket filters. We did several tests so you can see in real time the effects of various bucket inserts compared to a Dirt Lock system. This is a must watch short educational video.

New Video Demo - > 




Enjoy! :thumb:


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## nicks16v (Jan 7, 2009)

To change the subject a little, I have gone from 3 buckets with grit guards to one bucket with 1 grit guard, I have 10 wash pads. I make sure my pre wash stage is done thoroughly to ensure as little dirt is left on the paint as possible. I then use one wash pad per panel then chuck it in an empty bucket. I do this for each panel, its much easier and just as safe I would say. The wash pads then just get chucked in the washing machine with my drying towels. Job done.


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