Optimum No Rinse (ONR) New 2012 Formula (v3) - Photo & Video Review!

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walletless

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Few weeks ago, Optimum Polymer Technologies (OPT) released a new version of their popular Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine Car Wash Formula - popularly known as ONR. Some people call this new iteration v3, while some call it v4 - so to save the confusion, I will just call this the ONR 2012 Formula.





I have never used a rinse-less car wash system before, so I do not have much in terms of comparison - but this will serve as a stand-alone review of this car wash system. I live in an apartment, so I could not use any of the shampoos that require a hose pipe with several gallons of water. The drive-by car washes make me very uncomfortable since I do not know what detergent and brushes are used, and whether they could marr the paint. While I reside in North California and do not have to worry about snow & cold temperatures, a rinseless wash could be used in such conditions too.





The Rinse-less car washes are perfect for these kind of situations - you need very little water - under 2 gallons to wash a typical sedan. These systems are not suitable for very filthy dirty cars, but they are perfect if your car has some dirt and you want to wash it regularly. Additionally, the polymers in ONR adds shine to the car.





Without further ado, here is the review of ONR 2012 Formula on a dirty black Nissan Altima.





MY SETUP:

2 Buckets (1 with clear fresh water, 1 with 1 oz ONR solution mixed in 2 gallons of water), pre-mixed ONR solution for pre-rinsing (1 oz mixed in 32 oz of water), Grout Sponge (bought from Home Depot), and Microfiber Towels.

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BEFORE PICTURES

Several water marks, bird bombs, pollen, dust, etc on this 2012 Nissan Altima

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DURING WASHING

ONR feels quite slick on the surface. I pre-rinse the panel that I am about to wash by spraying some ONR+water solution, then use the grout sponge to wash in straight lines. Once done, I rinse the sponge, and go over the panel a second time using the other side of the sponge. Finally, I use a Microfiber towel to dry the panel. If there is some water left behind, I use another microfiber towel to go dry again. You can see the process in the video below.





It's always best to go from the top-most part and work your way lower as you clean the car. I divided the car into several "panels" to effectively wash it. First, I did one half of the top, then the other half. Then I finished all the windows, followed by the hood, front bumper, trunk, door panels, and the remaining lower panels. Finally, I finished with the door jams. I did not do the tires - will leave that for next week.






The sponge did have some dirt it picked up, but that did not affect the slickness, nor caused any marring.















AFTER PICTURES



ONR cleans really well. In fact, the car as clean as when I bought it new, if not more.







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Is all that streakiness / film because it's still a little wet ?

I've seen that on mine...but not that bad. First time I tried ONR I mixed a little too strong

and was tough to dry completely. Since then, if there is any light moisture left, it always

clears up when it dries.
 
gtppilot said:
Is all that streakiness / film because it's still a little wet ?

I've seen that on mine...but not that bad. First time I tried ONR I mixed a little too strong

and was tough to dry completely. Since then, if there is any light moisture left, it always

clears up when it dries.
Click to expand...

Hi gtppilot. There was very little streaking - especially after the 2nd wipe (you'll see in the video). Some streakiness in the initial wipe was because I did not know the proper technique to hold the towel, and partly because the towel was somewhat wet by the time I was at the last panel. I have ordered some extra towels since it seems that I will need atleast 2 towels for the first wipe, and 1 for the 2nd wipe.
 
Once you have used it a few times, you will really get the technique down and you won't have any problems with streaks.



One thing you will probably notice is that the more you wash with it, the easier each successive wash becomes. Bird bombs slid off my car with just a light swipe of the wash pad when I washed my car today. Not sure what has been changed but its pretty amazing.
 
Can't wait to use up what I have and try the new stuff. I'm really happy with the old version though. I also add the shot of OCW to mine and am really happy with the results. Very addictive !!
 
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gtppilot said:
Can't wait to use up what I have and try the new stuff. I'm really happy with the old version though. I also add the shot of OCW to mine and am really happy with the results. Very addictive !!
Click to expand...
I was pretty happy with the old version, and in my case, V1. I didn't get the chance to try V2 since I had so much V1, but I decided to pull the trigger and purchase some V3 (still have about half gallon of V1 left).



I just tried v3 today and it's that much better! You won't be disappointed, especially if you are happy the previous versions.
 
Very good results, what grout sponge did you use, and how old was it? The microfiber cloth is pretty standard. Will definitely be trying ONR and host of other car wash products soon, am looking into starting a car wash and my financial consultant says that I need to try and find a mix of the best and cost efficient, its going to be one hell of a week.
 
Scottwax said:
... One thing you will probably notice is that the more you wash with it, the easier each successive wash becomes. Bird bombs slid off my car with just a light swipe of the wash pad when I washed my car today. Not sure what has been changed but its pretty amazing.
Click to expand...



Hmm..thanks for mentioning that. For some unfathomable reason my previous-generation ONR was exactly the opposite; whenever I did wheels with it they would be much *harder* to clean the next time :think: And yeah, I mixed it with either distilled or DI water. Even using FK425/etc. afterward didn't sove the issue :nixweiss
 
Accumulator said:
Hmm..thanks for mentioning that. For some unfathomable reason my previous-generation ONR was exactly the opposite; whenever I did wheels with it they would be much *harder* to clean the next time :think: And yeah, I mixed it with either distilled or DI water. Even using FK425/etc. afterward didn't sove the issue :nixweiss
Click to expand...



The newest version is completely re-engineered chemically. This is not a tweaked version of v2.
 
Scottwax said:
The newest version is completely re-engineered chemically. This is not a tweaked version of v2.
Click to expand...



Now that you've used V3 for a while, how do you find it better? TIA
 
RobD said:
Now that you've used V3 for a while, how do you find it better? TIA
Click to expand...



Better lubricity, more gloss, more slickness, easier to dry the car, whatever it leaves behind makes it easier to wash the next time. I can't believe how much better it is since I thought v2 was excellent.
 
My friend bought a new Prius last year. To date, I am the only person that has washed or basically, touched the paint. I can't get to it all the time. Yesterday, I had to go over because it was just really dirty. As I presprayed the ONR solution, everything on the paint just lifted and moved. It was incredible! I mean, it was really dirty! I have put Opti-Seal on a couple of times, but never Opti-Coat. I was surprised how nothing, minus the bee pollen, stuck. I actually did HD Speed this time with a green pad and DA and then put Poxy to do something different. The ONR is the only chemical that has been on this paint since it was new last year. Pretty cool.



Rob
 
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Nice review, thanks for sharing.



Sidebar:



The reason I'm not a fan of the grout sponge is illustrated above. The seams, molding and cracks still have quite a bit of dirt in them. It is impossible to get those areas clean with a grout sponge. A MF covered sponge with a good bit of nap work or wool mitts work even better.
 
The reason I'm not a fan of the grout sponge is illustrated above. The seams, molding and cracks still have quite a bit of dirt in them. It is impossible to get those areas clean with a grout sponge. A MF covered sponge with a good bit of nap work or wool mitts work even better.



REALLY????



Never had that problem myself, but find something you like and use as MP says.
 
Scottwax- Thanks for schooling me on how different the new version is. I'm still keeping a (somewhat) open mind about the stuff ;)





Dan;1503024.. It is impossible to get [deep recesses said:
clean with a grout sponge. A MF covered sponge with a good bit of nap work or wool mitts work even better.
Click to expand...



Those areas are one of my concerns with ONR type washes in general. I have to use long-bristle BHBs and a *LOT* of flushing to get many areas clean. And for some areas, when I have to spray shampoo mix and water under pretty high pressure (using a sprayer hooked up to my compressor) to flush all the dirt out of certain areas, I just can't see how I'd get those areas clean using ONR. And if I don't get 'em clean then the dirt/etc. flushes out after the next rain, running down the panels leaving awful streaks.
 
I'd personally recommend a waffle weave drying towel.



I usually ONR my car right at dusk after it's been it the garage for a while. I can prespray the whole car, go over the car using the 2 bucket method with 1 grit guard, doing a panel at a time between rinsing the grout sponge, and then dry the car with a waffle weave drying towel in one pass using a detail spray as a drying aid. This makes the process much faster as you do each step at one time instead of all the steps for each panel. I generally wash my car this way once or twice per week and it takes around 30 minutes for the entire process including washing the door jams and dressing the trim, tires, and wheel wells once I'm finished. I'd say once per month I'll add in the engine bay detail and get into the real nitty gritty with my small detail brushes inside the gas cap, deep into the hinges of the doors, trunk gaps, etc.



Of course, I use a more traditional method to do the wheels, tires, and fender wells prior to doing the ONR sequence. Also, my car is Opti-Coated so it's more resistant to marring than average.
 
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