No Hose Car Washing? Learn me!

[steelwindmachine]

I've poked around here and I keep reading about this rinseless or waterless wash magic stuff or not using a hose to clean a vehicle. I've also watched a few videos, but I've got questions:

1. What are the pre-requisites for doing waterless or rinseless washing? What sort of condition does the car's finish need to be in or what prep work needs to be done?

2. What are the pros/cons for waterless vs rinseless? I live in an area where water restrictions are rare, so water supply is seldom an issue. I have a house with a spigot and hose.

3. For a daily driven commuter car, what wash/maintenance regime is most time efficient? I'm likely going to have my cars pro-detailed once a year, but I'm wondering what system to use to keep the exterior in good shape without hours of time and energy every week. The less work and time, the better so long as the car comes out clean and the finish is in better shape than it started.

4. How do you evaluate and compare products for waterless/rinseless? I don't know what makes up their formulation and/or method characteristics, so how do you all who do this compare products and where does the comparison lie?

5. If someone was starting from scratch with nothing, is there a set of products you'd recommend or a kit, etc.?

Thanks all for the enlightenment!

[Setec Astronomy]

I don't like waterless washing so I'll confine my comments to rinseless...yes, it's faster than using a hose. There's less chance of water spots if you are using hard water. I don't know that there are any prerequisites any more than a polished/sealed car is easier to wash no matter what method you are using. The process is a little less efficient for wheels/tires...easier to argue for a hose there. Again, having coated tires/wheels makes washing them easier, no matter what style of wash you are using.

It's hard to find bad products these days. Some people seem obsessed with the "leave nothing behind" philosophy, which points to using McKee's N-914. I personally don't buy into that, so for me the rinseless wash products basically break down into the Optimum products which stain the wash media, and all the others, which don't. I think almost all the rinseless products except ONR have "wax" in them, so they are all pretty much lumped into one group, for me. Of course filter that through price, brand loyalty, container size, etc.

Another issue people have been harping on is flexibility, that products like Wolfgang Uber Rinseless or N-914 can be diluted differently for different purposes.

I'll simply make an observation on that...Optimum used to have a waterless dilution on the bottle for ONR, but when they came out with a dedicated waterless (Opti-Clean), they took that off the ONR bottle. They say that Opti-Clean has additional (different) ingredients beyond what ONR has, in order to optimize it for the waterless application. To me that means that Optimum, at least, feels that a less-diluted rinseless wash does not a waterless wash make.

[oneheadlite]

My 2 cents:

1. Pre-requisites for doing waterless or rinseless washing? I'm still a bit new to rinseless washing, but my gut tells me that starting with a good layer of protection on the paint is preferable. Even regular washes go faster in that situation. If there's a lot of sand/caked on dirt, a quick hose down to knock off the big stuff is never a bad idea.

2. What are the pros/cons for waterless vs rinseless? Waterless I think is better for a cleaner car, and has even less setup/teardown than rinseless. Rinseless is nice for a dirtier car as you have more liquid to help push away contaminants, so it feels safer to me.

3. For a daily driven commuter car, what wash/maintenance regime is most time efficient? Rinseless is nice in that you no longer have to drag and fill buckets, hose, etc. I think the hardest part of rinseless is finding which wash solution/media fits you best. I still haven't yet.

4. How do you evaluate and compare products for waterless/rinseless? I read A LOT of reviews on here. And in the end you just have to try them. I've got ONR W&S (Blue Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine), ONR W&W (Wash and wax, has their car wax w/ UV protection mixed in), Wolfgang Uber (praised on here for slickness and gloss), and just ordered the McKee's N-914 to try for when I get a coating on my car or when it's really dirty (seems to get good reviews for those situations).

5. If someone was starting from scratch with nothing, is there a set of products you'd recommend or a kit, etc.? This is where a lot of reading comes in. Any way you look at it, a big stack of high quality towels is good to have on hand. You'll have to decide if you want to use microfiber towels, wash mitts, or specialized sponges to help chose what kit makes sense. Also, don't forget to watch for (frequent) sales to help lessen the blow to the wallet!

For different techniques, check out this post:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/107923-review-mckees-37-n-914-rinseless-wash.html

Marc's got a bunch of great reviews and videos as a place to start.

[parshooter]

Go here, lots of great info.
Auto Detailing Facts, auto detailing Tips, How to detailing Guides, how to polish, how to wax, DIY detailing, do it yourself guides (http://www.autogeek.net/detailingtips.html)

[rdgrav]

I can only comment to rinseless washes. I can do an entire suburban in less than 1 hour and I use a good quick detailer as a drying aid, after I am finished the PAINT of the car looks just as good as when it was just waxed. If my vehical is really dirty that's when I wash it using 2 buckets and I really focus on the unpainted parts of the car. the down side of hose washes are water spots and drying the car. It doesn't hurt to buy a small bottle and some extra microfiber towels to give it a try it is very much worth it.