Does a waterless car wash work on really dirty cars?

H

hademade

New member
I am new to this forum everyone. But i have one question about the waterless car wash. Does the waterless car wash work well on really dirty cars. I am talking about cars with a lot of dirt on them. If it does, would anyone recommend good product.



Also, i heard if the technique isn't done right you could scratch the vehicle. Does anyone know where i can learn the technique on a waterless wash. I want to be able to wash dirty cars nicely, if i start this business.
 
Short answer - no.



Otherwise, a pressure rinsedown is really encouraged to knock all the heavy stuff off - then you could attempt with a waterless. Finish damage is going to be dependent on the paint hardness and ultimately the washer's technique.
 
autoaesthetica said:
Short answer - no.



Otherwise, a pressure rinsedown is really encouraged to knock all the heavy stuff off - then you could attempt with a waterless. Finish damage is going to be dependent on the paint hardness and ultimately the washer's technique.
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If i use a pressure washer, i can't classified the business as a waterless car wash business. I have seen some eco-friendly waterless car wash and auto detailing business online. I wonder what they do when they have a dirty car. I really wanted to start a waterless car wash business. But if i can't wash a dirty car waterless then how i will clean the cars without using water.
 
Your other option is water reclamation or a hand held pressure sprayer - but this is going to severely limit you as a vehicle caked in dirt really needs a pre-wash and a good rinse.
 
autoaesthetica said:
Your other option is water reclamation or a hand held pressure sprayer - but this is going to severely limit you as a vehicle caked in dirt really needs a pre-wash and a good rinse.
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Thanks for the good information,, but how well would the water reclamation and hand held pressure sprayer work on dirt
 
Have you thought about rinse less wash instead of waterless? With ONR you can wash a pretty dirty car safely. I have done it before but I work the product a bit differently. Instead of wiping the panel and drying, I will wipe the panel 2-3 times and then dry. Just to make sure it is CLEAN, and I haven't had issues with marring or scratching. Just a thought.



Sorry, just incase you don't know what ONR is....Optimum No Rinse.
 
I would second this, completely forgot about despite how much of it I use a week lol. Its a great choice, however the same rules apply for caked, loaded vehicles.
 
MobileJay said:
Have you thought about rinse less wash instead of waterless? With ONR you can wash a pretty dirty car safely. I have done it before but I work the product a bit differently. Instead of wiping the panel and drying, I will wipe the panel 2-3 times and then dry. Just to make sure it is CLEAN, and I haven't had issues with marring or scratching. Just a thought.



Sorry, just incase you don't know what ONR is....Optimum No Rinse.
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To be honest i haven't heard of the Optimum No Rinse before, i just recently learned about the waterless wash. Does the Optimum No Rinse require water to use, just wandering.
 
hademade said:
To be honest i haven't heard of the Optimum No Rinse before, i just recently learned about the waterless wash. Does the Optimum No Rinse require water to use, just wandering.
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more or less two gallons of water in a bucket. no hose needed.
 
onr is capable of removing more dirt than a waterless wash. waterless washes can be thought of as detail spray on steriods. they do work well but have there limits as does onr. you just have to learn what the limits are and decided what type of wash will work for that situation.
 
There are several mobile detailers who exclusively use ONR, so I think it will work just fine. I would keep a spray bottle of ONR, and completely spray down a filthy panel before washing. I'd also plan on using 15-20 microfibers per car, so maybe one for the dirty passes per panel and one for drying every other panel.



Still, doing just ONR washes in sandy areas (desert or ocean) would probably not be a good long-term idea.
 
nyakerz said:
more or less two gallons of water in a bucket. no hose needed.
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TOGWT said:
Optimum No Rinse Demo
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extrabolts said:
There are several mobile detailers who exclusively use ONR, so I think it will work just fine. I would keep a spray bottle of ONR, and completely spray down a filthy panel before washing. I'd also plan on using 15-20 microfibers per car, so maybe one for the dirty passes per panel and one for drying every other panel.



Still, doing just ONR washes in sandy areas (desert or ocean) would probably not be a good long-term idea.
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That is alot of microfibers per car. So do you run out of microfiber towels quick on a onr.
 
hademade said:
If i use a pressure washer, i can't classified the business as a waterless car wash business. I have seen some eco-friendly waterless car wash and auto detailing business online. I wonder what they do when they have a dirty car. I really wanted to start a waterless car wash business. But if i can't wash a dirty car waterless then how i will clean the cars without using water.
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The Eco Smart car from chemical guys, does a great job, but yes if you don't do it right you can scratch the car. That's why it is a professional product not a consumer product. If you want to learn how to use the product I believe they have some instructional videos or go all out and take the Smart Detailing University training course. I thoroly enjoyed the class.
 
AkamaiDetailing said:
The Eco Smart car from chemical guys, does a great job, but yes if you don't do it right you can scratch the car. That's why it is a professional product not a consumer product. If you want to learn how to use the product I believe they have some instructional videos or go all out and take the Smart Detailing University training course. I thoroly enjoyed the class.
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I was planning on practicing the technique on my vehicle until i become comfortable at it. I want to start an environmental friendly car wash and detailing business. It's just that i saw that there are some waterless car wash and detailing business, that say that they don't use water. I searched for some online. I was just wandering how do they clean excessively dirty cars, they say they charge an additional fee for really dirty cars. But i just wandered how they do it, without scratching the vehicle.
 
I used to have a pesticide sprayer(2 or 3 gallons) with plain water. If the car was really dirty I would spray the panel with the sprayer and then use the ONR. Like I said earlier, sometimes the panels require two passes to be clean if really dirty. I only use two waffle weave towels when I'm using ONR and I haven't had problems. 15-20 mf's is a lot, especially when you have 5-6 cars to do. The waffle weaves will absorb MUCH more as well.
 
hademade said:
It's just that i saw that there are some waterless car wash and detailing business, that say that they don't use water. I searched for some online. I was just wandering how do they clean excessively dirty cars, they say they charge an additional fee for really dirty cars. But i just wandered how they do it, without scratching the vehicle.
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They take the car in the back and hose it off! :)
 
MobileJay said:
I used to have a pesticide sprayer(2 or 3 gallons) with plain water. If the car was really dirty I would spray the panel with the sprayer and then use the ONR. Like I said earlier, sometimes the panels require two passes to be clean if really dirty. I only use two waffle weave towels when I'm using ONR and I haven't had problems. 15-20 mf's is a lot, especially when you have 5-6 cars to do. The waffle weaves will absorb MUCH more as well.
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I see, i think i may be going with onr method now. But i would prefer to hose the car if i could. I was thinking of doing a waterless car wash, because it is about to winter soon.
 
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