My ultra-fast wash, dry and protect routine!

[bensla]

Lots of really interesting points thanks all.

So I just did a wash but skipped the foam. The car wasn't that dirty so I just used one bucket. I sprayed the car with QD strength ONR then proceeded with the rinseless wash but doing sections at a time.

Some observations:

- Drying a section immediately after washing means you are dealing with a lot more moisure than if it was left in place while doing the rest of the car before coming back to dry. 

- The additional moisture meant I needed to use my second dry towel to buff /dry the fine drops on the paint as well as the glass. Using a dry towel to buff the paint felt a bit worrying.

- Skipping the foam and pressure rinse meant the ONR on the panels was noticably dirty, especially on a white car. Drying this level of dirty ONR felt a bit risky. Do you think it is safe enough to dry like this?

- The lack of pressure rinsing meant that the gaps between panels remained dirty where they normally would be rinsed clear with the foam+pressure. This would be an issue over time I think as it would accumulate. 

- The routine took 20 minutes. I am sure I spent longer doing it this way due to excess moisture at the drying stage.

I think the take-home for me is that using a cordless pressure washer changes the game so much that its benefits outweigh the additional time and small additinal faffiness! 

I'm still very intersted in exploring using ONR without the foam and pressue rinse though so value any thoughts on my observations!

[Detail Mutant]

How about using your Hydroshot to apply ONR solution as pre spray and pre rinse at same time while skipping foam stage altogether.  The Hydroshot is able to draw water (liquid) directly from a bucket so why not make that water be a pre-mixed ONR solution.  I have been doing this to wash my car for the past 4 months.  Previously I was applying pre spray of ONR to panels and then rinsing away with plain water using my Hydroshot.  This worked but required two steps instead of one and the remaining moisture on the car was mainly water which would dilute ONR solution when performing contact wash with sponge.

I have been using ONR solution in my steamer for years with minimal issues (trigger would sometimes stick using 256:1 ratio but zero issues at slightly weaker nominal 300:1 ratio)  so I figured using the same slightly weaker 300:1 dilution ratio should not damage the internals of the Hydroshot.  Yvan had indicated that ONR is a water softener that can be better for most devices than standard hard water sources.  Using this method is also helpful during winter as I can use warm water in the bucket to improve cleaning power from hydroshot (based on spec of unit it is supposed to be safe at temps below 40 deg C).

My quick wash method is as follows:

1. Pre-spray wheels/tires and problem dirty areas with diluted APC (Power Clean at 5:1) and agitate wheels/tires as needed with ONR soaked wheel/tire (Green) brush. You can skip this step if minimal dirt build-up.

2. 5 gal bucket with 300:1 ONR using warm water rinse all problem areas with battery powered Hydroshot using bucket draw hose and 15 deg angle rinse off full vehicle (or mainly limit to where there is visible dirt where a pre-rinse is prudent to remove majority of dirt).

3.  Perform ONR contact wash at 256:1 dilution ratio working from top to bottom, panel by panel with wash, drying aid (Hyper-Seal) and drying.

4.  Use separate ONR soaked microfiber to wipe down tires and rims and then dry.

5. Step back and admire results.

[bensla]

Detail Mutant,  I think you’re onto something here!! I’ll definitely give it a try. I use the Hydroshot drawing from a bucket of deionised water after each drive when the roads are wet/salty. Takes 3 mins and keeps the car clean inbetween weekly washes in winter.  Switching to 300:1 ONR as a pre-rinse for the weekly routine sounds like a very interesting idea though for sure.

[Heijneker]

Very nice video Bensla, the quality is very high and you have great way of presenting! And hey, this seems like a nice, effective and fun wash routine, that you made your own! The Tesla is looking mint, and washing it this way will surely keep the marring to a minimal; keeps it looking nice for a long time. Half an hour is a nice amount of time to spend on washing your car if you like to, not too fast, not too slow. Good to hear that ONR makes drying a lot easier. I must admit I went straight from the self service brush and not drying the car, to ONR, the BRS and MF towels, so can't compare it to anything!

It seems however, that you are intrigued to shave some time of off your wash routine, so allow me to shine my light on that!

Yvan Lacroix is the master of car-cleaning/detailing efficiency, if you don't know who he is, look him up on YouTube! He suggests to let ONR dry on the surface for about 80%, after a wash, and then dry it with a waffle weave or twist loop towel.

I've found the above to indeed be the fastest way to wash a car, my current record sits at 7 minutes (excluding wheels and drying aid)  where I firstly wash the whole car and then dry it completely. No smears, even on windows, but some water dripping from cracks.  Interesting is the washing of the car, applying ONR everywhere with the BRS, takes 3 minutes (small 90's Civic). I did find a video of Chemical Guys (I don't like their company, but okay) in which they state one can dry a car in 1 minute. Sadly, they don't show how to. It doesn't seem to be the safest wash (Duuhhhh?), as on my completely corrected roof, I noticed some swirling appear over time. Nothing a quickie polish couldn't take care of though, and that was after a couple dozen washes.

I do have some trouble with my drying towel (TRC Double Twistress) being grabby on the paint, which I'm trying to figure out. It seems to be whenever there is any kind of moisture on the paint. If it could glide smoother it would save lots of time and effort. Maybe I need to use a drying aid? But which one; Optimum Car Wax doesn't really seem to help. Optimum instant detailer?

 

[bensla]

Thanks for your comments Heijneker!

You have some great input here too.  I find the waffle weave with Opti-seal as the drying aid to be incredibly smooth when drying, no grab at all so I'd suggest giving that a go.

That’s really interesting that Yvan suggested waiting for it to dry a bit. That was the conclusion I was coming to and the advantage of doing the whole car with the ONR first, then going back to the starting place to start drying. 

[Heijneker]

Thanks! Getting to know the line-up a bit and I like sharing what I'm experience on this forum.

You are absolutely right that waffle weave towels glide over the paint much better! I do find them to streak sooner though, and that they leave more water behind in cracks, crevaces and seals, causing more drips and make it more difficult to get a streak free finish. On glass, they're the bomb. I'll give them a try again next wash, or maybe the TRC Pluffle would fit me better for drying.

[Heijneker]

To get back to this topic and make an addition,

We finally are getting some sun again here in holland! Temperatures are about 15 degrees celsius and the sun is shining. In these cases, I do find it's best to wash a section of the car and dry it right away (if it beads sufficiently). It may not be the fastest, but it's the safest, gives the best quality and you're not chasing the ONR while it dries on the panel. It's an overall better experience. I firstly wash and dry the roof, so I have a place to put my towel. Windows I perform a second wipe on with a glass towel as fast as possible to prevent streaking.

I corrected the roof of my car again an opti-sealed it. Let's see how little swirls ONR will inflict!

 

[Habs]

On 4/13/2021 at 1:22 PM, A&J said:

Like Ron said...Everyone uses ONR differently and there really are no rules to this. You have to addapt to your enviroment and the ammount of dirt that your car accumulates over time. If the car is only dusty then it really doesnt NEED a snow foam wash (even though it doesnt hurt) and a ONR pre spray is enough, while on the flip side if a car is soiled with road film and mud then a snow foam wash or at least a pressure wash is always a good idea to get rid off the most ammount of dirt posible.

I too sometimes use the PW on my local self-service car wash to wash off the crud that builds up over time (even though I have a PW at home but its a pain to assemble it every time and thus I get to use it like 3 times a year) and do a 2 bucket ONR wash after I get home or even sometimes after a day or two depending on if I feel like it and if I have the time to do it.

I always do my wheels and tires seperately and almost never at the same time when I wash my car.

What I am trying to say is...if you are comfortable with your routine then continue doing it but if you are looking on ways to cut some time off then assess if the car really needs a PW wash or a snow foam wash or not! Sometimes a ONR pre spray is all you are gonna need! Pro tip...for some extra ooomph you can also add some Opti clean into your ONR pre spray! It will encapsulate dirt better and it will add more lubrication for your wash media!

I dont think Ron even has a hose lol. 

I can't beat Ron's time of  30 min only because of the restrictions of my drive way  its on a slope  and very narrow I cant get my cart that has all my  buckets and stuff on it  around the car and i need a step ladder to wash the roof of my honda element. If you check my pictures you can see what I am up against.   But my hose and my powerwasher  are on reels  this speeds up the prep a bit  i dont use powerwasher much.  My system is still quick.   I rinse car with hose I then soak the  car with onr with my  ik 12 sprayer this thing is under pressure and my air hose is also on a reel to fill it up with 50psi this gives it great power.     it's just a matter of walking around car  no time at all.  Then I use my bucket that already has onr and multiple  wash mitts . Wash complete car when a wash mitt gets dirty i just grab another.  There is no way this paint will be scratched   this way . My bucket last about 4 washes the wash mitts dont have to be dripping wet.  Then I dry with wax or hyper seal.  Lately I have been soaking car down  with a  weed  sprayer with a onrww and spray wax mixture as my drying  aid a  couple  of panels  at a time  it's a fast way of getting a nice layer of  wax on car.  45min including  wheels with a mixture of  optimum car soap and power clean.  I only use soap in the winter as a pre soak to help with the salt her in Toronto  ontario. I like the idea of the onr soaking on the  paint as I work my way around the car.  

That's all thanks

[Habs]

It's all good 

My method of washing my car is stated above it is realy my way i came up with of washing with no chance of marring or scratching the paint. It just worked out to be kinda quick so now if i want I  can give the interior a quick  clean  or leave it for another day . Lots of great info in this thread thanks. 

[Heijneker]

A bit of advice I would like to share here; Damp microfibre towels work better than dry ones. Ones that come fresh out of 1400 rpm washing machine cycle are perfect, barely any water in them but still wholely damp. Also wipe the paint a bit slower with it to give it time to absorb the water. It also glides easier over the paint. Just did another 7 minute wash in the garage this way and results were even better, with less drips.

[Habs]

Yup good advice thanks