Malco vs Totally Awesome
 

Ok..... trying to find evidence on which is a better cleaner since we have had so many discussions on it....
Poured them in clear bottles (matching bottles).... the malco is a bit darker (so maybe they are a bit different?), but they smell the same and have the same cleaning power from what I can tell...... My guess is it is the same active ingredient.....?? I am no chemist though.

I have used many many many many many many (you get the idea) bottles of totally awesome and have seen no ill affects (affect vs effect?).

My observations..... they both clean awesome with a scrub brush (scrub brush is key). Do they have harsh affects on the vinyl or stitching? I don't know, but I have not seen it...... use either one and then wash them off afterwards, but have seen many boats cleaned with both out in the sun after and no issues...... The key is a scrub brush and clean them off after. Dont get either of them on your speaker grills (especially the fosgates in malibus) and if you get them on your gel coat it will leave streaks. Clean off accordingly......

Price difference is exponential between the two..... You go get a bottle of both and see what you think.

"If it ain't broke don't fix it" Personally I'll stick with what I've been using for decades simply because I trust it.

On the other hand, that saying totally rules out improvement. We're not all riding around on horses unless we want to and horses aren't broken. That is kind of a dangerous attitude to get into and not one that fosters innovation. If a different product can do the same thing but is 90% cheaper, I think i'll make the jump. BTW, I vote for TA. It's totally awesome dudes.

What do you dilute the Totally Awesome too? Or do you just spray it straight out of the bottle?

I did it strait for the vinyl

I use it straight up.

Ryan jump all you want. Personally I will stick with a tried and true product every time unless I can prove to myself the ingredients are identical and I am betting they are not. Here is another one I believe in, "you get what you pay for". And your comparison from horse to car is not a "fix" but rather a new concept altogether. Big difference.

Jay, I think you may be a victim of good marketing. The saying "you get what you pay for" is mostly true. You got what you paid for, a name brand. I haven't used either product, but from my research and reading of what others have to say, it appears both products produce the same results. The only difference I noticed was one cost substantially more than the other. There is value in paying extra for something name brand, you get something you trust. You don't feel as if your product may be inferior due to it's discounted price tag. I knowingly buy things name brand for the same reasons.

This thread reminded me of the article below discussing speaker wire.

"The Truth about Speaker Wire

Despite the effectiveness of Gordon's cable demonstration and the truth about speaker wire, people visiting the McIntosh room at the shows, who had not experienced the cable demonstration, were disturbed that we were using ordinary heavy zip cord instead of one of the popular brands of speaker wire. Instead of listening to the McIntosh speakers and electronics, they recalled "bad" things they had been told about "common" speaker wire and this promoted questions about the "inferior" wire being used. When we changed the wire to a popular brand of wire, customers were happy with the setup, and directed their attention to the McIntosh equipment.

The demand for high quality speaker wire was increasing and appeared to be a new marketing area for several companies. McIntosh did not make or sell speaker wire. The solution seemed very obvious--rather than spend time and effort to create negative sales for McIntosh dealers who were beginning to sell speaker wire, it seemed best to encourage the speaker owner/customer to consult with the dealer about what speaker wire to use. Consequently, I no longer recommended the kind of wire or wire sizes in the speaker manuals.

By 1988, McIntosh no longer supplied audio interconnects with the electronics. Again, many kinds of special audio cables were available to the customer/owner. The dealer could also be consulted about what cables to use.

I credit the success of the speaker wire industry to their expert sales and marketing ability. However, it is my experience that ordinary copper wire, as long as it's heavy enough, is just as good as name brands.

Looking at this from a different perspective, there will always be those who will want expensive wire, not because there is an audible difference, but because they may value pride of ownership and prestige in a similar way to that of owning a Tiffany lamp or a Rolex watch."

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

Sparky, how exactly does a new product become a tried and true product if you never try it. I was only pointing out the error of cutting yourself off from new products based on a dated saying such as the one you provided. Also, I would like to point out that the totally awesome product could definitely be classified as tried and I would say that it could be classified as true based on independent verification of it's results as compared to malco.

I have no ties to either product, just pointing out your usage of tradition to dictate your product choices would mean that you probably have no business chiming in on a product comparison seeing as your only addition to it thus far is stating an antiquated reasoning to not switch with no meaningful input as to the performance of your chosen product.

Yes, I am calling your previous post useless.

As to your "you get what you pay for" statement, that is true. Sometimes you pay for advertising. Did you know you can use vinegar in your rinse aid dispenser instead of jet dry and it actually works better. 1 gal generic vinegar is $2. 16oz bottle of jet dry is $5. Did you know you can use citric acid, borax, and baking soda as laundry detergent and vinegar as fabric softener. There is no requirement that it has to be identical. Improvements rarely are.

I like the example of the wire used. Monster cable makes a mint off of this thinking. 100 bones for av cables, does it come with coupon for a free reach around.

Course if you wanna pay for the advertising, be my guest.

Malco is by no means name brand in the typical sense of the word. Just look at how hard it is to find for most guys.

Malco is easy to find. It is at all the dollar stores in a bottle labeled "totally awesome". ha ha... just kidding but had to chime that in......

I thought this was a tower speaker thread for a second, nice job Tyler.

I'll stick with "tried and true" when thousands of dollars of upholstery work is at stake. I'm all for saving a buck. Like I said Ryan, show me it's the exact same ingredients and I'm down for the bargain! Otherwise I ain't buyin what your sellin! No pun intended.

I too have been curious about the difference between malco and totally awesome. I have a fancy machine here at work that will compare the chemical make up of each of them. I'll test it next week and post the results.

^^ Mass Spect.? I was thinking the same thing. Haven't used one since chemistry in college.

IR Spectra. It should yield good enough accuracy.

Why do the ingredients have to be identical for you to believe Totally Awesome is good? What makes you so sure the ingredients of Malco are 100% safe?

Another vote for Totally Awesome. I used it twice last season. It's not an everyday cleaner; for that I use Babe's. But Totally Awesome is great when you really need something strong. Just don't breath the fumes! :eek:

Ha ha... I did not mean for this to be an argument of which is better. This is kind of turning into my boat brand is better or my tower speaker brand is better. I never knew ownership goggles also ran in cleaners!!!! I have just used both and noticed some very similar cleaning characteristics. Just thought I would share and do a little bit better comparison since I saw them both sitting on my shelf and there has been a lot of talk on it lately. I would definitely be interested in some of these true chemical tests and what they have to say.

"How do you know the ingrediants in Malco are safe?" Ummm maybe try reading previous post? 20 plus years of using it and doing custom upholstery work?

depending on the condition of your interior you may get great results with dish soap hot water and a light duty scrub brush or towel. Some interior has some real deep grain where dirt hides. Vs some interior has almost no grain and is perfictley smooth. Some interiors have a shiney clear coat feel and look to them(easy to clean). Some have almost a flat dull finish/feel (harder to clean and easy to get dirty)

That being said I dont think 1 cleaner is the BEST. Malco works good for alot of people.
I do think the lighter duty cleaner you can use to get the interior clean the longer the interior will last. (i dont have any proof to back it up) just personal opinion.

Once i got my interor real clean. The malco just kinda gets used for spot's. The best part of maco is keeping it in the boat and when I pull up to a friends boat that is dirty I like to clean a spot on their interior and then watch their reaction. I have given like 5 bottles away to friends now who swear by it.

I would like to check out Totally Awesome where do you get it?

$1 store

I'm still surprised to keep seeing people try different things. Correct Craft specifically states to use nothing but Dawn dish washing liquid and a scrub brush. On my MB I used some stuff that I bought from the auto supply store and it worked great. The two years later my interior was hard and cracked... When I bought my Correct Craft I used only Dawn and a scrub brush and five years later it still looks perfect. I sometimes use 303 when I get the boat detailed.

Of course there are a lot of products that will clean the interior vinyl, but most will also dry and crack the vinyl over time too. Why take the risk with a new product? Have you ever noticed how many people keep posting the same interior skin questions? Maybe if they stopped using all this crap on their interior they wouldn't have to.

Sam do you read and obey all "27 Warning lables" that come on a new Correct Craft?
OMG the warning lables that come on a CC LOL Im suprised there is not a lable that read's " Do not remove your boat from trailer" Removing the boat from trailer and putting in the water voids warranty" " Girls must have a full baithing suit when out in public"

I've used both Malco and T/A. Both worked equally well for me. I keep a full bottle of T/A in the boat, along with some 303 protectant. At a buck a bottle for T/A, who can deny that??

I'm not sure, I don't tow from the rear grab handle, if that is what you mean.

Why risk it? If something works, why not keep using it? Most importantly who allows their boat interior to get so bad in the first place? It seems like everyone wants the easy, no elbow grease method for everything these days.

The vinyl on my rear deck was actually warrantied by Correct Craft after four years because they thought it must have been defective because the vinyl on the rest of my boat was perfect. They said that either the vinyl was bad or that possibly a unknown chemical was used by someone to clean that area. My boat has almost 1,000 hours on it though we called that section of the boat, where people sit to put their boards on, the seat of a thousand @sses. I think maybe one of my guests on the boat accidentally used a vinegar and water solution on that erea... I will never know. I do know that Correct Craft saw the rest of the vinyl and assumed it must have been bad vinyl.

I've found that Totally Awesome removes stains that I can't even touch with dish soap and water regardless of the amount of elbow grease applied. I always rinse throughly with water as I'm cleaning though.

All i really want to know is if they are the same?????

^ Rowdy Eric should be able to tell us soon. My money is they are mostly the same, but one has a little something different to throw the color off a bit...?

You only answered one of my questions...

Why do the ingredients have to be identical for you to believe Totally Awesome is good?

Listen, can I start over again? I wanna say something. I wanna put it out there. And, if you like it, you can take it. If you don't, send it right back.

Isn't it possible that they are both good?

http://bombardmentsociety.files.word...pg?w=400&h=299

When did I say it was no good? Just not willing to risk thousands of dollars worth of upholstery work. I think I said that already?

Where are the high tech tests to solve this??????

yeah, get that guy who can chug a beer with one hand a clean with malco with the other

I have the chemicals here at work with me today. I'll get to testing here shortly.

Regardless of Rowdy's results, this thread is Totally Awesome.

buwwahhaaahaaa

The results are in:

In my findings, Malco and Totally Awesome are nearly identical.

I first tested the TA cleaner. As the system did not have the specific chemical in it's database, it provided it's closest results.

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/attac...1&d=1301460634

I'm sure as some one may have guessed, water is the main ingredient, so it closely matches water.

When looking at the graph, you can see where it is very similar, but different than water.

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/attac...1&d=1301460634

At this point I entered the TA data into the library.

I cleaned the ID machine and sampled the Malco.

It returned the TA Cleaner with a very high percentage beating out water.

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/attac...1&d=1301460634

Here's an overlay graphical comparison:

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/attac...1&d=1301460634

Pretty darn close.

Here are links to the MSDS's. You can see the common chemicals in each one.

http://www.midlandtool.com/MSDS/L.A....%20Cleaner.pdf

https://www2.itap.purdue.edu/msds/docs/4833.pdf

Well there you have it folks! Great work Eric!

Damn you guys are way smarter than I give any of you credit for. Picked up a bottle yesterday. Now if we could find a $1 bottle of freaking 303 that stuff is expensive!!!

compare protectants vs. this stuff: http://www.dollartree.com/cleaning-s...8047/index.pro

I would like to say that I would officially like royalties for saving all you guys money. JUST SAYIN.... I will give you my address and will accept checks, gas cards, cash, free pull when I am in your town, free Wakeworld gear, etc......... There is a big price difference for the same product.....

Thanks Rowdy for confirming, what I have thought for a couple of years......


Again a reminder if you start using TA:
-if you get it on your gel coat it will leave streaks. Easy to wipe off
-Don't get it on your metal speaker cones (like on the fosgates) as they will turn black
-Put a healthy amount on the seats and use a scrub brush and you are good to go. Then wipe it up with a clean towel and then condition or wash with water.


Sorry for any Malco reps that this might lose a bit of coin. Seriously I am. That was the part I struggled with the most cause Malco works very well.

I was hoping they were identical, but I think the MSDS show that they are in fact different. It looks like TA has some extra ingredients, including Disodium Salt, Phosphate Sodium and Hydroxy Sodium and Orange Oil Blend. Even the active ingredient is not identical, it's just close. I do not know what any of the first 3 do, or if any of the TA ingredients might act as a drying agent or act to strip the protective layer off vinyl. I'm not saying they do, I'm just saying I do not know.

I think the Malco MSDS forgot to add a bullet under hazards:

Prolonged use may cause cronic thinning of the wallet. :D

Scott, I can clarify some of the chemicals you see there. The two common ingredients between the two are hydrogen oxide and hydroxy sodium, or sodium hydroxide as it is also known. Sodium hydroxide is caustic soda. That's why your hands dry out when you use the two products. The Malco contains more than TA, making it more aggressive. However, the TA contains small amounts of disodium salt and phosphate sodium which act as degreasers and surfactants. The orange oil blend is a good, natural cleaner, as is lemon oil. Ever try lemon oil pledge as a cleaner? It works pretty darn good.

Malco is going to be more aggressive than the TA, but the additional chemicals may make the TA seem close.

Personally, I'm not going to stop using Malco, but will use it in addition to TA.

I will say this though, whatever you do decide to use, be sure to thoroughly rinse and remove the the cleaner. Leaving it on for a prolonged time, as it does contain Caustic Soda, may dry out your upholstery. No need to freak out and stop using it, just understand what it is and what it can do. Be sure to use a good conditioner as well as a protectant.

So what conditioner is everyone going to be using now.

well sparky, now that you know that malco is actually more agressive, still gonna be spending 16 times as much. Boy i sure hope so, lowers the demand for the TA so maybe they can start selling it at the 99c store soon.

I started using the TA last summer and it indeed works great. I spray it on, scrub with a brush, and immediately rinse off with the hose. After drying it leaves a very soft feel to the vinyl that lasts for weeks. You just can't beat it for a dollar. It also works better than anything I've tried at getting soap scum off of your bathtub or shower!

Please, Please, can someone find 303 for .99 cents!

Ryan not sure where you learned math? Gallon of Malco is approx. $20 and a gallon of TA is $4. 4 x 16 = $64. So how is Malco 16 times more expensive? Perhaps I'm missing something? Even diluting 1 to 1 with water, your math blows. They are not identical either. TA has 4 other ingredients Malco doesen't. Ryan, more aggresive? Seems like some more poor math. Sodium hydroxide is the main cleaner of which TA has .5 to .8 a percent while the Malco has 0 to 1 percent? That and water are about the only thing that IS identical between the two that I can see. With the other chemicals in the TA, I would venture to say TA is the more aggresive one.

Diggs, royalties? If anyone deserves royalties It should be me since I am the one who introduced Malco to WW, which in turn then led to someone noticing the TA was similar? JUST SAYIN..... lol Myself, I'll stick with the Malco. C'mon guys these boats are a big expense and you guys are cryin' about a few dollars in cleaners and protectant? lol

Uh.... thanks for the math lesson, Sparky.



Do you really think Diggs was being serious? Sounds to me like your a little butthurt that your little Malco empire is crumbling around you (that's sarcasm too, Sparky).

Unless your owner of Malco, I'm not sure why you are being so defensive. It's just cleaner.



http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs44/i/20...onHeart555.jpg

DBC, I led the horses to the water. I couldn't care less if they drink or not! lol. Malco empire....now thats funny!

1 gallon of TA is only $3 at the Dollar General on Mockingbird in Dallas.

Whoooooaaa.... Some are getting a little agitated about this... Just to clear the record..... I was totally kidding about royalties. Thought that was a given, but if you want to give them I will take them. I am also not stating one is better than the other. I have both and use both. Just making an observation that I thought they were the same product. It looks like my judgement was at least close. I would love to know the truth and find out if they come from the same supplier at least. Companies package and brand their product differently all the time. Also, to clear up the price part..... You can get the $1 bottle that is around 16-20 oz and it has the squirter. If you chose the bottle with no squirter you get more qty.

Sarcasm for dummies... now that is pretty funny.

Umm yeah I knew we were joking. I am pretty sure that is what the "just sayin" and "lol's" are about? Lol

Yes but I popularized it, just like when P Diddy bought Ciroc :) so can't I get in on some of these royalties.

Can you use either one of these cleaners on Leather? Its tough to get the dirt out of the texture on my F250.

Malco claims that you can and I have personally used it on Ford leather but I know that some of the softer leathers on higher end cars get faded by it. I know G used it on his Escalade and it did just that. I'd not use it on my wifes Acura which is black. Its best to test an area out of sight and go from there.

we just used TA on my 02 Lariat and it did a good job, we then chased it with a conditioner I used on my boots and king ranch leather. I would never used TA on my king ranch leather.

I used a wet microfiber cloth to clean my boat seats and chase it with 303.

TA does a heck of job on my chrome wheels!

So, Hate, use it or not on my 2001 F250?

Use it on anything you want as long as you "test in an inconspicuous area first". This is the rule of thumb with any cleaner.

Sorry Dave, I said all of that to say yes it should be no problem using it on your Ford. May as well dilute some first and go from there.

Ditto on testing first.
Malco completely ruined the leather driver's seat in my parents' Cadillac... thank goodness I didn't do it!

How is it that in looking at the MSDS no one has noticed that the Malco has alkylphenol ethoxylate as an ingredient and TA does not. In the Malco it is the most powerful surfactant so they are not chemically the same. Read my posts, I'm not a big fan of Malco, but there needs to be bit of understanding here. I'm glad to hear TA works. I can't get either in Canada so I'll have to use something different.

Art you are right. As I posted above the only ingredients they do have in common is water and sodium hydroxide. TA has 4 additional ingredients Malco doesen't so yeah not the same.

Alkylphenol ethoxylate and ethoxylated alcohol are both non-ionic surfactants. Their surfactant properties are very similar, however the ethoxylated alcohol is more expensive than alkylphenol ethoxylate and has less environmental impacts. In fact, the use of alkylphenol ethoxylate is banned in most countries, with the United States being an exception.

I used Totally Awesome today for the first time. It worked much better than Folex. I am happy with it. I followed up the TA with a water wipe and 303. The vinyl looks great. Thanks guys.

I tried the totally awesome and it worked great for me.303 protectant afterwards and i'm good to go.Thank you all for your suggestions.

used totally awesome on my last two boats. amazing stuff.