Seattle Scott

A cube neighbor has been asking me for advice about cars the last few months and has been very impressed with the 1 Grand Blitz Wax and 1 Grand ERV I have given him. He brought in a product called "waterless" car wash for me to try. He claimed it really made a car feel smooth and look good.

So I brought the bottle home, read the instructions and gave it a small try on my pickup truck. I also decided to use a clay bar with Maguire's Quick Detailer as a comparison. The truck wash washed a few weeks ago and has Klasse AIO and two coats of Klasse SG on it.

I felt the hood with a cheap plastic bag over my hand. I tested on two small areas about two feet long and eight inches wide on the hood of the truck. I used a high grade microfiber towel from from microfiber-tech to buff both test areas. In my estimate the waterless cleaner removed about 50 percent of the dirt I could feel with the plastic bag on my hand. The clay bar got about 100 percent of the dirt. Both test areas looked shiny after buffing.

I looked up the waterless product on the Internet. It sells for $1.31 an ounce....which got me to thinking...and we have expensive liquor in this state...and a cheap bottle of booze in this state costs less per ounce...so why not just wash the car with tequila?

In case you can't tell, I didn't think too much of the waterless stuff but washing my car in booze would be fun to do with the neighbors watching. BTW, the waterless stuff was wet and in a pretty cool aerosol bottle with a built-in pressure pump...but the bottle costs $4.

<b>DRI WASH 'n GUARD® CLASSIC Waterless Car Wash with exclusive Poly Guard-3^TM is so versatile that virtually any hard, non-porous surface can be cleaned, polished, and protected without water; cars, boats, recreational vehicles, diesel trucks, motorcycles, skis, busses, airplanes, and more! </b>

<img src="http://www.dwgint.com/images/products/driwash.jpg"><ul><li><a href="http://www.vmcvay.dwgint.net/">Waterless Car Wash and Engine Oil Treatments and Personal Care Products!!!!</a></li></ul>

hegira

If you used tequila, wouldn't the worm clog the sprayer?

RickM

If the waterless stuff is supposed to be a substitute for a normal wash, it doesn't seem fair to do a plastic glove test on the paint after using it; regular car wash liquid and a bucket of water wouldn't have removed that embedded grit either, right? And you wouldn't use a clay bar on a dirty car either -- you have to wash it first. So it seems like an apples-to-oranges comparison.

Having said that, I don't understand how a "waterless" wash is supposed to work. The car is dirty, and you rub it down with this stuff? Doesn't the paint get scratched like crazy? Don't you end up going through a ton of towels as they get dirty and a clean section of towel is needed? I don't get it. The web site FAQ reads like a bunch of BS gibberish.

<i>The detergents and wetting agents in DRI WASH 'n GUARD® combine to soften and emulsify surface grime, while a specific blend of polymeroxane fluids and hydrophenolic lubricants attach a microscopic layer of exclusive PolyGuard-3® to the surface. PolyGuard-3® is an extremely rare (and expensive) substance which provides a bonded layer of protection against any remaining abrasive not broken down by the detergents and wetting agents.</i>

Yeah, sure!

Seattle Scott

I was probably reacting to the claims of the waterless cleaner owner on my own terms and conditions. We had been talking about waterless shampoo and waterless carpet cleaning too.

My biggest suprise was the stuff was wet...reminded me of people that say "I don't need water, I'll drink beer and milk instead".

So there, Poly Gard 3 wasn't up to the clay challenge. I bet it can't help arthritis either or make tires black, or increase gas milage, or kill foot fungus.

Stick that in your de-humidifier and smoke it Mr. Waterless Basement Guy. I'm not going to play by your establishment rules and hangups. I might go wash my car with a jelly fish tonight just to let the man know I am not his plastic robot.

<img src="http://www.whitetreeaz.com/vintage/banjsalv.jpg">

KentuckyS4

These obviously are two different types of products.

KentuckyS4

Q&amp;E wash is excellent for washing where you can't rinse (apartment, mobile detailers, winter garage washes, etc.) I've used it for a couple of years and it's used on some pretty high dollar vehicles by pro detailers with great results.

Seattle Scott

to test my my claims and compare the hammer to aspirin it's a valid comparison that will probably debunk the claim that hitting your head with a hammer cures headaches.