JDK Posted April 8, 2007 Posted April 8, 2007 Having used up the last of my Dri-Wash and tried a different brand, Freedom Waterless Car Wash, and I love it. It comes in 2 formulas, one with carnumba wax and the other plain. I can clean my car in 10-15 minutes and it looks like it was just polished. At $25 (inc. S/H) for a 32 oz spray it should last me for several washes and save quite a few $$'s. For an even better deal, you can order a 12 pack and only pay about $11 per bottle and sell a few to get your's for free! It will NOT scratch your paint if you pre-spray your micro fiber cloth first. I have a black LS and it is perfectly safe! You can order it direct from this link below. http://www.freedomwaterlesscarwash.com/fre.../freedomone.php
SW03ES Posted April 9, 2007 Posted April 9, 2007 I would no sooner use a product like that on my car than I would Dri-Wash. Theres just no way to guard against marring the paint. Using something like ONR or QEW adds a little big of liquid to the scenario which helps.
JDK Posted April 9, 2007 Author Posted April 9, 2007 Like I mentioned, I've used both Dri-Wash and Freedom on my black LS and it has never left a scratch, or anything even close, on the finish. Living in the crazy weather of Ohio it allows me to quickly clean my car before pulling out of the garage so it looks pretty much pristine 99% of the time, no matter what the temperature is outside. If I had a floor drain and heater in my garage I would probably use soap and water but I don't so this works out really well for me plus it only takes 10-15 minutes. I think the biggest problem a lot of people have had is that they did not spray the towel prior to working on the car, I can see where that may cause a swirl or scratch. I realize not everyone will want to try it but I simply wanted to pass along how well it works for me.
TOGWT Posted April 10, 2007 Posted April 10, 2007 IMO the new 'Green' waterless wash product will replace bucket / hose washing in the very near future. Waterless Car Washing: When sprayed on a dirty surface, surfactants break down the dirt, by releasing its bond it with the surface, encapsulating the soil particles, the polymers provide surface lubrication to enable safe (marring free) removal Use a Monster Fluffy towel for washing. Take one towel and wet it with as per directions. Wring it out and make a single pass per clean side of the towel. You can get 4-8 passes, with the towel folded in quarters. Each pass is then done with a perfectly clean towel surface and you're never rinsing any dirt out and releasing it in to your wash or rinse water. You can do the whole car with 2-4 towels. Apply no pressure to the towel, just glide it over the surface and only make one pass in one direction with a clean towel surface. Products- Monster Fluffy towel - http://www.detailersparadise.com/_system/_.../qryDefault.asp Freedom Waterless Car Wash http//:www.exceldetail.com (See also Optimum No Rinse (ONR), Quick Easy Wash (QEW)
mburnickas Posted April 10, 2007 Posted April 10, 2007 Well having used Dri-wash since the early 1990s and ever then newer ion stuff (for 2002 I think and newer paints), yes it work (somewhat) HOWEVER , you WILL get a better shine & slickness from ONR. Also you will, again WILL marr the paint. I have used it for too long to see it. Personally have used it for over 10 years, I would never used it again. There are better products are the market. If someone likes it have at it, I will take ONR and JW, CG and Clearkote products over dri-wash anyday. AS much as I like ONR etc, I much disgree they are the future. Most people shop at "china mar"t etc and, for example, most people are not going to pay $35 to $40 for a gallon of ONR. Not gonna happen. Let alone people wash there car. It will take a major price reduction to get more people to but them, I feel.
JDK Posted April 11, 2007 Author Posted April 11, 2007 Well having used Dri-wash since the early 1990s and ever then newer ion stuff (for 2002 I think and newer paints), yes it work (somewhat) HOWEVER , you WILL get a better shine & slickness from ONR. Also you will, again WILL marr the paint. I have used it for too long to see it. Personally have used it for over 10 years, I would never used it again. There are better products are the market. If someone likes it have at it, I will take ONR and JW, CG and Clearkote products over dri-wash anyday. AS much as I like ONR etc, I much disgree they are the future. Most people shop at "china mar"t etc and, for example, most people are not going to pay $35 to $40 for a gallon of ONR. Not gonna happen. Let alone people wash there car. It will take a major price reduction to get more people to but them, I feel. Please note that I was talking about Freedom (water based) not Dri-Wash (kero based). I used to use Dri-Wash but switched to Freedom which has a bit of carnuba in it and the shine gets better with each use (as described). FYI-I'm new to this forum and so I had not heard of the products that you and others have described above and I'm certainly not against trying any of them and I'm sure I will. I'm extremely picky about my car and would never put anything on it that would hurt the finish, especially since it's black and would be extremely easy to see. Had I found this forum a few years ago I most likely would have purchased a good used LS instead of a new one. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my car, but I was afraid of repair costs on a used one but now that I'm "informed", I realize that repairs are not common and I probably would have been just as pleased with a good $20K and put the $40K in my pocket!!
SW03ES Posted April 11, 2007 Posted April 11, 2007 I've never used Freedom, but I really didn't like DriWash so I'm skeptical...
mburnickas Posted April 11, 2007 Posted April 11, 2007 I love the "gently rub in" or the price...thanks but nope.
JDK Posted April 11, 2007 Author Posted April 11, 2007 This is a tough group!! :P Another satisfied user that owns a detail shop: Freedom Waterless Car Wash--The Best Is Improved When my friend Dave at Freedom Waterless Car Wash sent me a bottle of his new formula, I didn't expect much. The original formula was awesome all by itself. I thought, this ought to be fun. Freedom Waterless Car Wash is the best and has a fragrance that makes it sush a luxury to wash your car. Okay, so It had rained here in Upstate NY and I did some highway traveling so my car was needless to say very dirty and filmy. When the sunny weather returned I had to clean my car. I can't stand my car being dirty at all. I was actually going to go to the car wash and hose it down, dry it off and wax it if the truth be told. I looked in my trunk to make sure I had enough clean microfiber towels for the job and there was this mango colored liquid in a spray bottle that said Freedom Waterless Car Wash New Formula. I thought, oh yeah, I get to test the new formula from Freedom, my favorite Waterless Car Wash! I started in the back on the bumper and the area behind the tires where the dirt really gets thick. I sprayed Freedom Waterless Car Wash directly onto the dirt and grime and took my microfiber towel and wiped the dirt loose. The fragrance had me at hello--very fruity! Then I flipped the towel over to the clean side and wiped the surface to a clean, shiny finish. I buffed to a mirror-like finish and proceede to the next area. Moving forward...It was as if I had just waxed my car. Very impressive. Then applied more Freedom Waterless Car Wash on my rims, grabbed a clean towel and began to wipe away the road film and watched my rims emerge from behind a cloud of film. Freedom Waterless Car Wash is indeed improved in fact, it has been perfected! I proceeded to finish my entire vehicle only to find that my vehicle was just washed and waxed without using a drop of water. Even my rims got were cleaned--that is so cool. This tells me that I don't have to be home or at a car wash to wash my car, I could wash my car anywhere if I wish. I am so very impressed with Freedom Waterless Car Wash. Their waterless car wash is the best. It really delivers what it promises and the fragrance is very nice, no chemical smell. I just love it, can you tell? Visit Dave at FreedomWaterlessCarWash.com for the best waterless car wash on the market. You will be so happy to have found this product!! ____________________________________________________________________________________ The owner below swears by Freedom, I wouldn't think he's want to scratch his car either http://autopia.org/forum/detailing-product...h-products.html
mburnickas Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 Problem is go over read salt/sand. It will marr and I do not even use it. Just like a Dr-wash commerical. #2 is the car you have posted is nice but looking at the picture, it is lacking bigtime in wetness, gloss, depth, etc. Looks dull in my eyes but that is me. I have been on autipia for years. Not many use Freedome spray. If you like it great. I will take ONR, JW prime and AJT combined with CG5050 wax. Looks much better in the end result; and cheaper too.
SW03ES Posted April 12, 2007 Posted April 12, 2007 Owning a detail shop is actually a strike against the guy, probably only 10% of car detailers know what they're doing. I've seen detail shops do work that is appauling. The fact that the guy was going to "go to the car wash, hose it down, and wax it" shows me he doesn't know what he's doing. Professional detailers or hobbyists who know what they are doing don't "hose cars down and dry them" because thats the surest way to marr the paint surface. That sounds like a sales pitch to me anyways. Look, you gotta realize the mechanics here. You have paint, and you have dirt. If the dirt is not suspended as its cleaned from the paint surface it will scratch. Washing does this with suds, products like QEW and ONR do it chemically and float the suds away in the water they're suspended in. With a product like this there is nothing to float the dirt away. I guarantee you, if *I* looked at your car I would find marring from using that stuff. Mburnickas was the same way when he met me about DriWash until he tried the stuff I told him to try, and he realized I was right. Pictures don't tell you anything. You can take a picture of a car in horrible condition and make it look good ith the right stuff to reflect off of it and the right angles, and you can take a picture of a pristine car and have it look underwhelming like that picture of the Porsche. Actually read what they're saying on that Autopia link you posted, the fellow who posted the Porsche (aka Patrick, great detailer) and everybody else says repeatedly to only use products like this when the car is lightly dirty and you don't need dirt encapsulation or you will have marring.
JDK Posted April 13, 2007 Author Posted April 13, 2007 Ok, I get the point and I promise I will try the other products that have been recommended. ;) FYI-I would never use Freedom on my car if it was truely "dirty" or encrusted with something like salt, mud, etc. I've only used it after driving home in the rain or it is extremely dusty. For us newbies, it would really be helpful to us if abbreviations were not always used when recommending a product. (I will take ONR, JW prime and AJT combined with CG5050 wax....HUH???) I realize that you may have typed it in a thread a hundred times but I have to Google the stuff until I find it, maybe. It took several tries to figure out what CG was. I've noticed quite a few new members listed and my guess is that at least a few of them have the same problem as I do. After reading several threads on detailing I just received a jar of P21S Wax which I'll use after I clay bar. I'm also a fan of the Zaino products but I realize that I've never been able to get the "depth" out of my black car like I should have gotten. I did read someplace that the writer had used a clay bar, then a polish, P21S followed by Zaino Z-8 Grand Finale Spray Seal. He claimed he got both the depth from the P21S and the durability from the Zaino. Any thoughts on this?
SW03ES Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 Do try em, I bet you'll be impressed. I know the abbreviations are annoying. They come from those of us who post on Autopia, there's a rather extensive glossary on there that I might ask David if I can borrow that tells everybody what the abbreviations are... As for the Zaino with the P21S. That will get you the look of the P21S over the protection of Zaino. However, P21S is so easy to apply I'd skip the Zaino and just do that once a month...
mburnickas Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 For us newbies, it would really be helpful to us if abbreviations were not always used when recommending a product. (I will take ONR, JW prime and AJT combined with CG5050 wax....HUH???) I realize that you may have typed it in a thread a hundred times but I have to Google the stuff until I find it, maybe. It took several tries to figure out what CG was. I've noticed quite a few new members listed and my guess is that at least a few of them have the same problem as I do.Just FYI http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=32480 http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=35514 http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=34951 added note: Since SW showed me QEW, I went with ONR though. Now I still love JW since it goes a long way, easy to use and durability is over 6 months. CG5050 I like since it again adds a little "nuba" shown. I have gone so far as 3+ month with it and looks nice. I tried Zaino clearshield (CS) and so far I like it. I think JW with quickshine will do the samething;but doing "nothing" helps alot with CS. If you like something else, that is all that matters. I tried Nattys blue and it did not hold up well etc. Nice wax for the money, but I like CG better.
JDK Posted April 13, 2007 Author Posted April 13, 2007 Do try em, I bet you'll be impressed.I know the abbreviations are annoying. They come from those of us who post on Autopia, there's a rather extensive glossary on there that I might ask David if I can borrow that tells everybody what the abbreviations are... As for the Zaino with the P21S. That will get you the look of the P21S over the protection of Zaino. However, P21S is so easy to apply I'd skip the Zaino and just do that once a month... I purchased a pack of Clay Magic, a bottle of Rain-X Bug & Tar remover and some detail brushes. I already have quite a bit of Zaino Z-PC Fusion Dual Action Paint Cleaner Swirl Remover, ZFX Flash Cure Accelerator Additive,Z-2 PRO Show Car Polish for Clear Coated Car Finishes,Z-6 Ultra Clean Gloss Enhancer Spray,Z-8 Grand Finale Spray Seal and P21S. (See, no abreviations!! ) How would you suggest I go about getting the best results with the products I already have at hand? (Once these are used up I may try different items but for now I want to just see how they will do) Thanks!
JDK Posted April 14, 2007 Author Posted April 14, 2007 For us newbies, it would really be helpful to us if abbreviations were not always used when recommending a product. (I will take ONR, JW prime and AJT combined with CG5050 wax....HUH???) I realize that you may have typed it in a thread a hundred times but I have to Google the stuff until I find it, maybe. It took several tries to figure out what CG was. I've noticed quite a few new members listed and my guess is that at least a few of them have the same problem as I do.Just FYI http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=32480 http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=35514 http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=34951 added note: Since SW showed me QEW, I went with ONR though. Now I still love JW since it goes a long way, easy to use and durability is over 6 months. CG5050 I like since it again adds a little "nuba" shown. I have gone so far as 3+ month with it and looks nice. I tried Zaino clearshield (CS) and so far I like it. I think JW with quickshine will do the samething;but doing "nothing" helps alot with CS. If you like something else, that is all that matters. I tried Nattys blue and it did not hold up well etc. Nice wax for the money, but I like CG better. I will say that your car looks great!!
SW03ES Posted April 14, 2007 Posted April 14, 2007 What you don't have, and what I was suggesting you get was a bottle of something like ONR (Optimum No Rinse) to try out instead of the stuff you've been using to wash...
mburnickas Posted April 14, 2007 Posted April 14, 2007 What you don't have, and what I was suggesting you get was a bottle of something like ONR (Optimum No Rinse) to try out instead of the stuff you've been using to wash... I agree. Get a 32 oz bottle to try. anyone will like it.
JDK Posted April 14, 2007 Author Posted April 14, 2007 I have the ONR on order to be delivered next week. I figure I can always use the Freedom on my wife's pearl white '95 Avalon. What are your thoughts on a buffer or polisher? Is it necessary to use one and if so what is your preference? I realize the Porter Cable 7424 ($109) may or may not get out swirl marks and the polisher ($200+) will. I noticed that mburnickas uses the Makita 9227C. I'm simply trying to get a great shine but have no intention of entering it in any shows!
SW03ES Posted April 14, 2007 Posted April 14, 2007 Yeah I think if you're going to get into detailing you need one. I have a Porter Cable random orbiter which suits my needs just fine, but I don't have much swirl correction to do nowadays. The PC ABSOLUTELY will get out swirl marks, it just takes a little time and technique. I do not reccomend that a novice go straight to a rotary like Mburn's Makita. Rotaries require a lot of practice, and unlike with a PC you can absolutely damage your paint with a rotary. Its best to start out with the PC and then move up to a rotary and practice on a practice panel before bringing it to your car.
mburnickas Posted April 14, 2007 Posted April 14, 2007 I agree with SW03 here. If you have never used either before, get the PC. The Rotary is faster, easier etc ONCE you know what you are doing. If not, you could have major issues with your paint. Love my makita but you need to learn to walk, then run. Not being mean but it would be like buying a new motorcycle even before you ride.
JDK Posted April 14, 2007 Author Posted April 14, 2007 I agree with SW03 here. If you have never used either before, get the PC. The Rotary is faster, easier etc ONCE you know what you are doing. If not, you could have major issues with your paint. Love my makita but you need to learn to walk, then run. Not being mean but it would be like buying a new motorcycle even before you ride. I agree. When I was in my early 20's I worked at a custom body shop where we painted Corvettes and custom bikes "old style" that had to be wet sanded and polished, but that's been 30 yrs ago. With the PC, several sites also sell a 6" backplate and different pads and bonnets. Won't the OEM on the Porter work OK?
mburnickas Posted April 14, 2007 Posted April 14, 2007 I agree. When I was in my early 20's I worked at a custom body shop where we painted Corvettes and custom bikes "old style" that had to be wet sanded and polished, but that's been 30 yrs ago. With the PC, several sites also sell a 6" backplate and different pads and bonnets. Won't the OEM on the Porter work OK? Depends. I do not know the pad that comes with it (PC), but I like to have several different pads. Some whites, blues, black etc for different paintness corrections. Since lexus has soft paint, I like whites, blues and orange (if needed); most times not. Pads are also cheap and you can never have enough. They are like 6 to $9 each.
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