Rinseless Washes Through a Foamgun?

A

Accumulator

Well-known member
Apoligies if this has been covered before, gotta admit I didn't run a search :o



I'm wondering if anybody's tried using stuff like QEW/ONR with the foamgun. This came to me while I was replying the the recent ONR thread and thinking about combining my methods with those of rinseless users...might be perfect for my Blazer. So, anybody tried this?
 
i think that I read someone tried it, but with minimal results...said there was no foam (obviously) and it felt like water only...plus you have to use a lot in the foam gun, so it wasn't economical....read as a waste of product
 
Maybe it doesn't hurt to measure an ounce in the canister with your traditional soap; not for the foam, but for the lubricity and the overall ONR technology to aid in your mar free "mitt balloon" wash technique.



I think it may be cost prohibitive to do a straight ONR foam gun wash.



Possibly, you could make a giant batch based on dilution recommendations on the side of the bottle and pour it into a nice, quality 2 gallon pump sprayer to pre-rinse the vehicle. Then do a foam gun wash with your technique.
 
Why would this not be economical compared to a conventional wash? The recommended dilution ratio seems to be equivalent, cost wise. Whether it makes sense to use a rinseless wash in a foam gun is another story.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Why would this not be economical compared to a conventional wash? The recommended dilution ratio seems to be equivalent, cost wise. Whether it makes sense to use a rinseless wash in a foam gun is another story.
Click to expand...



If I have read Accumulator correctly, like myself, he makes batches of gallon jugs of soap for the foam gun canister. He uses 6 or 7 ounces to a gallon and then pours into the canister. He goes through 2 canisters a wash. Before you know it, you're motoring through the gallon containers you made up (at least I do).



If I get Gold Class wash at Costco for $7.00 for 1.25 gallons to make my foam gun soap, it is cheaper than the ONR method of doing so.



No Setec, don't bust out your calculator and prove me wrong!:dig You have a proven to be a master of calculations in the past :laugh:
 
Spilchy said:
Maybe it doesn't hurt to measure an ounce in the canister with your traditional soap; not for the foam, but for the lubricity and the overall ONR technology to aid in your mar free "mitt balloon" wash technique.



I think it may be cost prohibitive to do a straight ONR foam gun wash.



Possibly, you could make a giant batch based on dilution recommendations on the side of the bottle and pour it into a nice, quality 2 gallon pump sprayer to pre-rinse the vehicle. Then do a foam gun wash with your technique.
Click to expand...



Doesn't ONR act as a water softner, so to speak? I thought I remember reading that somewhere, whether it was here or on my bottle, I honestly can't remember. Like you said, adding some to your traditional car wash.



It may've been the DP 4 in 1 I'm thinking of :nixweiss
 
Spilchy said:
If I have read Accumulator correctly, like myself, he makes batches of gallon jugs of soap for the foam gun canister. He uses 6 or 7 ounces to a gallon and then pours into the canister. He goes through 2 canisters a wash. Before you know it, you're motoring through the gallon containers you made up (at least I do).



If I get Gold Class wash at Costco for $7.00 for 1.25 gallons to make my foam gun soap, it is cheaper than the ONR method of doing so.



No Setec, don't bust out your calculator and prove me wrong!:dig You have a proven to be a master of calculations in the past :laugh:
Click to expand...



Since Accumulator started this thread, I'm really comparing, say, Griot's wash with ONR; you get the same gallons of solution for your ~$40.
 
Can't really see any benefit in putting through the foam gun.

In winter, like now, I do a pump-up sprayer solution of ONR, plus a little soap, and pre-soak the truck before the pressure washer in order to help remove the road/salt layer. Works very well, then it's to the garage for a true ONR wipedown.



Just don't think ONR and a hose go together that well. I do add a little ONR to the wash bucket in the summer...maybe it helps, I don't know. My shampoo does a great job through the foamgun as it is.
 
This is good food for thought, I appreciate the replies. A few ~random thoughts/explanations:



Withing reason, I'm not concerned with the cost. Which is fortunate as, yeah, I use Griot's mixed as per what Spilchy posted.



I've thought about adding some rinseless to the regular wash bucket, might do that for the added lubricity.



Ah, didn't realize that these rinseless washes won't foam. I noticed the low-sudsing nature of my QEW but didn't give it much thought. But note that the actual *foam* isn't of much importance to me as long as there's sufficient lubrication and encapsulation along with effective cleaning. The way I wash the foamgun provides constant lubrication and flushing; I don't spray the foam on and care (much) about it dwelling/clinging the way some people do.



As to "why do it?", well, other than asking out of intellectual curiosity, I wouldn't mind a way of simplifying the washing of the Blazer, especially the roof.



As it is, to wash the roof I have to (deep breath...here goes): position my work platforms on each side, step up and do ~1/4 of the roof with the BHB/foamgun, step down, rinse BHB, redunk in wash solution, move platform back/forth, step up and do the other 1/4 of the roof, step down to drop BHB in rinse bucket and grab hose, step up, rinse off the half of roof that I've just washed. Walk around Blazer and repeat process on other side. Go back to first side and repeat the whole process using mitt/foamgun. Move work platforms out of way. Wash rest of vehicle. Move work platforms back into place to dry roof. Move work platforms back out of way to dry rest of vehicle.



If I could do the roof from wash to dried without having to move the work platforms (more than is required to reach the whole roof) it'd make the job a lot easier and I could just move them out of my way for good after doing the roof. Or at least that's what I was thinking yesterday when I did it.
 
Yeah, but...part of what makes the rinseless washes work is the small amount of wash solution you use, which allows you to easily dry (your point above in "do the roof from wash to dried..."), but the volume of solution applied to the vehicle with a foam gun would be tons more than normal for a rinseless wash, making the drying part more of a challenge.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Yeah, but...part of what makes the rinseless washes work is the small amount of wash solution you use, which allows you to easily dry (your point above in "do the roof from wash to dried..."), but the volume of solution applied to the vehicle with a foam gun would be tons more than normal for a rinseless wash, making the drying part more of a challenge.
Click to expand...



I must admit I don't understand this. Why would you use less wash solution using ONR etc.? You're still dunking your mitt in your wash bucket the same number of times as with a regular wash...no? For instance, using the 2 bucket method, I (consistently) go through ~ 2 gallons of wash solution to completely wash my car. Now, if that solution was made with ONR, you're saying I'd go through less :confused:



As far as the "low/no sudsing" of ONR is concerned, I'm in complete agreement with Accumulator that suds are not necessarily an indication of cleaning ability or lubricity. I don't see why ONR wouldn't work just fine in a foam gun and, since it doesn't seem *that* much more expensive than other quality washes, why would it be so expensive to do so, as some have suggested?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Yeah, but...the volume of solution applied to the vehicle with a foam gun would be tons more than normal for a rinseless wash, making the drying part more of a challenge.
Click to expand...



Yeah..but might it not still be easier than doing all the rinsing and then doing the same amount of drying anyhow?



I dunno...I'm just kicking it around in my head to make sure I'm not missing something :nixweiss



You bring up a good point regarding the small amount of solution used...one of the things I don't trust about the usual rinseless washes is just that; I rely on the large amount of soapy water to clean out areas between/behind panel gaps/etc. I really flush these areas out and I sure don't want to risk leaving [stuff] in those inaccessible spots.
 
First of all, I have to say that I'm not the rinseless wash guru. Second, I do it in the winter, either outside in marginally above freezing temperatures or inside, in either case it's highly undesirable to get large amounts of water on the ground/floor. One of my dislikes of the process is not being able to flush panel gaps/wheel wells, etc.



Since we're talking about Accumulator's extreme wash methods here, I encourage you to try it with the foam gun and let us know how it works out.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Since we're talking about Accumulator's extreme wash methods here, I encourage you to try it with the foam gun and let us know how it works out.
Click to expand...



Ah..we'll see, I don't want anybody holding their breath ;) I'm probably just in a mood after doing a winter's worth of washes on that Blazer, it sometimes seems silly to wash the way I do when the vehicle in question has such terrible paint issues anyhow. Washing the MPV is an even bigger hassle, but at least that one's worthy of my efforts.



I remember how I'd initially given up on the foamgun, thinking it was a "toy"...now I'd never wash without it. Similarly, I'd quit using the BHBs and it was only upon serious consideration that I came up with my current foamgun/BHB method that I like so well. I don't want to be close-minded regarding the rinseless wash products lest I miss something...gotta keep thinking all the time ;)
 
Now I only just used ONR for the first time last weekend, but Accumulator I think I would try this for your Blazer:



Use the ONR in a weed sprayer to presoak the truck. Set up your platforms and have several mf's (or mitts if you have several) on it or somewhere else handy so you don't have to get down. Dunk the initial mf in the bucket of ONR and go up and start washing. Then have a sprayer with more ONR, maybe even mixed to QD strength to make sure you have enough lubricity. And instead of getting down to re-dunk the mf, just spray with the bottle mixture as you wash. Then swap out to a new mf as it gets dirty.
 
Grimm said:
Use the ONR in a weed sprayer to presoak the truck. Set up your platforms and have several mf's (or mitts if you have several) on it or somewhere else handy so you don't have to get down. Dunk the initial mf in the bucket of ONR and go up and start washing. Then have a sprayer with more ONR, maybe even mixed to QD strength to make sure you have enough lubricity. And instead of getting down to re-dunk the mf, just spray with the bottle mixture as you wash. Then swap out to a new mf as it gets dirty.
Click to expand...



So Setec, is this the technique you were talking about when you said "Yeah, but...part of what makes the rinseless washes work is the small amount of wash solution you use...." :confused:
 
Grimm- Good thinking, but I just finished telling ZoranC how I don't think you can beat a good dunking in a bucket when it comes to saturating your mitts. Note that I not only dunk my mitts, but also fill them with solution and hold the cuff shut so it seeps out while I'm moving across the panel. Heh heh, I'm tough to deal with on this stuff huh?!?



But keep those ideas coming :D More thinking is better than less thinking, even if I end up sticking to what I'm already doing in the end. But I still get the feeling that there's some way to incorporate a rinseless wash into what I'm doing...
 
I know nothing beats dunking, I just thought something like that might be worth a try on the roof to eliminate all the going up and down.
 
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