Right then. Today's the day. Once I get home I am doing my first No Rinse wash. As stated earlier, couldn't get any Low On Eau in my part of the world (thanks to Dave and Rodders for fixing that issue for the future) so will be trying Optimum No Rinse. On the business end of it all will be the wife's black Peugeot 207.

Any hints and advice from more experienced practioners would be much appreciated.

Okay, I don't know what kind of wash media or process you have lined up for it, but here is how I like to do rinseless washing:

Step 1 - Pick a panel (I like to start with the roof.), and completely cover it with a light mist of ONR (24:1 dilution) in a spray bottle to pre-lubricate the surface and begin to break down the road film.

Step 2 - Mix up 8-10 liters of ONR solution by adding 30-45ml. of product to a bucket, and drop 2-4 600+ gcm plush microfiber towels (Each folded into quarters.) in the bucket to soak.

Step 3 - Using the folded MF towels as your wash media, clean small sections of your pre-soaked panel at a time, using even, linear passes, and very little pressure. Check the towel after every pass, and if debris is building up on the towel, re-fold to a clean side and continue to your next pass. Overlap very slightly into the adjoining panels to maintain a wet edge. Once all sides of your towel have been used, set aside, and use one of the clean MF's that have been pre-soaked in the bucket. If the car is small, or not particularly dirty, I typically need two. With more dirt present, or on larger cars, you will need more.

Step 4 - Once the panel has been cleaned to your satisfaction, dry it with a deep-pile MF drying towel, making sure not to dry wipe adjoining sections that have not been cleaned (Hence why I instructed to overlap onto other panels and maintain a wet edge.).

Step 5 - Repeat process on all other panels until the job is completed.

Note: Do not attempt rinseless washing if large solids are present on the paint (Mud, snow, road salt, concrete dust, sand, leaves/tree debris, etc.); if present pre-rinse with a hosepipe or PW and then continue on to rinseless or 2BM washing. In these circumstances there is no substitute for water volume/pressure to float/blast debris off the surface.

In my time using ONR I have found this technique to be the least likely to cause marring, have the most cleaning power, and the greatest flexibility to allow for getting into odd nooks and crannies. Some people prefer the 2BM & Sponge method, but I personally found this method to use much more water and cleaning solution, as well as more difficult to get into tight spaces to get the vehicle completely clean.

Hopefully this helps. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask.

Steampunk

Thanks for that Steampunk. What a great and clear set of instructions. I actually did a bit of looking online before trying the ONR out and your instructions are by far the best.

It just so happens that I was in the garage washing the Peugeot as you were writing the instructions. Your point 3 was brilliant and I will definitely use that when I do my Merc, hopefully this weekend. I would never have thought of it and logically it just makes sense. I did know to do the slight overlapping on panels which makes perfect sense as well.

I used two buckets and a microfibre wash mit. For drying I had my trusty Dodo Juice Soft Touch Drying Towel.

I have to say I was pretty impressed with the end results. Although the car has recently been waxed and last week it was given a wash and some Red Mist Tropical. All in all the car was in pretty good shape, but that's how I wanted it for my first go with the ONR, I really wanted to be sure I would't do any damage.

Anyways. I am happy with the end result, I did notice that some rain spots had not come off but I guess that is to be expected and I can't really complain. What I will do next is get some Low on Eau and try it out. The ease and quickness of it all appealed to me.

No problem! I'm glad that I could be of assistance, and I enjoyed the opportunity to do a bit of tech writing. I think you'll enjoy the slightly unconventional technique I outlined once you try it on your Merc. I sometimes wonder if the reason why some people are so turned off by rinseless washing is that they are trying to use it in a conventional fashion, which I find more dangerous, quite frustrating, and not especially economical (I used almost 75-liters of water the first time I used ONR with the 2BM, which was just as much as if I'd gotten out the hosepipe; now I can wash our MINI wheels and all with just eight!). I don't know if I can post the link here, but I wrote a review on Low on Eau and posted it on the Detailing World forum under the Dodo-Juice section (It's still on the first page of their section, three from the bottom last time I checked.). If you are interested in purchasing LoE I think you might enjoy the comparison; suffice it to say Dodo-Juice did a great job .

If you have any more questions please feel free to contact me either on here or the DW forum; I'm always happy to help out.

Steampunk

One question Steampunk.

I'm going to try doing the Merc this evening and wanted to know regarding the MF towels: When you take them out of the bucket, do you squeeze excess water out or just slap it on the panel dripping wet?

I would describe the condition you want the microfiber to be in when you place it on the panel as 'sopping' rather than 'dripping' wet . When you lift a towel out of the bucket a little water will naturally drain from it back into the bucket, which is exactly what you want, but you shouldn't squeeze them for fear of losing too much of your lubrication. The microfiber should feel 'full', as if it could not possibly absorb any more wash solution, but the water dripping off of it should be no more than a trickle to avoid wastage. You'll get a feel for the correct balance once you try it.

Hopefully this helps, and if you have any more questions, I'm always willing to render assistance....

Steampunk

The Merc came out lovely thanks to your advice. Finished it off with some Tropical Red Mist, beautiful. I'd post a few pics if I could work out how it's done.

Thanks again.

I'm glad it turned out well ! You'll really enjoy Low on Eau once you get the chance to try it. I intend to write an article for my local classic MG club introducing them to rinseless washing, and it's good to know that the technique I use is fairly intuitive, even to someone new to this type of product. Do you have any feedback from your experience that may help other people just starting rinseless washing?

The easiest way to post photos online is by joining a free photo sharing website like Flickr, as once your photos are uploaded from your computer to the site (Very easy, just click and drag from the photo file folder to the upload page of the website.), posting them on forums is just a matter of copying and pasting the BBCode wherever you want it. Just like this...


DSC07214 by Mole Hill Motors, on Flickr


DSC07232 by Mole Hill Motors, on Flickr
(The finish left behind by Low on Eau over a 6 week old coat of Rainforest Rub.)

Once again, I'm very happy that your foray into rinseless went well, and if you have any more questions in future you can always contact me via PM.

Steampunk