How dirty is too dirty for ONR

[Bill1975]

I finally started using ONR regularly and love it. However I still do a traditional wash via the two bucket method sometimes if I think the car is too dirty. But, how dirty is too dirty?

In the past I have used it with no pre-soak if the car has been washed within about a week and there was only light surface dust. Otherwise I have started using a presoak.

Currently, my car looks just like the pictures. It stays outside in a carport but has not been washed in three weeks. Is it safe to pre-soak the car then wash? Or does it need to be hit with a pressure washer first?

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160916/5a3e705923008f095b62f454eb097aa4.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160916/7818d9ae911964f2fdc49e0d32f42e1b.jpg

[JBM]

No rinse means after not before. If its too dirty for onr its too dirty for a regular car wash. My truck goes to rock quarries from time to time and i rinse it off with the hose and wash it with onr, and for the most part it is marr free.

[LEDetailng]

Never used ONR, but have used D114 and Uber.

Are you referring to pre-soak with ONR? Or with water? If you are referring to ONR pre-soak I would always pre-soak.

Looks like moderate pollen/dust on your car. I`d rinseless that, but would prefer a 2 bucket traditional for anything more than light dust or dirt.

[Bill1975]

When I say pre-soak yes I mean a pre-soak with a QD solution of onr.

Otherwise I was thinking of hitting it with a power washer air hose and then a pre-soak with onr.

[The Guz]

You can pre soak with ONR or if you are not comfortable, rinse off the dirt with a hose and then proceed to an ONR wash.

[Accumulator]

I myself don`t use a rinseless (only) unless it`s just *VERY* light "garage dust". Sooner or later I get marring if I use it on anything truly dirty whereas I can keep vehicles basically marring-free indefinitely with my regular wash regimen.

How much do you care about wash-induced marring? If somebody polishes every now and then anyhow I guess it wouldn`t make any huge difference.

[tom p.]

Yeah, I won`t do ONR if the surface is looking completely toxic (think winter conditions with salt, snow, sand, etc.). I`ll do as mentioned above: rinse with hose and then move to ONR

[Bill1975]

Some light marring I can live with. By "light" I mean it`s only visible close up with strong lighting. I just purchased this car in May, so I suspect some of the light marring I have noticed was already there. From what I can tell I have not made things any worse from washing. Traditionally I have had a detailer polish my car out once a year or so but I may just buy a polisher and keep up on myself.

[Accumulator]

Bill1975- Despite my "oh, you gotta be sooo extreme about things for good results" mindset, if what you`re doing works for you then there`s no reason to change it.

If you don`t mind letting a Pro do it, then the only potential downside I see to that is no knowing how much clear he`s taking off. And even that might not matter (at least to you) if you replace the vehicle every few years.

[Bill1975]

Well my last car I had for about 11 years and I don`t think he really got into the clear coat that much. Most of the polishing he did was with a DA polisher. I don`t think he really had to use a rotary that much

[Accumulator]

Bill1975- Sounds like he doesn`t overdo it then. Not broke/don`t fix ;)

[EdLancer]

I mostly use ONR now for panel prep during a detail just before a polish to rid it of any light dusting and dirt if I am working outside.
It shouldn`t be used if the level of dirt is more than a quicker detailer can`t handle lets say you can see grains of grit and sand on the panel.

[LEDetailng]

I think this has been said before but not certain. If you look at your paint and question whether or not it is safe to ONR/rinseless/waterless, it is probably safest to go with 2 bucket traditional.

Those who are rinseless pros or use it almost exclusively probably have much more confidence in their method/technique. I`m new to rinseless and treat it like the worlds best quick detailer.

[JBM]

ONR is safer then a 2 bucket wash. If the paint is gross spray it off first, no where is it preached that ONR removes a hose down prior to being washed.

FWIW garry dean`s stuff is tweaked to work better on salt now. He has a vid somewhere.

[Bill1975]

I wound up playing it safe and did a two bucket wash. I added a bit of ONR to the wash bucket. Not sure if it helped or did anything though.

I think going forward I will hit it with a hose or power washer first if in doubt, otherwise a light presoak might be sufficient.

I have done a few ONR washes on a totally dry car with a small amount on dust. I did get some light marring once, but I suspect it was because I had a separate rinse bucket of just water that may have diluted the wash solution.