TLMitchell
is dazed & confused
Bitfryer said:
I'm not the original poster but here's a write-up I posted elsewhere regarding my first ONR use on a grungy, gritty black vehicle.
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Greetings all,
I've been reading all the threads on just about every forum singing the praises of Optimum No-Rinse. I figure I probably oughta have anything that's getting such universal raves in my arsenal. Then again, I've got an integral, heated, 3-bay garage with hot n cold water and floor drains ::::scratching head:::: Why would I use ONR?!?
I have found some times when the vehicles aren't quite dirty enough to drag out the hose or heat up the garage. For those times I've been using Poorboy's Spray & Wash and been ecstatic with the results. However, considering some pro detailers report using ONR on their details instead of a wet wash I figgered I needed to see what the hub-bub is all about.
FedEx dropped off a box of goodies today with a qt of ONR inside. I've got a couple of days off and my GMC truck is gonna get the full treatment while I try out the new Flex that arrived last week. The truck's gettin' a wet wash and blow dry so I conscripted my S.O.'s black Hyundai Tucson for a little test.
The Hyundai received a polish and detail about a month ago. I figgered it'd be a good candidate for revealing any marring that might occur using ONR. Winter arrived hard and early in NE Ohio so some marks may be the result of salt, crud and numerous washings. Still, I wanted to test this stuff out.
She pulled in the garage with the Tucson covered in typical winter grime and salt spray. Fortunately, winter gave us a bit of a respite and there wasn't ice and snow all over it and the wheel wells weren't packed. I initially decided to do a spot-test and just do the hood because we're expecting a few days of rain, snow & ice.... no sense in going through the effort to have a pristine vehicle for all of 10 minutes next time it leaves the garage. Intending to just do the hood I read the mixing instructions and added an ounce of ONR to a couple of gallons of water. I washed the hood and dried.... and for some strange reason I thought I could actually stop there. D'OH! No chance....
I don't have a full complement of 'before' pics because I wasn't planning on doing the whole car or writing a review. After a couple more panels and seeing the results I thought it might be a good idea to take some pictures. Not much room to maneuver with two vehicles in the garage so there aren't any full-views and not many specifically targeted before and afters.
I did the left front fender after the hood...... the contrast between it, the rest of the side and the cruddy front wheel is plainly visible.
The rest of the left side.... the pictures don't actually show how grimey and gritty everything is. When I got down to the rockers and started hearing the grit grinding I wondered if this might be a little more than ONR was designed to handle.
left side after:
Right front wheel and fender before:
Right side after, front wheel still uncleaned:
Right front wheel clean:
Random after shots, some with flash, some not:
I used a blue chenille MF wash mitt which others have recommended for use with ONR. It picked up the grit but didn't appear to want to get rid of the dirt when going back in the bucket. Still, I detected no scratching and the mitt loaded with ONR & water glided over the cruddy surfaces. When I got to the wheels and wells I couldn't bear to use one of my favortie mitts so I dug out one of my old cheapie, underhood mitts. Here's the aftermath:
When emptying the bucket there was not only grit in the bottom, there was mud I had to dig out with my hand. I guess ONR gets things clean, huh?
I'm still undecided on this product for my uses. If my vehicle needs washed or I'm going to do someone else's I prefer a wet wash. It gets the crevices clean as well as water in the door jambs and around the hood and trunk which enables a quick wipe to leave 'em sparkling. With ONR you'd have to clean 'em specifically.
It took me a little over an hour to do the whole vehicle and I didn't get the nooks and crannies nor did I clean the jambs or wipe around under the hood the way I usually do with a wet wash. It takes me a little over an hour to wash, blow-dry and blot with waffle-weave as well as all the jambs and a light wipe under the hood using my traditional 2-bucket method so I didn't save any time. And the results are no better. IMO, than using PB's Spray & Wipe on the car if it weren't so cruddy and grimey. Truth is, this car needed *washed*. But it was a good test for ONR, which does what it's supposed to do and does it well.
I gotta wonder about the pros that report using ONR when they detail a customer's car instead of dragging out the hose. I s'pose if the vehicle is 'Southern California dirty' vs 'NE Ohio winter dirty' it'd be a time and water saver. For those that don't have access to a hose or garage this stuff would be the ticket as well.
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Some conclusions reached as a result of the experience and replies to this post on other forums:
To use ONR on a really, gritty, "winter-cruddy" car I oughta be using 2 buckets. Spraying the ONR mixture and letting it dwell would be a good thing on the crummiest areas of the car.
That said, with a heated garage with water and drains a wet wash is no problem for me. I see many situations where others without the facilities would use ONR differently. For my usage, ONR will probably be for times the vehicle isn't dirty enough to drag out the hose. It will be especially useful on the motorcycles that are a real pain in the neck to wet-wash and rarely need it unless I spend a lot of time in the rain. Your mileage may vary....
TL
