Quick Detailer...while the car is wet or dry?

gravytime

New member
Just curious to know when you guys prefer to apply it. I haven't used a lot of QD before but scored myself some Optimum and Chemical Guys (which I haven't used yet) and was trying to figure out when was the best time to spray that chit on. Tried it dry after washing and drying with good results and then tried it wet this morning (after a wash and misted it on as the car was still wet) and found that I had equally good results. Little less streaking actually, less elbow grease and one less step. Not entirely sure which application was ideal though as I'm fairly new to the QD world and the results may vary according to application. One thing I did appreciate about the wet were the aforementioned benefits but again, I dunno. What are y'all's thoughts when using a QD? What are your application preferences?
 
I've done it both ways. I will use QD while the car is wet just to allow me to dry the car easier. But mainly, I will use a QD when the car is dry.
 
It depends on the QD as not all react the same. IMO when your using a QD wet, all you are doing is diluting the QD down. Yes it is giving you some lube, but not the max gloss.
 
99.99999% of the time I use QD *only* after washing and before/during the drying process. I blow off most of the water first.



The more water you leave on, the more diluted the QD ends up, and the greater the chances of the now-diluted QD running off the car before you dry/buff it.
 
I'm still :think: :confused: :nixweiss about using a rinseless wash instead of a QD for this.



Some people rave about that Ultima, but I'm just nervous about the stuff those products leave behind. The stuff that my QDs leave behind works great for me, and after how things went with ONR I'm pretty nervous about rinseless washes in general.
 
What QD's do you use Accumulator? And yup....didn't blow dry my car or have it crazy beaded up when I added it....just an in betweener more toward the semi dry stage when I added it. Don't reckon it got too diluted. Came out pretty good.
 
Accumulator said:
I'm still :think: :confused: :nixweiss about using a rinseless wash instead of a QD for this.



Some people rave about that Ultima, but I'm just nervous about the stuff those products leave behind. The stuff that my QDs leave behind works great for me, and after how things went with ONR I'm pretty nervous about rinseless washes in general.



+1. Ditto. Me too.
 
Brad B. said:
+1. Ditto. Me too.



I was in that camp for a LONG time. I crossed over to the UWW+ side a couple of weeks ago. The stuff is a fantastic QD as everyone says. Its not the best waterless wash though, seems to really lag behind Opticlean or ONR at removing grease/tar. ONR is so good at grease that I've had great luck doing engine details with it at waterless wash strength.
 
Dan said:
I was in that camp for a LONG time. I crossed over to the UWW+ side a couple of weeks ago. The stuff is a fantastic QD as everyone says..



Ah, appreciate your chiming in, I'll put that on the "plus" side of the argument.



Just FWIW, yesterday I once again did a cursory DI-rinse of both the Tahoe and the white Crown Vic. Both have FK1000P with FK425 after the wash (which was a while ago for both). They'd been rained on after a fair bit of use, and had dried in the garage. They were "dirty vehicles that needed a proper wash", yet merely rinsing off with the CRS and blowing them dry worked fine. OK...not "fine in the Autopian sense", but they look plenty good enough for hauling the dogs around. And they were once again beading great and those beads blew right off, just as if I'd applied something or at least done a proper wash.



I mention that as more evidence that the FK1000P/FK425 combo is just *great* at shedding dirt, very different from my experiences with ONR (the jury's still out on how IUDJ works in this regard).
 
David Fermani said:
There is a product from Auto Magic called Hydro Shine ...



Eh, the product sounds intriguing but the distributors in my area (as per their locator) are no-name PO-Box anonymous entities that I wouldn't want to go through.
 
Accumulator said:
I'm still :think: :confused: :nixweiss about using a rinseless wash instead of a QD for this.



Some people rave about that Ultima, but I'm just nervous about the stuff those products leave behind. The stuff that my QDs leave behind works great for me, and after how things went with ONR I'm pretty nervous about rinseless washes in general.



What happened using ONR ?

I find ONR is very versatile and inexpressive if you buy by the gallon size, plus it leaves a great gloss/protectant.

I basically cannot vouch for the crazy prices they are charging for a bottle of QD at $12-$15/bottle they are selling here retail.
 
I use ONR and I spray QD on when I dry. Assuming your vehicle has a slick finish anyhow, the ONR normally sheets of pretty good and the water that's left just dries that much easier with the QD...and you get some extra slickness for it.
 
EdLancer said:
What happened using ONR ?



I had two issues that don't seem to occur for most people:



- My version of ONR (v2.0 I think, and I tried mixing it with both distilled water and deionized water) messed up Collinite something awful, had to redo the vehicle. Also did this for a pal to whom I'd recommended the ONR- made me look like an idiot ("that stuff you had me buy messed up the wax on the MKII, had to redo it before the show! ***?!?").



- When I cleaned wheels with ONR, the next (conventional method) cleanup was always considerably harder; the brakedust/etc. seemed much more tenacious than usual. I won't risk something like that happening on the rest of the vehicle as dirt simply does not firmly adhere to my LSPs with what I'm doing now.



Again, I realize that most people never have these problems, and some "experts" claimed that I couldn't have really had them either (! :rolleyes: !). But given my experiences I'm now very leery regarding the stuff that rinseless washes leave behind.
 
Accumulator said:
I had two issues that don't seem to occur for most people:



- My version of ONR (v2.0 I think, and I tried mixing it with both distilled water and deionized water) messed up Collinite something awful, had to redo the vehicle. Also did this for a pal to whom I'd recommended the ONR- made me look like an idiot ("that stuff you had me buy messed up the wax on the MKII, had to redo it before the show! ***?!?").



- When I cleaned wheels with ONR, the next (conventional method) cleanup was always considerably harder; the brakedust/etc. seemed much more tenacious than usual. I won't risk something like that happening on the rest of the vehicle as dirt simply does not firmly adhere to my LSPs with what I'm doing now.



Again, I realize that most people never have these problems, and some "experts" claimed that I couldn't have really had them either (! :rolleyes: !). But given my experiences I'm now very leery regarding the stuff that rinseless washes leave behind.



Oh I see, the ONR took away the Collinite's amazing beading ?

Yes, ONR alters the surface tension of the Collinite, but the Collinite protection is still there.



I use ONR as a wipe down just before application of 845IW, removes any airborne dust particles while at the same time providing a sort of polymer sealant like Opti-Seal/AIO for a layering combo.
 
I've used OptiSeal, Prima HydroSeal, P21S, P21S 100%, and PS nuba. I've not had an issue with those products and ONR. I've always wondered about the ONR leave-behind too. Must react with certain products (as obvious above). I'd be curious to know of other products and don't work with ONR. Then we could stay away from one or the other.
 
EdLancer said:
Oh I see, the ONR took away the Collinite's amazing beading ?



And also the slickness (completely) and even left it quite dull looking. I genuinely believe that most anybody would have interpreted these experiences as "the ONR killed the Collinite".



IF the Collinite was still there, it was no longer imparting any of the features that I use Collinite to attain.



In the case of my pal the concours competitor, this was on 476S (and it's also happened to me with 845). The 476S was maybe two weeks old, and it was a huge PIA for my pal, who has physical issues that make waxing a vehicle a genuine challenge at best (not just a case of his wasting an hour or so as it might be for most folks).
 
Generally I use a QD while drying the vehicle, only after removing most of the water through sheeting/air pressure. I have been using ONR+Wax and Griots Speedshine depending on the LSP.



In regards to ONR killing Collinite, I've have mixed experiences. With v3, I had great slickness, but it felt as though the feel of ONR replaced the feel/beading of Collinite. After a couple of washes, the Collinite beading would return. I wondered if the polymers in ONR were bonding to the Collinite and forming a superficial layer of protection that didn't produce the same looks/beading as Collinite.
 
Leadfootluke said:
... With v3, I had great slickness, but it felt as though the feel of ONR replaced the feel/beading of Collinite. After a couple of washes, the Collinite beading would return. I wondered if the polymers in ONR were bonding to the Collinite and forming a superficial layer of protection that didn't produce the same looks/beading as Collinite.



That's interesting to me, especially as the V3 is reputed to be "Collinite friendly"...which I guess can mean different things to different people.
 
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