I'm now an ONR using, pressure washing, leaf-blower convert

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efnfast

New member
At first I thought using a pressure washer was crazy for a pre-rinse (you know, going to strip the clearcoat and all that good stuff :rofl ).....then I discovered how totally awesome it is to just blast away the initial dirt/dust and leave next to nothing behind



Then I thought ONR was crazy and was going to leave massive amounts of marring behind ..... then I discovered that it doesn't mar and does a far better job than a traditional washing soap does (there've been the odd time or two when one of my cars was really filthly so I opted to first pressure wash, then regular wash, then ONR, and the ONR still picked up some dirt leftover)



Then I thought using a leafblower was a waste of time - I would (using traditional washing method) wash and rinse the whole car, but then spend all my time chasing water around and it would dry and spot up on me (doesn't help my well water is super hard and minzeralized - I can kill a CR spotless DIC-10 in 2 rinses (rinses, not washes), so it pretty much wants to water spot as soon as it hits the car, lol)..........then I discovered that by ONR'ing panel by panel I could pull out my leafblower and clean up one panel at a time perfectly without having to touch it (other than spot areas)





So yea, now I'm a pressure washing, leaf-blowing, ONR convert :laugh:



And for the first time in like 10yrs, I havn't found any residual marring from my washing/drying process at all this year (I've been carefully inspecting after each wash to see if I could see ONR failing me and leaving stuff behind, it doesn't, ever).



I know some of you guys, such as Accumulator, have your really cool and complex washing methods, but for lil' old me, pressure wash+ONR (w/ purple cobra jr. microfiber)+leaf blower (+1 blue microfiber waffle wave) = ultimate win :think2
 
I've been thinking about getting myself a leafblower and trying it out for drying....it would also be nice for the leaves which are starting to fall. Would you recommend gas or electric? Anything I should look for when shopping for one?
 
efnfast- Glad you got a good system all figured out :xyxthumbs



The pressure washer prewash sorta takes the place of my first passes with the foamgun/BHB, only the PW should be *much* more effective with regard to leaving things clean. With all the "big stuff" knocked off by that, I'm not surprised you can ONR without marring.



If only my shop weren't so [darn] crowded, I too would be using a PW for the prewash (and who knows, maybe the ONR too!) on a few of our vehicles.



And yeah, the blower can work well with the right LSP. I still prefer my AirWand over a blower without it though ;)



You brought up a good point regarding using the blower with a conventional wash. IMO people doing that should just expect the blower to get most of the water off and then spend the rest of the time getting the remaining water with other methods...actually faster than spending forever trying to chase down every drop with (only) the blower.
 
Double Dizzle said:
I've been thinking about getting myself a leafblower and trying it out for drying....it would also be nice for the leaves which are starting to fall. Would you recommend gas or electric? Anything I should look for when shopping for one?
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electric - cheap($50), lightweight, you can start&stop at will, no fumes/oil blowback. Sure, a gas one is more powerful, but you don't need power here.



Accumulator said:
You brought up a good point regarding using the blower with a conventional wash. IMO people doing that should just expect the blower to get most of the water off and then spend the rest of the time getting the remaining water with other methods...actually faster than spending forever trying to chase down every drop with (only) the blower.
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But then you miss out on the fun of chasing the water drops forward, then backwards, then forwards, then backwards, in a cycle you'll never win, hehe =)





I've used ONR without the pressure washer, and it doesn't cause any marring, but



- it leaves my nice purple cobra jrs microfibers pretty stained with dirt, so I have to use several of them (versus 1 for upper and 1 for lower with a p.w. pre-rinse) and spend like 20minutes rubbing them out when finished



- I don't care about water conservation. I only care about a totally marr-free wash. SO if a pw gets off most of the initial dirt/dust, I'm going to use it :D
 
Accumulator said:
And yeah, the blower can work well with the right LSP.

You brought up a good point regarding using the blower with a conventional wash. IMO people doing that should just expect the blower to get most of the water off and then spend the rest of the time getting the remaining water with other methods...actually faster than spending forever trying to chase down every drop with (only) the blower.
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agreed, and i follow up with the QD (don't like the finish by using only the blower leaves behind, as their will be some light water streaks/droplets that will need to be wiped down) and your choice of waffle weave and/of microfiber towel...
 
In regards to purchasing a leaf blower: I would invest in a good quality leaf blower; especially if you are going to be using it for lawn work. For years I always used a hand-held blower until one day I picked up a Stihl backpack type blower. It provides so much more flexibility when drying your car and is now an essential tool when working in the lawn (it can handle acorns, leaves, you name it). An electric blower will be more than enough when removing water from cracks on your vehicle, but a backpack, gasoline powered blower, I have found, is worlds better.



SBR500.gif
 
Keep in mind the socket you have an electric blower plugged into can make a big difference. At my house, plugged into a light strip with several other things (fluorescent lights, ipod, etc.), my leaf blower was decent. At the shop I recently started detailing at, it's a freaking hurricane by comparison, thanks to a dedicated line.
 
dickwitham- We have a pair of Stihl backpack blowers for the property, and yeah, they beat my (also Stihl) hand-held by a mile.



But for drying off the car I sure like the (shoulder strap equipped) electric one that my Air Wand is hooked up to. Can't remember the brand, but I *think* it's a Weedeater. Nothing I'd use for anything else, but fine for the drying.



Running a 2-cycle engine in my detailing shop is *NOT* gonna happen ;)



Hope this didn't sound too :nono It kinda reads that way to me :o
 
vecdran said:
Keep in mind the socket you have an electric blower plugged into can make a big difference.
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Only if the socket or the circuit is wired incorrectly. When properly wired everything plugged into a circuit will be a parallel load and the presence of one device will not affect the operation of another device, up to the point where so much total current is drawn that the breaker blows. That said, an electric blower draws a lot of current, most seem to be 12A, and that probably introduces a fair amount of noise into the voltage levels on the circuit, so you probably do not want it to share a line with your computer or TV.



A battery operated electric blower would be a safer tool to use while standing in the puddle around the just washed car, but those might not have enough CFM to dry the car quickly.
 
dickwitham said:
In regards to purchasing a leaf blower: I would invest in a good quality leaf blower; especially if you are going to be using it for lawn work. For years I always used a hand-held blower until one day I picked up a Stihl backpack type blower. It provides so much more flexibility when drying your car and is now an essential tool when working in the lawn (it can handle acorns, leaves, you name it). An electric blower will be more than enough when removing water from cracks on your vehicle, but a backpack, gasoline powered blower, I have found, is worlds better.



SBR500.gif
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Out of curiousity, how is it better? All you're doing is blowing water off the car?
 
efnfast said:
Out of curiousity, how is [a backpack blower] better? All you're doing is blowing water off the car?
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It's gonna be a lot more user-friendly. You're only manipulating the flexible hose/nozzle, not the whole [darn] blower, and it really does make a diff even if you have really good wrist/forearm/grip strength.
 
Accumulator said:
It's gonna be a lot more user-friendly. You're only manipulating the flexible hose/nozzle, not the whole [darn] blower, and it really does make a diff even if you have really good wrist/forearm/grip strength.
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I think it'd be more effort - this way you just pick up the blower, use it, put it back on the ground. Rinse and repeat. Other way you either have to walk around the whole car with it on, or take it off between panels.







Now the only 'problem' I'm running into from having a totally perfect wash is I'm finding a few teeeny tinnnnny water spots (little small specs) here and there, almost like the water is drying in a few places as it's getting blown off. Wonder if this means anything, like I'm standing too close/far, need to absorb more of it first with the towel before I use the blower, etc.....
 
efnfast- Ah..yeah, I didn't consider the bit-by-bit approach you use with ONR, my bad :o



Those little drops are tricky huh? Before, after blowing...how much to towel/blow...seems there's alway some kind of complication.
 
efnfast said:
At first I thought using a pressure washer was crazy for a pre-rinse (you know, going to strip the clearcoat and all that good stuff :rofl ).....then I discovered how totally awesome it is to just blast away the initial dirt/dust and leave next to nothing behind
Click to expand...

Do pressure washers use less water than a garden hose with a spray nozzle?
 
rusty bumper- The AirWand does't work miracles the way the ad-copy makes it sound, but I do like mine. You sure want it to hook up securely though, if/when the hose pops off it can do some real damage if/when it hits the vehicle!



Pressure washers can use less water than a regular hose nozzle in some (many?) cases but I think it depends on the PW and how you adjust the settings.
 
Accumulator said:
seems there's alway some kind of complication.
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Yep; detailing was so much easier when I just grabbed a roll of paper towels, sprayed the car, then wiped it down with the paper towels. 4minute job; no soap or anything. :nervous2:



rusty bumper said:
Do pressure washers use less water than a garden hose with a spray nozzle?
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No idea; but I can tell you it removes a hell of a lot more dirt faster :D
 
Accumulator said:
It's gonna be a lot more user-friendly. You're only manipulating the flexible hose/nozzle, not the whole [darn] blower, and it really does make a diff even if you have really good wrist/forearm/grip strength.
Click to expand...



Couldn't have said it better myself :2thumbs:
 
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