Apartment Dwellers

[member456]

Hello everyone.

I am relatively new to the world of detailing. I grew up outside of America in a country where professional detailing isn't as popular as it is in this country. Those that did get their cars detailed would usually pay a large sum of money to get it professionally done. (i.e to the standards the majority of you guys hold yourselves to.)

As a result, I didn't know much about detailing until I moved to the States about a year ago. I am 25 and my 2009 Accord is only the second car I have ever owned.

Onto the main question here. And note, I'm just looking for general answers.

For those of you that live in apartments, how do you go about personally detailing your cars. (If you do personally do them, as opposed to getting it done by someone else)

[FFguy808]

I live in a apartment complex where there is no area to do a normal 2 bucket car wash so I rely on rinse less car wash. For polishing and using my machines, I go to a friend's house and borrow electric:xyxthumbs:

[zmcgovern45]

Rinse less washes are your friend

[member456]

Thanks for the responses.

From everything I've read, it appears ONR seems to be the go to product in that category. Would that observation be correct?

I have used the waterless washes a handful of times here and there. (Meguiars) However, it scares me knowing I could be marring the paint regardless of how careful I am. :(

As far as machines go, anything cordless out there that is worth it?

Appreciate the responses.

[CrayBrown]

Use the Gary dean method if your worried about swirls and marring.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online

[AeroCleanse]

Rinseless or waterless would be the way to go.

[jjj]

Onr is great! Used it this winter a lot. I only use the Gary dean method with rinseless. I also pre soak each panel with waterless. Another good rinseless is black fire. But onr gets my vote!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-kY_S-fkgrE

[Johny B]

Rinseless or waterless would be the way to go.

Well said.

[Palmo]

I am in the same boat. I am going to try the rinseless wash a go.

[thebamboo23]

ive been using waterless.. love it
rinseless works well
GDWM works very well
everything works well.. its all in preference, and results will show from proper technique

[swanicyouth]

Best system for apartment washing is to use the wand at the pay wash to pre-rinse and clean wheels conventionally. Then do a rinseless / waterless combo there. I do this a lot, even though I don't live in an apt. It's very safe and effective. If you go in the middle of the day during the week nobody bothers you. Also, working in the bay is shelter from the sun

I actually went there to wax my clean car in their bay the other day because one of the doors close and it has a lot more room than my garage. The owner sees me spending $$$ there all the time, I guess that's why he doesn't bother me. Sometimes I'll be in the bay 3 or 4 hrs at a time and nobody bothers me. I make sure to go when its very slow.

When I lived in an apartment I bought an DC to AC converter to run a PC off the car's battery. It works well, but you have to idle the car. Best thing you can do is run a LONG extension cord somehow from your apartment to an isolated corner of your parking lot. Make sure its ran in a way nobody can trip on it, or someone will say something. If you can't do that, you have to utilize family or friends.

Washing is easy. There is all types of creative ways to do it. You could invest in a Nomad or an Eco Pod. Machine polishing is where it gets tricky. Maybe you could even work out a deal with a storage space or garage to rent some space for a weekend.

I can't see using waterless or rinseless washes without pressure washing first though. I tried it once and my towels go filth. 90% of the dirt can be removed for $5 at the pay n spray.

[member456]

I truly appreciate all the responses here. It's rare to see a noobie on your average forum get a straight answer from people.

So, thank you.

The most experience I have had is with the waterless wash and wax combo sprays.

However, it can get expensive. I try to take the best technique pointers from the various reviews I've seen of these products and apply it to my method.

I can't remember the name, but someone at an AutoZone in town recommended a new product which I currently have. While it works for the most part, I've found the Meguiars Wash and Wax Anywhere to provide me with the best results.

The closest pay wash place to me is a good 30 minutes away, with various of your regular car washes in between. With my work schedule, it's hard to make to places like that in time. (I guess I need to head out there one of these weekends though)


My main aim here, like most of you is to protect my investment. Unfortunately, polishing (with machines) seems like it would be hard to do given my situation. I could pay for it I guess, but I'd need to find the right person to do it. From what I've read polishing is not something one wants to do by hand.

With that said though, is it worth it applying a wax by hand simply for its protection and possible improvement to the glossiness of the paint?

I have a gold Accord and thankfully unless someone is really looking hard at the paint from very close distance in the right light, you are not going to notice the swirls.

This would be me ride. :) I bought it used with very low mileage, but apart from the dealer (I guess) it has never been professionally detailed. :(

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6156/6169661683_a34ff56d1b_z_d.jpg

[hernandez.art13]

Best system for apartment washing is to use the wand at the pay wash to pre-rinse and clean wheels conventionally. Then do a rinseless / waterless combo there. I do this a lot, even though I don't live in an apt. It's very safe and effective. If you go in the middle of the day during the week nobody bothers you. Also, working in the bay is shelter from the sun

I actually went there to wax my clean car in their bay the other day because one of the doors close and it has a lot more room than my garage. The owner sees me spending $$$ there all the time, I guess that's why he doesn't bother me. Sometimes I'll be in the bay 3 or 4 hrs at a time and nobody bothers me. I make sure to go when its very slow.

When I lived in an apartment I bought an DC to AC converter to run a PC off the car's battery. It works well, but you have to idle the car. Best thing you can do is run a LONG extension cord somehow from your apartment to an isolated corner of your parking lot. Make sure its ran in a way nobody can trip on it, or someone will say something. If you can't do that, you have to utilize family or friends.

Washing is easy. There is all types of creative ways to do it. You could invest in a Nomad or an Eco Pod. Machine polishing is where it gets tricky. Maybe you could even work out a deal with a storage space or garage to rent some space for a weekend.

I can't see using waterless or rinseless washes without pressure washing first though. I tried it once and my towels go filth. 90% of the dirt can be removed for $5 at the pay n spray.

I am planning on moving out soon and this is the main reason why I am looking for a back house that has it's own driveway so I cam work on customer cars and the owner being ok with it. Not in a rush but that is my goal.

[07gtcs]

Do a rineseless wash to clean it up, clay it, rinseless again, the use a sealant, then wax if you want to and you should be good to go. Your car will look 90% better than most cars out there. I did my truck all by hand the first time and I get compliments all the time when people see it all shined up. One guy asked if it was new, I've had it for 9years now.

[Marc08EX]

Best system for apartment washing is to use the wand at the pay wash to pre-rinse and clean wheels conventionally. Then do a rinseless / waterless combo there. I do this a lot, even though I don't live in an apt. It's very safe and effective. If you go in the middle of the day during the week nobody bothers you. Also, working in the bay is shelter from the sun

I do this exact method when my car gets rained on or has a thick layer of dust. Sometimes, I bring my bucket of car wash solution in the coin-op and do my wash there. If the dust is light then I don't do the pre-rinse and go straight to either rinseless or waterless.