Question about ONR washing technique

[simplybao]

I have been reading a lot about washing techniques and I've even watched Scottwax's youtube video of it. I'm still a little confused about how it works though.



So when you do an ONR wash, do you only do a single panel at a time? Do you still use the 2 bucket method? Does the ONR foam up like regular car shampoo?



Also, to be sure, ONR means Optimum No Rinse wash correct?



My black cadillac is in a swirly mess that I plan on correcting in the spring. I'm wanting to try the ONR method, but am afraid that I'll just make a mess of my paint after I've corrected it.



This is the method that I've thought about doing:



1. rinse car with water from hose

2. Spray with foam gun and let dwell for a couple of minutes.

3. Rinse with water from hose.

4. Pull car into car port.

5. Fill one bucket with regular water and grit guard, fill one bucket with ONR and regular water from hose.

6. Wash one panel at a time, returning to rinse bucket often.

7. Instead of drying with a Waffle weave MF, I'll just blow it dry with the new Metro Blower that I'm getting .

8. Move onto next panel until done.



Will this cause any swirling or marring? I'm not afraid to try this on my silver or yellow vehicles, but the black one is a concern.



Any comments? I've read some people using DI water or filtered watered using a filter similar to the one that autogeek sells.



In fact, my ultimate goal would be to do a no touch wash when possible. In the spring we get quite a bit of pollen. A few hours after washing the car, it is covered in pollen. For those times, to help my OCD nature of keeping the car clean, I was thinking about just foaming the car and then blowing it dry using the Metro Blower. Atleast it would be better than the car being covered in a film of dust. I'm tired of washing my car twice a weekend.



This is becoming an obsession. Autopia has ruined me....LOL.

 

[dervdave]

The best way to use ONR is which ever suits you and the way you`ve suggested would certainly be ok but a bit time taking.

If the car isn`t really dirty, just a couple of capfuls of ONR in a bucket of water, 2 or 3 panels at a time would be ok as well.

 

[salty]

I have been reading a lot about washing techniques and I've even watched Scottwax's youtube video of it. I'm still a little confused about how it works though.



So when you do an ONR wash, do you only do a single panel at a time? Do you still use the 2 bucket method? Does the ONR foam up like regular car shampoo?



--- You can do more than one panel as long as it doesn't dry before drying.

--- Yes 2 buckets.

--- No it doesn't foam like regular soap.





Also, to be sure, ONR means Optimum No Rinse wash correct?



--- Yes.



My black cadillac is in a swirly mess that I plan on correcting in the spring. I'm wanting to try the ONR method, but am afraid that I'll just make a mess of my paint after I've corrected it.



This is the method that I've thought about doing:



1. rinse car with water from hose

2. Spray with foam gun and let dwell for a couple of minutes.

3. Rinse with water from hose.



--- Why not do a regular 2 bucket wash at this point, add some ONR if you want some added lube. Unless the sun or heat is a problem.





4. Pull car into car port.

5. Fill one bucket with regular water and grit guard, fill one bucket with ONR and regular water from hose.

6. Wash one panel at a time, returning to rinse bucket often.

7. Instead of drying with a Waffle weave MF, I'll just blow it dry with the new Metro Blower that I'm getting .

8. Move onto next panel until done.



--- If you go this route it is fine.



Will this cause any swirling or marring? I'm not afraid to try this on my silver or yellow vehicles, but the black one is a concern.



--- Depends on your wash technique and materials and also how soft your paint is.



Any comments? I've read some people using DI water or filtered watered using a filter similar to the one that autogeek sells.



In fact, my ultimate goal would be to do a no touch wash when possible. In the spring we get quite a bit of pollen. A few hours after washing the car, it is covered in pollen. For those times, to help my OCD nature of keeping the car clean, I was thinking about just foaming the car and then blowing it dry using the Metro Blower. Atleast it would be better than the car being covered in a film of dust. I'm tired of washing my car twice a weekend.



This is becoming an obsession. Autopia has ruined me....LOL.

Yes Autopia has also lightened my wallet.

 

[backwoods_lex]

I might just actually proceed with a traditional wash if you are doing the pre rinse and foam gun just because you already have everything out. But if you did use ONR after your mentioned prep, you'd be less likely to induce any marring into your paint.



When I ONR, I do one area at a time (hood, trunk and rear, complete side) depending on the heat. I worry less about contaminating a panel that I just previously cleaned that way



Feel free to take your time with ONR when first learning. You can always speed up when you get a feel for it and are comfortable.



On a side note, one of the best things about ONR is not having to worry about getting any water spots!

 

[rwisejr]

To add to all of the above if the car is alittle dirty I just mix up a batch of ONR and use it in a chemical sprayer to pre soak there continue with the ONR wash as normal

 

[simplybao]

Cool...and an ONR wash will not induce marring? I'm also assuming with an ONR wash, you have to use a very gentle hand when touching the paint.

 

[Bert]

I have been reading a lot about washing techniques and I've even watched Scottwax's youtube video of it. I'm still a little confused about how it works though.

So when you do an ONR wash, do you only do a single panel at a time?

Yes, wash a section, dry it off, move to the next section to be cleaned.

Do you still use the 2 bucket method?

I do just for more safety but many do not.

Does the ONR foam up like regular car shampoo?

No, doesn't foam at all if I recall correctly

Also, to be sure, ONR means Optimum No Rinse wash correct?

Correct

My black cadillac is in a swirly mess that I plan on correcting in the spring. I'm wanting to try the ONR method, but am afraid that I'll just make a mess of my paint after I've corrected it.



This is the method that I've thought about doing:





1. rinse car with water from hose

2. Spray with foam gun and let dwell for a couple of minutes.

3. Rinse with water from hose.

Steps 1-3 may be overkill but certainly will not hurt anything.

4. Pull car into car port.

You can wash indoors or outdoors, your call.

5. Fill one bucket with regular water and grit guard, fill one bucket with ONR and regular water from hose.

Good so far.

6. Wash one panel at a time, returning to rinse bucket often.

Correct

7. Instead of drying with a Waffle weave MF, I'll just blow it dry with the new Metro Blower that I'm getting .

I would recommend using a towel to dry. My guess is if you blow dry the ONR it will leave pretty bad streaking. Similar to if you wash too large of an area and let it dry before drying off with a towel.

8. Move onto next panel until done.

Yep

Will this cause any swirling or marring? I'm not afraid to try this on my silver or yellow vehicles, but the black one is a concern.

ONR is pretty good for not swirling.

Any comments? I've read some people using DI water or filtered watered using a filter similar to the one that autogeek sells.

It helps a little but probably more work and expense than needed.

In fact, my ultimate goal would be to do a no touch wash when possible. In the spring we get quite a bit of pollen. A few hours after washing the car, it is covered in pollen. For those times, to help my OCD nature of keeping the car clean, I was thinking about just foaming the car and then blowing it dry using the Metro Blower. Atleast it would be better than the car being covered in a film of dust. I'm tired of washing my car twice a weekend.

I doubt you would be able to blow dry the car completely without waterspots. You can try but I don't know. For a completely touchless wash, I would guess you need to use a CRSpotless system which I believe works by being a DeIonizer (I think I spelled that right). I would do a search for SuperBee364's touchless wash method.

This is becoming an obsession. Autopia has ruined me....LOL.

It happens

 

[Hakko]

I would recommend using a towel to dry. My guess is if you blow dry the ONR it will leave pretty bad streaking. Similar to if you wash too large of an area and let it dry before drying off with a towel.

+1



Blow drying is a time saver and a convenience, but it won't do the whole car. It will get water out of annoying crevices from which they would otherwise spray out as soon as you put the car in gear, e.g., mirrors, door jambs, etc. It also allows you to dry a large SUV with one waffle weave towel, because it will have that much less water to absorb. But you will need to get out that towel. Even freshly sealed with two coats of JetSeal, my hood still has some residual moisture after blow drying. You will still need to wipe the door sills etc.

 

[pharmboyrx]

When I ONR I usually do one panel at a time. I'll mix up a bottle of QD strength and spray down the panel, then wipe with a ONR soaked MF. I'll then rinse the MF, then repeat. After that I dry with a WW MF.



I'll usually just park my car in the garage and ONR. One of the things I like about ONR is you don't have to move the car at all. You can wash, clay, polish, wash, and seal without having to pull the car in and out of the garage for the washing. Also, I find that when I ONR, I have less problems with water running out of nooks and crannies I missed with the leaf blower.



Another thing I like about ONR is I can concentrate on getting a single panel perfectly clean without having to worry about the soap drying on another part of the car. I get a lot of wind in the alley where I wash so that might be an individual concern. Also there are no suds to hide anything you might have missed, so if the MF doesn't pick it up, I can hit it with a little Sonus green clay while ONRing and not have to go back over the car to touch up.



I've never had a problem with ONR marring my paint.



Also, I've never been able to get a spot free surface after just blow drying my car. I usually blow dry the nooks and crannies then dry as usual.



I think I just talked myself into using ONR exclusively now.

 

[pwaug]

The technique you outline is more of a conventional wash process. ONR is meant to simplify the washing process without introducing marring.



I add one OZ of ONR to two gallons of water. First I wash the inside windows using a low nap microfiber cloth well rung out and then dry with a waffle weave MF towel. Simplest interior window wash I've ever done.



I then add another OZ of ONR to the two gallons (this is twice the amount recommended, but our water is hard) and use a medium nap MF mitt--it is long enough to keep grit away from the paint, but short enough to control the amount of solution. Some use sheepskin mitts or the dreadlock type mitts but I find them to carry too much solution. I wash a panel (fender, door, roof, trunk, etc) then dry with a waffle weave MF towel. I make sure I rub the mitt over the grit guard to remove any solid material from the fibers each time I dip it in the bucket. After the body is complete I use a low nap MF towel soaked in the ONR solution well rung out to wipe inside the doors, trunk and hood. Then I use what is remaining of the 2 gallons to do the wheels and inside the wheel wells.



In the winter when the car is really covered with salt and sand I wet it down with a gallon of water/1 OZ of ONR using a garden type pressure sprayer to loosen the grime.



As you can imagine you have to be careful when using ONR--light pressure on the wash mitt, frequent rinsing of the mitt in the solution etc, but I've seen no marring of the finish and I have seen pictures of guys who use it on black vehicles with no marring. However, I would not want to use ONR on a surface that didn't have a good slick LSP applied.



After you get the hang of using ONR it really reduces your wash time and you don't have a hose and leaf blower to put away.

 

[Scottwax]

However, I would not want to use ONR on a surface that didn't have a good slick LSP applied.

Actually, the polymers in ONR will add slickness and gloss and still clean effectively on paint that is not waxed.

 

[simplybao]

So if' I'm doing an ONR wash, do I need to rinse the car off first? I'm definitely going to try this on my other cars, but I'm still worried about the black one.



Scottwax, in your YouTube video, you use 2 towels to dry the panel. In your video, you say on your first pass, you leave a little bit of moisture so that you can go over it again with your second towel.



My waffle weave towels are pretty good at picking up the water from the first pass. So is 1 pass all I need?



And do you have a recommendation as far as wash mitt or MF covered sponge?



So with the ONR wash, I use a light hand to wash the car. I am assuming I am also supposed to use a light hand when drying the car?

 

[simplybao]

Also, since I have so much apprehension with this method of washing, I was wondering if it would hurt to mix the ONR to QD strength and spritz the panel first. I'm guessing that it won't hurt.

 

[Scottwax]

So if' I'm doing an ONR wash, do I need to rinse the car off first? I'm definitely going to try this on my other cars, but I'm still worried about the black one.



Scottwax, in your YouTube video, you use 2 towels to dry the panel. In your video, you say on your first pass, you leave a little bit of moisture so that you can go over it again with your second towel.



My waffle weave towels are pretty good at picking up the water from the first pass. So is 1 pass all I need?



And do you have a recommendation as far as wash mitt or MF covered sponge?



So with the ONR wash, I use a light hand to wash the car. I am assuming I am also supposed to use a light hand when drying the car?

I don't use waffle weaves with ONR. You want towels with a thicker nap, seems to work better. ONR = Optimum NO Rinse, no need to pre-rinse unless the car is caked in mud or sand.



When washing, you use pretty much the same pressure you would if conventionally washing, which shouldn't be a lot of pressure. Same with drying.



I use MF covered sponges. They work best for me, others like grout sponges, wash mitts, etc.



When I wash the car, I start at the left front fender and work my way around the car, one panel or section at a time, finishing with the driver's door.

 

[SuperBee364]

Call me a rebel, but I use ONR *exactly* as it says to on the jug.

 

[dervdave]

Life on the wild side eh ?

 

[simplybao]

Call me a rebel, but I use ONR *exactly* as it says to on the jug.

LOL....I don't have any yet. I'm amassing supplies for the Spring and maybe a few Winter washes too if it's not too cold.

 

[Blade9]

I use it as follows:

#1 - 0.5oz/1 gal to to do the wheels and tires, using brushes as in Scottwax's video, and MF towel to dry.

#2 - 1.5oz/3gal, MF towel to wash, WW towel to dry, one panel at a time. In addition, I pre-spritz the dirtier lower panels with pre-mixed ONR (same ratio).



It's a mini-van so I need at least 3 gal of solution. Inside the garage, I also end up using 3 buckets, i.e. the 2BM, plus an overflow bucket. Otherwise the rinse bucket overflows (then I'd need to open the garage door, throw it out, etc. ruins the rhythm...).

 

[simplybao]

I'm pretty excited about trying this out. I'm going to end up with tons of car wash soap, LOL.



I've currently got a gallon of TOL shampoo that I haven't used yet.



I'm also assuming that most of you that do the ONR wash don't do it on a car that is really dirty...i.e. hasn't been hand washed in months. Like in the spring after all the snow has melted.



I don't have a garage, only a car port so it's still a bit cold to be out there hand washing.

 

[pwaug]

I'm also assuming that most of you that do the ONR wash don't do it on a car that is really dirty...i.e. hasn't been hand washed in months. Like in the spring after all the snow has melted.



I don't have a garage, only a car port so it's still a bit cold to be out there hand washing.

Make sure you read all the responses to your original question carefully--yes you can use ONR on a really dirty car. Some go to a local spray and wash to remove the grime, but many of us just spray the car using a garden pressure sprayer with an ONR solution prior to the ONR wash--it works just fine. I ONR wash my car all winter long in NH as long as the temperature is above 32 degrees and the car many times is caked with sand and salt--never had any marring.



Also, if you want some additional information go to the Optimum Forum-- Optimum Forum (Powered by Invision Power Board) as there are tutorials and videos regarding ONR.