Anyone incorporate foam into a rinseless wash?

[HAMBO]

Hello all,

In our area you can get a pretty hefty fine for using a hose and 2BM to wash your car, so I have mostly been doing rinesless washes. I have a portable Foamer, so can produce some OK foam without using a hose. Was wondering whether anyone incorporates foam into their rinseless wash routine?

I have on occasion used the foamer I bought when I go to the local coin-op so as to use my own ph neutral foam (rather than their foam). I do a foam + pressure washer rinse, then go home and do a rinseless wash with ONR (with a layer of diluted ONR also spayed on as pre-treatment), but that's time consuming with the back and forth to the coin-op. I was wondering whether anyone else uses foam in this or some other way in a rinseless wash? Maybe as a pre-treatment before doing the rinseless wash (ie instead of using diluted ONR as pre treatment)?

Thanks!

HAMBO

 

[KirkH]

Recently did a 94 Porsche Boxster in a special order gold/yellow color paint. 13,000 miles, garage kept, no swirls. I was scared to rub on it. I foamed and rinsed, then did a rinseless. This would be my method for classic cars with no swirls.

 

[ducksfan]

Yep. I've used that exact same foamer as a presoaker for rinseless wash. I have P21s Total Auto Wash in it mixed 1:20. It works fine.

 

[FUNX650]

•Is there a set-in-stone procedure that
must be followed to accomplish a RW?
-IMO: No.

•With that in mind I say:
'Go ahead; add "incorporating
foam to a RW" to the ever-growing
list of the Hybrid RW Methods'.
-Who's going to stop you?!?



Bob

 

[HAMBO]

Yep. I've used that exact same foamer as a presoaker for rinseless wash. I have P21s Total Auto Wash in it mixed 1:20. It works fine.

Thanks. Curious, did the car wash foam leave any residue after the rinseless wash that you needed to rinse off with a hose, or did the rinseless wash pickup all the foam?
Also may I ask what wash medium you use for rinseless washing? Any concerns about getting foam on the wash media and dunking it back into the rinseless bucket (if you plan to reuse the rinseless solution that is, if you don’t plan to then it probably wouldn’t matter at all)? Thanks!

 

[The Guz]

Wash weekly with ONR and you don't have to use any sort of foam pre-wash. It's all I do weekly whether it is ONR, D114 or McKee's 37 N-914 rinsless wash.

 

[HAMBO]

Wash weekly with ONR and you don't have to use any sort of foam pre-wash. It's all I do weekly whether it is ONR, D114 or McKee's 37 N-914 rinsless wash.

So yes, I totally agree that would work. Issue for me has been that I moved recently and don't have a garage (so car is more exposed to the elements) and haven't had the time to wash weekly (more like every two weeks or so). Car is just a bit too dirty for comfort to do a routine ONR wash, so looking for a bit more protection, but thanks for the suggestion. Great general advice.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Kind of a paint to go to and you have to save up your quarters but how about a do-it-yourself car wash?

At least you have running water.... and use the foam or anything...


Blasting Bird Bombs at the Coin-Op Car Wash!

 

[The Guz]

So yes, I totally agree that would work. Issue for me has been that I moved recently and don't have a garage (so car is more exposed to the elements) and haven't had the time to wash weekly (more like every two weeks or so). Car is just a bit too dirty for comfort to do a routine ONR wash, so looking for a bit more protection, but thanks for the suggestion. Great general advice.

My daily sits outside 24/7 so I know what you mean. Same goes for my dad's and mom's. Most of the time I wash them weekly with ONR and the big red sponge. Two of the cars are coated while mine just has a sealant. If they are not washed weekly then they still get washed the same way at 2 weeks. I will pre-soak heavier soiled areas.

My Camaro on the other hand spends most of the time in the garage so that one does not get that dirty but rather dusty.

Do what Mike says and take it to a coin up and take your buckets and ONR with you to be more efficient.

 

[HAMBO]

Kind of a paint to go to and you have to save up your quarters but how about a do-it-yourself car wash?

At least you have running water.... and use the foam or anything...


Blasting Bird Bombs at the Coin-Op Car Wash!

Thanks for chiming in Mike! Appreciate it. Yep, I have done that on occasion (tried to reference it in my original post) and it works well, just takes a long time with this LA traffic!

 

[HAMBO]

My daily sits outside 24/7 so I know what you mean. Same goes for my dad's and mom's. Most of the time I wash them weekly with ONR and the big red sponge. Two of the cars are coated while mine just has a sealant. If they are not washed weekly then they still get washed the same way at 2 weeks. I will pre-soak heavier soiled areas.

My Camaro on the other hand spends most of the time in the garage so that one does not get that dirty but rather dusty.

Do what Mike says and take it to a coin up and take your buckets and ONR with you to be more efficient.

Thanks! My car is coated as well, so at least has good protection outside too.

So not to change the topic too much, but I recently tried an ONR wash with no pre rinse with a hose or coin-op (just a bit of presoak with ONR) using the big red sponge...have to say I wasn't a fan. I found the sponge pushed more dirt around than it did remove it (my drying towel was covered in dirt), and some parts of the process just seemed to have more friction than I cared for. Definitely felt less safe than using multiple MF towels, but have to say it was much more convenient than using 7-8 MF towels, and less clean up. That's what made me curious whether there was a way to try again with more protection.

Seems the right way to go is find some way (either coin op or other) to blast off the car / top layer of dirt with water (maybe pre soak with foam) then do an ONR wash. Would try that routine with the BRS again to see if it works any better.

 

[ducksfan]

Thanks. Curious, did the car wash foam leave any residue after the rinseless wash that you needed to rinse off with a hose, or did the rinseless wash pickup all the foam?
Also may I ask what wash medium you use for rinseless washing? Any concerns about getting foam on the wash media and dunking it back into the rinseless bucket (if you plan to reuse the rinseless solution that is, if you don’t plan to then it probably wouldn’t matter at all)? Thanks!

No residue because both methods I use to rinseless wash involve an excessive amount of liquid. I use Uber, ONR, D114 and Ultima WW+ in a sprayer system or in a bucket (both with a sponge) depending on the situation. I don't reuse solution.

 

[The Guz]

Thanks! My car is coated as well, so at least has good protection outside too.

So not to change the topic too much, but I recently tried an ONR wash with no pre rinse with a hose or coin-op (just a bit of presoak with ONR) using the big red sponge...have to say I wasn't a fan. I found the sponge pushed more dirt around than it did remove it (my drying towel was covered in dirt), and some parts of the process just seemed to have more friction than I cared for. Definitely felt less safe than using multiple MF towels, but have to say it was much more convenient than using 7-8 MF towels, and less clean up. That's what made me curious whether there was a way to try again with more protection.

Seems the right way to go is find some way (either coin op or other) to blast off the car / top layer of dirt with water (maybe pre soak with foam) then do an ONR wash. Would try that routine with the BRS again to see if it works any better.

It's normal to see dirt on your drying towel.

Did you let the BRS soak in ONR in the bucket for a few hours before using it?

You could always try a wash mitt with ONR.

Have you thought about a waterless wash during the middle of the week to keep the paint clean.

 

[AZpolisher15]

In looking at reviews, the new McKee's 37 N-914 rinsless wash has a "sudsing" aspect to it. I know there's a great recently posted review around here with photos. I wonder if it could be somehow "forced" into a foam-ing role in a rinseless procedure?

 

[Eldorado2k]

It's normal to see dirt on your drying towel.

Wouldn't that lead to swirls?



Sent from my iPhone

 

[The Guz]

Wouldn't that lead to swirls?



Sent from my iPhone

As long as one doesn't grind the surface with the towel then no. I'll flip my towel to a clean side quite often. Same concept when using the Gary Dean method and dirt appears on the towel and using that same side of the towel for a few passes until the towel is flipped to a clean side. Or when dirt appears on the towel when waterless washing until flipped to a clean side.

 

[Eldorado2k]

As long as one doesn't grind the surface with the towel then no. I'll flip my towel to a clean side quite often. Same concept when using the Gary Dean method and dirt appears on the towel and using that same side of the towel for a few passes until the towel is flipped to a clean side. Or when dirt appears on the towel when waterless washing until flipped to a clean side.

When I do a waterless [even easier when doing a rinseless] is go over the panel 1 last time with a clean side of the towel to make sure it comes up clean prior to drying it.


Sent from my iPhone

 

[The Guz]

When I do a waterless [even easier when doing a rinseless] is go over the panel 1 last time with a clean side of the towel to make sure it comes up clean prior to drying it.


Sent from my iPhone

That's good practice to remove any left over rinseless/waterless wash residue with a light final buff.

It's not like the paint is left with a bunch of dirt when using ONR and the big red sponge. The sponge takes a majority of it. Then take a towel on the initial pass to pick up the wet solution. Come back with a dry towel for a light buff. Just like using D114 or any other rinseless/waterless wash type product. Nothing really changes. Other than the wash media.

 

[HAMBO]

It's normal to see dirt on your drying towel.

Did you let the BRS soak in ONR in the bucket for a few hours before using it?

You could always try a wash mitt with ONR.

Have you thought about a waterless wash during the middle of the week to keep the paint clean.

Thanks. Yep, it sits in ONR when I'm not using. I know folks say it's normal to get dirt on the drying towel after using the BRS since the dirt is encapsulated, but - and maybe it's just me - that just seems like a not so great outcome / idea. I use an MF madness DMC towel for drying, and it's not that big so I run out of clean sides quickly. I've found when I use the Garry Dean method for 8-9 MF towels to wash the car I don't have almost any dirt on my drying towel afterwards.

I think using a hose to maybe quickly rinse off the vehicles before (or even after) passing the BRS may help get a lot of the dirt off the paint. I would like to find a way to get comfortable with the BRS since it's so much more convenient than using 8 towels.

Ya, occasional WW is a good suggestion. Thanks!