Dylan contacted me and asked if I was interested in trying out their new Rinseless Wash product. This worked out perfectly for me as I have a dirty Camaro in the garage, as it was too cold and I was too busy to wash it when I put it away for storage. I definitely was excited to give this a try.
This was an extreme test of the Rinseless wash for a couple reasons. First, my car was really pushing the upper end of what I would consider safe for rinseless wash. I probably should have broke out the two buckets, but given the circumstances, I chose to soldier on and just be extra careful. Second, it's cold as balls here. If I didn't dry within seconds, I had ice crystals forming on the paint. Not a big deal, just made it a little trickier.
Before:
I also use a different technique than Adam's suggests with my Rinseless washes. They recommend a 2-bucket setup wherein you rinse your microfiber in the clean water bucket before going back to your Rinseless bucket. I use what I believe is called the Gary Dean method, where I have just the one bucket, but I use many towels and toss them in the dirty towel basket after use. My towel never goes back in the bucket after touching the paint, therefore eliminating any contamination possibilities.
Little disclaimer here, I'm not a big user of rinseless washes. They definitely have their place, but if the weather is nice, 9 times out of 10 I'm going to bust out the hose and do a 2-bucket wash. That being said, I do have some experience with them, especially ONR, and have a few things I look for.
1. Lubricity 5/5- A rinseless wash has to be super slick in order to not scratch. You don't have the luxury of a bunch of water and suds, so you need to make sure that what you're using allows your wash media to glide across the soiled paint without grabbing and dragging. Adam's gets an A+ in this, as I had no problems wiping the towels across the paint.
2. Cleaning power 5/5- I'll let Dylan step in and explain the chemistry here, but basically, these types of products encapsulate dirt in order to safely lift and remove them from the paint. Adam's knocked it out of the park here as it took only one pass to leave a perfectly clean finish. This is crucial because I don't want to be rubbing the paint more than I have to.
3. Clarity 5/5- A rinseless wash isn't much good if it leaves a film of itself behind. You want it to wipe away completely clean as you dry it. Another A+ here as I could not see any clouding left over. Just clean paint.
4. Cost effectiveness 3/5- I'm always looking for the best products for the money. I do not have a budget that allows me to buy $200 waxes. I need performance and value. Adam's isn't going to break any records when it comes to value with this. It comes out to be about twice as expensive as the industry standard, ONR. ONR is about $1.25 per 5 gallon bucket. Adam's is going to be about $2.25 according to my calculations. On their site they say one bottle is good for 16 washes, but I think the bottle is 16 oz. and you have to use 2oz per wash...so maybe I'm missing something.
Verdict: I think this is the best Rinsless Wash I've ever used. It outperforms ONR both in slickness and in clarity after the fact IMO. Now, is it worth the price hike? Only you can decide that based on your budget. I personally will keep Adam's on the shelf for rinseless washing and relegate ONR to claybar duty.
They knocked this one out of the park as far as I'm concerned.
Pics to follow- just realized I'm late for dinner reservation!!