"Drywash" compared to water washes

Bates Detailing

Bates Detailing

New member
Joined
Jan 11, 2011
Messages
3,074
Reaction score
0
Ok Guys - - - - I have been using a drywash product for almost 2 years now and have seen exponential growth with my company. The first time customers experience it they question the method, but end up becoming regular clients. I have had no negative experiences using this method other than that of answering tons of questions for my customers. Here is my argument :

Using water and soap, is the lubricity any greater than that of a highly lubricated waterless wash?!?! IMO it is not! The key to properly performing a waterless wash or drywash is that of 1) Having a clean MF..... 2)Common sense (don't rub or scrub too hard) 3) knowing what can and cannot be "drywashed".

For those that scrutinize the method and have used the method properly - what is your argument against it?
 
shoot me a pm if you don't want to say the product name on here if you don't mind.
Do you ever run into a problem when a vehicle excessivley soiled or would you go with a traditional wash in a circumstance like that. Say for example mud caked on fenderwells or lower panels. Ive used ONR, UWW etc and like it but ive never used it on say "dirty vehicles"
 
For a dirty vehicle I would personally use a traditional wash. The initial rinse removes a lot the dirty you wouldn't want to remove from your paint using your wash mitt.
 
On my details I spend a lot of time cleaning the wheels including the wheel barrels. 1) A waterless wash isn't going to clean most DD very well, so we need a dedicated wheel cleaner 2) If you use a waterless wash to rinse the wheel barrel, your gonna need a LOT of it 3) Even if you do use a waterless wash to rinse the wheel barrels it lacks the power to really rinse out all of the wheel cleaner from the wheel. Thats just one are that comes to mind. Can a waterless wash be used successfully on paint? Yes. Even in the worst situations, with time and enough product I think it can be done (on paint). But if it takes all that I feel like it defeats the purpose of a waterless wash which IMO is convence and speed. Just my opinion.
 
The argument has been made 100 times by those of us that don't think a waterless wash is a great idea on most vehicles. IMO waterless washes are meant for vehicles that are lightly soiled, not vehicles that are filthy. The reason is there is no way that you won't induce some sort of marring on a vehicle without rinsing away larger debris, and using a proper media to remove the dirt. When you use a low nap mf towel all of the dirt isn't going to have a place to go, away from the paint, so it will be dragged along the surface of the paint.

It seems you have made quite a business for yourself doing your details this way, and if that works for you, great. In my mind it's just like the production wash shops that send your car through a tunnel wash and then glaze the hell out of if in their "detail" shop.
 
Dave makes the most important point above. Lack of pre-rinsing a really filthy car is the biggest thing that will cause swirls with that product. Also, very important point about the wheels noted by Shawn. I completely agree with that as well. Theres just no question imo.

My buddy was so curious after your many postings he purchased a bottle of it awhile back and sent me a sample. I used it a month or so ago on the fender of a filthy vehicle and it does clean it and make it look better. (Temporarily I’m sure) As soon a it rains or if someone dows wash it the clay will be gone and reveal the scratches. Are you aware the product is packed with filler clay? This is to fill the fine scratches that it is creating and of course the fine ones that are already there or there from the previous time it was used. It has so much clay in it if you look at the bottle before shaking it there are inches (maybe 1/8th of the product) that is clay.

Please let me know if you think I am wrong or somehow missing something. I stopped arguing about the safety of this product because I know it does well for you so I think that’s great. I only wrote this because you asked but please tell me if I have misstated something iyo.
 
Flannigan said:
The argument has been made 100 times by those of us that don't think a waterless wash is a great idea on most vehicles. IMO waterless washes are meant for vehicles that are lightly soiled, not vehicles that are filthy. The reason is there is no way that you won't induce some sort of marring on a vehicle without rinsing away larger debris, and using a proper media to remove the dirt. When you use a low nap mf towel all of the dirt isn't going to have a place to go, away from the paint, so it will be dragged along the surface of the paint.

It seems you have made quite a business for yourself doing your details this way, and if that works for you, great. In my mind it's just like the production wash shops that send your car through a tunnel wash and then glaze the hell out of if in their "detail" shop.
Click to expand...

It sounds like your bashing him so let me just comment.

Drywash or as I like to say, waterless wash, works. I use them all the time and have not had a problem.
 
CEE DOG said:
Dave makes the most important point above. Lack of pre-rinsing a really filthy car is the biggest thing that will cause swirls with that product. Also, very important point about the wheels noted by Shawn. I completely agree with that as well. Theres just no question imo.

My buddy was so curious after your many postings he purchased a bottle of it awhile back and sent me a sample. I used it a month or so ago on the fender of a filthy vehicle and it does clean it and make it look better. (Temporarily I’m sure) Are you aware the product is packed with filler clay? This is to fill the fine scratches that it is creating and of course the fine ones that are already there or there from the previous time it was used. It has so much clay in it if you look at the bottle before shaking it there are inches (maybe 1/8th of the product) that is clay.

Please let me know if you think I am wrong or somehow missing something. I stopped arguing about the safety of this product because I know it does well for you so I think that’s great. I only wrote this because you asked but please tell me if I have misstated something iyo.
Click to expand...
Great point, I totaly forgot about the fact that the product contains fillers to fill in the swirls that it may induce. Great points all around Dog!
 
Shawn T. said:
It sounds like your bashing him so let me just comment.

Drywash or as I like to say, waterless wash, works. I use them all the time and have not had a problem.
Click to expand...
No bashing here, just giving my honest opinion, as the OP asked. Waterless washes work great, I use them on a regular basis. I have some customer that wash their vehicles before dropping them off to me, or have garage queens that have just a light film of dust on them. For these vehicles a WW is perfect. However, for a heavily soiled vehicle, a WW does not provide the lubricity to remove dirt and debris without inducing marring. :props:
 
I think of it like this....
How thick is the layer of lubricity?
How thick is a grain of sand?
The grain of sand is probably 1000 times larger.
So, any grain of sand or salt that drags along that car has the potential to protrude through the ultrathin layer of product and scratch the vehicle.
 
I am in favor of this type of wash and have been using them since 2004. It's really pretty simple.....you don't use this type of product on a filthy muddy car! As the man said you need to know what can and can not be drywashed. A little common sense goes a long way.

Some have clay in them while some do not so that's not a universal ingredient. Some strictly clean adding nothing to the surface while others clean, fill, and add products to shine the surface and make it slick. I've got six different ones by various manufacturers. They all do essentially the same thing but some do it much better than others. My next one will be Blackfire's version to see how well it performs.
 
Alot of good points here : As for the fillers and micro scratches, Im not sure about that from all the regular clients I have. I was just talking to a driver of the small fleet of military cars we do once a month (that get pretty soiled by the time we get back to them) and we were noticing that there are no swirl marks on the cars after almost 2 years of waterless ..... maybe the clear is just ridiculously tough on these cars and on my other regular clients that we services weekly and biweekly? I think time as told the truth for me on that matter - or maybe the fillers are just amazingly resilient? Not a comparison at all compared to a tunnel wash lol - I get the pleasure of dealing with the local tunnel wash clients cars often when they see their paint is jacked up. It takes myself anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours to perform a waterless wash, I definitely don't zip through them - time and caution is taken with each car (maybe thats the difference).
 
B&B Tennessee said:
Ok Guys - - - - I have been using a drywash product for almost 2 years now and have seen exponential growth with my company. The first time customers experience it they question the method, but end up becoming regular clients. I have had no negative experiences using this method other than that of answering tons of questions for my customers. Here is my argument :

Using water and soap, is the lubricity any greater than that of a highly lubricated waterless wash?!?! IMO it is not! The key to properly performing a waterless wash or drywash is that of 1) Having a clean MF..... 2)Common sense (don't rub or scrub too hard) 3) knowing what can and cannot be "drywashed".

For those that scrutinize the method and have used the method properly - what is your argument against it?
Click to expand...

Hey Anthony...

First of all...Congratulations, again, on your successful Business!!!...I wish you nothing but a continuation of this achievement, with attainment of further growth.

Secondly...I do hope you're getting not only some much needed "repair of the body, mind and soul" sleep (R.E.M.&N.R.E.M.), but also some quality time with the family...(The Kids will be up and gone sooner than you think. It happened to me, and I have moments now when I regret it immensely.)

Thirdly...I never argue with how a person becomes successful in ones workaday-life/career choice(s)...If they've found the formula that is suitable for them, why do so?
I deem, then, and I'm positive that you concur: Such is the case with you.

:)

Bob
 
B&B Tennessee said:
It takes myself anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours to perform a waterless wash, I definitely don't zip through them - time and caution is taken with each car (maybe thats the difference).
Click to expand...

Holy cow--if I was you and it was taking me that long to do a wash I would definitely want to switch to a rinseless wash. It takes me 1.5-2 to do a foam gun/hose wash, and that's a lot of prep, washing, rinsing, blowing, drying, etc.

I got no problem with you using what you like, but I can't see a pro detailer taking that long to do a wash, that's too long, man!
 
I've been using this product everyday for over a year now and I have to agree with Anthony, not because he is my partner but because of the results. Every customer is happy. Yes it may take longer than the traditional wash but I think that taking the time to focus and perfect every inch of the vehicle in 3' by 3' sections is more important than zipping thru the car to get paid faster. Maybe we are hurting ourselves by taking so long per vehicle, but the end results speak for themselves. I would never take my personal car to the car wash or use any other method but ours.
 
B&B Middle TN said:
Yes it may take longer than the traditional wash but I think that taking the time to focus and perfect every inch of the vehicle in 3' by 3' sections is more important than zipping thru the car to get paid faster.
Click to expand...

I'm not talking about "zipping" through anything, and certainly when you do a rinseless you are focusing on small sections at a time. I honestly think that you could get an equivalent result in less time with a rinseless. That being said, IIRC the product you are using has a wax in it so to be apples to apples you would have to go over the car with something after, unless you use something like the new DG rinseless that has AW in it (haven't tried it yet).
 
B&B Middle TN said:
I've been using this product everyday for over a year now and I have to agree with Anthony, not because he is my partner but because of the results. Every customer is happy. Yes it may take longer than the traditional wash but I think that taking the time to focus and perfect every inch of the vehicle in 3' by 3' sections is more important than zipping thru the car to get paid faster. Maybe we are hurting ourselves by taking so long per vehicle, but the end results speak for themselves. I would never take my personal car to the car wash or use any other method but ours.
Click to expand...
It has nothing to do with getting paid faster or rushing through anything. In my mind it doesn't make sense to do something that not only doesn't always give the best result, but that also takes longer than doing it another way.
 
I lean in Anthony's direction on this one. He has perfected his method of using this product to the point where his customers are happy and his business is booming. If he claims the cars are remaining swirl free after two yrs of application using a common sense approach ,I see no reason to argue otherwise. I now use Ecosmart by CG after Anthony's original thread covering waterless washing and have had good success after a short learning curve. Now this isn't for the 4x4 after coming back from the local mud bog but directed at the average DD that receives scheduled maintenance washes.
Something addressed in a couple earlier replies to this thread mentioned was dirty wheel barrels. We are basically talking about a quick type maintenance wash on a DD where I personally will clean around the back of spokes etc as well as possible with a woolie or daytona wheel brush. If someone ask about the inner barrels then I explain they can be treated with a decon gel or spray at a additional cost. Other up sells are mentioned such as motor clean , coatings, interior protectant etc at the point of original contact.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top