Rinseless or Waterless - Which is safer

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Tresca

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For those who have tried both waterless and rinseless washes for similar levels of surface contamination, is one method less safe in regards to surface marring?

I've tried both a few times and have not noticed marring that can be related to the waterless or rinseless method using UWW+ for the waterless and Blackfire for the rinseless. The Blackfire rinseless did not seem to provide any more lubricity than just plain water, while the UWW+ definitely seemed to allow the microfiber to move more easily across the surface. However, it seems like the extra water with the rinseless should be safer.
 
I always take mine to the coin-op car wash and spray it down really well before attempting either a waterless or rinseless wash.

I'm not saying this is always necessary, but so far I haven't had any marring with either.

I agree that the rinseless feels safer due to the added liquid, but I use a lot of waterless wash and saturate pretty well so I'm never short of lubricant.
 
Kyle_Elantra said:
I always take mine to the coin-op car wash and spray it down really well before attempting either a waterless or rinseless wash.

I'm not saying this is always necessary, but so far I haven't had any marring with either.

I agree that the rinseless feels safer due to the added liquid, but I use a lot of waterless wash and saturate pretty well so I'm never short of lubricant.
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I haven't been able to find any coin-ops within a decent distance of where I live (and driving 30 minutes to one I do know of would make the car dirty and need another spray down). But we do have lots of overpriced carwash places that do an automatic wash and then a rub down with dirty towels.
 
topKek said:
But we do have lots of overpriced carwash places that do an automatic wash and then a rub down with dirty towels.
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Not sure why this was so funny to me. I guess cause I read it in a matter if fact tone lol...
 
It's highly dependent on the amount of surface soiling. For very light dust, I don't think there is any difference in safety. As the amount of dust/dirt increases, I think that the safety leans more toward rinseless.

As dust/dirt increases further, the best bet would be to spray a panel with waterless wash, then do a rinseless wash. On the far end of non-traditional washing, you'd powerwash the car to remove most debris, then do a rinseless or waterless/rinseless combo.
 
If you don't feel comfortable with the usual 2 oz mixed w/ 2 gallons of water just add a little more, maybe 3-4 ounces and don't wring out your wash media as much and/or pre-treat the paint surface and you'll be good to go. If the car is REAL dirty or REAL salty, pre-treating is obvious or like others have mentioned go to the quarter carwash before hand. Rinseless wash is also waaaaaaaay cheaper too!

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
 
Friction = swirls.

Waterless is good for what it is, but it's very similar to a QD wipe down in that there really isn't anything there for lubricity.

Rinseless with it's added surfactants adds lubricity over and above anything that waterless could provide. Combine that with a massive increase in fluid being passed over the surface and there really isn't a comparison in the two.
 
cardaddy said:
Friction = swirls.

Waterless is good for what it is, but it's very similar to a QD wipe down in that there really isn't anything there for lubricity.

Rinseless with it's added surfactants adds lubricity over and above anything that waterless could provide. Combine that with a massive increase in fluid being passed over the surface and there really isn't a comparison in the two.
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Baaaam!

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
 
All good points. I use a combo of all 3. Coin-op, rinseless with a waterless pre soak and sometimes a waterless. I'm trying to stay away from the coin-op because that $3 adds up. But after a foot of snow I'll hit the coin-op out of necessity. I like to presoak back quarter panels with waterless then do a rinseless in the garage. This time of year is strictly for protection.
 
I combine as well. Some presoak with rinseless solution. I presoak with UWW+ in WW dilution then wash with UWW+ in rinseless dilution.
 
for those who use UWW+ as presoak, is it really better than ONR as presoak?
 
tommygee said:
All good points. I use a combo of all 3. Coin-op, rinseless with a waterless pre soak and sometimes a waterless. I'm trying to stay away from the coin-op because that $3 adds up. But after a foot of snow I'll hit the coin-op out of necessity. I like to presoak back quarter panels with waterless then do a rinseless in the garage. This time of year is strictly for protection.
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I hear ya'.

This time of year I don't even like to think of cranking up my pressure washer. :rolleyes: I picked up a little 1700psi electric last summer so I wouldn't have to mess with the big one all the time, but when it's freezing sometimes it's just convenient to pop by the coin-op to get the worst of it off. Then it's the garage and a couple buckets of nice warm water. :)
 
tommygee said:
All good points. I use a combo of all 3. Coin-op, rinseless with a waterless pre soak and sometimes a waterless. I'm trying to stay away from the coin-op because that $3 adds up. But after a foot of snow I'll hit the coin-op out of necessity. I like to presoak back quarter panels with waterless then do a rinseless in the garage. This time of year is strictly for protection.
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the $3 is not only a preparation for ONR, it also removes salt from underneath

Thus i think it is necessary
 
cardaddy said:
Waterless is good for what it is, but it's very similar to a QD wipe down in that there really isn't anything there for lubricity.

Rinseless with it's added surfactants adds lubricity over and above anything that waterless could provide. Combine that with a massive increase in fluid being passed over the surface and there really isn't a comparison in the two.
Click to expand...

I guess it might depend what product you use and which of several techniques you use for your rinseless and waterless washes.

If we take UWW+ concentrate as an example, you mix it 44:1 (water to product) for waterless, and 384:1 for rinseless. So the lubricity is actually much higher when used for waterless washes. I've seen some photos of people doing surprisingly dirty cars with waterless washes and getting great results so maybe the higher concentration (higher lubricity) trumps the added water of a rinseless in some cases. I'm sure results could vary with different products though.

As someone pointed out earlier, the amount of dirt/dust on the car plays a big role, and they can both be very safe under the right conditions.
 
Both! Rinseless for the heavier work of course. Waterless for avoiding huge intensive clean ups.
 
During the winter months, I combine...power wash off the heavy dirt, pre spray with Pinnacle no rinse, and then wash with ONR. Being a newbie to this whole thing, i really like getting away from the 2 bucket, dunking hands, rinse the soap...etc. I'm looking forward to seeing my approach in the spring/summer.
 
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