waterless wash
 

I have not tried this product, but it might be a good quick wash when you're not near a water supply:

http://tinyurl.com/6j3gbf

BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD IDEA to wash your car without water!!!

That's all i have to say!

Yeah, please... don't even try this unless your car is already spotless.

I can't even go to hand car washes anymore. I was up in SF two weeks ago and paid $30 for a hand car wash... well they used cheapo red cotton towels to dry it, and I ended up with spiderweb scratches ALL OVER THE CAR.

I insist on washing the car myself, with clean water, and only microfiber towels.

We got the same stuff at my work. I was considering purchasing. Then I thought to myself,"Where is all the love in that?" It could work, but imagine how many microfiber cloths you would need (or how many times you have to clean your current mf cloth) just do 1 side of your car.

I spent about 3 hours yesterday undoing the damaged caused by the car wash mentioned above.

Since I don't have a hose at my apartment complex, I use one of those hand-pump garden sprayers. I have to do one panel at a time, starting with the roof, then each side, then the trunk, and the hood. I follow up with a full polish of Meguiars #2, and finish up with a full coat of high quality Caranuba.

There is nothing that looks quite as nice as a freshly washed/polished/waxed Schwartz II in the summer sunshine! Best of all, anything my car picks up over the course of the next two weeks will just sheet off thanks to the wax.

Just some words of encouragement for those of you who sometimes feel like you don't have enough time in your weekend to do a nice wash... think of it like therapy (for you AND the car!)

the blonde weasel

I usually do a 2-3 hour cleaning of my car once a week to every other week. And I normally wash, clay bar and wax my car at the beginning of the summer, as well as cleaning the engine bay and wax it once in the middle of the summer then one last wax in the middle of the fall. But I do look forward to spending the time washing my car every week. I feel neglectful because it has been three weeks since I washed my car. I just moved into a new house so I haven't had much time to focus on cleaning the car. Hopefully tonight I will be able to wash and vacuum my car.

People believe that if you use the waterless car washes, you can drag the dust/debris that's on the paint with your towel, and then it'll cause swirl marks on the car.

BLNDweasel, yes, black is the most rewarding color after it's detailed.

-Randy

I don't have water at my apartment complex either and this sounds like a really great solution. I'm starting to suspect that the carwash I take my car to is slowly chipping away at my paint in certain spots. I've never thought of using a garden sprayer to wash my car but it's a brilliant idea. Thanks.

i have one of those California duster things and it works very well for having nothing on hand. i got it because the pollen season is horrible over here and it worked like a charm

Again sorry to bring up another old topic:

There is what is called in the detailing community as the ONR (optimum no rinse) method. It is a very good way of washing (I only use this on maintenance washes and not washes where I will be polishing) that does not induce much (if any) marring.

Some sites that sell it are;
Detailersdomain.com
detailedimage.com
autogeek.com

My site does not carry ONR.

,Dan