Waterless car washing

[stripped fred]

I've been given a large bottle of something called 'showroom shine' by my step son which it states doesn't need water and can achieve the aforementioned showroom shine in 30 minutes. There was a bloke I used to work with who used to say how amazing it was but I just can't get my head around how it works. Surely it must scratch the paintwork. Anyone on here tried it?

[Squire_Dawson]

Am extremely sceptical of such claims. As you say, it's bound to scratch the paintwork. There never has, and there never will be, any substitute for clean water and a good car shampoo and wax.

[UltraWomble]

Nah, bucket of water and fairy liquid.

[Craig the Princess]

No, 8 Bulgarians and a pressure gun. 😂

[Guest Breadvan72]

Just lately, AH is turning into WORLD O' DETAILN N WOSHIN CARZ 'N' SHIZ (incorporating Buffers and Fluffers Gazette and Wax your Wanger Weekly).  

[TRW]

Can it be used in the shower? Without water.

[stripped fred]

I'm tempted to wash the car first then use it but I suppose that's missing the point a bit?

[EssDeeWon]

I have a bottle of this and often use it on the Rover.  It is very good stuff, although I would not clean a really filthy car with it.

 

I give it a thumbs up for a wash and polish all in one.

 

You need plenty of rags though as they get very dirty, but then just one needed to buff it all off.

[Dead_E23]

I have gone one step further down this road.  

 

I call it 'waterless washless', and I now have a carbon-offsetting algae farm growing on my panels.  Beat that, Prius owners.

[Timewaster]

Nothing new under the sun.

 

25 years ago I tried some stuff called Zoig that came in a pump spray (no CFCs man) that claimed to be a waterless wash.

 

Incidently, DO NOT Google it! That name is something else now.

 

It was pretty much what Meguires Quick Detailer is, spray on, wipe off.

Only any good for the lightest dirt, rain spots etc. Grit? Mud? Forget it.

[UltraWomble]

 

Incidently, DO NOT Google it! That name is something else now.

You just cant say that without knowing that we will go off and Google it.

Which I did.

[Guest Breadvan72]

I have gone one step further down this road.  

 

I call it 'waterless washless', and I now have a carbon-offsetting algae farm growing on my panels.  Beat that, Prius owners.

 

You are Billy Cavcraft AICMFP.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

25 years ago I tried some stuff called Zoig that came in a pump spray (no CFCs man) that claimed to be a waterless wash.

 

Incidently, DO NOT Google it! That name is something else now.

 

It was pretty much what Meguires Quick Detailer is, spray on, wipe off.

You say it's something else now, but after a safesearch-disabled Google Image Search, I think modern day Zoig also comes in a pump spray, is sprayed on and wiped off.

[Junkman]

I thought that waterless car washing piss take was a thing 30 years ago when we had the Waldsterben and acid rain and the NATO double track decision

and the hole in the ozone layer and the Pershing II and Gorleben and Wackersdorf and the Rain Forest and we were all doomed because getting nuked,

die from skin cancer and dehydration from lack of drink water, which I found rather daft, because who in his right mind would ever drink water,

as long as there is beer?

 

It's all horseshit. A bit like The Climate.

[pshome]

Please send me a bottle to Patagonia, need to return current rental shite today and it can certainly.do with a wash.

 

 

How does it work, I pour it into the tank and then dirt falls magiacally off?

 

By the way, this miserable Fiat has no airbags at all, leaving the dash into the dark. It did surprisingly well. Beating it from the coast to the mountains and down Ruta 40 it did held up remarkebly well. I didn't dare to look underneath though, judging by the noises heard while taking the muddy gravel roads at 80 km/h (only speed you ride in comfort), it must now be all shiny rockblasted steel there.

[saucedoctor]

I'm tempted to wash the car first then use it but I suppose that's missing the point a bit?

 

I have the very same stuff, and that's what I do. It's a very quick way of putting a nice shine on the car. Spray it on to a wee pad like this, and rub it off with a mutton cloth.

[Tamworthbay]

My father in law used some crap he got one Christmas and the paint was never the same again. It was a spray on one with two parts and you shook it to mix it. I would be wary of any of them unless you get a personal recommendation.

[saucedoctor]

Thats what this stuff is. You need to shake it quite a bit. I've only ever used it after washing and drying the car, so dunno if using it as intended would scratch up the paint.

[Tamworthbay]

Thats what this stuff is. You need to shake it quite a bit. I've only ever used it after washing and drying the car, so dunno if using it as intended would scratch up the paint.

This stuff was in a bottle like the cheap window cleaner stuff and has just dulled the paint, I think a machine polish would sort it but it's our old Passat estate he pootles around in, so nearly 20 years old and worth nothing so not worth the hassle. He wasn't best pleased though.

[PiperCub]

Like the OP, I can't get there with it either, I can't help but think it's going to scratch up the paint but my dad has used it for years (he's 83 so you'd have thought he'd not be that open to new ideas!) on his nice new cars and it's never done damage to the paintwork to be fair. 

[richardmorris]

I have used it as a quick wax and polish rather than to wash a dirty car. It's good for that, but I'd suggest spraying it on a cloth to wipe the car and not directly onto the car. Otherwise it will get in all the tiny grills and doorshuts.

[Rod/b]

Over here they have waterless car wash guys in pretty much every car park, including where i work. My car has been washed this way twice a week for a year now and there's not so much as a swirl mark on it. This is a car that lives in a sandy, dusty environment too.

 

This kind of thing: http://waterless.ae

[Aston Martin]

They always sell this stuff on qvc. I personally wouldn't use it.

[mercrocker]

I tried the Turtle Wax stuff.   As richardmorris says, it worked better being sprayed on the cloth then applied to the car.   I thought it would keep my camper van clean whilst in storage where there is no water.   It worked OK and hasn't affected the paint finish which is no worse than before I used it. 

 

Ultimately, though it was just a load of effort for no real gain.   Why not just wash the bloody thing when I get it out in Spring?    

 

It kind of belongs to the showground scene rather than real life, I feel.   Unless you are nowhere near a tap or your car is likely to dissolve in water.

[RoadworkUK]

I don't have a can here to read the instructions from, but I'm pretty sure this is intended to be used to dress an already clean car, not wash it.

 

I used to use its as it name suggests, for adding extra shine to dusty, fingerprinty cars in the showroom.

[Faker]

I've never washed the samba rallye since collecting from the builder 4 years ago. Only ever use a speed detailer to clean it. It never really gets grubby though..

[Crusty Sills]

I got 2 bottles of this for father's Day.

I actually found it quite good. I cleaned the Beetle with it and it left a nice finish. Admittedly it was only a dust off clean but it worked well and smells nice.

I wouldn't use it to clean a really dirty car although it would probably work fine, but the large amount of cloths needed would be annoying.

Using it on Mrs Sills Mazda I took it to the hand car wash first then a quick once over.

 

Verdict

Polishes up nicely on a reasonably clean car. Seems more of a car show, polish during the day kind of thing.

I like it and being convenient makes me actually polish a car rather than just wash and leave.

[richardthestag]

water seems cheaper or not washing it at all

[stripped fred]

I got 2 bottles of this for father's Day.

I actually found it quite good. I cleaned the Beetle with it and it left a nice finish. Admittedly it was only a dust off clean but it worked well and smells nice.

I wouldn't use it to clean a really dirty car although it would probably work fine, but the large amount of cloths needed would be annoying.

Using it on Mrs Sills Mazda I took it to the hand car wash first then a quick once over.

 

Verdict

Polishes up nicely on a reasonably clean car. Seems more of a car show, polish during the day kind of thing.

I like it and being convenient makes me actually polish a car rather than just wash and leave.

I think waterless car washing has it's place like you suggest for a quick going over and when the car isn't too dirty.

[Crusty Sills]

I tried it on my filthy Daily and after a wing and a door had 4 dirty microfibre towels. Decided then it's a use after wash or for minimal cleaning. It does smell nice though!!!!