ONR + I may be the worst user and/or car cleaner

T

totalstu

New member
So last week I had Picus, aka Kevin, multi step my black car. It looked awesome. I read all about ONR and decided this was they perfect thing for me. Car will look great, no need to schlep out the hose, etc. I also read Scottwax's post on how to wash the car using ONR. Well, today was my first attempt. I used the two bucket method, the rinse bucket had a gritguard. I had my Sheepskin mit, MF and WW towels, etc. all from Pakshak. The car looks clean though when I get close I can see some swirls :cry: I also see some waterspots. I tried to use Mothers QD to get rid of them but it didn't seem to help. Obviously I did something wrong. Hopefully I'll get better at this. I can't wait until fall when Kevin revisit's my car. I'm thinking he may need to come sooner :o



BTW, my first attempt using ONR took about an hour and fifteen minutes. I'm tired, but it was good exercise and lord knows I could use the exercise :)
 
Yea, something happened. It's super easy with ONR not to have water spots. and swirls? does your sheepskin mitt have embedded dirt?



Also, wash back and forth, not in circles.
 
When I use ONR, I pre-soak first using diluted ONR in a spray bottle. Then I proceed with the Sheepskin Mitt and Bucket method.
 
I use DP 4-in-1 and make sure to spray down all the panels with a solution of the same strength as the wash water. I get very minor swirling over a period of months and my paint is butter soft.
 
this is still very strange. I've been using ONR for nearly a year and get no more marring than I would from any other wash method.



Are you guys only doing one panel at a time and clearing your mitts of leaves/bugs etc as they appear? Are there swirls occuring during your drying process?
 
thesacrifice said:
Yea, something happened. It's super easy with ONR not to have water spots. and swirls? does your sheepskin mitt have embedded dirt?



Also, wash back and forth, not in circles.
Click to expand...



Not sure what I did to make the swirls. The mitt was brand new. I guess it's possible the mitt had dirt in it and I didn't get it off when rinsing in the bucket that had the grit guard. I may have washed in circles at times but I tried to just go back and forth. I did wash the towels, with the microfiber cleaner, before using them.



I'm not giving up on ONR yet. I'm more thinking it was my technique and/or drying ability. It's my first new car and it's black. Maybe I should have practiced on it before I got Kevin to do his thing.
 
Just keep at it, I promise you'll get it.



Let the mitt glide across your paint, don't try and scrub or anything. The dirt you're targeting while washing a car should come right off... if it doesn't it needs to be tackled by a different process...this is true with a conventional waterhose style washing as well. You don't want to scrub!.



Keep your mitt soaked, flip the mitt regularly. Don't spend a lot of time in one area, a couple passes with your mitt is sufficient. When you're drying pay attention to your towels. Are your towels getting dirty? If yes, you probably missed a spot with your mitt.
 
either straight or circles, it doesnt matter....either you get straight line marring, or swirling marring....



I get less swirls on my toyota using ONR, but always tend to go to the hose and soap method..why I have no idea...but with ONR, I get my marring from the MF during the drying process...
 
Hey Stu, I was going to type a long reply. Instead I am going to call you. :)



OK, you're not there. A couple thoughts.



When I washed your car I noticed the water there was pretty hard, not well water hard, but hard enough. With ONR since you're drying each panel usually this doesn't matter, but you might want to grab a water filter for filling your ONR buckets.



Also, when drying the panel make sure to dry each one thoroughly. I use two WW's, one to lightly dry (leaves it a bit damp), then follow with the second and dry entirely.



How many mitts did you use on the car, just one? You might want to grab a couple more. Use one for the roof, hood, and rear deck then put it aside, use another for the doors, fenders....then another for the rockers, bumpers, etc...



When you are drying, are you blotting or dragging the towel?



Oh, how dirty was the car before you washed?



We'll definitely go over it next time I see you.
 
I think rinsing cars with a PW, or regular hose is key before using ONR. This is especially true with cars that are dirtier than average. With hard water, the polymers in ONR are bonding to the contaminants in the water. Soft water leaves more polymers to bond with the dirt on the car. Make sure that your wash applicator is holding plenty of water. I use a MF mitt which not only traps lots of grime, but holds a phenominal amount of water. I was drying with large MF towels, however, I have gone back to the Water Sprite because it is just easier and faster. I did notice some marring on cars with lots of salt and sand, but I suspect this would have happened with a normal wash as well.
 
Picus said:
Hey Stu, I was going to type a long reply. Instead I am going to call you. :)



OK, you're not there. A couple thoughts.



When I washed your car I noticed the water there was pretty hard, not well water hard, but hard enough. With ONR since you're drying each panel usually this doesn't matter, but you might want to grab a water filter for filling your ONR buckets.



Also, when drying the panel make sure to dry each one thoroughly. I use two WW's, one to lightly dry (leaves it a bit damp), then follow with the second and dry entirely.



How many mitts did you use on the car, just one? You might want to grab a couple more. Use one for the roof, hood, and rear deck then put it aside, use another for the doors, fenders....then another for the rockers, bumpers, etc...



When you are drying, are you blotting or dragging the towel?



Oh, how dirty was the car before you washed?



We'll definitely go over it next time I see you.
Click to expand...



Hi Kevin,



I heard your VM. Thanks for calling. I was at my sisters at it was my niece's birthday.



Ok, on to the car. It wasn't that dirty. There was a layer of dust and water spots from the small rain we had earlier in the week. I'll take your word on the hard water. Actually, I'm not even to sure what that is. I know I drink it but I recall being at people's homes and their water tastes weird. They say they have some sort of system on it to make the water soft. I didn't use the water from the hose but instead filled up the bucket in the sink in the basement. Where would I get a filter?



I used one mitt. It is now hanging on the line drying. It is looking dirty. The rinse bukcet of course had dirty water. The wash bucket water was pretty clear. I'm wondering if I had to much water and not enough ONR, or vice versa.



I did use two WW towels. One did get dirty so it's possible I missed a spot or two. I did notice a filmy like effect on a small section of one of the windows which makes me think my drying technique needs more practice. I was dragging the towels.



The good thing is that no one noticed anything. Well, other than myself. The car looked good. My sister's in-laws loved it :)



I'll call you tomorrow.



Thanks
 
I've been using ONR in my mobile business almost 100% for 5 months and part of the time for a year before that. I've feel I get less marring using ONR than regular washing. I'm not sure why water spotting would occur unless your water is very hard or you don't dry as you go. Hotter it is and the darker the car the smaller the area I do before drying. Rarely will I do more than a few panels before drying and in the heat I'm doing a panel at a time or half a hood. If hard water is the problem then consider using bottled water or getting a garden hose water softener filter. I think I paid around $50 for mine with cartridge.
 
Stu, when you have dirt on your drying towel, well, the washing process wasn't totally effective (stubborn road film, diesel fumes, etc.). That means: wash the area lightly, then flip the mitt and wash again. Now this is the critical point in the people's minds: instead of drying, rinse the mitt really well, and wash again. Repeat as needed. Then dry. The drying towel has to be absolutely clean.



Strange but some people have the imprint that a wash-dry process is strictly one washing and one drying cycle. What a misconception!



If your paint is soft, listen to Kevin (2 towel method), or when you are absolute anal, just blot it dry.
 
Bence said:
Stu, when you have dirt on your drying towel, well, the washing process wasn't totally effective (stubborn road film, diesel fumes, etc.). That means: wash the area lightly, then flip the mitt and wash again. Now this is the critical point in the people's minds: instead of drying, rinse the mitt really well, and wash again. Repeat as needed. Then dry. The drying towel has to be absolutely clean.



Strange but some people have the imprint that a wash-dry process is strictly one washing and one drying cycle. What a misconception!



If your paint is soft, listen to Kevin (2 towel method), or when you are absolute anal, just blot it dry.
Click to expand...



Thanks for the advice guys.



I've been thinking about the water spots and wondering if the spots are actually from the rain a few days ago and me either not having the proper ratio of ONR to water or maybe I'm not washing those areas properly. Funny thing is I took out my Mothers QD and still couldn't get them off.



Can someone explain blot drying. I did a search and didn't really find the technique. I think I know what you mean but could use a proper explanation.



Thanks
 
Bence said:
Stu, when you have dirt on your drying towel, well, the washing process wasn't totally effective (stubborn road film, diesel fumes, etc.). That means: wash the area lightly, then flip the mitt and wash again. Now this is the critical point in the people's minds: instead of drying, rinse the mitt really well, and wash again. Repeat as needed. Then dry. The drying towel has to be absolutely clean.



Strange but some people have the imprint that a wash-dry process is strictly one washing and one drying cycle. What a misconception!



If your paint is soft, listen to Kevin (2 towel method), or when you are absolute anal, just blot it dry.
Click to expand...



I was going to state this but Bence nailed it here with this fine description.:up



When you're drying there should be no dirt on your towel and I personally would not recommend a wool wash mitt of any kind but rather a plush microfiber towel or mitt. Once you notice it getting black then toss in a new mitt and continue.



Anthony
 
I think it's all in the drying phase.



I use one MF towel to get 98% of the water. Then use another virtually dry MF to make sure all the finest water micro-droplets are completely gone.



My understanding is that the ONR will encapsulate the dirt and hold it in suspension. If the water dries, the dirt will just be stuck to your paint, leaving ugly water spots. Use a 3rd towel if you have to, but the car should be polished dry, like you would with a quick detailer.
 
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