Pinnacle Liquid Crystal Waterless Wash - First use

Jimmy Vegas

Jimmy Vegas

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Hi guys,
I was fortunate enough to receive a bottle of Pinnacle Liquid Crystal Waterless Wash in a Mystery Bag purchase on another PBMG site. As an old school hose and bucket kind of guy, I never even considered waterless or rinseless options. That would just scratch the hell out of the paint. I'm not falling for this new fangled hooey! Bah!

Well, after some great advice from friend and neighbor BillyJack, I thought I'd give this giant bottle a try. Not on my beloved Chevelle, but on my 2013 Nissan Juke daily driver, aka "Rocket". I had just washed Rocket with a foam cannon, gave him a decent claying, and waxed with Collimate 845 about 9 days ago. We'd had a couple of rainstorms come through, so there was enough "dirt" to make an effort.

Abject terror aside, I grabbed a bunch of fresh microfibers, read the directions (skimmed the directions), and dove in. I took my time and did each panel carefully, but my total time for the whole car was only around 20 minutes.


Before..
View attachment 52191
(Note the mud from the recent rain.)

​
All I can say is "WOW!!"

The Liquid Crystal is amazing! I can't believe how easy it is to use, and what a shine it leaves behind. I simply sprayed ample amounts of Liquid Crystal, working one body panel at a time, gently spread it with one MF using only enough pressure to keep the towel in contact with the panel. Then, switching to a dry towel, buffed the panel to a shine. It was a pleasure to work with.



After..
View attachment 52192View attachment 52193
View attachment 52194View attachment 52200

Truth be told..
View attachment 52197View attachment 52198
There were just a some difficult to photograph water spots.​

I'll be sampling a few other waterless options, but the inclusion of the carnauba wax in the Pinnacle Liquid Crystal will keep me coming back. Loving that gloss.
 
Last edited:
Uber and Blackfire are far better products in the waterless/rinseless wash segment. I started out with Pinnacle and it stopped me from using waterless products for well over a year. I got a bottle included with my bag too, not what I was hoping for, but I can always use it as a water softener/conditioner
 
Jimmy Vegas said:
As an old school hose and bucket kind of guy, I never even considered waterless or rinseless options. That would just scratch the hell out of the paint. I'm not falling for this new fangled hooey! Bah!
Click to expand...

glad you came over to the rinseless side of life. IMO it's just as safe if not safer than moving a sponge of soap over the surface of the car. I have been doing 95% rinseless on both our cars for a while now with no issues and I'm a picky SOB when it comes to scratches.

pheerix said:
Definitely give Wolfgang Uber a try
Click to expand...

^^ this. by far the best of the ones I've tried. nothing else for me.
 
That "before" photo though.... :laughing:

Rinseless & waterless science are hitting full strides. Comparing between known brands is like reading a Superbike shootout - all are within few tenths of each other, there really isn't a "loser" among the bunch. With that said, Uber is ahead of the pack when it comes to shine and slickness.

How many towels you ended up using?
 
I may have celebrated a bit too soon. It looks like I may not have switched towels often enough. In daylight, and with my friends LED inspection light, the paint looked almost perfect. I knew there was some spiderwebbing prior to my waterless, but I didn't give the car a good inspection.

However, when I went to dinner, I spotted some problems under the sodium lights in the parking lot, and they were noticeable with the LED security light in my driveway.

View attachment 52205
Best photo I could get.​
These seem to follow what would have likely been my wipe pattern.

I'll do a wash, clay, 360 or Ultimate Compound, then wax this week.

Edited Follow Up: I went out with some Meguiars Ultimate Compound to have a go at the section in the photo. Those scratches are definitely under the wax and were not made by me today. I checked a few other body panels, and it must have just been due to that corner being easy to see that caused me to notice the scratches. There is spiderwebbing on the hood, but I knew that was there from before. (I have some 360 earmarked for that.) But I checked the roof, doors, etc. I rescind my previous statement that it was anything I did today. On the plus side, I should get a feel for Griot's Spray Wax as that what I treated that panel with after the compound and we're to get some pretty decent rain tonight.
 
Jimmy Vegas said:
Hi guys,
I was fortunate enough to receive a bottle of Pinnacle Liquid Crystal Waterless Wash in a Mystery Bag purchase on another PBMG site. As an old school hose and bucket kind of guy, I never even considered waterless or rinseless options. That would just scratch the hell out of the paint. I'm not falling for this new fangled hooey! Bah!

Well, after some great advice from friend and neighbor BillyJack, I thought I'd give this giant bottle a try. Not on my beloved Chevelle, but on my 2013 Nissan Juke daily driver, aka "Rocket". I had just washed Rocket with a foam cannon, gave him a decent claying, and waxed with Collimate 845 about 9 days ago. We'd had a couple of rainstorms come through, so there was enough "dirt" to make an effort.

Abject terror aside, I grabbed a bunch of fresh microfibers, read the directions (skimmed the directions), and dove in. I took my time and did each panel carefully, but my total time for the whole car was only around 20 minutes.


Before..
View attachment 52191
(Note the mud from the recent rain.)

​
All I can say is "WOW!!"

The Liquid Crystal is amazing! I can't believe how easy it is to use, and what a shine it leaves behind. I simply sprayed ample amounts of Liquid Crystal, working one body panel at a time, gently spread it with one MF using only enough pressure to keep the towel in contact with the panel. Then, switching to a dry towel, buffed the panel to a shine. It was a pleasure to work with.



After..
View attachment 52192View attachment 52193
View attachment 52194View attachment 52200

Truth be told..
View attachment 52197View attachment 52198
There were just a some difficult to photograph water spots.​

I'll be sampling a few other waterless options, but the inclusion of the carnauba wax in the Pinnacle Liquid Crystal will keep me coming back. Loving that gloss.
Click to expand...

LMAO @ before & after. That is some miracle juice, Jimmy!
 
PaulMys said:
LMAO @ before & after. That is some miracle juice, Jimmy!
Click to expand...

That'll, like, buff out, man.

ezgif-2100501055.gif
 
I need an arm rest for a Juke. I haven't been able to find a junk yard with one. How about pulling the one off of that junked Juke for me if you have access. Pm me if possible.
 
Jimmy Vegas said:
View attachment 52205
Best photo I could get.​
These seem to follow what would have likely been my wipe pattern.

I'll do a wash, clay, 360 or Ultimate Compound, then wax this week.

Edited Follow Up: I went out with some Meguiars Ultimate Compound to have a go at the section in the photo.
Click to expand...


U.Compound is way overkill for those marks. U.Polish will be all you need and will result in a much nicer finish too. Start with a white pad and green or orange if needed but I doubt you'll need more than a white one.
 
pdqgp said:
U.Compound is way overkill for those marks. U.Polish will be all you need and will result in a much nicer finish too. Start with a white pad and green or orange if needed but I doubt you'll need more than a white one.
Click to expand...

That's what I would think, but when I tried, first with Mckee's 37 360, then Ultimate compound on an orange pad, nothing. I'm beginning to think the previous owner, or the dealer may have put some coating on that I'm not getting through yet. (Collinite 845 couldn't withstand that.)

I had tried the 360 on a test section of the hood with a white pad after the wash and clay last week with almost no improvement. I'm hoping to put some time in on it this coming weekend. It's entirely possible that I'm doing something wrong, but I should have seen some change in the spiderwebbing, and haven't.

For the record, all Lake County CC pads, Porter Cable 7424XP, speed 5.5 for polishing, firm pressure.

Any thoughts and advice are appreciated. I'm new to the DA, but have been reading up in Mike's book, watching the videos, and reading this site for months before attempting it, so I can't be screwing it up that badly, can I? I mean, at least I'd expect to see new scratches at some point.
 
Wow! Shout out and thanks to everyone who recommended the Wolfgang Uber Rinseless Wash. I mixed a batch to use as waterless and tried it out today. I was blown away. I actually did my mother's Town Car in about 20 minutes (if memory serves, they have 7 hectares of paint from the factory), and did my juke in under 10. (This is also a great excuse to order more MF towels.)

I'm going to keep both in my inventory as the carnauba that Pinnacle Waterless leaves behind will come in handy, especially when cleaning during the Pennsylvania winters. And the Uber will be for just about everything else. Another home run from Wolfgang, with much respect to Pinnacle.

Chevelle and motorcycle next.
:dblthumb2:
 
Quick Word of Caution: I used the Pinnacle again today to get one more cleaning in while we still have some warm weather. (70 today, down to 38 with snow by Sunday.) The sprayer on the 32oz bottle of Pinnacle Crystal Waterless is perfect! I sprays a fine mist with great coverage.

However.. you might want to breathe through your nose when spraying. Carnauba, in its purest form, is edible.[SUP]1[/SUP] However, many things are technically "edible" which really are not, as they taste like a dumpster fire. Broccoli, pickles, and salad, just to name a few. Please help spread the word.[SUP]2[/SUP]

Beyond that, my daily driver looks great, and that little bit of carnauba on top of the Collinite is just that much more peace of mind heading into the winter weather.

I did the wheels with Uber.[SUP]3[/SUP] Still loving it, too!



[SUP]1[/SUP]Unless I'm making it up.
[SUP]2[/SUP]Think of the children!
[SUP]3[/SUP] No carnauba for you! Stupid wheels.
 
Jimmy Vegas said:
Quick Word of Caution: I used the Pinnacle again today to get one more cleaning in while we still have some warm weather. (70 today, down to 38 with snow by Sunday.) The sprayer on the 32oz bottle of Pinnacle Crystal Waterless is perfect! I sprays a fine mist with great coverage.

However.. you might want to breathe through your nose when spraying. Carnauba, in its purest form, is edible.[SUP]1[/SUP] However, many things are technically "edible" which really are not, as they taste like a dumpster fire. Broccoli, pickles, and salad, just to name a few. Please help spread the word.[SUP]2[/SUP]

Beyond that, my daily driver looks great, and that little bit of carnauba on top of the Collinite is just that much more peace of mind heading into the winter weather.

I did the wheels with Uber.[SUP]3[/SUP] Still loving it, too!



[SUP]1[/SUP]Unless I'm making it up.
[SUP]2[/SUP]Think of the children!
[SUP]3[/SUP] No carnauba for you! Stupid wheels.
Click to expand...

I tried the Pinnacle Liquid Crystal based on your review and can't say enough great things about it as well. Using it on my winter car has been great so far. I did order Uber for a rinseless for when winter really sets in. I'll have to mix up some for waterless as well it sounds.

By the way our 70 weather is turning into 30's a day ahead of you here in WI. :) Good luck!
 
jdubs, glad the review was useful to you. I'm a recent waterless convert, and couldn't be happier with both he Pinnacle and Wolfgang Uber. I use the Uber prior to polishing, or for applications where I don't want anything lefty behind. The Pinnacle is great for regular washing and in between polishing and waxing. This will be my first winter using waterless, and I'll share my experiences. Please do the same.

Stay warm out there.
 
It will be my first winter hand washing cars period. Have a garage now which helps. :) Sadly my fun car was driven last winter and went through the swirl-wash and I spent this summer learning how to fix it. Now that car's in heated storage and I can test all this fun waterless/rinseless stuff on my winter car over winter. Reviews and pictures to come for sure!

Thanks again.
 
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