Those without garages: How do you detail?

Digging out this old thread since it seemed the most appropriate just ask if anyone has run into problems washing on the street or parking lot?



The garage at my condo is being repaved so we have to park outside. I checked the closest coin ops and they're in pretty dangerous areas especially during off-hours. Very worried for my safety. Perhaps I can drive further distances.



I'm inspired by all the discussions of saving the environment but also I wanted to keep it econimical.

I thought about ONR and rinseless options but worried about getting into trouble with neighbors, authorities about washing on the street. (a side street) since there would be evidence of washing and bulky carrying the buckets. Or maybe I'm worrying too much...



So I was thinking of washing waterless like using Poorboy's Spray and wipe. For heavy jobs...brave the touchless, quickly do the coinops for a quick rinse and come back.



I wanted to stay economical as well, touchless washes are expensive, coinops can use up some money and in my rough calculations, rinseless and waterless are competitive in how much it takes to wash the car.

For waxing, will try in the shade, at night or sunlight friendly products.



What are your thoughts or stories(good and bad) of washing on the street or parking lot using waterless?





Thanks for your time.
 
Corr, a proper ONR wash shouldn't make too much of a mess, as far as water on the ground is concerned. I've done ONRs at offices, curbside, etc. and never had a problem. In fact, I can't imagine anyone having an issue with someone doing an ONR wash just about anywhere--that's one of the main reasons that they're so popular. Good luck with whatever you choose though.
 
so i have a question,for the guys that detail customers cars at the customer's house,what do you do when it comes to needing the power supply for your buffers,if you carry a small air compresor etc...?? do they usually let you use their power or is there any type of "gadget" u carry with you that provides power, or using those voltage converters that you plug to your car?...
 
Thanks for your response Bostonsfavson.



I feel more confident now that I know people haven't really gotten into trouble with using a rinseless.



I believe I'll use both depending on the situation.

Rinseless for most jobs that I am too afraid of using waterless.



And Migue, a fellow weekend warrior in my condo rolls around a huge battery pack and connects his machine to it. I believe there were many posts about using an Inverter from your car and some use a generator.



Thanx all.
 
I used to have a small garage too- apparently people used to drive around in clown cars...

Anyway, my solution was to always park the car half way into the garage -it left me enough room to maneuver and the part I was working on was in the shade. Then I would simply re-park the vehicle to do eh other half. -Depending on the time of day the garage would cast a shadow and cover more of the car anyway.



Now that I think of it, I could even change my oil with the car parked half-way in, the few inches lift allowed enough room to slide under my car- and tilt enough to drain the oil.



Sounds silly, but it worked for me-
 
I'm fully mobile ,with no garage that I can detail in. I have a EZ Up from Dicks. Works fine ,I only use it when it's hot and my wax dries before I can get it off.
 
corrswitch said:
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And Migue, a fellow weekend warrior in my condo rolls around a huge battery pack and connects his machine to it. I believe there were many posts about using an Inverter from your car and some use a generator.



Thanx all.



Thanx I'll go ahead and look into that some more,i already knew about generators but since they're more big/expensive i was looking for a smaller option
 
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