No-H2O waterless car cleaning kid

jane13

Hi!

Has anybody tried that waterless car cleaning stuff they sell in topaz at the moment? My bf just got it for me. I am really curious how it works without any water! It looks really good so would be so handy if it works.. Has anybody here used it before??? Is it good?

J.

Anan1

I got some a few years back, for a convertible that wasn't quite watertight. I found it good but a bit of a PITA to use. Mind you, I find anything to do with cleaning cars a bit of a PITA.

MetzgerMeister

Jane,

If you care for your car's paintwork at all, don't use it. Using it will put scratches and swirls all over the car. I know normal washing CAN do this too but the chances are increased when using waterless washes.

If you want the full lowdown, a user on here by the name of Seperate runs his own professional car detailing business and knows this stuff better than anyone else

colm_mcm

It's not as if we're short on water.

bazz26

colm_mcm wrote: »

It's not as if we're short on water.

Except when it stops raining and hose pipe bans are introduced.

StonedRaider

Curious about this myself..seen a product called vulcanet and would appreciate feedback from anyone who has ever used it?

bazz26

This reminds me of being sceptical when this was introduced:

Stinicker

bazz26 wrote: »

Except when it stops raining and hose pipe bans are introduced.

We live in Ireland, the only time this happens is in winter and when its -15c and the water pipes 2 inches deep under the topsoil. Otherwise we're ok for water all year round

MKII

i have used noh2o a couple of times, got it in topaz filling station, definitely does not scratch. i am meticulous with my car and i have a black car!

overall its a great product as i use it in my garage and dont have to wreck the place with water, it is class the way it polishes at the same time. A couple of things, cloths i find are a bit small although good quality and it would be better if it was more widely available.

worth a go

jay lazy

I had a Mk5 R32 from December 07 to May 11 and in that time it was either cleaned by NoH2o in town or in Beacon Sandyford.

When I had the time I would use their No Water products which I kept in the back of the car which is handy as I could give the car a quick once over after I'd parked. And as I live in an apartment not needing water was good.

It works really well if used a couple of times in a row, there was no difference in swirling or scratching from a regular bucket and sponge wash, if anything the paint was better.

I was was very sceptical at first when I had it done on my black Jaguar Xjr but once having seen it done I've never used anything else.

It might seem a little bit harder work rather than blasting a car with a power washer but the finish is better and I love the way you don't get water shooting out of every panel gap when you hit the brakes!

In general I'd certainly recommmend it.

Jay Lazy

Pictures attached are from various times after having it cleaned, I'll post up close ups of the paint once I can find them.

listermint

Ive found there is no quick fix to washing and polishing a car.

To get it right involves time an effort. Quick fix solutions rarely have no downsides.

bcirl03

MKII wrote: »

i have used noh2o a couple of times, got it in topaz filling station, definitely does not scratch. i am meticulous with my car and i have a black car!

overall its a great product as i use it in my garage and dont have to wreck the place with water, it is class the way it polishes at the same time. A couple of things, cloths i find are a bit small although good quality and it would be better if it was more widely available.

worth a go

Nice first post.......

Seperate

listermint wrote: »

Ive found there is no quick fix to washing and polishing a car.

To get it right involves time an effort. Quick fix solutions rarely have no downsides.

This is it.

Considering a soft microfibre towel can sometimes damage a paint surface, you can get your bottom dollar that rubbing dirt into the car with one is doing damage.

If the paint is already fecked then you won't notice.

@ Lazy Jay, if you want to take a spin over with the XJR, I'll show you what I mean under the halogen lights.

langdang

listermint wrote: »

Ive found there is no quick fix to washing and polishing a car.

To get it right involves time an effort. Quick fix solutions rarely have no downsides.

This.


And letting a kid clean your car is asking for trouble...

fryup

i got the mantis car instant shine, haven't used it yet.........i'm a sucker for these things

fryup

i got the mantis car instant shine, haven't used it yet.........i'm a sucker for these things

MetzgerMeister

fryup wrote: »

i got the mantis car instant shine, haven't used it yet.........i'm a sucker for these things

So much of a sucker, you had to post it twice :P

MKII

correct me if im wrong but does this car not look the business!

noh20 used to clean it, btw there is no car wash solution out there that is perfect for your cars paintwork as far as i can see.

andyseadog

you can take a photo of a car from that kind of distance (the golf and the jag) in the correct kind of lighting and make it look good.

up close pictures of the paintwork condition are whats needed here, and there no doubt will be swirl damage.

if you had dirty hands, would you just rub soap into them and wipe them with a towel? no? its the same with washing a car, water is a vital component in the wash process.

mgbgt1978

OOOhh ,do you sell the Skanger number plates as well as "the car wash solution" that answered a question that very few people in this rain-sodden waterlogged country asked ?
If you are going to sign up to promote a product at least have the cop-on to post on a few more threads first.

andyseadog

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

OOOhh ,do you sell the Skanger number plates as well as "the car wash solution" that answered a question that very few people in this rain-sodden waterlogged country asked ?
If you are going to sign up to promote a product at least have the cop-on to post on a few more threads first.

all a bit coincidental alright!

MKII

google search? nerd.

mgbgt1978

Do you want me to "google search" the word "nerd" ? Or are you just calling me a nerd ?
Why don't you google "shill" ?

Esel

I googled shill nerd and came up with this thread.

jay lazy

Seperate wrote: »

This is it.

Considering a soft microfibre towel can sometimes damage a paint surface, you can get your bottom dollar that rubbing dirt into the car with one is doing damage.

If the paint is already fecked then you won't notice.

@ Lazy Jay, if you want to take a spin over with the XJR, I'll show you what I mean under the halogen lights.

I sold the Xjr(only car I ever made money on!) then a few months later I got the R32.

I did get a Meguiars dual action buffer but I found it only worked well on the plastic bumpers as the paint was quite hard on the R32.

But even still in the 26,000 miles and countless times I cleaned it with Noh2o the swirls weren't noticeable, certainly no more than my previous routine which used to include the two bucket method with a microfibre mit and then drying off with a huge microfibre drying towel.

I know under the halogen lamps you'll always see the swirls unless you use snowfoam and leaf blower lke some guys do in the UK! But don't realy have those facilites in my apartment block!

I'd like to get a carbon black E46 M3 and see how it works on the soft water based BMW paint as when I had one in 2005 I found it scratched and swirled no matter how careful I was.

For anyone on here that is sceptical about waterkless products I'd say try it first, even if you don't use it for the heavy duty cleaning it's a savage detailing kit if you want to top up clean your motor on arrival somewhere. I used to use the Meguiars detailling liquid that come with their clay bar kit but at €33.95 in Halfords it soon gets very expensive!

just my 2cents

andyseadog

jay lazy wrote: »

I sold the Xjr(only car I ever made money on!) then a few months later I got the R32.

I did get a Meguiars dual action buffer but I found it only worked well on the plastic bumpers as the paint was quite hard on the R32.

But even still in the 26,000 miles and countless times I cleaned it with Noh2o the swirls weren't noticeable, certainly no more than my previous routine which used to include the two bucket method with a microfibre mit and then drying off with a huge microfibre drying towel.

I know under the halogen lamps you'll always see the swirls unless you use snowfoam and leaf blower lke some guys do in the UK! But don't realy have those facilites in my apartment block!

I'd like to get a carbon black E46 M3 and see how it works on the soft water based BMW paint as when I had one in 2005 I found it scratched and swirled no matter how careful I was.

For anyone on here that is sceptical about waterkless products I'd say try it first, even if you don't use it for the heavy duty cleaning it's a savage detailing kit if you want to top up clean your motor on arrival somewhere. I used to use the Meguiars detailling liquid that come with their clay bar kit but at €33.95 in Halfords it soon gets very expensive!

just my 2cents

despite what seems to be a decent knowledge of detailing, i'm still not sold on waterless car wash. not by a long shot.

Paparazzo

After looking at the youtube video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRCZG67RmS0
I can't see how this would be good if there's any amount of dirt on your car. You'll just be rubbing the dirt and grit into the paint and it'll act like a rubbing compound.
You can't beat a big sponge and tonnes of water, take the car for a spin to dry it, and then a proper wax. Not a hope i'd use that Noh2o stuff.

TestTransmission

Paparazzo wrote: »

You can't beat a big sponge and tonnes of water, take the car for a spin to dry it, and then a proper wax. Not a hope i'd use that Noh2o stuff.

Not a hope id use a sponge

andyseadog

TestTransmission wrote: »

Not a hope id use a sponge

or drive it to dry it...

but i'd rather a sponge than a waterless wash!

MetzgerMeister

Paparazzo wrote: »

You can't beat a big sponge and tonnes of water

Actually you can - a big lambs wool wash mitt

Paparazzo

andyseadog wrote: »

or drive it to dry it...

but i'd rather a sponge than a waterless wash!

Driving it to dry it is the way forward!

einheisserschre wrote: »

Actually you can - a big lambs wool wash mitt

Yes, as long as it doesn't hold the grit.

MugMugs

colm_mcm wrote: »

It's not as if we're short on water.

Would you believe we are? Our reservoirs are all critically low. Blessington lake is the lowest it has been in 35 years and the liffey descent has been postponed for the first time in 52 years!

Back to the OP. I marked a mates car with that stuff. Swirls all over it when I was done.

nosedive

Fellas, does anyone know where I can get a waterless formula in the limerick/ennis area?

I tried the mantis instant shine and thought it was pretty good but haven't been able to find it lately.

Any info appreciated!

Slimbo

Hi all,
Just reading through this post I found while looking up car products.
Does everyone still think the NoH20 or the like are still poor products given the water charges now coming in to effect?
The post was about 50/50 for both sides.
Just wondering what the thoughts are now!
Liam

Popoutman

When I got my Audi estate, I gave it a proper wash with the lamb's wool mitt and a full clay bar workup, outdoors during heavy rain and thunderstorms. The sheer volume of water falling on the car gave it as good a rinse as a hose would have. Then, when the rain cleared away, I squeegeed the remaining water off with a soft silicone blade, clearing after every stroke. With a completely dry car and no water marks, it was easy enough then to do a couple of waxings on the paint. It was so smooth that you couldn't get a grip with your skin on the paintwork, and water beaded for a very very long time afterwards. The only scratch marks in the paint at the moment are from driving, as I've refused to use a public carwash on the car so there are no swirls or holographic marks on the paintwork. It is weird though to be able to see the airflow visualised in the dust lines in the paintwork after 200,000 km of driving.
Washing a car in the rain was a really good thing for me, no better way to rinse it off completely.

It was fantastic though that rain washed all the dust/dirt off the car for years afterwards, and you'd never have known that the car had not been officially washed in that long with that mileage looking at it, even in the winter. No need at all for no-water cleaning!

I should probably do a decent mop/polish to remove those dust scratches and restore it to when I got it new. Hard to justify on a car with 330k km though..

greasepalm

seen a few places doing waterless? car cleaning by means of steam cleaning bloody hell how long will paintwork last with that aggresive cleaning and under the car was dry lol

What's a waterless wash? Is it just the equivalent of buying a 'rapid detailer' product and a spray on/wipe off technique?


If so, I find that can work, if you're not fussed about the paint work. I've done it once or twice in the past (only when the car was relatively clean, though. If it's actually dirty you're just asking for trouble). Biggest issue I found was that the cars seemed to (maybe it's just me) attract dust quicker after it's use?

I found that by day 3 rolling around, the car was covered in a layer of dust.

I do like the look quick detailers give, and I often use them at the end of a wash if I'm too lazy to wax the car, but the car always seems to get dustier, quicker, when I use such products.


As said earlier, time and effort are key.

endacl

bazz26 wrote: »

Except when it stops raining and hose pipe bans are introduced.

Don't care. I'll still wash my car every year.

maddness

I haven't used the NoH20 product myself but I do get my car cleaned by them in their Beacon branch.
€10 for a clean that looks great. I couldn't say if it is good or bad for the paint but I do notice how good it looks and that the rain really flows off the car after the clean.