ONR & road salt

[Nth Degree]

With all the snow recently it is inevitable there will be many questions about whether it is safe to do a rinseless (ONR) wash when a car is covered in salt.


The salt was not dry granules when it became attached to the surface of the vehicle. It was dissolved in water. By simply wetting the car and keeping it wet long enough for the salt to re-dissolve the solution becomes completely aqueous again, becoming no more likely to scratch than plain water. Once the polymers in a rinseless wash are added it becomes safer than plain water. A wash using a standard foaming shampoo adds no additional safety other than sheer volume. There may be other reasons to warrant a preliminary rinse such as when sand is used to treat the roads. Simply use common sense and a little extra caution and maybe warm water in your wash bucket and you are good to go.

 

[nothingface5384]

Could always use something prior or ONR like salt away or Whips wax salt remover

 

[MiVor]

I'm switching to DG rinseless, but in the past, I've gone to the coin-op pressure wash to rinse the slaty crud off, then as needed, followed up with an ONR wipe down. Often there's a fair amount of grit along with the salt so it seems prudent to do a pre-rinse. If it's just salt with fine dirt, an ONR rinseless should be fine. I like to spray the product (concentration the same as I'd use for clay bar) then use a warm water towel, followed by a dry towel to clean.