Rinseless Question

[dhjunkie]

What steps can I take to make sure I'm not introducing any new scratches while using a rinseless product or any carwash for that matter? A quick spray with the high pressure hose at the coin op (no soap just water)? Increas the amount of rinseless product in the same amount of water? Add grit guards to my buckets? I'm trying to create more room for error till my technique improves.

[Mustang81]

Grit guard in your rinse bucket for sure. Some people like to put it in the wash bucket also, but that limits the amount of rinseless wash you can reach. A pre-soak using a spray bottle with a premixed solution of rinseless wash is also a good idea.

Knowing when NOT to use a rinseless wash is also important. If you have a lot of salt, muck, etc built up on the car, do as you thought and bring it some place where you can get that stuff off first.

[dhjunkie]

If you have a lot of salt, muck, etc built up on the car, do as you thought and bring it some place where you can get that stuff off first.

Would this include bugs on the front bumper and the dirty parts behing the wheel wells? Those are the areas I feel I need to scrub to get clean and I'm afraid to scrub with the rinseless products.

[TornadoRed]

All of the above plus extra wash mitts. I use 3 or 4 per wash.

[Mustang81]

Would this include bugs on the front bumper and the dirty parts behing the wheel wells? Those are the areas I feel I need to scrub to get clean and I'm afraid to scrub with the rinseless products.

Very much so. You don't want to scrub with a rinseless wash. The weight of the wash medium (wash glove, sponge, etc) and the rinseless wash should do the job. Use something dedicated to bug removal for the bugs.

[mc2hill]

Would this include bugs on the front bumper and the dirty parts behing the wheel wells? Those are the areas I feel I need to scrub to get clean and I'm afraid to scrub with the rinseless products.

You can pre-treat those areas to let them soak. I use a 1/2 gal pump-up garden sprayer with ONR at wash strength for that. If the bugs are too tough for the pre-treat, try soaking a thin microfiber cloth/towel in the rinseless wash bucket, then place it over the bug-gy area (use as many as is needed to cover the area) and leave on for about 10 minutes, and the bugs should remove with just a wipe. A really good towel is too heavy to stick on near vertical areas, but the cheap MF's work great for this. This process works for removing our love bugs, so it should be fine for you.