I've tried one of the waterless car wash sprays on the CC3 and can report it works very well.
To make the test realistic, I followed the instructions, apply with one microfibre cloth, and buff off with another.
The car was dirty, and the stuff did exactly what it says it does.
The result is a car which looks like it's been washed and polished.
Juggling two cloths and the spray is a bit of a fiddle, doing the whole car (except the wheels) took about 45 minutes.
The stuff is very even-tempered (unlike its owner) and buffs off any surface easily leaving no marks or residue.
Glass came up especially well - clean and smear-free with very little effort.
It's very counter-intuitive applying a dry cloth to dirty paintwork, but the fight against swirly scratches on the CC3 was lost months ago.
No need to rub hard, just mist over and leave for a few seconds, and the dirt comes away.
My putting-on cloth was filthy at the end, but came up clean when I swilled it in water - presumably, the stuff stops the dirt sticking to the cloth.
Time will tell, but I can't see any downsides for someone like me who likes a clean, shiny car, but is not obsessive about it.
This is what I have: www.readytovalet.com/Waterless_Car_Wash/cat388158_332121.aspx
Greased Lightning looks similar, but is more expensive.
Video demo here: www.greasedlightning.co.uk/howsrsworks/
I read somewhere ASDA now sells another version, endorsed by Tiff Needell.
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It is good stuff iffy. I use QD when it's just dusty. A 5 min scoot round during summer means you can keep it clean between washes.
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I've always been sceptical about this type of product but I have tried it a couple of years ago on an old car and it brought the paint work back to life very nice.
Now ive moved house and have no outside tap, this might be a thing to try again. I suppose it saves the hassle of washing and polishing and ultimatly time.
I think I would need to jet wash off first to get big chunks of mud off round the wheels, arches and bottom of doors and it should work ok.
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... I would need to jet wash off first to get big chunks of mud off round the wheels, arches and bottom of doors...
Makes sense, although I would let the car dry before using the stuff, or you might get a slippery wet mess on the cloths/paintwork.
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Have used Greased Lightning. Good overall on the paintwork. Leaves white marks on black plastic trim. Not so great on glass. Overspray on mudflaps and tyres leaves white spots.
Will give the item highlighted above a try as it is cheaper.
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I've used it for a while,had no problems on glass unless its my eye sight.;)
Would't use it on a muckey car hose first to get writ of the crud.Leaves a nice shine .
Try drywash ok on glass.
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Interesting to see it works but unless there is a water shortage I kind of wonder what's the point? A quick slosh over with a bucket of water and a little car shampoo is hardly difficult and a lot cheaper
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...I kind of wonder what's the point? A quick slosh over with a bucket of water and a little car shampoo is hardly difficult and a lot cheaper...
I think the effort/reward equation is superior.
A washed and polished car for about the same, or a little less, effort than a washed and wiped over one.
Cleaner windows, too.
Sloshing water around is not much fun in winter, so using the stuff may become even more attractive as the colder weather approaches.
As regards cost, if my next few washes go well, I shall buy a 5litre container which is under £20 delivered.
That should do at least 40 washes which comes to 50p each.
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These waterless washes have their uses but most of the damage to a car occurs underneath and in wheel arches so regular hosing out or a visit to a jet wash is still necessary.
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I have seen these products on the shopping channels and have always been somewhat sceptical, however if someone were to buy me some I might give it a try on my 2 year old Golf.
However that car is in metallic Silver which is very forgiving of showing swirls and scratches etc. Would I use it on dark metallics? Well the answer to that, is a resounding no.
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I cannot get my head around applying a more or less dry cloth to paint coated in abrasive muck, including the 'dust' from the Sahara that descended a few months ago. Yet there are many good reports of this stuff.
I found another good product a couple of weeks ago. I'll make a new topic.
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After reading Iffy's glowing report on thee waterless spray & shine we decided it would be perfect for the caravan because it's stored where there is no water available.
On Saturday we set off with microfibre cloths and a brand new bottle of spray & shine.
It really is good stuff, produced no scratches at all and even got the watermarks off which are normally resistant to washing or polishing.
Managed to get the front done and it looked lovely, then down the off side and stood back to admire the shine. Started on the back.......and the aerosol sprayer refused to work.
Took it to bits and put it back together again but nothing would make it go
( I know, perhaps it needs running under the tap to unclog it?)
So here we are off to Kent in a couple of weeks with half a clean caravan and half of the back looking ridiculous.
Ready to valet will wake up to a strong email of complaint this morning.
What is the point in developing an excellent product only to pack it in inferior packaging?
Pat
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Pat pour the liquid into a empty sprayer.You can buy them from any garden shop or poundshop.
I always have a few empty spray bottles in the shed
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Yes, that's a good idea Dutchie and we'll do that but for almost a tenner, I expect them to provide a container that works!
Where have you been? I've missed you:)
Pat
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I've had a couple of spray bottles fail on different cleaning chemicals over the years, and I thought the bottle supplied with waterless car wash was particularly cheap.
I'm sure any other atomiser would work.
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>> but came up clean when I swilled
>> it in water -
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>>
>>
Waterless?
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...but came up clean when I swilled it in water...Waterless?...
The cloth.
Read the thread title: 'Waterless car wash.'
It's not: 'Waterless waterless car wash putting on cloth wash.'
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OK, OK, poor attempt at jocular pedantry. It was billed as being useful for saving water, I couldn't resist the point that the water was applied to the cloth not the car.
A bit like an animal-friendly vegetarian diet but the vegeburgers are delivered by a man who likes real steaks. :)
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...It was billed as being useful for saving water...
Not by me, although swilling a cloth uses a lot less water than washing the car.
The benefits are not having to fill buckets and carry them to the car, a saving of both time and effort.
Doing that in the cold can be uncomfortable, and I don't see why the stuff shouldn't work in sub-zero temperatures when water would freeze as soon as it's sloshed on the car.
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I wandered into my local Robert Dyas last weekend, looking for lightbulbs. On the way in I noticed a promo video for a waterless car wash product called (repeatedly, to lodge it in my mind) Mantis Instant Shine. It is, of course, magic, but £9 a litre seems a lot to pay when water is so cheap and generally works so well. (Rather spend that on a decent bottle of red for afterwards.)
The video then ran on to push another product, Mantis Scratch Remover. That is, of course, magic too, but at least I can see a use for this if it works. Like many dark-coloured cars, my Volvo has fine scratches on the left side from occasional flirtings with overhanging brambles and the like. This stuff claims to remove (or more likely conceal) them without requiring a colour match. Anyone tried it? Any good?
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>> £9 a litre seems a lot to pay
It is, even a well proven, but big brand name product like Meguiars Quick Detailer is only £4.40 / litre, delivered, undiluted (normally used 1:1 - 1:5 with distilled water depending on the application). There are better products than megs QD for cleaning a car but just for illustration...
>> This stuff claims to remove (or more likely conceal) them without requiring a colour match. Anyone tried it? Any good?
Not that exact one, but these products are normally a resin 'filler' with a synthetic sealant mixed in so that the magic doesn't wash away in the first rain.
Less effective than a traditional all in one (typically branded AIO) as the latter have a light polishing action as well as the resin and sealer. The polish taking the hard edges off of scratches so reducing their ability to reflect light and be seen. Examples are Zaino AIO and Autoglym SRP.
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I've used a coloured car polish in the past.
No need for an exact match, just buy the one that's nearest to the colour of the car.
Works OK, the immediate effect is quite good, but the scratches reappear after a short time.
www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/208003/turtle_wax_color_magic_plus.html
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Just been out to do the CC3 with the magic spray and I can report it still works.
Handy at this time of year not having to use water, which I suspect would have frozen on the car.
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Waterless car wash - it works - Skoda
