Waterless Car Wash

[Saandiaago]

I would just skip a few showers and use that ration of water to clean the M3 instead. Just kidding man. I've actually been thinking of the same thing as you but can't think of an alternative to water that won't scratch my frozen paint. I would not trust the guys at a car wash with my car and do it myself. I conserve in other ways and have a pretty efficient method down. Probably use less than 10 gallons as a rough guess. Remember " if it's yellow then let it mellow and if it's brown flush it down".

[tbone28]

I called my water company. We are actually well under the allowed max water usage in our household. And so I thought I could still wash my car. Answer is still No where I live. Do so, get fined. Worse than that, I piss of my neighbors. Not really wanting that.

[Saandiaago]

Understood. Have not heard of such water restrictions here yet other than not washing down pavement, minimizing irrigation runoff and limiting yard watering to 3 days a week. Have seen neighbors watering the sidewalk in the middle of the day which pisses me off. Hoping for an El Niño winter this year!

[tbone28]

Yeah it's city-specific. Sacramento says washing your car is ok as long as you have a shut-off valve on your hose, but city regulations supersede state ones I learned. It's at a point where green lawns are frowned upon

[tbone28]

I ended up buying both the Adam's and Pinnacle waterless wash. I like both, however, I will be sticking with Pinnacle for the long-term. I like the Pinnacle because it has wax in and is sold in concentrate form. It's a great product. I washed my car once via traditional methods, and have been using the Pinnacle twice weekly for quick 10-minute wipe downs.

[PandaM3]

I use Chemical Guys Ecosmart wash for my regular washes twice a month
- I bought 1 gallon of concetrated wash + a pump sprayer + army of plush microfiber towels and so far in 1 year I have only used 1/4 of it
- I use this to wash my 3 cars on a bimonthly basis
- You can literally watch it lift dirt off the surface... so no additional scratches that I have noticed... and it works well even on heavily soiled cars
- ads a carnuba wax coating
- If I get streaks or spots... I can top it off with CG's V07 quick detailer
- quick and portable... I even used it on a road trip to wash and detail the car after driving to San Francisco along the 5 freeway... the front end was coated with dead insects... sprayed the front down using a citrus bug/ tar remover then washed the whole car using Ecosmart...

If it is really soiled I use Chemical Guys Eco wash rinseless wash using a two bucket method
- feels much more lubricated than Optimum No Rinse when in use
- ads a synthetic wax coating

I also perfected a wheel wash routine
1) use a second pump sprayer to spray wheel down with water
2) spray the rims with CG's signature wheel cleaner
3) agitate with a MF brush
4) rinse using the pump sprayer with water
5) quick spray with the Ecosmart and wipe down with the cheap Costco MF towels