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Waterless Car Wash

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Old 03-02-2015, 05:14 PM
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Waterless Car Wash

Hey guys, so because of my situation (living in an apartment) I cant do the regular 2 bucket washes or have any water hoses around to use. I started doing research and have come across waterless car wash. I see that Canadian tire carries the go clean waterless bottles but theres so many out there. I was wondering whats your take on it and I want to get something that is the best bang for the buck, as in something that's really nice quality wise but then get maybe a gallon of it so my per wash price comes down cause I know these aren't exactly cheap
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Old 03-02-2015, 06:00 PM
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i dont know how much i would trust that stuff, sounds like scratch and swirlmark galore to me
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Old 03-02-2015, 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by thenewguyy
Hey guys, so because of my situation (living in an apartment) I cant do the regular 2 bucket washes or have any water hoses around to use. I started doing research and have come across waterless car wash. I see that Canadian tire carries the go clean waterless bottles but theres so many out there. I was wondering whats your take on it and I want to get something that is the best bang for the buck, as in something that's really nice quality wise but then get maybe a gallon of it so my per wash price comes down cause I know these aren't exactly cheap
This is the deal, if you can't 2 bucket wash do a one, if you don't have one bucket just wet your car and soap it down rinse it off and dry it. Doing all of this the best way without putting starches into right???

This is what I do.. After a really good wash and wax / sealant it's best to "water less wash" <~~ hate the term… the car at least every other day. It is easier to keep the car clean without removing loads of dirt from the car. When your car is waxed or have a sealant over it, it goes much smoother…

Because where I live I can't wash my car everyday, So i would either just use a Spray wax detailer spray and wipe the car down with Microfiber towels… Or, your favorite non-wax removing car soap in a bottle with water, saturate the dirty areas and clean off..

I hope this helped.
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Old 03-02-2015, 08:44 PM
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Originally Posted by thenewguyy
Hey guys, so because of my situation (living in an apartment) I cant do the regular 2 bucket washes or have any water hoses around to use. I started doing research and have come across waterless car wash. I see that Canadian tire carries the go clean waterless bottles but theres so many out there. I was wondering whats your take on it and I want to get something that is the best bang for the buck, as in something that's really nice quality wise but then get maybe a gallon of it so my per wash price comes down cause I know these aren't exactly cheap
I also live in apartments so i just take my buckets and all the stuff i need to a coin operated carwash just to use the hp water and soap...to knock of the dirt then fill my buckets and get to work...
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Old 03-03-2015, 12:59 PM
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Originally Posted by chrome91
i dont know how much i would trust that stuff, sounds like scratch and swirlmark galore to me
A lot of people are skeptical about this stuff but Ive seen many change their views after using this method. The thing is there is a way to do it properly, most videos out there show the improper way. This is one of them


The proper way is

Originally Posted by SR20Power
This is the deal, if you can't 2 bucket wash do a one, if you don't have one bucket just wet your car and soap it down rinse it off and dry it. Doing all of this the best way without putting starches into right???
This is what I do.. After a really good wash and wax / sealant it's best to "water less wash" <~~ hate the term… the car at least every other day. It is easier to keep the car clean without removing loads of dirt from the car. When your car is waxed or have a sealant over it, it goes much smoother…
Because where I live I can't wash my car everyday, So i would either just use a Spray wax detailer spray and wipe the car down with Microfiber towels… Or, your favorite non-wax removing car soap in a bottle with water, saturate the dirty areas and clean off..
I hope this helped.
I don't think you understood my main issue, I cant do any bucket washes at all. My only thing is that I can go to a coin op, do a power wash if the car is really dirty, come back to my heated parking garage and do this waterless wash, other than that, theres no other way I can wash my car.



Originally Posted by nestorlugo
I also live in apartments so i just take my buckets and all the stuff i need to a coin operated carwash just to use the hp water and soap...to knock of the dirt then fill my buckets and get to work...
lol I tried this but the water from the gun was so strong, it was knocking my buckets out so I thought ok this plan isn't working, hence I quit on that idea
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Old 03-03-2015, 03:00 PM
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Originally Posted by thenewguyy


lol I tried this but the water from the gun was so strong, it was knocking my buckets out so I thought ok this plan isn't working, hence I quit on that idea

I had the same problem until i switch the **** to spotless rinse ....lol
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Old 03-03-2015, 09:00 PM
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Originally Posted by nestorlugo
I had the same problem until i switch the **** to spotless rinse ....lol
The other problem was the water coming out was ice cold so when I id manage to get some water in with the gun and give it a try, it was so cold, I literally was having frostbites while trying to sponge the dirt off so I said screw this and just power rinsed and left lol. The good thing is I have a heated garage so at least I can spray and wipe
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Old 03-04-2015, 12:11 AM
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Griot's Garage products
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Old 03-05-2015, 07:12 AM
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I've heard Optimum and Utilma make great waterless wash products. Never used them myself but have had friends and others on this forum that do. It's tough in the winter. I bite the bullet and go to a Waterway car wash to get it cleaned. I hate it but I can't really clean it any other way. Plus I've put protection on the paint so I can live with it taking it off just to put it back on when it warms up here. Such is my life cycle with cleaning cars.
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Old 03-05-2015, 09:47 AM
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Originally Posted by Dudemaine
Griot's Garage products
I have heard a lot about this product, do you know where I can get it the cheapest from?
Originally Posted by BIGIRISHSTL
I've heard Optimum and Utilma make great waterless wash products. Never used them myself but have had friends and others on this forum that do. It's tough in the winter. I bite the bullet and go to a Waterway car wash to get it cleaned. I hate it but I can't really clean it any other way. Plus I've put protection on the paint so I can live with it taking it off just to put it back on when it warms up here. Such is my life cycle with cleaning cars.
Optimum and Utilma and rinseless which require water and buckets, its just that you're not hosing down stuff with a hose, so essentially almost like a 2 bucket wash but without the use of much water
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Old 03-05-2015, 12:00 PM
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They all make a rinseless and a waterless which are two different products. Take a look at the link from autogeek. Great place to research stuff by the way.

http://www.autogeek.net/how-to-use-waterless-wash.html
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Old 03-05-2015, 12:04 PM
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Look at the bottom of the link I posted above for waterless products. I don't like the idea of using no water to rinse but that's just my hibbie jibbies at running an MF over dirty paint with a bit of detailer+spray wax mixed in a spray bottle!
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Old 03-05-2015, 04:32 PM
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Thanks, I did see that and youre right, lot of product reviews and tips on that site. I hear ya on the part where running sorta like a quick detailer spray to wipe the dirt off but many skeptical people are believers now. Also the other thing is, my car is scratched to death, microscopically at least lol so its not like I have mint paint and am overprotective so im not too worried about a scratch here or there, which actually shouldn't happen if I do it properly
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Old 03-05-2015, 05:13 PM
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True. And you will have the summer to clay/nano, Polish, wax/seal and it will be amazing and a bonus it will stand up to a lot more improper usage! That's why I don't mind using the wash places in the winter, I'm gonna fix it in the summer!!!
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Old 03-05-2015, 09:38 PM
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Originally Posted by BIGIRISHSTL
True. And you will have the summer to clay/nano, Polish, wax/seal and it will be amazing and a bonus it will stand up to a lot more improper usage! That's why I don't mind using the wash places in the winter, I'm gonna fix it in the summer!!!
When you say wash places you mean Coin-op? If so I guess you do what you gotta do, it's been years since i've used on of those. I use to use the Coin-ops a lot when I lived in an apartment since it's all I had at the time. In the winter any break in the weather I wash the car. I don't care if it's warm(ish) outside and it will rain the next day…I wash it.
This weekend supposed to be nice and you already know it… I am washing my car I just purchased some new water based tire gel from Optima and I can't wait to give it a try. I also ordered from Collonite 845 wax and Speed master wheel brush and two wheel woolies….Wheel cleaning time, I will post some pictures.
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Old 03-06-2015, 09:12 AM
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Sounds great. No not coin places. The other kind that have people dry your car with cotton cloths. I actually have them use microfiber towels I bring with and its much cheaper than most people think. I like the blasting under side of car washes for winter crud anyway.
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Old 03-18-2015, 07:45 PM
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Tried using Optimum ONR applied with a spray bottle. Works well just make sure to use fresh and clean mf towel every wipe.
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Old 06-26-2015, 01:29 AM
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man, every time i come into the detailing section i see threads on how to wash a car fast and easy. first, you must be **** about keeping your ride clean. ( like me ) and second, just keep some detailer spray in your trunk and spray that every other time and spray wax in between that. keeps my max shiny and clean as hell.
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Old 06-27-2015, 11:46 AM
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I've used both the Griot's Waterless Car Wash and a similar product from AMSOIL (Miracle Wash). Miracle Wash is advertised to have a UV protectant in it as well. These products are formulated differently than detail sprays so as to offer better protection from scratching

The AMSOIL Product is available on line or from a registered Dealer; Griot's is available from their website and places such as AutoZone and Advance have started selling selected Griot's products. Of course there's no shipping if you buy Griot's locally.

I wouldn't use these products on a car that's heavily soiled, but the products seem to work well on light dirt/pollen. No swirl marks at all from using them...
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Old 06-28-2015, 10:53 AM
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My problem with a "Water less wash" (you still use water, I've always hated this term.) But is you have to use like 10+ Microfiber cloths to do it right. Sometimes even more depending how big your car is. I've always found it easier to just rinse the car down and a quick wash IF and i mean IF your care is already washed at least that week and more importantly sealed...

I find it when my car has a sealant on it, I can rinse it down add soap and dry the car before you are done with one section of the " Waterless wash" Besides when you watch these
videos they are selling you car soap in a spray bottle.
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Old 06-28-2015, 01:39 PM
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I've used it, it works, just have a mostly clean car before using it, common sense is key. i would recommend it as a on the spot cleaner for meets and such, but not an every day every scenario thing
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