Washing with water restrictions

evildoer

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I'm steaming right now! Since I've got my new car I've been pretty good about keeping her clean by giving her a wash every week. I even bought a foam fun (so fun to use lol) and a bunch of other supplies. Then I get a letter from my home owners association saying that I'm not allowed to wash my car out in the driveway due to our drought, ok understandable. I'm just pissed because I spent $150 on car washing supplies and now I can't even use it. I've even thought of driving down to my in laws to use their driveway, but that's like 25 min away just to get a wash in, and I'd have to haul all my cleaning gear around which could be annoying. So far I've been driving down to my local coin op to get her done. Not too crazy about it, sucks having to wait for other people to finish..

So with that being said, I was thinking of waterless car washing in my garage. My car doesn't get real dirty, mainly dust and bird crap from parking outside at work. Anyone doing this at home? Any recommendations? Or should I not go this route?
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evildoer

evildoer

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Don'tcha love when neighbors rat you out?

I alternate between Meguiar's Gold Class + their Waterless Wax & Wash (http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G3626-Ultimate-Anywhere-Spray/dp/B006FUT0CS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460856424&sr=8-1&keywords=meguiar's+waterless) or a Coin-Op + the waterless wash. I'm sure there are better solutions, but this has been working well for the most part for a basic wash.
Hey thanks! I'll definitely look into this. Haha since you mentioned, I do know who the rat is. Some lady I yelled at years ago for not shutting up her barking dog at midnight. I'm sure it was her lol

Edit: At the coin op, I'm assuming you do the 2 bucket method rather than the coin ops brush, lol
 

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Hey thanks! I'll definitely look into this. Haha since you mentioned, I do know who the rat is. Some lady I yelled at years ago for not shutting up her barking dog at midnight. I'm sure it was her lol

Edit: At the coin op, I'm assuming you do the 2 bucket method rather than the coin ops brush, lol
I'm lazy. I don't use the brush nor the 2 bucket method, I just wash it with the presoak, high-pressure soap, rinse, wax, and spot-free rinse, then finish up with the waterless wash at home. It's such a bitch to keep my color clean that I don't wanna take up too much time doing it...plus car has already had swirl marks from day one :( I bought it at night, couldn't tell then.
 

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I've actually read people using the covered coin op car washes to wash their cars, but only using their water and bringing their own stuff (buckets, soap, mitts, etc.)

My friend's condo has their own coin op car wash, and he tells me that's what he does.

Hey thanks! I'll definitely look into this. Haha since you mentioned, I do know who the rat is. Some lady I yelled at years ago for not shutting up her barking dog at midnight. I'm sure it was her lol

Edit: At the coin op, I'm assuming you do the 2 bucket method rather than the coin ops brush, lol
 


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evildoer

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I've actually read people using the covered coin op car washes to wash their cars, but only using their water and bringing their own stuff (buckets, soap, mitts, etc.)

My friend's condo has their own coin op car wash, and he tells me that's what he does.
Lol I knew you'd chime in sometime! Wow their own coin op wash?! So cool! Yes that's what I've been doing, I feel the people at the coin op looking at me all weird when I pull out the two buckets lol I cringe when I see them using the brush. For $5 all I use is their water and shade. It would be awesome if I can minimize trips to the coin op by using a waterless wash at home. I'm just not sure who to go with, meguairs or Chemical Guys. I seen in another thread you mentioning CG eco smart is what you use. Would this be what I need in between washes to keep the car clean? Maybe cut my trips to every other week? How many MF towels do you go through? And how's the wax it leaves behind?
 
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I'm lazy. I don't use the brush nor the 2 bucket method, I just wash it with the presoak, high-pressure soap, rinse, wax, and spot-free rinse, then finish up with the waterless wash at home. It's such a bitch to keep my color clean that I don't wanna take up too much time doing it...plus car has already had swirl marks from day one :( I bought it at night, couldn't tell then.
Interesting, sounds way too easy lol
 

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Awe crap. I've become predictable lol. My friend and I bought our cars the same time so we've been exchanging tips and he mentioned his condo has a community car wash area where you pay for time, I think he said it's $1.50 per 5 minutes, and he can either use the water or the brush that spews soap, and once it runs out, you just add more coins as needed.

I've used both. Eco Smart is pretty much like Meguiar's Spray and Wash. I've decided to stay with CG's Eco Smart because it'll be cheaper in the long run. I think you can get a whole gallon for under $30 while Meguiar's is like $13 a 16 oz bottle.

I've gotten lazy so I haven't washed my car in about 3 weeks lol, and I've been keeping it cleaned with the spray wash. It actually works really well (I've only heard about this method 2 months ago myself) which is probably why I've gotten so long not washing it :)

The wax on it seem pretty good. It rained today and my car seem to be beading well. It left a few pollen when it dried but when I pulled it in the garage, it quickly came off when I used a duster. The spray wash might be what'll make me lazier lol.

Lol I knew you'd chime in sometime! Wow their own coin op wash?! So cool! Yes that's what I've been doing, I feel the people at the coin op looking at me all weird when I pull out the two buckets out lol I cringe when I see them using the brush. For $5 all I use is their water and shade. It would be awesome if I can minimize trips to the coin op by using a waterless wash at home. I'm just not sure who to go with, meguairs or Chemical Guys. I seen in another thread you mentioning CG eco smart is what you use. Would this be what I need in between washes to keep the car clean? Maybe cut my trips to every other week? And how's the wax it leaves behind?
 
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Awe crap. I've become predictable lol. My friend and I bought our cars the same time so we've been exchanging tips and he mentioned his condo has a community car wash area where you pay for time, I think he said it's $1.50 per 5 minutes, and he can either use the water or the brush that spews soap, and once it runs out, you just add more coins as needed.

I've used both. Eco Smart is pretty much like Meguiar's Spray and Wash. I've decided to stay with CG's Eco Smart because it'll be cheaper in the long run. I think you can get a whole gallon for under $30 while Meguiar's is like $13 a 16 oz bottle.

I've gotten lazy so I haven't washed my car in about 3 weeks lol, and I've been keeping it cleaned with the spray wash. It actually works really well (I've only heard about this method 2 months ago myself) which is probably why I've gotten so long not washing it :)

The wax on it seem pretty good. It rained today and my car seem to be beading well. It left a few pollen when it dried but when I pulled it in the garage, it quickly came off when I used a duster. The spray wash might be what'll make me lazier lol.
Haha! Let's just say I surf the threads, and you seem to be known as the detail guy. Funny cause I was hoping you'd run into my thread.

Damn, $1.50 for a whole 5 minutes! I'm getting ripped off at $2.50 for 4 minutes. And my method requires 2 cycles, so I'm at $5.00 per wash. I would avoid them brushes, you never know if the last person layed it on the ground which could be disasterous.

Yeah I watched a few CG vids using Ecosmart, it really seems too good to be true. People even commenting, saying that there's no way that it wouldn't scratch the paint when being used on a muddy rear fender, which led me to doubt the product. In that case I would obviously take the car to the coin op before even attempting Ecosmart. Now from what your telling me, it sounds like the product is doing a pretty good job with beading water and looking clean for a whole 3 weeks! How often are you touching up with Ecosmart? Are you diluting or using the "ready to use"? I think I'm leaning towards this product. Shit I can live without the coin op for 3 weeks, if anything I can visit my in laws every 3 weeks and use my foam gun. I really miss using that thing lol
 
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Haha! Let's just say I surf the threads, and you seem to be known as the detail guy. Funny cause I was hoping you'd run into my thread.

Damn, $1.50 for a whole 5 minutes! I'm getting ripped off at $2.50 for 4 minutes. And my method requires 2 cycles, so I'm at $5.00 per wash. I would avoid them brushes, you never know if the last person layed it on the ground which could be disasterous.

Yeah I watched a few CG vids using Ecosmart, it really seems too good to be true. People even commenting, saying that there's no way that it wouldn't scratch the paint when being used on a muddy rear fender, which led me to doubt the product. In that case I would obviously take the car to the coin op before even attempting Ecosmart. Now from what your telling me, it sounds like the product is doing a pretty good job with beading water and looking clean for a whole 3 weeks! How often are you touching up with Ecosmart? Are you diluting or using the "ready to use"? I think I'm leaning towards this product. Shit I can live without the coin op for 3 weeks, if anything I can visit my in laws every 3 weeks and use my foam gun. I really miss using that thing lol
Go with the CG Eco Smart ready to use gallon.. Really good product I use it all the time cuz I live in an apartment complex so one week I'll wash the car with my CG foam gun at my in laws and the next week I'll use the Eco smart. That's what I've been doing and it's been working great for me
 


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Haha good ol in laws! Thanks for your input, I'm looking to go this route and get concentrated. Since I'm mainly dealing with dust and bird poop, I think it should hold me off using the coin op once a week. Us Cali guys are fortunate, we don't have to deal with snow and salty roads. Curious, how many MF towels do you go through if you ecosmart the whole car?
 

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Haha good ol in laws! Thanks for your input, I'm looking to go this route and get concentrated. Since I'm mainly dealing with dust and bird poop, I think it should hold me off using the coin op once a week. Us Cali guys are fortunate, we don't have to deal with snow and salty roads. Curious, how many MF towels do you go through if you ecosmart the whole car?
I use the CG Happy Ending MF towels they're extra plush and I use either 3 or 4 depending on how dirty the car is just make sure to fold it in 4's those will go a long way cuz of how plush they are they're my favorite for waterless wash
 

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Yeah, he's lucky with his community having their amenities. He basically just uses the water from what he tells me.

I use the ready to use, and got a good deal on all my supplies through Amazon when I did the subscribe and save and saved an extra 15% when I did 5 or more other items.

My car has never been too dirty with heavy mud or anything, so the most I've had to clean up is dirt, pollen, bugs and bird crap. If I were to wash my whole car, for light dirt, I only use 3 (2 to wash/clean, 1 to buff). The most I've used was 4 when it was really dirty. Combination of the gold CG microfiber towels and the red supra towels. They have so many different kind of towels that I'm trying different ones every now and then to find which one I really like. I wish they had a pop up store here in Florida so it's easier to try out :)

Haha! Let's just say I surf the threads, and you seem to be known as the detail guy. Funny cause I was hoping you'd run into my thread.

Damn, $1.50 for a whole 5 minutes! I'm getting ripped off at $2.50 for 4 minutes. And my method requires 2 cycles, so I'm at $5.00 per wash. I would avoid them brushes, you never know if the last person layed it on the ground which could be disasterous.

Yeah I watched a few CG vids using Ecosmart, it really seems too good to be true. People even commenting, saying that there's no way that it wouldn't scratch the paint when being used on a muddy rear fender, which led me to doubt the product. In that case I would obviously take the car to the coin op before even attempting Ecosmart. Now from what your telling me, it sounds like the product is doing a pretty good job with beading water and looking clean for a whole 3 weeks! How often are you touching up with Ecosmart? Are you diluting or using the "ready to use"? I think I'm leaning towards this product. Shit I can live without the coin op for 3 weeks, if anything I can visit my in laws every 3 weeks and use my foam gun. I really miss using that thing lol
 
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Yeah, he's lucky with his community having their amenities. He basically just uses the water from what he tells me.

I use the ready to use, and got a good deal on all my supplies through Amazon when I did the subscribe and save and saved an extra 15% when I did 5 or more other items.

My car has never been too dirty with heavy mud or anything, so the most I've had to clean up is dirt, pollen, bugs and bird crap. If I were to wash my whole car, for light dirt, I only use 3 (2 to wash/clean, 1 to buff). The most I've used was 4 when it was really dirty. Combination of the gold CG microfiber towels and the red supra towels. They have so many different kind of towels that I'm trying different ones every now and then to find which one I really like. I wish they had a pop up store here in Florida so it's easier to try out :)
Sweet, I happen to have a bunch of gold cg towels. Thanks a ton for your input on this, you pretty much sold me on the product. I placed my order last night and should be getting my cg concentrated mix on Wednesday, along with their double mist spray bottle. Can't wait to see what it does lol
 

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I've been using ONR for the last 7 years on a different car with solid results. You pay more but the dilution ratio is much stronger (lasts 2-3 times as long). I usually do a 2nd pass if left unattended between washes or after a nasty storm. But it's never marred the finish or left behind residue.

I have access to a hose but prefer ONR hands down. 2-4 gallons is all it takes to do a typical car.

EDIT: Some basic write-ups here. I forgot to mention that a grit guard/and or wash bucket should be considered essential.


Dual bucket method (preferred):


Single bucket method:
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