Exterior Wash Essentials: Rinseless

One of our favorite innovations in the detailing world is rinseless wash solutions. Where traditional soaps only loosen dirt and provide lubricity, rinseless wash solutions utilize polymers that encapsulate and suspend dirt, allowing them to safely and efficiently clean surfaces. The encapsulation of dirt is the key here – by surrounding the dirt in a bubble of oil, it prevents the dirt from scratching surfaces as it is dragged across it. Further, the “weight” of this bubble drags it down to the bottom of the bucket that you dunk your sponge into. With a grit guard in the bottom of the bucket, you’re less likely to reintroduce this dirt back onto the sponge as it stays trapped below the grit guard.

It is for these reasons that, for a light to moderately dirty vehicle, you can safely wash it without the need to break out a hose and rinse it before or after your wash process, hence the term “rinseless”. For those of us who struggle to avoid water spots from the hard water running through our hoses, this wash process will quickly become a favorite of yours. Even if you fill the bucket with this hard water, the rinseless solution will soften it too!

All of this being said, if you’re able to rinse the vehicle before performing this rinseless process (without introducing hard water spots), we recommend you do so. The less dirty the vehicle is before performing a wash of any variety, the better. Just know that the convenience remains for those who wish to forego a hose rinse.

Starting with the necessary products and tools, including non-affiliated Amazon/other links to our personal recommendations:

 

If possible, wash only in a shaded area or on a cloudy day to avoid water spots, rinsing with filtered water if available and drying as soon as possible.

  1. Add the manufacturer-recommended amount of rinseless wash solution (see recommended – Mckee’s 37 N914 Rinseless Wash) to your wash bucket and place your grit-guard in the rinse bucket, then fill around 70% of each bucket with water and toss your sponge into the bucket.
  2. Fill your spray bottle with the diluted rinseless wash solution in the bucket (or separately if you wish, preferably with distilled water). Spray the entire vehicle down and let sit for around 5 minutes.
  3. Visually separate your car into at least 5 distinct areas (roof, front, back, and both sides). Lightly wring out the sponge such that it is slowly dripping. Starting with the roof, drag your sponge along the paint with minimal pressure, making two passes and flipping the sponge between each half of the section.
  4. After you’re finished with each section, dunk the sponge into your rinse bucket, remove and wring out, dunk into wash bucket again, wring out until slowly dripping, and continue with the next panel.
  5. After you’ve finished, do the same for each wheel.
  6. To dry, lightly spray your diluted rinseless solution onto the drying towel (it will dry best when it is lightly damp), then drag the towel over the surface with little or no pressure (let gravity do the work if possible). You may also use your final-wipe towel to ensure there’s no further residue left behind.
  7. Machine wash your towels on cold between each use with an additive-free detergent (typically the cheapest machine wash detergent you can find) or a microfiber wash detergent (see recommended – P&S Rags 2 Riches), then hang dry or tumble dry on low or no heat.

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