Can ONR be used WITHOUT causing marring?

S

slammin86

New member
So a few years ago (2005) when QEW was all the rage I figured I would give it a try. I did one panel and was horrified at the marring it was causing. I threw the water out and proceeded to do an old fashion 3 bucket 6 mitt wash, followed by a blot dry with waffle weave microfiber drying towels. Since then I have not tried any kind of rinseless wash.



Now that I have a 13 month old, and time is hard to come by I am considering trying the optimum no rinse car wash this time. Which leads me to my question.



Can ONR really be used WITHOUT causing marring on black paint?
 
Sure it can, I went from being very apprehensive in regards to using this product thinking that it could cause marring on my customers cars......but once I gave it a try I was stunned.......It most definately works.......Did 3 black vehicles for customers that I see on a regular weekly basis yesterday.....and they all look perfect and no micro marring!







What I do is mix it 8oz to 2 gal of water, put it in a 5 gal cube for storage. Transfer ONR to a pump sprayer that holds 150ml, then liberally spray the vehicle 1 or 2 panels at a time. Make sure your MF's are soft and fluffy, with the towel folded wipe the wet misted panel to pick up most of the ONR. Then use a second dry MF to to flash off whatever product is left for desired results. Once the panel is free and dry of ONR, the results are deep, wet and scratch free. But remember the paintwork must be perfect to begin with, this is not a cover up product.



I do not recommend using the product if the vehicle is extremely dirty or soiled, or if it has been driven for more than 2 weeks without a wash. Remeber leave the lower rockers, rear diffuser, bumper and fender well edges for last for best results! and I always recommend working from the top first leaving the lowers for last....
 
IME the ONR/QEW washes work better for some people than for others and I suspect there is a variety of reasons for that. If any given approach to detailing does/doesn't work for you, then *that* is what counts, not how it works for other people.



slammin86- I appreciate your prioritization of real-life considerations. FWIW, if I were unable to do my time-intensive washes, ONR would not be the answer. But that's just me.



If ONR would be a make it/break it time-saver for you but the result would be marring, then I'd actually reconsider your choice of car! Yeah, I'd replace the black car with something you can keep OK-looking a whole lot easier. I've actually done that before when I needed to spend less time on my detailing, and I might even do it again here soon.



When you look back on this decade, how perfectly detailed your car was won't be of much importance ;)
 
EliminatorXP said:
I do not recommend using the product if the vehicle is extremely dirty or soiled, or if it has been driven for more than 2 weeks without a wash.
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Why not use the product if the car has been driven for more than 2 weeks? Do a lot of people wash their car every 2 weeks? To me, that's almost like saying don't use it as a car wash at all.
 
I could hear the grit grinding as I was wiping with ONR. Especially on the lower part of my car. There was a thin layer of salt as if it was misted with salt water and then the water evaporated. Should I have not used ONR for that?
 
levander said:
Why not use the product if the car has been driven for more than 2 weeks? Do a lot of people wash their car every 2 weeks? To me, that's almost like saying don't use it as a car wash at all.
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All of my customers vehicles are thoroughly washed weekly, and recieve a maintenance detail monthly. With the build up that I see weekly let alone every two weeks I would advise properly washing the vehicle at that point.



The customers that use their vehicle as a weekend vehicle or special ocassion car and put very few miles on it weekly, those are the ones I would feel comfortable using ONR as a wash substitute.



Or if the vehicle is extremely dirty and water restrictions or limitations apply, this method could definately be used and incorporated to then proceed and detail the vehicle completley. You will have marring that will need to be polished and then wax or sealed :bigups, or a one step does all product for a quickie.



.....This is JMO and observation.....
 
I think it has a LOT to do with your method more so than the QEW. I use a SS mitt which is pretty wet with QEW (not dripping) and sometimes wipe twice before drying carefully. Common sense also goes a long way, if too dirty I will run through the quarter wash or hose it off to get big grit off first or do a conventional wash.
 
Rob Tomlin said:
Yes.

/thread]
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Amen. :closed:



OP, sounds like your degree of perfection and inspection might be a little more than many of us, but nonetheless, ONR is fine. I think one of the key "tricks" with ONR use is that you use it on a car that is maintained regularly...at least if you're concerned with Electron Microscope-level of micromarring.

I know some people do use ONR when a car is totally trashed, but I don't. I use it on a car that is reasonably not-filthy, with great results, and I'm sure you will too.





Plus, even if a microscopic amount of micromarring resulted...wouldn't that already get cleaned up by the once or twice-yearly polishing/detail sessions that I imagine you already do?
 
EliminatorXP said:
Sure it can, I went from being very apprehensive in regards to using this product thinking that it could cause marring on my customers cars......but once I gave it a try I was stunned.......It most definately works.......Did 3 black vehicles for customers that I see on a regular weekly basis yesterday.....and they all look perfect and no micro marring!







What I do is mix it 8oz to 2 gal of water, put it in a 5 gal cube for storage. Transfer ONR to a pump sprayer that holds 150ml, then liberally spray the vehicle 1 or 2 panels at a time. Make sure your MF's are soft and fluffy, with the towel folded wipe the wet misted panel to pick up most of the ONR. Then use a second dry MF to to flash off whatever product is left for desired results. Once the panel is free and dry of ONR, the results are deep, wet and scratch free. But remember the paintwork must be perfect to begin with, this is not a cover up product.



I do not recommend using the product if the vehicle is extremely dirty or soiled, or if it has been driven for more than 2 weeks without a wash. Remeber leave the lower rockers, rear diffuser, bumper and fender well edges for last for best results! and I always recommend working from the top first leaving the lowers for last....
Click to expand...





Isn't that A LOT more ONR than the bottle suggests? I think i used like 2 oz ONR to 2 gallons of water and that was more than suggested too.



I'm just curious because i want to know i'm using enough of the product.



Thanks
 
According to the directions you can use it 3 different ways depending on the mix ratio....



Wash - no rinse car wash

Mist and wipe - like a final detailer - This is how I describe usuing it.....:xyxthumbs

Clay spray - clay lube
 
EliminatorXP said:
According to the directions you can use it 3 different ways depending on the mix ratio....
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Exactly, just use ONR at the ratios recommended by Optimum, its their product after all and will have thoroughly tested it.
 
I always find it interesting to hear what frequency of washing/polishing/whatever people consider normal, and I suspect that such things factor in when deciding both how to do this stuff and what does/doesn't work for people.
 
As to the concerns with marring and ONR. I wouldn't if that isn't address in Autopia's "ONR: The Definitive Thread": Click



2. Why is my wash media so much dirtier than when I do a traditional wash?: ONR binds the dirt to the wash media intentionally. You should change mitts as needed. They can then be soaked in regular detergent to release the dirt before rinsing or washed in the machine.
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4. Should I still use the two-bucket method to prevent marring?: ONR softens water, so the bigger particles just sink to the bottom of the bucket. It’s like having a built-in grit guard in the wash solution. Smaller particles end up in the wash media.
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So, you can clean a really dirty car with it, you just need to change the "wash media" often?
 
MichaelSpoots said:
Amen. :closed:



OP, sounds like your degree of perfection and inspection might be a little more than many of us, but nonetheless, ONR is fine. I think one of the key "tricks" with ONR use is that you use it on a car that is maintained regularly...at least if you're concerned with Electron Microscope-level of micromarring.

I know some people do use ONR when a car is totally trashed, but I don't. I use it on a car that is reasonably not-filthy, with great results, and I'm sure you will too.





Plus, even if a microscopic amount of micromarring resulted...wouldn't that already get cleaned up by the once or twice-yearly polishing/detail sessions that I imagine you already do?
Click to expand...



I'm just really picky about the appearance because it is black and if you breath on it wrong it can marr it. When I wash I always do the same panel in the same direction, and the same with any time I use QD after drying. I always blot dry the car, and never rub the car in a circular motion.



Bence said:
Hey slammin, please describe your EXACT method on a dirty car. General approach, # of steps, etc. I'm kinda suspicious...
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Well it has been so long ago, but basically I had 2 buckets, one with QEW and one with plain water, and a sheepskin mit. I used the mit saturated in the qew bucket and gently wiped the top of the fender down. Then I put the mit in the water bucket and took my waffle weave and tried to blot/ wipe down the area. Then I saw that it was marring and gave up. The car only had a light dusting at the time.



I might order some ONR and give it another try. If it doesn't work I can always use it as clay lube or QD.
 
slammin, your process sound definitely good, and you have a good eye to identify paint defects. The paint of your car must be stupidly soft though - like Nighthawk Black Honda or Jet Back BMW.



I'd still recommend ONR. With a safe pre-spray method, it is capable of doing an extremely gentle, but thorough cleaning. However, the most important thing is to clean the dirty panels more than once; until they are squeaky clean. Most people think that one wipe and they can dry the car already. Big mistake.

Blotting is a good method, but if you have a thick, fluffy drying towel, you can do slow, gentle straight movements too.
 
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