Quick Review of Soft99 Kiwami Extra Gloss Shampoo

Ever since I tried the Soft99 Fusso 12 Month Wax (see here), I am very impressed with its water beading capability. Though high water beading does not always mean better protection as discussed here but it surely gives the "wow" effect. So, when I saw a discounted Soft99 Kiwami Extra Gloss Shampoo on sale, I just couldn't resist to test it out.

There are several variants of this shampoo but I am really not sure about the differences. Since my main car is silver, I went for the silver shampoo. The other 2 variants are white and black. See Soft99 website for details.

Well, the bottle that I bought came bundled with a wash sponge. Yup, the dreaded wash sponge. I am not going to go into the debate of wash sponge here but it is something that I never use.

So I left the sponge unopened.

Well, when I was trying to read the back of the bottle for instructions, I realized that I can't read Japanese :D

Yup, everything is in Japanese.

So I had to go to Soft99 website and read the English version. I am quoting the instruction word for word below.

"1. Rinse off dirt or dust in car wash.
2. Put shampoo directly with soaked sponge, make the bubble well. If the bubble get weaken or difficultly remove dirt area, put the liquid more.
3. Rinse off with water until the bubble is disappeared.
4. Wipe off water with towel or absorbant cloth.
* In case of unevenness occured, wipe off with wrung towel or dry towel."

Apart from the Japan-glish, all seems good.

Wait! What?!

Pour directly on the sponge? Err... ???

So it seems to be like applying body shampoo when I am taking my shower?

Okay, this really freaks me out a little. I ended up not following the instructions because of 2 reasons. First, I don't use wash sponge. I don't like the idea of using a sponge. Second, if I were to pour the shampoo on the sponge for each panel, I am afraid I might finish up the entire bottle in single wash like what I did with the Fireball Premium Easy Coat. So, I improvised. I pour out the shampoo and used a 2 bucket wash method. As for the dilution, I just followed Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash.

Doing so resulted in a car wash that has zero suds. Think of it like Autoglym Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner (if you are familiar), divide it by 100 for suds.

This is how the car looks like after wiping it with the wash mitt filled with the car wash.

Although there is no suds, the wash mitt did feel "lubricated" when gliding over the surface. The lack of suds does not make it less effective as a car shampoo. In fact, the cleaning ability seems good. This is the condition of the second bucket after washing.

Well, putting the steps and instructions all aside, the end result is pretty amazing for a shampoo that I did not use according to the manufacturer recommendation.

After hosing down the car, I noticed that there is a high amount of water beading all over the car. I have not gave my car a full wax since months ago. All I did was regular wash and spray wax. And because I was a little busy recently, the last time I wash was about a month ago. So I don't think the beading is due to the previous spray wax. This Kiwami shampoo really made the water bead. Great job Soft99.

Anyway, after wiping the car dry, I followed with my regular spray wax routine as I do not feel that the surface is slick and I just wanted some protection as high beading might cause water mark. This is evident in the Soft99 Fusso 12 Month Wax comparison test.

Alright for the conclusion. Would I recommended this? Yes and no. Yes, if you are okay with wash sponge and zero suds and looking into high beading. No for the opposite :P

So, that's all for this post. As always, the above is just my opinion.
Happy detailing.