Best minimalist apartment/rinseless wash kit and routine

[PNWLeccy]

While I enjoy a good detailing therapy video on youtube from time to time, ultimately most of what I watch I cannot or won't do to my own vehicle.

I live in an apartment so I'm not going to be doing these pressure washer/foam cannon routines and I don't have a garage to store my 50 different washes, fallout removers, tire dressings, sealants, drying aids, clay bars, decontaminates, etc.,etc., etc. It is really easy to go completely overboard IMO and I'm pretty committed to just a rinseless wash solution and have purchased ONR- just trying to figure out the rest.

Looking for the best minimalist setup for my limited space and wanted some feedback on what i was thinking:

• Exterior
  • ONR
  • Chenille wash mitt
  • Microfiber clothes
  • Detailing brush
    
  • 2x 5g buckets w/ grit guards
  • Turtle wax ceramic hybrid spray or Opti-seal (?) - Have read much about trying to keep in the same family of products when layering so maybe keep with Optimum?
• Tires
  • Tire wheel brush
  • Wheel woolies(?) long brush to get into barrel
  • Matte tire dressing
  • Detailing brush for lug nuts
• Interior
  • P&S Interior cleaner for all vinyl, rubber, plastic
  • Invisible glass for all windows
  • Microfiber cloths
  • Detailing brush

In some ways this feels like a lot but some of these supplies will be used for multiple thing like the detailing brushes and MF cloths.

Does anyone live in an apartment and have a basic kit they would like to share?

 

[joebruin77]

Sounds like a good routine to me.

You can stick with your ONR rinsless wash. Or you could consider a waterless wash. If you want to stick with Optimum's product line, Optimum makes a waterless wash called OptiClean. I tried it and it works well. But I personally prefer McGuire's D115 Express Wash and Wax or Mckees37 Waterless Wash on the Go.

Since you mentioned Turtle Wax Ceramic Spray, I suggest Hyper Seal instead of OptiSeal. Hyper Seal is made by Opticoat, which is Optimum's professional line. It is a ceramic-infused spray sealant. It is like "OptiSeal on steroids". I have used both OptiSeal and HyperSeal. HyperSeal definitely provides more gloss and slickness and lasts a lot longer.

 

[PNWLeccy]

You can stick with your ONR rinsless wash. Or you could consider a waterless wash.

Any advantages of waterless over rinseless when it comes to performance/effectiveness? I initially bought the ONR because it seemed to provide enough lubrication to avoid lots of swirls/micro scratches

 

[lUtriaNt]

i like the minimalist approach as well but i'm just too old school to think anything other than "soap and water" will actually do a thorough clean. I live in an apartment but am just 30 seconds from a manual wand operated wash stall place so i do that and give it a quick blow dry if times is left. finish up at the garage at my place. i have a little carry thingy that fits in the sub trunk and it holds a 5 gall bucket and my wash accessories. i am pretty on top of washing my car and maintaining it /cleaning every 4 or so days if its no rain and just dusty. the in between maintenance really helps when you actually have to clean the car.

for me i have some towels, bucket, tire syrup, surf city wax and some surf city wash, invisible glass (the best on the market) and interior detailer from meguiars. this stuff does not add any old school cheesy autozone armor all shine to anything- it keeps things clean.

 

[joebruin77]

Any advantages of waterless over rinseless when it comes to performance/effectiveness? I initially bought the ONR because it seemed to provide enough lubrication to avoid lots of swirls/micro scratches

A rinseless wash will provide more lubrication than a waterless wash. But whether or not that extra lubrication is necessary depends on how dirty the car is. It is a personal preference and judgement call. If my car is only lightly dirty and dusty, then the waterless wash is just fine. If it is moderately dirty, then I would do a rinsless with ONR. If it has caked on mud and is super dirty, then I would go the traditional wash route.

It also depends on how often you wash the car. If your car is parked in a garage and you wash it once or twice a week (so that the dirt and dust does not build up that much), then again a waterless wash may be just fine. But if you go several weeks between washes, I would favor the rinseless over the waterless.

 

[JackLuminous]

Looking to do ONR also. What brands of mitts, cleaning MF towel, drying towels would you guys recommend? Our garage has some room but like OP, I am trying to keep the amount of stuff down. I was lost in the sauce trying to navigate all the good/bad reviews about rag company, chenille mitts, etc.
Help!

Thanks in advance!

 

[dipper]

If you put ceramic coating, waterless will be great combo.

 

[Candleflame]

Ceramic coating, self car wash, drying towels and drying aid (quick detailer or certain sealants) will be the way to go for you.

 

[joebruin77]

Looking to do ONR also. What brands of mitts, cleaning MF towel, drying towels would you guys recommend? Our garage has some room but like OP, I am trying to keep the amount of stuff down. I was lost in the sauce trying to navigate all the good/bad reviews about rag company, chenille mitts, etc.
Help!

Thanks in advance!

If you are going to do rinseless washes using ONR, Optimum (the manufacturer of ONR) recommends using their "Big Red Sponge". Mckees 37 makes a similar product called the "Big Gold Sponge". I personally prefer using microfiber wash pads such as these from Griot's Garage:

Microfiber Wash Pads, Set of 2

Super-soft microfiber wash pads are safe and gentle on your paint. 8" x 10" and comes in a 2 pack.

www.griotsgarage.com

I personally prefer a wash pad over a wash mitt. I find that the "hole" to insert your hand into on a wash mitt just gets in the way and may even scratch the paint.

For rinseless and waterless washes, these so far are my favorite MF towels designed specifically for these types of washes:

Shine & Buff Waterless Wash Towel

Cobra Shine & Buff Waterless Wash Towel - The best towel for waterless car washes! The Shine & Buff Waterless Wash Towel is a thick, double-sided (gray/blue) towel that was designed specifically for performing a waterless wash on your car, truck, ...

www.autogeek.net

Not only are these towels super plush and absorbent with a very thick pile, but one side is grey and the other is blue. I find this helpful to keep track of which towel is for my initial wipe and which is for my "final buff"

I recommend you invest in some good glass towels. You don't want to use regular MF towels on your glass, especially your windshield as they will leave little pieces of lint all over your clean windshield. Glass towels have almost no pile and thus will not leave little pieces of lint on the glass. I have used and recommend either of these glass towels:

PFM® Crinkle Glass Towels, Set of 3

Dual-sided, ultra-absorbent glass towels that leaves streak-free glass every time. Crinkle side cleans organic and oily residues while tight-weave side provides streak-free and lint-free final wipe.

www.griotsgarage.com

Waffle Weave Glass and Window Microfiber Towel, Red 24" x 16" |

Find professional auto detail supplies for high quality car care like Waffle Weave Glass and Window Microfiber Towel, Red 24" x 16" at Chemical Guys! test

www.chemicalguys.com

And finally, I recommend that you wash your microfiber towels separately from your clothes (to prevent contamination of lint and other particles from your clothes into the MF towels) and to also wash them using this specialty detergent designed for microfiber towels P&S Rags To Riches:

Amazon.com

This detergent will help keep your microfiber towels clean and soft and extend the life of your towels. When cleaning MF towels, never use fabric softener and always dry on ultra low heat.

Hope that helps,
joebruin77

 

[JackLuminous]

I forgot to say thanks for the suggestions.

 

[PNWLeccy]

Just following up on my current setup as a user reached out to me. I've realized that the more research you do, the more stuff you realize you "need", in other words, my setup isn't as minimalist as I once intended but here it is:

• Exterior
  • ONR
  • Chenille wash mitt
  • Microfiber clothes
  • Detailing brush
  • 2x 5g buckets w/ grit guards
  • Turtle wax ceramic hybrid spray
  • Gtechniq W8 Bug Remover (Remove bugs that wouldn't come off w/ ONR)
  • Clay Bar Mitt
  • Microfiber Applicator Pads (applying ceramic spray and 303)
  • 303 Aerospace (exterior plastics/rubber seals)
  • Waffle weave drying towel
• Interior
  • P&S Interior cleaner for all vinyl, rubber, plastic
  • Invisible Glass for all windows
  • Microfiber cloths
  • Detailing brush
  • Microfiber Applicator Pads (303)
  • 303 Aerospace (plastics, vinyl seats)
• Tires
  • Tire wheel brush
  • Wheel woolies long brush to get into barrel
  • Detailing brush for lug nuts
  • Matte tire dressing (Chemical Guys VRP)

 

[chris2222]

Thanks for the update!!