ONR Rinseless / Waterless wash (first impressions)

[4u2nvinmtl]

I tried the Rinseless/Waterless wash method using 10 towels in a bucket with ~2 gallons of water and ONR, for the first time this past weekend.

Pros:
· Uses less water
· Car is just a clean as two bucket wash
· Less water to dry (less water in the cracks)

Cons:
· Lots of dirty towels
· Took long as a two bucket wash
· Little to no advantage over two bucket wash

I had detailed (two bucket wash) my car 3 days earlier and I garage it so I figured this would be a good test for ONR. I started by washing the wheels with two buckets, then I did the engine bay (degreaser/APC, flood rinse, Duragloss dressing), while the 10 borderless towels (from chemical guys) soaked in the ONR solution (3-4 caps of ONR with 2-3 gallons of water). I took the first towel folded it in four and started with the roof. I did smooth long wipes trying to adjust the edge (part of the towel) making contact with the paint by turning my wrist and then flipped to a new side after every wipe. The towel floated over the paint on a cushion of ONR solution and absorbed all the dirt suspended in the solution very well. To my surprise the roof was much dirtier than I anticipated, so I clayed it for the second time ever and topped it with some Collinite 845.

I couldn`t’t help but notice how dirty my white borderless towels were getting with this wash process but figured I can’t stop now so I did the whole Jeep panel by panel (drying as I went). I also noticed my waffle weave towels were picking up dirt suspended in the left over ONR when drying. When I was done I was surprised how good the Jeep looked, I wish I could say the same for the 10 microfibers and the 3 waffle weave towels. After washing the towels (separately) the waffle weave came out as good as new but the 10 borderless towels are still dirty looking (washed them again and they still don’t look white).

All and all it wasn`t’t any faster than my typical two bucket wash and it took much longer to wash all the towels (10x borderless towels washed twice, 3x waffle weave washed once in separate load, folded and stored in Ziploc bags) compared to a two bucket wash (2x mitts washed by hand, 3x waffle weave in one wash load, folded and stored in Ziploc bags). I also must admit that there were no visible scratches induced using this wash technique. I probably won’t be doing another Rinseless/Waterless wash unless I’m somewhere where there’s no access to water (car show or something), but I will be using/testing ONR as a clay lube, quick detailer, and additive to my car wash soap solution.

It’s too soon to say if I liked ONR more or less than UWWP as they are very similar. The only comparison I can make is that the ONR didn`t streak as much as UWWP when wiping it off the paint.

Update with recommendations/comments/suggestions:

#1 - Wash it to Accumulator/Autopia standards by doing multiple cleaning passes, confirmation will be a clean drying towel
#2 - ONR in a spray bottle at a higher concentration and a couple of wash pads in a water bucket
#3 - Two buckets,one with ONR, one water, and some wash pads
#4 - (mix and match) Spray it down with UWWP then using two buckets, one with ONR, one water, and a couple wash pads

Thanks everyone for the recommendations!

[Setec Astronomy]

First of all, the staining of the wash media is a known issue with ONR, which products like the DG Meg`s rinseless don`t share. I try to tell myself that ONR does this to the media because it`s got some different and beneficial property which the others don`t have, but I don`t quite believe myself when I tell myself that.

I also am not sold on the multi-towel method, I prefer wash pads anyway, and generally use a two bucket method (wash bucket and rinse bucket with grit guard). Also, if you are soiling your drying towels you need to do more passes to get the dirt off the car before drying, just like with a conventional wash, the dirt needs to come off the car before you dry, but with a rinseless you need to get the dirt into the media and then into the bucket since you are not flooding it off like a conventional wash.

[Accumulator]

4u2nvinmtl- I might be in the minority here, but I wouldn`t do the "long wipes" under any circumstances, much less when using a rinseless wash. If you do get a scratch, a long one will be much more obvious than a short one, so I always use short, interrupted motions (the interruptions allow for a break in what`s going on).

[RaysWay]

I`m surprised it took you just as long to perform a rinseless wash compared to a traditional 2 bucket wash. I think with more experience you`ll be able to complete a rinseless wash much faster. It takes me a fraction of the time to use a rinseless wash.

[Zelfiris]

Hey 4u2nvinmtl,

Are you spraying the panels before wiping? Are you drying each section after you done wiping?

For me, I find a lot of time saving from:
- not taking out the hose
- using one bucket instead of two
- not taking out my metro sidekick, so time saving on the drying process (also no after drips)

On the other hand, I spend more time:
- filling my spray bottle with ONR solution
- cleaning 3-5 dirty towels after the process (8 sides to use, usually 3 to clean the paint, one for wheels and one towel to dry)

[Ronkh]

If your drying towels are dirty, you didn`t clean car well

[Accumulator]

Zelfiris- What about using a larger sprayer so you don`t have to fill up the (apparently little) bottle? I use a pump-up garden sprayer that holds about two gallons, so I don`t have to mix/fill very often.

[LeMarque]

I`m doing an additional step - since I work out of a fixed location. Bought a cheap HPLV from HarborFreight - and I fill the HPLV w/ONR, then first go around the car and find the force of the sprayer does breakup some soil. Then I use the folded towel method and dry with DryMeCrazy- which I wish I had bought long ago.

[Zelfiris]

Zelfiris- What about using a larger sprayer so you don`t have to fill up the (apparently little) bottle? I use a pump-up garden sprayer that holds about two gallons, so I don`t have to mix/fill very often.

Thanks for the tip Accumulator. Actually I just said spray bottle because I forgot what the garden sprayer is called lol

My garden sprayer is a 3 gallon tank and it has enough solution to last me 2-3 rinseless washes. I purchased it from Lowes but I don`t see it on their website anymore.

[Accumulator]

Zelfiris- Ah, at 3 gallons it sounds like you don`t have to fill it up as often as I do!

Various home & garden places like A. M. Leonard and Gempler`s have a scad of different sprayers in all sorts of sizes and configurations. Lots of replacement parts too.

[MiVor]

As I recently posted in another thread....

I`ve been doing rinseless washes off and on with ONR since about 2007 with great success. I say `off and on` because sometimes I foam, pressure wash, 2 bucket wash... In the dead of winter here in upstate NY, I just do the touchless or coin-op pressure wash. I don`t do a rinseless wash by itself if there`s road splash/grit on the paint - this would get hosed or pressure washed (rinsed) off first.

My ONR wash is a bit different. I use a concentrated ONR (about 2 oz. with water in a quart sprayer). My bucket is filled with just warm, fresh rinse water and I use an inexpensive waffle weave towel. I spray a panel liberally, then wipe with my wet ww towel, followed by a dry wipe with an MF towel. I fold the ww towel and rinse as needed. This works great for me and I have never had any signs of marring - the ONR concentration is slick enough and the ww towel captures the grime that slides off with ease. I usually follow with a spray wax like Duragloss Aquawax as a topper.
Bear in mind that although it may not matter, the above is on a finish with a good LSP so in combination with the ONR concentration, the dirt `n grime that did stick, comes off pretty easy. This might not be the case on a neglected beater.

So there it is...a no rinse wash that`s close to a detail spray `n wipe. Now the conventional no rinse method can work, I just like the performance and feel of the concentrated spray method. But like many detail procedures, you have to find your own way because there are many ways to achieve the desired result.

[4u2nvinmtl]

4u2nvinmtl- I might be in the minority here, but I wouldn`t do the "long wipes" under any circumstances, much less when using a rinseless wash. If you do get a scratch, a long one will be much more obvious than a short one, so I always use short, interrupted motions (the interruptions allow for a break in what`s going on).

Yes, your right but what I tried to write is; as I`m doing these long wipes I`m moving the towel so that the part in contact is not the same the whole wipe. I kind of fold the towel around my hand and as I glide it I turn my wrist to expose new/clean parts of the towel.

At the time, I didn`t see the need to lift my hand and make contact more than once with the dirty side of the towel. Rotating my wrist helped keep clean parts of the towel against the surface and allowed me to see what I was picking up before I was even done wiping (this let me gauge if I should be switching sides/towels more often or do shorter wipes).

[4u2nvinmtl]

If you are soiling your drying towels you need to do more passes to get the dirt off the car before drying, just like with a conventional wash, the dirt needs to come off the car before you dry, but with a rinseless you need to get the dirt into the media and then into the bucket since you are not flooding it off like a conventional wash.

I think the dirt was in the ONR as the panel was very clean and wet after wiping. The dirt I picked up with the drying towel was very minimal (like when I rush a 2 bucket wash) and I did my best to dab/blot and not wipe to dry. I was also worried I`d run out of fresh towel`s/sides to complete the wash so I did every area just once. Maybe with more towels I could have gone over it twice but I feel that would have been counterproductive (more time efficient to just use a wash mitt if I’m going over it twice and use twice the number of towels).

My towels are not stained blue they are gray/black with dirt (sand/grit/iron) that was picked up and wasn`t released when washing the microfibers (even after two washes I`m hesitant to use the towels on the paint again).

I’ll take some pictures of the towels when I get home…

[RaysWay]

As I recently posted in another thread....

I`ve been doing rinseless washes off and on with ONR since about 2007 with great success. I say `off and on` because sometimes I foam, pressure wash, 2 bucket wash... In the dead of winter here in upstate NY, I just do the touchless or coin-op pressure wash. I don`t do a rinseless wash by itself if there`s road splash/grit on the paint - this would get hosed or pressure washed (rinsed) off first.

My ONR wash is a bit different. I use a concentrated ONR (about 2 oz. with water in a quart sprayer). My bucket is filled with just warm, fresh rinse water and I use an inexpensive waffle weave towel. I spray a panel liberally, then wipe with my wet ww towel, followed by a dry wipe with an MF towel. I fold the ww towel and rinse as needed. This works great for me and I have never had any signs of marring - the ONR concentration is slick enough and the ww towel captures the grime that slides off with ease. I usually follow with a spray wax like Duragloss Aquawax as a topper.
Bear in mind that although it may not matter, the above is on a finish with a good LSP so in combination with the ONR concentration, the dirt `n grime that did stick, comes off pretty easy. This might not be the case on a neglected beater.

So there it is...a no rinse wash that`s close to a detail spray `n wipe. Now the conventional no rinse method can work, I just like the performance and feel of the concentrated spray method. But like many detail procedures, you have to find your own way because there are many ways to achieve the desired result.

I love this. Especially the last sentence. You figured out a detailing regimen that works for your needs. Bravo sir

[4u2nvinmtl]

I`m surprised it took you just as long to perform a rinseless wash compared to a traditional 2 bucket wash. I think with more experience you`ll be able to complete a rinseless wash much faster. It takes me a fraction of the time to use a rinseless wash.

To be honest, it only takes more time because of the time needed to clean, dry, fold and bag all those towels. Normally I do my two bucket wash using 2 wash mitts and one waffle weave towel to dry. I hand wash the mitt’s in the sink while my one waffle weave is in the washing machine and hang them to dry. The towels I used with ONR took two wash’s to get clean (longest cycle) and even then I wasn`t satisfied with them, and I (obviously) washed my waffle weave towels separately so this required a total of 3 wash loads that comes to about 2hrs to wash, dry and fold.

In the end most if not all the dirt and grime was trapped in the towels when compared to a two bucket wash most if not all the dirt and grime ends up in the buckets. It boiled down to 2x buckets are easier to clean than 10x microfibers (felt like Cat in the hat with the pink spot, started with it on my car and now it’s on ten towels).