What are everyone's opinions on waterless washes?
What products are best to use?
Do they cause marring?
When are they most appropiate to use?

 

this is a good question for our cold weather brothers...
i am replying to move this back up so that they might spot it-

i know that we have some qew fans, but also have seen other products discussed here before.

 

I'm pretty pleased with Optimum's rinseless wash a.k.a. ONR so far. It definitely cuts down on washing time, uses very little water, and doesn't leave a mess everywhere. As far as marring is concerned, just use the two bucket method and make sure to rinse your mitt thoroughly after washing each panel. Also, keep plenty of MF towels around because they DO get dirty while drying and you don't want to be rubbing that dirt across other sections of your paint. In short, as long as you're careful, rinseless car washes are just as safe as regular hose washes

 

^^^^Thanks, It seems like rinsless washes are good too.

I was really thinking more about WATERLESS washes though.

 

They work well in some situations but not all. Also, they're probably not as cost effective as a rinseless wash. This may help . . .

http://www.detailcity.org/forums/poorboysw...et-no-mess.html

 

maybe it's just me, but washing a car with a couple spritz from a bottle and a towel just doesn't sound right unless all you have is dust on it.

 

Ah, misread your post, my bad

 

It's definitely hard to imagine that a spray can work well. However, if you've ever used Poorboy's Spray & Wipe you would see it is more slick than 90% of the car wash soaps out there.

Personally, I like to be able to blast away the larger particles with a stream of water before starting to wash. So, I stick with a traditional hose wash whenever I can. However, during the winter I use a rinseless wash in my garage and it's worked great. IMO though the dirt that accumulates on the car during winter is too much for a waterless wash to handle.

 

Up in Toronto, rinse-less washing (ONR, QEW) really are a god-send for detailing in winter. However, it is like normal water, and any wash-solution left un-attended to will freeze---- that's where the portable propane heater comes in.

PB SW is good, but I'd have more piece of mind if it were only used on a dusty car, as MikeyC said.

The key to either systems would be the medium which you use to wash with. I prefer MF towels, as i can get 8-folds from each towel, and work them into a rotation. I also prefer to use the MF's with the highest pile, and as plush as MF's can get.

Good luck!

 

Yeah I have Spray and wipe and only use it to clean off bird gifts. It does lubricate very well but I still wouldn't feel comfortable washing my whole car like that. I've been a big fan of the rinseless after reading your reviews way back... optimum being my fav since it only takes me 5 capfuls for 5 gallons of wash solution.