pump to wash car in the winter?

[CamaroJim56]

Trust me, it WILL get too cold to hand wash. No doubt about it.

I keep mine in top shape as well, and am picky as hell, see my license plate?

The only coin wash that comes to mind is in Manassas.

Come January and February I cannot imagine washing by hand outside.

There is a place in South Riding called Main Street Wash that hand washes well. Hell, you could probably bring your own mitt or sponge and towels.

Let me know if you need any info on the area.

Jim

Originally Posted by Turbo_J89

I have thought about doing that but every time I drive past a place like that and see the way most of them wash a car I cringe. They run around rubbing the car with a large microfiber to dry it. Life as a perfectionist can be rough...hah. Not to mention $30 is pretty expensive when you are talking about 2 cars. I would prefer to wash my cars myself and come up with a decent system that will get me through several winters up here. Where is the place that you take your car for the hand wash? I may try it if it gets painfully cold. Also, do you know of a coin op power washer car wash that's open during the winter?

[DylanVK]

Originally Posted by Stay Fresh Car Care

Dylan,

I can go for days why waterless washing and rinseless washing is just a poor choice. Ok it may be great for conserving water and people on a tight budget but lets be honest here.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but to classify 2 categories of product as a 'poor choice' in a blanket statement is, in my opinion, incorrect. Waterless (spray on) products and rinseless products have their place and appropriate uses. Just as a piece of advice, build your brand by building up the virtues of your products, not by tearing down others. If your products/methods are truly superior they shouldn't need to rely on telling consumers whats wrong with the other guys.

Originally Posted by Stay Fresh Car Care

You sell a waterless wash to a complete novice and he goes out and wipes against the surface on a soiled car that has not been cleaned in a month, who wins here?

This is why customer education on the appropriate uses of products is key. In that same vein of thinking no one should ever sell a heavy compound b/c a novice could buy it, rub it in by hand and dull their finish, right? You can't use general consumer ignorance as the basis on which to make an argument that a product is a bad idea. A rinseless washing product can be just as safe as a traditional wash in light soiling and cleaning situations (thus my recommendation to rinse a very dirty vehicle with a pressure washer prior to using one in the winter) Its the sellers responsability to provide the consumer with the appropriate information about when/how/why to use a product - like why vitiman e is essentially a useless component to consider when choosing a leather conditioner for virtually all modern cars.

In terms of the altruistic movement to save everyone money - I don't see the validity there? A true rinse-free concentrate actually offers consumers excellent value as compared to alternative cleaning methods given the low cost per oz of a product in that range and the number of high dilution uses it has beyond the simple bucket wash. Clay lube, wipe down spray, adding lubricity to a wash solution, drying agent, etc. Not to mention the fact that unlike a traditional soap, the rinse free mixture can be used days later and repeatedly when going with the multiple towel approach (garry dean method) unlike a traditional soap which once the foaming agents have been expended won't allow for a secondary use. The argument could be made that NOT offering a rinse-less concentrate would costing customers money as they need to purchase various products to fill these needs when one could arguably perform a number of tasks.

Will rinseless/waterless products ever replace traditional washes in 100% of situations? Absolutely not, but like most any category in this business there are a few ways to approach the same problem and as long as the user understands what choice makes sense in a situation or is at least armed with the information to evaluate vehicle surfaces and make an educated decision there is room for both in every persons collection. For example my C/10 NEVER (and I mean NEVER) sees a drop of water - rain, hose, or otherwise. It spends its days in the garage and is driven purely for pleasure. It sees wipe downs with diluted rinse-free wash regularly, in the event it gets really dusty it gets a rinse-free bucket wash. I'd have absolutely no use at all for a pre soak, foam wash, or anything of that nature. Doesn't mean those are 'bad' products, just that they don't suit any need I have when it comes to cleaning my truck. On the other hand, my daily driven CRV sits outside... gets filthy and sees lots of miles. A traditional hose and bucket wash makes more sense for that most of the time.

Not trying to start an argument with you, SF has their opinion on that type of product and thats commendable. Stick to it and don't offer one, but as someone who has been neck deep in this business for a long time I'm just going to have to respectfully disagree with your assessment of those product categories.



Back to the OP - one other thing to consider, that I had to learn after moving from SoCal to Colorado a few years ago - is that even warm water for traditional washes will get cold in a hurry when washing outside in winter weather, leaving you with bright red, sore, frozen hands. Look online at scuba supply stores for a set of diving gloves. you can find ones that will come up high past your wrist to keep water out and are perfect for washing. They'll keep your hands from freezing. Being a certified diver I used the gloves I already had for winter washing and it helps a TON!

These aren't the exact ones I have, but similar:
http://www.scuba.com/scuba-gear-27/1...Gloves-...html

[DylanVK]

Originally Posted by Stay Fresh Car Care

WHY SELL A WATERLESS WASH AND A QUICK DETAIL SPRAY IF THEY DO THE SAME THING!

To answer this question and clear up any confusion it raises - because they don't technically do the same thing.

While a waterless wash can potentially use a small percentage of wax for lubrication purposes its not designed to be deposited to the surface in the same way a wax based quick detailer is. A true waterless should leave very little, if any measurable film behind, while a quick detailer is, by design typically going to deposit something - for gloss, water beading, or even filling purposes depending on the product. The same can be said for 'polymer' based quick detailers - typically they'll be depositing a small amount of silicone on the surface leading to a darker, glossy appearance, and some amount of filling on swirls/scratches. Polymer use in a waterless product is primarily for surface lubrication among other things and again, if properly formulated should minimize or eliminate any film deposits.

Truth be told most waterless products have more in common chemically with glass cleaners than they do with quick detailers as on glass you want decent evap points and minimal film deposit... but what do I know

[Beer Thirty]

I use Adams waterless wash to remove bugs. Works great. I have no idea whats in it. But it sure does disolve bug and bird crap fast. Just seems to me to work better than QD. As far as washing without a hose. I would get an electric pressure washer with a hose attached to a five gallon bucket.

[trashmanssd]

Originally Posted by Beer Thirty

I use Adams waterless wash to remove bugs. Works great. I have no idea whats in it. But it sure does disolve bug and bird crap fast. Just seems to me to work better than QD. As far as washing without a hose. I would get an electric pressure washer with a hose attached to a five gallon bucket.

Most every power washer needs 10+ PSI (20 psi recommended usually) of water pressure to operate it can't siphon water.

[Beer Thirty]

Originally Posted by trashmanssd

Most every power washer needs 10+ PSI (20 psi recommended usually) of water pressure to operate it can't siphon water.

Your right, I didnt even think of that.

[Turbo_J89]

Originally Posted by trashmanssd

Most every power washer needs 10+ PSI (20 psi recommended usually) of water pressure to operate it can't siphon water.

Originally Posted by Beer Thirty

Your right, I didnt even think of that.

Maybe i'm just crazy but even considering the cost it of adding some kind of electric pump in line with the power washer, it doesn't seem like a bad idea. Granted the tank for water doesn't need to be unrealistically huge. True, there would be upfront effort and cost involved getting the gizmo up and running. Considering what we all spent on detailing supplies to perfect our cars. Why not invest about $500 in a setup to keep the worst things possible off of our paint during the winter? I'm sure if you broke up the added cost over the years of use you could get from the setup for multiple cars, the cost would be negligible at most. We are probably all spending it on the alternative in the long run already....I'm sure you could easily use a pressure washer you use year round for this. The only thing you are actually investing in would be some kind of tank and electric pump.

In my opinion, the huge kicker in favor of this setup versus just the rinseless wash is with a setup like this you can actually get water pressure to clean the areas getting hit the hardest by the grime....UNDER THE CAR.

Sure this one might not be best for everyone. If you have a coin op power wash station a few minutes from your house, I'm sure you are best off driving a few minutes down the road and paying $2.50 for some water. For people with out that option, I see few good alternatives.

[trashmanssd]

you can calculate the size tank you will need by the power washer they always rate there gallons per minute that should give you an idea of size for how many minutes of spray time you want/need.

2.5 gallon per minute washer 15 minute of spraying time = 37.5 gallons