Heijneker Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 I'm currently working on starting a mobile detailing service. In the future I hope to provide paint correction. It would be great if I could provide a mobile 1-step quickie polish, for gloss enhancement. I would like to use a strong dilution of Power Clean, and Ferrex with the clay towel, pretty much like the following video: However, laws in the Netherlands prohibit me from using running water when mobile. They condone waterless/rinseless/steam washes. So that got me wondering, what would be the best rinseless prep for such a polish? Could I probably use said chemicals and rinse with an Optima steamer on the wet setting? 'Steamers' seem to use bug removers and wheel cleaners with their steamers. Maybe rinse with a Tornador and distilled water? Thanks for the suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A&J Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 Just skip the power clean and ferrex step if you cant use free flowing water and just ONR the vehicle and move to clay towel. Then use paint prep prior to polishing. A good 1step is Intensive polish on a light cutting pad. Obviously it depends on the type of paint or color and the ammount of bonded contaminants but you can skip a lot by just doing a ONR wash and clay before you go polish the paint! Tug Bankert and Heijneker 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detail Mutant Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 Well it might depend on what constitutes free flowing water. In my community that means connecting up to a standard city water supply hose bib connection. I use the Worx Hydroshot (https://www.worx.com/en_CA/20v-hydroshot-portable-power-cleaner-wg625.html) which is a battery powered pressure washer that is able draw water from a standard 5 gal bucket using the supplied hose. I will typically fill up my 5 gal bucket (with gamma seal lid) with water from my rain barrel to perform car wash rinses. The rain water cannot be considered free flowing water as it has been harvested from my roof and it is better than city water as it is virtually mineral free(measured with water tester as 1 ppm vs 250 ppm for city water). I find 5 gal is enough to perform a complete rinse of midsize car (Toyota camry) including tires/rims. Larger trucks/SUVs I find need about 7 gal per rinse. Smaller cars use less than 5 gals. The Hydroshot is not overly powerful compared to standard pressure washers but is much more effective than standard city hose connection (75-90 psi for city vs 150-200 psi Hydroshot). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heijneker Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 @A&J Thanks for the answer, and I think that is a good way to go most times, for a quickie polish. I just saw a video on Levi Gates' Facebook where he performed a '20 minute polish', where he did not even clay the car. Just an ONR wash it seems, and alcohol wipe. @Detail Mutant Nice way to work around the rules!! I do like the idea of the Worx Hydroshot. Here in the Netherlands it won't be that 'easy' I suppose. We have rules for the wastewater flowing off of cars, when washing professionally, which needs to pass certain tests for dirt- and oil-content. And it will NEVER pass those tests, unless the car is squeeky clean. So even rinseless, waterless and steam washes legally would not be allowed, but they can't really test the wastewater coming off the cars with these. Funny enough, washing wheels is forbidden as well, since it's part of the 'chassis'. But, the goverment and police condone those types of washes, and they are gaining popularity, especially steam. Even some goverment fleets are being washed with waterless washes. On a side note; any experience with the Optima Steamer? Those steamers claim that the 'high pressure steam' and the 'soft MF Towels' clean any car without scratches. I, for the live of me, can't believe that, since it only produces 10 BAR (145 PSI) and low gpm. You're just washing your car with little amounts of water, through a very expensive machine. For the interior it also seems very unusable to me, causing condensation on the windows from using too much water/steam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerou Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 I think you can spray Ferrex, agitate with clay media and wipe that with ONR towel for decon step. Same with powerclean - panel by panel, wipe off with ONR towel. While steam is great for specific uses, I would advise against regular blasts of steam on paint and other surface due to the potential of heat shock and high temperatures. But that's just my opinion. I used steam on wax and gunk to soften it. Never used it for general cleaning so never actually had an accident with it. On cloth I found water extraction better than steam, but also, limited, personal experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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