Washing Car in Cloudy Damp Weather

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Radster1986

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I live in a rental community with limited access to wash my vehicle. When I do, I use ONR, GREAT STUFF! Over the last few weeks it has been rather gloomy and wet early in the morning when I like to do these things, and then partly cloudy in the evening about an hour before it gets dark. I have been delaying this project for a couple weeks, because I find the lighting and dampness of the air greatly effects my ability to do the no rinse wash correctly, without missing spots or causing swirling (car is black) . Does anyone that has similar conditions have any suggestions? I was thinking of going to one of the 24hr car washes and using one of the self serve bays to do my no rinse wash, since they have decent lighting most of the time. And how long does it usually take those no rinse folks to do their car? It usually averages me an hour or 2 if I break it down panel by panel and take my time. Thoughts?
 
two hours to just wash? Is this due to the damp air?
I shouldn't take but 30 mins to rinseless wash a car.

You have to deal with the humidity and use more towels when you dry so you don't have any leftovers. But if you do then just hit them with some detail spray.

I love the "car wash" bays, as long as you don't use their soap and brush!
But you can use their pressure washer and DI water. I used to do that when I didn't have a detail rig.
 
Detailing by M said:
two hours to just wash? Is this due to the damp air?
I shouldn't take but 30 mins to rinseless wash a car.

You have to deal with the humidity and use more towels when you dry so you don't have any leftovers. But if you do then just hit them with some detail spray.

I love the "car wash" bays, as long as you don't use their soap and brush!
But you can use their pressure washer and DI water. I used to do that when I didn't have a detail rig.
Click to expand...
Yes, the car tends to be very hard to dry and the moisture sticks to the body and I end up using a whole ton of towels to get it to dry without spots.

I may go that route then for the bays, there is one by my place that hardly ever has anyone in it, and they mostly use the touchfree wash anyways.
 
Are you using tap water with your rinseless? If you are, switch to DI water. What I do is pour two gallons of DI water into 5 gallon bucket, add whichever wash solution I feel like that day and put in about a dozen towels and wash using the"Gary Dean Method". Using the DI water will greatly help in reduction of any water spots.
 
Radster1986 said:
Yes, the car tends to be very hard to dry and the moisture sticks to the body and I end up using a whole ton of towels to get it to dry without spots.

I may go that route then for the bays, there is one by my place that hardly ever has anyone in it, and they mostly use the touchfree wash anyways.
Click to expand...
Do you have a good LSP? I have Cquartz on my car and it makes drying a lot easier.
 
It also takes me awhile to do a Rinseless Wash but there are guys on the other forums that can Rinseless Wash a car in 4 to 6 minutes. I m not even able to get the bugs off the front bumper in 4 minutes
 
If you want your car to dry faster, try Opti Seal as a drying agent when you do a Rinseless Wash. While the panel is still wet, Just mist the panel (one mist per panel) and wipe dry. This will dry the car faster and seal the paint all in one step
 
I am doing to two large Mercedes Sprinter vans with no windows in less than two hours including spray wax.I do them before dark in South Florida after rain 90-100% humidity.I use ONR and get perfect results. I think the secret is the paint is so smooth to start because of the sealant and Pinnacle Souveran wax that has been applied since new.You may have bad water or towels but the ONR is fool proof. Good luck getting it right, My problem when I started detailing was bad water and not finding this forum first.
 
Just curious if anyone has tried the Garry Dean air injection process. I'm referring to the simpler paint spray gun version for the home enthusiast, not the complicated setup. Looks pretty cool in the video but curious if it is practical. Any comments appreciated - thanks.
 
I have noticed in cooler humid times it is harder to dry because the solution or water seems to stick the paint more. After getting most off, I usually end up going with a very light touch and light motion to get the remainder.
 
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