Car wash options - underground car parks
Discussion
My cars are parked in an underground car park below my apartment. There is no water supply and I dont think they would appreciate me lugging buckets of water up and down and making a mess of the car park. Other than an occasional spray on waterless wax cloth when the car is pretty much clean already (but might have a little dust on it), I resign myself to using the local £5 car wash. I am conscious of the fact these don't do my paintwork any favours but can't see many other options.
For those who have a similar set up, and don't have car wash facilities to DIY, what do you do? Are there any other options? Don't fancy blowing £25 a week and however much time finding a specialist detailer to do a 5 bucket wash or whatever. Only thing that comes to mind is a bucket of sponges and bits in the boot and find a garage with a wash booth that I can at least do myself, albeit limited to the use of the garage's spray hoses etc which I still don't like as hard to avoid dragging across the roof etc when walking around the car.
For those who have a similar set up, and don't have car wash facilities to DIY, what do you do? Are there any other options? Don't fancy blowing £25 a week and however much time finding a specialist detailer to do a 5 bucket wash or whatever. Only thing that comes to mind is a bucket of sponges and bits in the boot and find a garage with a wash booth that I can at least do myself, albeit limited to the use of the garage's spray hoses etc which I still don't like as hard to avoid dragging across the roof etc when walking around the car.
When I lived in Glasgow, I had an underground parking space in the City Centre and no water. I bought a battery powered Karcher type portable pressure washer. It wasn't brilliant, but did the job and I nearly always ran out of water so I bought a 20 litre water container and bungied it to a festival trolley. There are the yellow manual pump pressure washers from Streetwize that are utter crap and I threw it away. Back then things like the Worx Hydroshot weren't invented, so if I had to do it now, I would buy one of them and feed it from a 20 litre drum.
On other ocassions, I have gone to the local garage jetwash at stupid o'clock when no-one is around and used the jetwash on spray only, then cleaned the car with a bucket and wash mitt that I took with me, and then used the jetwash again to rinse. But most people would fine that a faff and go to their local Eastern European car wash.
On other ocassions, I have gone to the local garage jetwash at stupid o'clock when no-one is around and used the jetwash on spray only, then cleaned the car with a bucket and wash mitt that I took with me, and then used the jetwash again to rinse. But most people would fine that a faff and go to their local Eastern European car wash.
Shnozz said:
My cars are parked in an underground car park below my apartment. There is no water supply and I dont think they would appreciate me lugging buckets of water up and down and making a mess of the car park. Other than an occasional spray on waterless wax cloth when the car is pretty much clean already (but might have a little dust on it), I resign myself to using the local £5 car wash. I am conscious of the fact these don't do my paintwork any favours but can't see many other options.
For those who have a similar set up, and don't have car wash facilities to DIY, what do you do? Are there any other options? Don't fancy blowing £25 a week and however much time finding a specialist detailer to do a 5 bucket wash or whatever. Only thing that comes to mind is a bucket of sponges and bits in the boot and find a garage with a wash booth that I can at least do myself, albeit limited to the use of the garage's spray hoses etc which I still don't like as hard to avoid dragging across the roof etc when walking around the car.
you need to get yourself some 'ONR' (Optimum no rinse). its an absolute game changer for situations like yours. For those who have a similar set up, and don't have car wash facilities to DIY, what do you do? Are there any other options? Don't fancy blowing £25 a week and however much time finding a specialist detailer to do a 5 bucket wash or whatever. Only thing that comes to mind is a bucket of sponges and bits in the boot and find a garage with a wash booth that I can at least do myself, albeit limited to the use of the garage's spray hoses etc which I still don't like as hard to avoid dragging across the roof etc when walking around the car.
One bucket with 2/3thirds water, a cap full of this and a few microfibre towels and you can clean a moderately dirty car with ease with no water supply at all. Wash with your microfibres a panel at a time and you feel it lift dirt off the panel, rinse in the bucket and repeat, using several microfibres to do one car would be the safest way, or a nice plush wash mitt. Once a panel is washed you can use your drying towel and dry it. Its a pretty quick process.
Not quite aggressive enough to get stubborn brake dust off wheels, so id use a wheel cleaner and brush, and then have some ONR in pump sprayer to rinse the wheels.
plenty of youtube vids and reviews on it but for a car that's not absolutely caked up to its nuts in mud, its my go to product.. once cleaned, a nice wipe down with your spray sealant / wax / detailer of choice and your car is team gleam.
Its one of those products that was raved about for years on detailing forums which i just avoided or took no interest in... ironically its something i wish i'd bought years a ago.
Edited by irfan1712 on Thursday 18th November 15:57
Edited by irfan1712 on Thursday 18th November 15:59
irfan1712 said:
you need to get yourself some 'ONR' (Optimum no rinse). its an absolute game changer for situations like yours.
One bucket with 2/3thirds water, a cap full of this and a few microfibre towels and you can clean a moderately dirty car with ease with no water supply at all. Wash with your microfibres a panel at a time and you feel it lift dirt off the panel, rinse in the bucket and repeat, using several microfibres to do one car would be the safest way, or a nice plush wash mitt. Once a panel is washed you can use your drying towel and dry it. Its a pretty quick process.
Not quite aggressive enough to get stubborn brake dust off wheels, so id use a wheel cleaner and brush, and then have some ONR in pump sprayer to rinse the wheels.
plenty of youtube vids and reviews on it but for a car that's not absolutely caked up to its nuts in mud, its my go to product.. once cleaned, a nice wipe down with your spray sealant / wax / detailer of choice and your car is team gleam.
Its one of those products that was raved about for years on detailing forums which i just avoided or took no interest in... ironically its something i wish i'd bought years a ago.
This looks brilliant! Many thanks for the heads up! Ordered.One bucket with 2/3thirds water, a cap full of this and a few microfibre towels and you can clean a moderately dirty car with ease with no water supply at all. Wash with your microfibres a panel at a time and you feel it lift dirt off the panel, rinse in the bucket and repeat, using several microfibres to do one car would be the safest way, or a nice plush wash mitt. Once a panel is washed you can use your drying towel and dry it. Its a pretty quick process.
Not quite aggressive enough to get stubborn brake dust off wheels, so id use a wheel cleaner and brush, and then have some ONR in pump sprayer to rinse the wheels.
plenty of youtube vids and reviews on it but for a car that's not absolutely caked up to its nuts in mud, its my go to product.. once cleaned, a nice wipe down with your spray sealant / wax / detailer of choice and your car is team gleam.
Its one of those products that was raved about for years on detailing forums which i just avoided or took no interest in... ironically its something i wish i'd bought years a ago.
Edited by irfan1712 on Thursday 18th November 15:57
Edited by irfan1712 on Thursday 18th November 15:59
Shnozz said:
irfan1712 said:
you need to get yourself some 'ONR' (Optimum no rinse). its an absolute game changer for situations like yours.
One bucket with 2/3thirds water, a cap full of this and a few microfibre towels and you can clean a moderately dirty car with ease with no water supply at all. Wash with your microfibres a panel at a time and you feel it lift dirt off the panel, rinse in the bucket and repeat, using several microfibres to do one car would be the safest way, or a nice plush wash mitt. Once a panel is washed you can use your drying towel and dry it. Its a pretty quick process.
Not quite aggressive enough to get stubborn brake dust off wheels, so id use a wheel cleaner and brush, and then have some ONR in pump sprayer to rinse the wheels.
plenty of youtube vids and reviews on it but for a car that's not absolutely caked up to its nuts in mud, its my go to product.. once cleaned, a nice wipe down with your spray sealant / wax / detailer of choice and your car is team gleam.
Its one of those products that was raved about for years on detailing forums which i just avoided or took no interest in... ironically its something i wish i'd bought years a ago.
This looks brilliant! Many thanks for the heads up! Ordered.One bucket with 2/3thirds water, a cap full of this and a few microfibre towels and you can clean a moderately dirty car with ease with no water supply at all. Wash with your microfibres a panel at a time and you feel it lift dirt off the panel, rinse in the bucket and repeat, using several microfibres to do one car would be the safest way, or a nice plush wash mitt. Once a panel is washed you can use your drying towel and dry it. Its a pretty quick process.
Not quite aggressive enough to get stubborn brake dust off wheels, so id use a wheel cleaner and brush, and then have some ONR in pump sprayer to rinse the wheels.
plenty of youtube vids and reviews on it but for a car that's not absolutely caked up to its nuts in mud, its my go to product.. once cleaned, a nice wipe down with your spray sealant / wax / detailer of choice and your car is team gleam.
Its one of those products that was raved about for years on detailing forums which i just avoided or took no interest in... ironically its something i wish i'd bought years a ago.
Edited by irfan1712 on Thursday 18th November 15:57
Edited by irfan1712 on Thursday 18th November 15:59
+1 for ONR. It was a game changer for me. Check out various YouTube instructional vids on how to use it but my method is the following:
Bucket full of warm water with ONR in it
Drop five or six good quality microfibres in it to soak
Fill a squirty bottle with the water and ONR mix
Spray a panel liberally with the mixture to soak and loosen the dirt/dust
Take one of the microfibres out the bucket, loosely wring it out and wipe down the panel, turning the cloth if necessary
Repeat for the rest of the car.
Use a good drying towel to dry each panel after wiping down
This might sound quite involved but I can wash my cars to a very high standard in an hour. Obviously if your car is covered in mud and grime you’ll need to wash it properly with a pressure washer but otherwise the ONR will be pretty safe the rest of the time.
Oh yes, and to do the insides of the wheel barrels I wrap a pre-soaked microfibre cloth around a long-handled wheel brush to get right inside the wheels.
Hope that helps. ONR is amazing stuff!
Bucket full of warm water with ONR in it
Drop five or six good quality microfibres in it to soak
Fill a squirty bottle with the water and ONR mix
Spray a panel liberally with the mixture to soak and loosen the dirt/dust
Take one of the microfibres out the bucket, loosely wring it out and wipe down the panel, turning the cloth if necessary
Repeat for the rest of the car.
Use a good drying towel to dry each panel after wiping down
This might sound quite involved but I can wash my cars to a very high standard in an hour. Obviously if your car is covered in mud and grime you’ll need to wash it properly with a pressure washer but otherwise the ONR will be pretty safe the rest of the time.
Oh yes, and to do the insides of the wheel barrels I wrap a pre-soaked microfibre cloth around a long-handled wheel brush to get right inside the wheels.
Hope that helps. ONR is amazing stuff!
Shnozz said:
Do you gents procure ONR on Amazon or elsewhere? I can see it on Amazon but few other U.K. outlets.
Stock levels can be a bit hit and miss at times. Sometimes I’ll use Amazon, other times I use In2Detailing. I also use ONR as a clay lube when I decontaminate my paintwork prior to machine polishing. You can also use it as a quick detailer too. Brilliant stuff!
There are many rinseless washes out there. ONR is the most well known, and with the Feynlab, it is the very best at cleaning, but should only really be used on ceramic coated cars or if you’re deep cleaning cars as it will severely degrade most normal waxes and sealants, like a decon wash. It’s chemistry means that it’s great for coatings and won’t harm them as they are inert, but it’s too strong for normal protection products.
Another rinseless product that I’ve used and is very good and gentle, like ONR is Griot’s Brilliant Finish.
Another rinseless product that I’ve used and is very good and gentle, like ONR is Griot’s Brilliant Finish.
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