I made a post about this awhile ago, but can't seem to find it. Are these really "safe"? I'm only asking because a detail guy I know (really only does paint correction and ceramic coatings) says I should stay away from these. He says they do more damage then good. Any truth to that? If not, what's a good one to get?

 

I would stay away from them. I would never wash a car without a pre rinse to get major dirt off. A pass with some cleaner and a microfiber would definitely introduce scratches (micro or major).

And a guy who does Paint correction should know more than a run of the mill car wash kind of guy, so i would definitely listen to him.

 

Car would need to be near clean for it to work without causing damage.

 

Waterless wash like ONR is good only if you're careful.

Obviously huge chunks of caked dirt should be sprayed off first.

Im not sure why that detailer of yours is saying they're bad because they aren't. Hop over to the detailing forum on CL if you have questions or YouTube ONR or Garry Dean Wash Method.

 

Is this the same as rinseless car wash?

 

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...-detailer.html

 

I've had great results from the spray washes and waxes, see here:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ml#post9844843

But as Jbreezie advises, the ones I use from Griot's Garage line of products are ideal for maintaining and detailing an already pretty clean car. I have not tried the products that claim they can clean a dirty car with no water.

This thread (where my above linked post appears) gives you some idea of how others go about washing their cars: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...n-your-is.html

Have fun.

 

If you do it right, it's safe. Like i said I in a different tread...I've used it back to back weeks and no signs of swirl or haze.

Before you use this stuff, I'd recommend having a "treated" car (sealant/wax/opticoat/second skin/etc) and only use when the car is dusty or semi-dirty. If it's after a rainy day or have mud flung...that's when a two bucket method comes in.

 

I use it with no issues on all my cars. Trick to minimize any light scratches or swirls is to have many microfiber cloths and to only pass over the paint once with a clean side of the MF cloth.

 

exactly. That is the way my professional detailer Joe from Superior Shine here in Los Angeles taught me to do it. I have been using the waterless wash method for the last four years. I use meguiars D115 professional detailer line of waterless wash. This is what was recommended to me by my detailer because he worked with Meguiars to develop it and tested it with them. These solutions are made to emulsify the dirt so it can be picked up by your microfiber cloth. The key is to not use the cheap microfiber cloths that you get at Costco.The key is to use the method described above and fold your cloth in fours and make one pass then use another portion of the cloth to make another pass etc. etc. and then I have another clean cloth that I buff it off with. I use the buff and shine microfiber cloth that I buy at auto geek online. If my car is really dirty after a rainy day or after the heavy wind and there's a lot a of dust I will take the hose and rinse the car down really well then I will pull into the garage while it's wet and spray it down with the waterless solution. I use a lot of water solution in this case to properly clean the car

I did not find that this method introduces swirls to my car. When I get a car the first thing I do is have a ceramic coating applied to it. This coating is like adding extra layer of Clearcoat to your paint. It makes it very easy to maintain your car and wash it. I cannot recommend them enough. In fact I will never own a car without getting it coated because of the difference it makes in maintaining your car and I don't have to wax my car I just use the maintenance detail spray that is recommended for the coating to refresh it.

 

I use Adam's Waterless Wash occasionally with no issues. From a time perspective, it ends up being more efficient to just wash the car. I realize weather and water use restrictions can get in the way of that.