On a recent visit to my friends at Clear Bra Indy, I brought along a few products for them to try. One of these products was Gtechniq W4 Citrus Foam. A pre-soak foam that was developed by Gtechniq to remove stubborn grime without harming the finish. One of the agents in this pre-soak foam is the citrus based degreaser. While giving a training workshop, we had an opportunity to use Gtechniq W4 Citrus Foam on a Tesla Model S that had been previously ceramic coated by the team at Clear Bra Indy. The vehicle was brought in by the customer for a maintenance on the coating. So I took the opportunity to use Gtechniq W4 Citrus Foam on this ceramic coated Tesla to give it a try.

Before getting started, I read the label directions on the bottle to see what suggestions Gtechniq gave regarding how to mix and use the product. According to Gtechniq, W4 Citrus Foam is designed safe for coatings. Gtechniq W4 Citrus Foam is pH neutral and does not contain caustic chemicals that can affect existing sealants, waxes or coatings. This made it an ideal shampoo to use on the coated Tesla Model S.

According to the directions, Gtechniq suggests that the vehicle be washed out of direct sunlight. For this vehicle, we were washing indoors so it was not going to be an issue there. I shook up the bottle as directed and we then filled up a foam dispenser bottle according to the instructions. Designed to be used with a foam cannon/lance, Gtechniq W4 Citrus Foam can be used at a dilution of up to 20:1 through a foam cannon. Following the directions, we decentered one inch of W4 Citrus Foam into the dispenser and filled the rest of the dispenser with warm water.

Fill one inch (2.5 cm) with Gtechniq W4 Citrus Foam, then fill with warm water

Once we filled the dispenser, we proceeded to give W4 Citrus Foam a go through the foam cannon.

Immediately, you do get smell the citrus scent in W4 Citrus Foam. The shampoo gives a pleasant scent that is not overpowering. We had the foam cannon adjusted conservatively on a medium/high setting to see how it would work without going on the highest setting.

Foaming action from Gtechniq W4 Citrus Foam

Upon using Gtechniq W4 Citrus Foam, you readily notice that the foam has some really good hang time on the surface. We let the soap dwell on the surface of the Tesla for about 5 minutes to allow the foaming agent and degreaser to work per the recommended instructions.

Dwell time of 5 minutes elapsed with W4 Citrus Foam

According to the label on the bottle, W4 Citrus Foam is designed to “shift grime without damaging coatings” which would be important to help the existing coating on the Tesla we were washing.

Side bottle label on Gtechniq W4 Citrus Foam

Once the dwell time elapsed, the directions call for rinsing the vehicle thoroughly with clean water.

Rinsing after dwell time using Gtechniq W4 Citrus Foam

In my opinion, W4 Citrus Foam rinsed off effortlessly on this coated Tesla. It did not leave any soap residue and left the vehicle looking very clean.

We all agreed that in our opinion Gtechniq W4 Citrus Foam worked as promised when used as directed. Depending on the foam cannon used, condition and setting, the foaming action will certainly vary from what we had on this Model S. Overall, the performance of this pre-soak degreaser/shampoo will certainly make washing a vehicle safer for those who are treated with a coating, sealant or wax. You can adjust the dilution ratios to be used as a degreaser for the following uses:

• 1:400 for Light Dirt Cleaning
• 1:200 for Heavy Dirt Cleaning
• 1:20 for Pump Sprayer Application

This pre-soak degreaser/shampoo can also be used with a traditional two-bucket hand wash application. The 1000ml size bottle was used during this washing of the coated Tesla Model S and a 5 liter size of Gtechniq W4 Citrus Foam is also available. Gtechniq W4 certainly gives a lot of uses from a bottle this size considering all of the dilution ratios that it can be mixed at. If you’re looking for a pre-soak/shampoo product that is effective on cleaning, can be used as a degreaser and is safe to use on vehicles that have a sealant, wax or coating, then consider W4 Citrus Foam from Gtechniq.