Rinseless Wash Video?

[BobWhite]

Maybe my search-foo is weak, but I can’t find a video specifically made to show the proper way to do a rinseless wash.

I am from the days of high powered rotary buffers, heavy duty compounds, and soap and water. There was never such a thing as a rinseless wash. We wet the car, soaped the car, scrubbed the car and rinsed it off.

So, is there such a video showing the rinseless wash system in a way that won’t scratch a black vehicle?

[JustJesus]

Here are several videos found on the Autogeek YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/user/autogeek/search?query=rinseless

[BobWhite]

Didn’t know there was a AG YouTube channel. Thanks!

[OrangeVee]

So, is there such a video showing the rinseless wash system in a way that won’t scratch a black vehicle?

I actually made YouTube videos in collaboration with Optimum global training director Yvan Lacroix which shows us how to correctly use the Optimum No Rinse Wash n Shine rinseless wash system! Super simple, probably the best rinseless wash system out there.

Check out my post: https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-videos/116981-video-optimum-products-brand-review-special-guest-yvan-lacroix.html

[Joe@NextLevelDetail]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnYlJsYs7RI&t=50s

[TTQ B4U]

I don't have a video of my process but I have a thread that I'll paste here (wall of text warning) that outlines my steps. It's not a perfect written out piece but I hope it provides some insight and help.

Rinseless Washing Your Vehicle:

Technique and products are key. For the average sedan I typically use between 1-2 gallons of distilled water mixed up with Wolfgang Uber at a ratio of 1:3 or greater. Distilled water really allows the softening agents in the rinseless solution to attack the dirt on the vehicle vs bonding to the hardness in tap water. It will also work to great reduce and eliminate water spots or streaks. Keep in mind another tip I recommend you be diligent about is the direction you are wiping. I use opposite directions for washing than I do drying so that if I begin to see any micro-marring or scratches, I’ll know what step or perhaps caused it so that I can check my towels for contaminants. This also helps those new to the process narrow down the cause and adjust their technique. The main key to this techniques to the entire process are as follows:

Pre-soak:

Pre-soak the car with rinseless solution and let dwell for a few minutes. This will soften the dirt, help to remove the bond it has to the finish of the vehicle and encapsulate the dirt lessoning the likelihood of it being abraded against the finish. The more solution on the surface the greater lubricity the process has. The solution will also work to flush away the dirt as the rag passes over the surface.

When soaking the vehicle, start from top to bottom and spray in quick overlapping passes until the beads of water begin to break and run down the surface. This will help carry away any initial dust / dirt but also load the vehicle up to the point that it will dwell and loosen the dirt as noted above.

Include the wheels both the face an inner portion as well. When washing, we will start with the wheels.


Washing Wheels: I like to start with wheels as they are nasty and it gets the dirty portion of the job that tends to be harder on my knees out of the way first.

Here just like with a garden hose and bucket technique I start with the wheels. Typical tools are a Speed Brush and either a MF Mitt dedicated to wheels or a couple of the cheaper MF Towels found at many local retail stores. They are fine for use on wheels with no thread of scratching.

As I work, I keep my speed brush wet using my garden spray much like I would a garden hose. It doesn’t take much solution to work the wheel and remove/loosen the dirt. Once the wheel and tire are done, I give them a good spray/rinse with the garden sprayer. Again, with the final spray, load up the surface with solution as upon drying, this solution will serve as the means to carry away the dirt encapsulated and sitting there.


Towels:

For painted surfaces I use between 4-8 of my favorite 16" x 16" Eagle Edgeless Professional Super Plush 480gsm Microfiber Detailing Towels. These are awesome and weigh in at over 1lb when fully soaked with water. I prep my wash bucket which is typically a small 1 gallon pale by filling it about ¾ with solution and soaking 3-4 towels at first. From there I’ll add them one at a time as needed. Key technique is to NEVER reintroduce a used towel to this solution / bucket. Not only will that contaminate the solution for this wash but any leftover solution will be saved and used at a later date and you want it to be clean and pure.


Sprayer:

There are many different means of applying the solution. I won’t get into all of them but find one you like and use it. I tend to use either a battery operated nozzle that generates pressure or I will use a simple 1 gal. garden sprayer. The latter is very cheap and quite effective.


Fill a garden or powered Sprayer of your choice with No Rinse Solution
Fill a 1-3 gal bucket with about 1 gal. of No Rinse Solution
Ensure I have a stack of towels



Again, on my 4 door sedan the large plush towels go quite far. I use anywhere between 4-8 for the entire car depending on how dirty it is. Key is to fold them into four then make one more fold so that you can get a total of 16 completely clean/fresh passes out of a single towel. These hold lots of solution and are VERY Plush.


Washing Steps:


Again, Pre-soak, waiting a few minutes for the dirt to be encapsulated, oils and dirt to be broken up and solution to really work.

Quick spray down once more just prior to washing the panel to wash away as much as I can and to get the dirt to flow DOWN/OFF the car. Spray top to bottom

Start with the hood, roof and decklid. Wipe from top down using only a single pass per clean side or section of a towel. Each towel can be folded to a clean section allowing 16 passes per towel. More than enough for the entire panel or section. Keep the rage sopping wet and splash more solution on the rage if needed.

Last thing after each panel is washed is I give it another quick spray down top to bottom in order to push/wash away as much debris as I can. My powered sprayer is awesome for this as when combined with a good fan style spray tip it really works well at rinsing off any remaining aftermath.

I personally do not dry the panels one at a time as I go. I used to but I’ve since switched to loading up the vehicle with solution and using a leaf blower to dry the car. I find the power of the air combined with moving water really ensures any dirt is physically removed from the car and thus leaving near zero chance of my drying towel becoming contaminated thus causing micro marring.

Lastly, once the vehicle is dry, I soak and completely wring out another MF Towel to use as my drying towel. It’s damp but not enough to streak but soft and wet enough to not cause any marring like a completely dry towel would. I then spritz either the panel or towel with my ECH20/Reload detail spray and wipe the panel completely clean and dry. You will find areas of dirt you missed and this takes care of that and ensures a perfectly clean surface.

Drying is the key IMO to keeping a car scratch/swirl free. IMO it causes more damage than a poor wash technique as when washing at least there’s more lubricity involved.



Once done I am a huge believer in a high quality detail spray and sealant. Both not only give the car a final spotless and flawless look but help insure future dirt has a layer of something there to help when pre-soaking the next wash cycle. Again, some will continue to use the ECH20/Reload spray I noted above or some like me may just use pure Reload occasionally. YMMV.

[oneheadlite]

TTQ- What cordless sprayer are you using again? I’ve been using the small hand pump sprayers which work nice for product coverage, but not as much for debris clearing.

[JustJesus]

I use opposite directions for washing than I do drying so that if I begin to see any micro-marring or scratches, I’ll know what step or perhaps caused it so that I can check my towels for contaminants.

EXCELLENT idea! Thanks for sharing :xyxthumbs: