Brushless Car Wash at Home

[bobbyjae]

Is there a way to emulate a brushless car wash at home? It's getting cold and I don't have the time and patience to do a thorough job.

Foam cannon, rinse, then air dry? My car has a ceramic coating. Any specific products or recommendations will be appreciated.

 

[avs007]

I use foam canon, then I do a quick rub down with a wash mit, then I rinse.... I use a leaf blower to dry, but I can do that inside the garage. You could skip the quick rub down part, but honestly when you use a foam canon, the rub down takes < 1 minute... The car will come out much cleaner if you do the quick rub down before you rinse.

 

[everydaychris]

what about ONR
put it in a 2 galloon sprayer
get a few microfiber towels
swipe in one direction and done

 

[bobbyjae]

what about ONR
put it in a 2 galloon sprayer
get a few microfiber towels
swipe in one direction and done

Seems straightforward enough. Any issues with micro-scratches when swiping?

 

[Clark_Kent]

You can't rinse and air dry without waterspots unless you use a spotless rinse system.

 

[bobbyjae]

You can't rinse and air dry without waterspots unless you use a spotless rinse system.

Sorry, when I said air dry I meant using a blower of some sort.

 

[everydaychris]

Seems straightforward enough. Any issues with micro-scratches when swiping?

Not if you do it correctly! I'm planning on making a video about esp living in ca when we need to save water lol.

Pretty much use a microfiber cloth in 4's hold one end with your thumb, spray the ONR on the car well and a little on the microfiber and swipe horizontally. DO NOT swipe back or swipe down. Always swipe across. Then flip to a clean side and repeat.

For water spots I actually fill it up with my RO filtered water, not tap water.

 

[avs007]

Sorry, when I said air dry I meant using a blower of some sort.

leaf blower is the easiest. I've been doing that for years.

 

[avs007]

Seems straightforward enough. Any issues with micro-scratches when swiping?

Make sure there is no pollen on your car when doing this... Pollen will easily scratch your paint if you rub it on the paint.

 

[Clark_Kent]

There's no way you will not mar the clearcoat using rinseless or waterless car wash products. I don't care which product you use or how many high-pile microfiber clothes you use. There's no replacement for a proper car wash.

 

[roblab]

I buy distilled water, dump a couple gallons in a 3-gallon sprayer and spray it down, then wipe it off with a baby diaper or two (soft and absorbent!!) That's all we've ever done on any of our Teslas for years, and they look great. I DO NOT use waxes, other than a spray wax such as Turtle Wax on one of the diapers, not a paste wax. If you don't soap the wax off the car, you don't have to put it back on, other than the small amount that gets beaten off by road dirt, so just a tiny bit sprayed on the diaper to hit the sides of the car will last for months. As the man says, "There's no replacement for a proper car wash", but there's a bunch of replacement for unnecessary washing and re-waxing. My clearcoat lasts for years, and I make a point to NOT check for fiber marks on my wax. If I can't see it from 20 feet, it doesn't exist. I mean, we're not displaying at a car show!

 

[rlzalusky]

I buy distilled water, dump a couple gallons in a 3-gallon sprayer and spray it down, then wipe it off with a baby diaper or two (soft and absorbent!!) That's all we've ever done on any of our Teslas for years, and they look great. I DO NOT use waxes, other than a spray wax such as Turtle Wax on one of the diapers, not a paste wax. If you don't soap the wax off the car, you don't have to put it back on, other than the small amount that gets beaten off by road dirt, so just a tiny bit sprayed on the diaper to hit the sides of the car will last for months. As the man says, "There's no replacement for a proper car wash", but there's a bunch of replacement for unnecessary washing and re-waxing. My clearcoat lasts for years, and I make a point to NOT check for fiber marks on my wax. If I can't see it from 20 feet, it doesn't exist. I mean, we're not displaying at a car show!

How often do you do this? My car gets dirty pretty fast especially during the rainy part of the year. With my current non Tesla CMAX I pay a monthly fee for unlimited car washes 1but yea it’s a brush style car wash. Yes it has left some marks on the plastic headlight areas so I am not anxious to do this on my forthcoming Y. I also don’t want to pay big fees for hand detailing when it can get dirty on a weekly basis.
California is in a record drought with major restrictions and you can get fined if you improperly wash your car in your driveway and penalized if you go over your water allotment. What to do???

 

[everydaychris]

There's no way you will not mar the clearcoat using rinseless or waterless car wash products. I don't care which product you use or how many high-pile microfiber clothes you use. There's no replacement for a proper car wash.

I agree. if your car is filthy do a proper 2 bucket wash. but for weekly or bi weekly maintenance it works great

 

[avs007]

How often do you do this? My car gets dirty pretty fast especially during the rainy part of the year. With my current non Tesla CMAX I pay a monthly fee for unlimited car washes 1but yea it’s a brush style car wash. Yes it has left some marks on the plastic headlight areas so I am not anxious to do this on my forthcoming Y. I also don’t want to pay big fees for hand detailing when it can get dirty on a weekly basis.
California is in a record drought with major restrictions and you can get fined if you improperly wash your car in your driveway and penalized if you go over your water allotment. What to do???

During the rainy part of the year, I tend to dry my car off when I get home with a leaf blower in the garage... Takes like a minute or two to dry the car off... And it makes the car stay clean waaaay longer.

 

[bobbyjae]

leaf blower is the easiest. I've been doing that for years.

Does the leaf blower blow warm air? If not, does it make a difference vs a car blower?

 

[avs007]

Does the leaf blower blow warm air? If not, does it make a difference vs a car blower?

I just use an electric leaf blower. Never even heard of a car blower... I did a quick google... Car blower seems like a waste. Looks like triple the cost or more, yet I don't see the benefit. Looks more bulky too. I'm sure someone will clue me in, if it really makes much difference, but it seriously only takes me like 2 minutes to dry the whole car with my leaf blower, so I don't see the point.

 

[sleepy3p]

If your car has ceramic coating, you're able to pressure spray the car and use a blow dryer to air dry. No need to use soap or get your hands dirty.

 

[Drrobmiller]

this is all you need

DI-120 Medium Output Standing System

Wash, rinse and go! CR Spotless Water Systems are portable de-ionization units that produce clean, ultra-purified water for washing your car, boat, motorcycle, or RV. Water purified by the CR Spotless Water System

crspotless.com

all you have to do is wash the car with some car wash solution and then rinse with this product.... takes 15 minutes and the car drys with no spots. This is the best

 

[bobbyjae]

I just use an electric leaf blower. Never even heard of a car blower... I did a quick google... Car blower seems like a waste. Looks like triple the cost or more, yet I don't see the benefit. Looks more bulky too. I'm sure someone will clue me in, if it really makes much difference, but it seriously only takes me like 2 minutes to dry the whole car with my leaf blower, so I don't see the point.

Any electric leaf blower works? Any recommendations? Thx

 

[bobbyjae]

If your car has ceramic coating, you're able to pressure spray the car and use a blow dryer to air dry. No need to use soap or get your hands dirty.

I think that was my original plan especially during the cold, winter months.