I've seen a few posts about Griot's Spray On Car Wash, but most are a month or two old, or from people who may not have to deal with winter road treatments in the course of driving their MINIs.

If you would, please weigh in on your experience using this product. Living in the NE and using my MINI for a daily driver, I'm especially interested in knowing whether the Spray On Car Wash is a viable alternative to help get me through the winter months. I don't have a heated garage ...

 

I tried it on Thanks Giving morning on my mother in laws Toyota, then again on Saturday on my LandRover. Both these cars have been through car washes, and lots of abuse, so I was not worried about getting possible swirl marks in the clearcoat.
When following the instructions posted on the Griots web site, the product works very well. Just be sure to be gentle, spray a generous amount of wash, and turn the microfiber towel frequently (it smells good too). After a little buffing, the car shined quite well.

 

I've used it a couple of times now and Molly always comes out l@@king GREAT!! It is super easy to use. I've even used it on my wheels, a little bit of work but they come out looking great as well!! Super dirty towels when I'm done!!

 

Good to hear some positive reviews. I have some to try when the weather gets crummier. If nothing else to address Dirty Boot Syndrome when I'm too lazy to do the whole car.

 

Thanks for the input.

Anyone else had wonderful results with the Spray On Car Wash? Sounds too good to be true, but maybe this is the exception to the rule!

 

Consider Optimum No Rinse. It is a not a waterless wash but rinseless. I was looking for something to use in the garage this winter and someone on another forum recommended ONR. I tried and LOVE it. After washing the car is very clean and shines great. Days later I went over it with SLICK and I was blown away. My routine now is wash with ONR and the apply a quick detailer. The MINI shines like never before. The surface is extremely slick. You'll love it.

http://www.autogeek.net/optimum-no-rinse.html

 

Be warned that any product that is used on a dirty (beyond dusty) painted surface will not prevent scratching from the dirt unless accompanied by copious amounts of a lubricated water (in other words, water mixed with a car wash soap). This is simply a physical fact.

That said, there are times when products such as this and other quick detail spray type products (that's really pretty much what this product and other waterless wash are, for the most part) can come in quite handy. A great example is that of rockridge's (see post above).
If you have a vehicle that is either already swirled to death or you just don't care about it (maybe you have a daily driver that you don't care about), then spray washes or waterless washes, etc. can be handy. You will cause some scratches/swirls but maybe you don't care. Some people use such products in the winter knowing that they plan on doing a major polishing job to the car in the Spring anyway. So, to each his own and to his own situation!

The fact of the matter is that in order to prevent dirt from scratching/swirling your paint, you must have:

• a chemical that helps break the bond between the dirt and the paint (the "soap" component of car wash soap),
• a lubricant that creates a chemical cushion between the dirt and the paint as you wash the dirt away,
• lots of water to carry the above components and to add enough volume to the lubricant to adequately suspend (and rinse) the dirt, and
• good technique/tools... for example, using a 100% wool mitt and returning to the bucket to release dirt/reload on soapy water, etc, etc.

Paint is soft, relative to dirt, so there is no shortcut from the above steps to removing dirt from paint safely, unfortunately.

Again, as long as you know that a waterless wash product will cause some scratching/swirls then you still may opt to use one. Or...

Alternatively, many people without a heated garage in cold winter months go to the spray wash/coin-op places with bucket and supplies in hand. In the winter, you don't usually have to worry about holding up a line of cars while you take your time to wash your car like you might in the summer. Use the facility for its shelter and hot/warm water supply. Then, just use your own car wash soap, bucket, and related supplies for a safe and warm way to wash in the winter.


By the way, I do support using a spray wash/coin-op place for their harsh soap spray washes in certain situations... such as when you cannot properly wash for whatever reason (time, space, etc) but you have road additives like salts on your paint. These additives will damage your paint if you don't wash them off in a timely manner! Better to wash with a harsh soap from the coin-op than to leave the additives on the paint. The harsh soaps are only harsh to your wax and, to some degree, to your rubber seals and plastic bits. Just be sure to: 1) Apply some plastic/rubber protectant (303 AP, Prima Nero, etc) to your rubber and plastic afterwards, and 2) Use the spot-free rinse and DO NOT towel dry your car (Why? Without handwashing, you're bound to have a small amount of residual dirt left on the paint after you spray wash and thus towel-drying will cause you to grind the residual dirt into the paint and cause scratching/swirls). Just let it air dry and know that you've removed all or most of the nasty road additives, which is the most important.

Sorry for the long post! Hope it is helpful.

-Heather

 

Again, thanks for the input. This is great info!

 

Wow, Heather, you're like some kind of car-washing genius! What a helpful post--thanks!

 

Heather, another great post. Maybe you should open a new thread with Winter paint / car care tips. (Good sticky for the winter season)

 

i think the Griot's sprayon car wash works great. been using it
for the last couple of months on my hobby cars and it's done
the job very well.

it would not 'replace' washing a car especially when hit with
roadsalt, but it does the temporary job of keeping the car
looking clean.

 

Heather,
Great points. You should write a book.