Waterless wash on a very dirty car

[moparman363]

Hi Mike, I've completed all 30 pages in the thread on restoration of single stage paint. My first question pertains to using a waterless wash on classic vehicles. I've recently inherited a 1955 Thunderbird that hasn't seen the road in at least a decade. Needless to say it's accumulated a lot of filth just sitting uncovered in the garage.
My original plan was to (hopefully) re-inflate the tires and have a flatbed carry it to my house, and give it a full bath, but I have no idea what the conditions of the underside of the car are.I was intrigued by the notion of not flooding the car with water, but I've always thought that waterless washes were only for mildly dirty cars.
I do plan on posting before photo's when I get the car home. I was just wondering if a waterless wash was an option.

[mc2hill]

I am a 'Mike', but not 'Mike P.', but would suggest a rinseless wash over waterless wash. And invest in pump-up sprayers (the 1/2 gallon ones from the garden center work ok, but there are better options).

I detail a lot of pre-war to muscle car era cars and only use rinseless washes. For well maintained car I just wash with the rinseless solution. But if they are a little dirtier, then I will fill the pump-up sprayer with the rinseless solution mixed at waterless strenth, and spray them down. If you had a very filthy one you may want to just put rinseless wash at wash strength in the sprayer and go over the car several times.
You could even add some all purpose cleaner to the sprayer for more cleaning power.

[2black1s]

For the first wash I would do it thoroughly using a hose to blast all those areas that can't be reached by hand.

Regardless of condition, getting the car "wet" one more time is certainly not going to have any detrimental effect in the overall scheme of things.

Cleaning the car as thoroughly as possible would be of more concern to me than worrying about getting it wet.

I'd also consider using a detergent much stronger than your typical car wash for the first go-around... Something like a strong mixture of Tide or the like, or even Comet cleanser depending on the condition.

[moparman363]

I really would like to use the hose to blast all of those filthy area's, but early Thunderbirds are known to be very leaky around the area's that the top meets. That's even with new weather stripping.
That's why I find the use of waterless or rinseless products so intriguing. I wont have to worry about flooding the interior as well.
I've always used water and have no experience with anything else.

[moparman363]

This is a pic of what she looks like now.
It's also my first attempt to add a photo. I hope it works

[57Rambler]

For the first wash I would do it thoroughly using a hose to blast all those areas that can't be reached by hand.

Regardless of condition, getting the car "wet" one more time is certainly not going to have any detrimental effect in the overall scheme of things.

Cleaning the car as thoroughly as possible would be of more concern to me than worrying about getting it wet.

I would stuff lots of towels inside where there was concern for leaks, esp. around the top, to trap/soak up intruding water. Then after washing the car I would use a blower to dry it, esp. in all the places where water can get trapped.

[FUNX650]

Nice acquisition!
Thanks for the picture.

{I’d completely forgot about the ‘55
T-Birds having a “Crossed Flags” emblem.}






Bob

[PaulMys]

{I’d completely forgot about the ‘55
T-Birds having a “Crossed Flags” emblem.}




Bob

Well, to be fair Bob......... '55 was the first year you were eligible for AARP.

[Coatingsarecrack]

That amount of dirt i’d do a bucket wash. If absolutely not wanting to my procedure would be do pump spray a rinseless (Mckees N-914)

I’d invest in a pump foamer and look into a foaming waterless from a guy from New york. It’s awesome stuff and in some of his videos of this product he cleans some pretty dirty cars.

Panel at a time and follow up with a drying aid. Safest product out their if your not wanting to do a traditional wash


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[moparman363]

Thanks to all. At this point I believe that I'll be doing a bucket wash on the lower body, and just a vacuum on the convertible top. Then I'll at least be able to see what I have to work with.
I can make adjustments from there.
There is also a ton of mechanical work that will need to be done, from draining the gas tank to rebuilding the brake system, so The first wash is going to be a long way from a finished job.
I just don't want to create more problems for myself.