# First Time With HFE



## scratcher (Jul 20, 2010)

So, my bottle of HFE came yesterday 










It wasn't raining when I got home from work today so I gave it a shot.

I went for 35ml in just under 10l of water. It felt nice and lubricated and the cleaning power was great.

(the wash water looked a lot more orange in real life)









I was brave and let it dry off on it's own. here's what happened.

Dirty car




























Clean car. This side was away from the sun light









Pretty good. Barely any streaking on this side.

The other side though :wall:



















Wiped down with V7 and all was well










The bonnet, roof, boot, windows, passenger side and parts of the driver's side were streak central 

Not put off, I tried it on another car. The sun had hidden behind a cloud (not that it was beaming down while doing my car) and I'd say this improved things with the drying.

Driver's door.










The bonnet wasn't so great.



















I then tried it briefly on my wheels. 800 miles since they were last cleaned










Cleaned really well. I only done them quickly so forgive the dirt between the spokes.










So only using HFE for the first time, I can't give a final view on it. I like to use a product a few times before I make up my mind.
First impressions, I liked the cleaning abilities it has. It felt nice and slick, even on really dusty bits.

I didn't like what I saw after wiping over with V7. For a washed car, the MF shouldn't look like this IMO. You can see the dirt on the right hand side. But I think this could be minimized with a plush drying towel and drying aid/QD. I don't know if it's the same story with ONR as I always dry as I go but to me the dirt isn't being removed, certainly not nearly enough to start waxing.










As for the self drying... I'm not convinced today. The sides of the cars in the sun did have a lot more streaking than the other, which is a shame. Nothing a QD wipe down won't fix, but if you're pushed for time then it's not ideal.
I'm going to try it again and dry it off as I go and see how it turns out.

Thanks for reading


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## Yellow Dave (Apr 5, 2011)

I had similar experiences with it with regards to it streaking, even when the sun was pretty much gone at 6 - half 6 in the evening. 

What type of sponge / mitt etc did you use, and was the wash solution quite sudsy? after washing I was left with a lot of suds on the panel, instead of the watery solution I've seen in the CG's video. Did wonder if it was this that was causing the streaking.


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## scratcher (Jul 20, 2010)

I used my one of the microfiber noodle mitts I always use. It rinsed out fine and they never feel grabby or anything.

There was some suds and bubbles in the bucket, but once it touched the panel they seemed to die down. After a few passes with the mitt it looked quite watery like in the CG video. 

Watching their video again, I think I'm keeping too much of the shampoo mix in the mitt when washing. I know they're using a pre-spray of it but it could still make a difference as there'll be less water to run off.

But that still doesn't explain the dirt still being there with a V7 wipe down? 
It'll be a user error on my part but I'll stick at it till I get it dialed


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## scratcher (Jul 20, 2010)

Today, me and HFE went for round 2!

The car is going in for an MOT tomorrow so I wanted it clean so it doesn't get washed 

So today's dirt. it hasn't been washed since the last HFE wash.





































So same measurement as before (as near as makes no difference) 
2 bucket method, but today I'm pat drying. Only have a waffle weave to had as i used all my fluffy ones at the weekend on another car.










So I took on board more of what they said in the CG's video about wringing the mitt out a bit more. It still floated across the paint just as nicely. Cleaned as well. But this time it dried it's self a bit quicker.
I still washed and dried a panel or 2 at a time. There were a lot less marks this time 










There were a few white marks from where the trapped water ran out but I can live with that.



















Done the wheels last as I wasn't going to bother. Only a quick wipe over.



















Since I'll be using my Renault tonight I thought I'd give him a clean too.
I went one bucket method on this to give it a try. And pat dried it. I went over both cars after with some Poorboy's QD+ There still seemed to be a little bit of dirt picked up on the micro fiber but hardly anything at all.



















I think I should be going over each panel twice, since there's still a little bit of dirt being transferred to the MF.
Next time i'm going to try a pre-spray of HFE to see if it helps at all :thumb:


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## Twistedgti (Apr 17, 2012)

Looking better 2nd time around. I've just ordered some and looking forward to trying it, also going to use a pre spray but will fill straight from bucket so the formular is not affected. Also it should be good for the alloys.
Nice job repairing the alloys, was a bit strange as I read it on UK-mkivs then on here but excellent job.


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## Lowiepete (Mar 29, 2009)

scratcher said:


> I went for 35ml in just under 10l of water. It felt nice and lubricated and the cleaning power was great.


So, basically 1 capful per 3.3 litres - from the streaking that you're getting, 
I'd go just a tad weaker; try 2 capfuls in 8L. If you're getting much dirt from 
car to bucket, I'd probably go for smaller amounts refilled more often.

Edit: Just realised that you have the gallon - the capfuls I'm referring to 
are from the 16oz bottle - which is approx 10-12ml.

If you try an HFE pre-spray, do remember that you'll have a much higher 
concentration than what you're presently using and that could cause even 
more streaking. With your dirt residue problem, try applying liquid over the 
area to be wiped and leaving it for several seconds before you wipe. Work a 
panel ahead if need be. After the first wipe, don't be afraid to apply fairly 
copious amounts of liquid to the dirtier areas.

I mostly use HFE for wheels and 1 capful in 4L will do 2 wheels; I then do an
empty and refill of the bucket for the next 2 wheels. There may be no more
than 1L left in the bucket after each visit. I don't do any drying and there are
no smears...

Regards,
Steve


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## scratcher (Jul 20, 2010)

Twistedgti said:


> Looking better 2nd time around. I've just ordered some and looking forward to trying it, also going to use a pre spray but will fill straight from bucket so the formular is not affected. Also it should be good for the alloys.
> Nice job repairing the alloys, was a bit strange as I read it on UK-mkivs then on here but excellent job.


Haha, cheers. I was proud so thought I'd put it on on both  Just dropped it off to be MOT'd in the morning and they said the tyre was fine.


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## scratcher (Jul 20, 2010)

Lowiepete said:


> So, basically 1 capful per 3.3 litres - from the streaking that you're getting,
> I'd go just a tad weaker; try 2 capfuls in 8L. If you're getting much dirt from
> car to bucket, I'd probably go for smaller amounts refilled more often.
> 
> ...


I went for 30ml in just under 10l this time so 5ml difference. I'll try it at 20ml or 25ml next time.
I wanted to try the pre spray just so it there's something on the panel before the initial wipe. And to try each method really.

When you said apply a liquid to the area before wiping for the dirt residue, do you mean just before the drying stage? 
I was going to just try the wash down, rinse the mitt out and load it up again and wipe the panel for a second time.

I agree that it's very good on wheels. I'm just hoping it can be as good for me as ONR as an all rounder.


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## Lowiepete (Mar 29, 2009)

scratcher said:


> When you said apply a liquid to the area before wiping for the dirt residue, do you mean just before the drying stage?


No, I mean before the initial wipe. It's more or less the equivalent of a 
pre-spray, it just doesn't need to dwell quite as long as ONR.

Regards,
Steve


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## scratcher (Jul 20, 2010)

Ok, I'm with you 

I'll give it a try next time. Cheers for the advice Steve.


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## scratcher (Jul 20, 2010)

I tried it again yesterday afternoon.
Same amount of water with 20ml of product. Much, much less streaking, only on the panels that dried quicker. it still cleaned as well and was well lubricated. I didn't make up a pre-spray for it.

So I'm thinking, 20ml seems the right amount or product for me. But waiting for a cooler time might be an important factor. I wasn't out in the baking sun any of the times I've used HFE, but the sunlight seems to have a noticeable effect on the self dried finish.

But I cleaned my wheels properly with it yesterday and I was so impressed  

Then it rained :lol:


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