Limits of a waterless wash ?

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orcat

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We like to take vacations at the beach. Everyday, a nice layer of salt and beach schmutz builds on my car. I have never tried a waterless wash. Would it be safe to do to clean the car while I'm there? Is there any special technique (wiping, applying) that you would recommend?

If it is something you think would be ok to do, which one would you recommend?

Thanks in advance....
John
 
Depends how much your talking? Fine layer yes. Thicker buildup. Spray off at a wand wash then ONR it.
 
Optimum No Rinse

It's a Rinseless car wash, extremely good and cost effective.
 
I live on the coast myself. It is a battle with the ever changing weather for sure. I depend on a waterless wash but I never use a waterless technique when I know the vehicle "needs" to be cleaned. I use Ultima Waterless Wash Concentrate in between weekly "two bucket" washes, or when bird bombs or bugs need removed. This is a great thread that will shed some light on your question.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...lus.html?highlight=Ultima+Waterless+Wash+marc
 
spiralout462 said:
I live on the coast myself. It is a battle with the ever changing weather for sure. I depend on a waterless wash but I never use a waterless technique when I know the vehicle "needs" to be cleaned. I use Ultima Waterless Wash Concentrate in between weekly "two bucket" washes, or when bird bombs or bugs need removed. This is a great thread that will shed some light on your question.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...lus.html?highlight=Ultima+Waterless+Wash+marc
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Thanks for the link. What technique do you use?

swanicyouth said:
Pressure wash first well, then waterless has almost no limits.
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I also thought that finding a self serve car wash would've been easy. There are none that are close by. Last year I drove around until I found a very generous homeowner, who happened to be working on his house outside, and he let me use his hose. Had a nice conversation...what a great guy. We have a condo there and there are no outdoor hose spigots. Ugg.
 
If you don't have access to water to use a conventional wash method while your on vacation I would recommend buying a pressure sprayer. Get one that holds a lot of solution but is still easy to work with. You can use the pressure sprayer to spray off any big particles on your surface then spray it again and wipe with your microfiber.
Also use plenty of microfibers.
 
If u get it washed first and then get some type of waterless wash and keep it up every night before u turn in u will be happy. The longer u wait and let it build up u are just making it worse.
 
geekdout said:
if you don't have access to water to use a conventional wash method while your on vacation i would recommend buying a pressure sprayer. Get one that holds a lot of solution but is still easy to work with. You can use the pressure sprayer to spray off any big particles on your surface then spray it again and wipe with your microfiber.
Also use plenty of microfibers.
Click to expand...

View attachment 23334
 
stilltipping3 said:
If u get it washed first and then get some type of waterless wash and keep it up every night before u turn in u will be happy. The longer u wait and let it build up u are just making it worse.
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Great point....Thanks..
 
Pressure wash first or else the sand particles that go air born May scratch the clear coat!
 
Hi John,

Sometimes it's best to leave it alone until you can get to a water source. With gritty sand and salt I would wait until I could rinse it off. That's where everyone is trying to steer you. A waterless wash works for a light dust that hasn't become a film stuck to the paint. I'm not an expert on coastal climates and their overnight affect on paint.
 
The problem really is then, your not vacationing in the right place. You must change your plans to meet your detailing obsession. I always Google those places and know where the nicer ones are at.

When I drove down to Detail Fest in FL 2 years ago, I googled and found a pretty nice one called "Bubbles" some place in FL - exactly where I couldn't tell you. It was maybe 2 hours north of AGO.

I'll be hitting Bubbles again this March.
 
As others have said, the issue is with the physical size of your soiling. If it is fine and silt like, then waterless poses limited risk as the supposed encapsulation technologies can do their job. As the size gets bigger, this becomes less and less efficient. If you spray some ONR onto the surface, wipe it with your finger tip and then rub it against another finger - can you feel any abrasiveness? If you can feel it with your fingers, the same roughness will be pressed against your paint. At this point, you are pushing the limits. With sand, you will be way past this. I would not even do a traditional 2BM without rinsing off any sand.
 
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