My First ONR! Quick grout sponge question as well...

A

achilles99

New member
I'm happy to say that after lurking for a few days, I finally bought a gallon of ONR and decided to try it on my new ride. The wash went so well that I went ahead and used a claybar and ONR as the lube. The water ban here in the south has made ONR a virtual necessity! I've posted pics below, but a quick question to those of you who use a grout sponge and ONR... how much water do you leave in the sponge? I know it's somewhere between soaking wet and completely squeezed dry, but does anyone have a rule of thumb? I feel as though if I put too much on, it drips everywhere. If I put too little on, I feel like I'm marring the surface.



The grout sponge I'm using is the soft one at Lowe's made by Proline. It's MUCH softer than my first grout sponge purchased at HD (in the plastic pack, not bulk).



Pics (and yes, I realize that I have a rack of tools next to the car... my wife made me switch sides of the garage so she could load the baby in her car... gotta think of how to relocate that thing!):



P.S. - Does anyone live in Atlanta/Smyrna who wouldn't mind giving me a lesson in how to use a polisher? In return, I'm happy to take someone out for a spin and/or provide a six-pack!



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For the grout sponge. I just let it soak what it can and then wash a panel with it. It's going to drip everywhere no matter what I do.
 
Thanks PaintPolisher, I sent you a PM back. I'll definitely take you up on your offer if no one else closer to me responds.



Jswift - Thanks for the compliment. I love the car!
 
I'm pretty good with a PC and rotary, but I'd love to come by just to see the car. :D



I'll bring the Souveran. :D
 
Way2SSlow, your pics are amazing. One of my best friends has an Impala, that car rocks to this day. If you are willing to come by and help me polish the car, you are more than welcome to see the car. If you bring the Souveran and I can see my reflection in the car, I'll even let you drive. Not a bad trade, considering this thing is $3k a day to rent :dance



P.S. - Hmm, never heard of sealants until reading this site. Maybe a sealant would be better for me, since I drive this car every day I can and would need the longevity of sealants over wax.
 
I've just realized how awesome ONR is from this forum and I am going to be ordering some in the very near future. How did it do as the claybar lube?



Also, small recommendation, don't forget to really treat those wheelwheels. :)
 
azenthusiast said:
I've just realized how awesome ONR is from this forum and I am going to be ordering some in the very near future. How did it do as the claybar lube?



Also, small recommendation, don't forget to really treat those wheelwheels. :)
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I've never used it as lube. I'm not cleaning the wells of that Mustang. He usually does it himself as there is usually a ton of race rubber stuck inside the back ones. I didnt even touch those wheels. He kinda likes detailing the car himself, I asked him if he would let me polish the paint.
 
Awesome 5.0, my dad had a yellow one back in the day. I just got rid of a 97 Viper w/ 1000hp. A bit much power to drive on the street, awesome on the track.



Re: sealants, I really have no preference. I read through the reviews, and it looks like there is no clear winner. How did you like the Optimum poli-seal? It looks like a dual sealant/wax. Not sure if a sealant and separate wax would be better? Or do people usually just use one or the other?



If you are serious about wanting to help a brother out, I'd just go with whatever you recommended for red. If the quality is worth reapplication every 2-3 months, I'd be willing to do that. But, if the gain is minimal, I was thinking that a sealant which lasted twice as long would be better? I do have visible swirl marks in the car.



AZ - I thought the ONR as a claybar lube worked fine. I mixed it in a spray bottle, and did it right after the ONR wash. I was thinking about using the claybar during the wash, but since the concentration amount was different I decided to use two separate steps.



I hear you about the wheelwells. They were really dirty, it was late, the Duke/Carolina game was about to start, I didn't want to get my garage floor dirty... but most importantly I completely forgot to wash them at the end. My second ONR experience will be more thorough!
 
achilles99 said:
Awesome 5.0, my dad had a yellow one back in the day. I just got rid of a 97 Viper w/ 1000hp. A bit much power to drive on the street, awesome on the track.
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I can see that being a track only machine. I hear that bodystyle Viper isn't exactly easy to drive. I think I read an article about how much easier the current one is to keep on the track.



Re: sealants, I really have no preference. I read through the reviews, and it looks like there is no clear winner. How did you like the Optimum poli-seal? It looks like a dual sealant/wax. Not sure if a sealant and separate wax would be better? Or do people usually just use one or the other?
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Honestly, I've never let Poli-seal stand alone. Typically, I will polish the car with whatever it needs and use Poli-seal as a final polish because I really like the look it gives. The way Optimum markets, you just leave the poliseal haze on the car, and spray the spray wax on and wipe it down and you're done. Real time saver and it looks good, but that car deserves Souveran. I've seen those cars in the Click and brags done with Sealant and carnauba though, and I think it's hard to make a car like that look bad.



If you are serious about wanting to help a brother out, I'd just go with whatever you recommended for red. If the quality is worth reapplication every 2-3 months, I'd be willing to do that. But, if the gain is minimal, I was thinking that a sealant which lasted twice as long would be better? I do have visible swirl marks in the car.
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From a durability standpoint, I think the only wax you'll find that can be compared with a sealant is Collinite. I've never tried it, but it gets rave reviews from people on here that I respect. I only have the PBs sealants because I cut my teeth detailing with PB's line. I think the SSR's are a great beginner polish. IME, they are easy to use, they cut pretty quickly, I havent experienced much micrmarring, and they remove swirls. They are my choice for the DA polisher as Optimum takes quite some time to break down by DA. I guess I took a really long time to say: Sealants typically last longer, so if Durability is paramount, then sealants are the way to go. It's cool that you drive that car every day, I haven't really met anyone with a car like that who uses it as a Daily commuter.





I hear you about the wheelwells. They were really dirty, it was late, the Duke/Carolina game was about to start, I didn't want to get my garage floor dirty... but most importantly I completely forgot to wash them at the end. My second ONR experience will be more thorough!
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IMO, wheelwells are probably the worst part of a detail. They're always really dirty, and hard to get at even with brushes. On my own cars, sometimes I just jack the car up to clean them. On a car like that Ferarri, there isnt much room to get them without turning the wheels hard both ways.
 
I have other cars to drive, but every dry day you'll see me in the fcar. I'd drive it in the rain, too, if Atlanta drivers weren't so terrible. I'm not scared of the rain, just other cars sliding into me.



I'm still on the fence re: sealant vs. wax. I'll have to dig through this forum some more for pics. Let me know if/when you want to come over for a polish/drive!
 
achilles,



Weekends are usually good for me. The only obligation I have is a Yellow Cobra that I have to have ready for a Ford event. On the weekdays I'm doing the work thing from 7:30-5 and after that, I hit the weights and I'm spent. Let me know when is best for you.
 
achilles99 said:
The grout sponge I'm using is the soft one at Lowe's made by Proline. It's MUCH softer than my first grout sponge purchased at HD (in the plastic pack, not bulk).
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Sweet car! Another Lowes GS convert :2thumbs: . Yes, it is very soft and less likely to cause swirls than the best wool mitt out there. How do you like that GS?
 
detaildoc said:
Sweet car! Another Lowes GS convert :2thumbs: . Yes, it is very soft and less likely to cause swirls than the best wool mitt out there.
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:2thumbs: just used it a few minutes ago to wash the ride (beautiful day in so.cal), LOL... :D
 
Detaildoc - your post on the Lowe's sponge convinced me to buy one. I liked it so much, I bought another 3 just in case they stop selling them. My friend came over, loved it, took 2 of mine. So, I figure I'll use one for the body and one for wheels. Looks like I'll need to go get some more. Thanks for the info! I've bought practically every mitt/sponge/etc. out there. This one is the best, and so far, cheapest :)



Way2sslow - I'll send you a PM. We'll have to post before and after pics. My swirl marks on the car are TERRIBLE.
 
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