rollinm

Want to pass on my good results with a product called crspotless (http://www.crspotless.com/). Its suppose to deionize water so you can let water dry on the car without having spots. There's no towel drying necessary and you can wash in the sun (which I still wouldnt recommend -- soap could dry right?)

I had tried the soft water treated (spot free) at a local bldg hand wash place, but it did horrible.

Was very pleased with this + no problem with the water draining from from mirrors and drying.

Rollin

atomarchio

how much did it cost? which product did you buy?

Nocturnal

Sounds a bit like that MrMean eh MrClean car wash product with water softner cartridges.

rollinm

I got the smaller model di100wm. It's $189 plus some shipping.
Yea its serious bucks for car washing.. not for everyone. But during the nice weather in the summer I find myself washing the car frequently so anything that does that job better/easier is something that catches my eye.

The filters should be good for about 100 gallons. I was using it with a 1.6gpm pressure washer. There's also some attachments to cut it back to 1 or 2 gallons / min which I think you have to use.

It's a similar concept to the mr clean thing except I actually have decent water pressure with this. and a mr clean filter was getting used in about 8 washes.

Rob L

yep i use the mr clean car wash product. it does what it says it does which surprised me at first because i was skeptical.

rollinm

The other thing I didnt like about the mr clean is if you use their soap it seems to leave some kind of film on the car (that is suppose to help the soft water rinse sheet better).

My problem was it seemed to film the zaino wax.. ie no longer beaded. and not sure about the wax apperance so I stopped using it.

1HOT NSX

I have a dedicated softwater fawcet outside my garage that I use to wash my cars. It's the best to prevent water spots and it's not expensive to install if you already have a water softener for your house. I highly recommend this approach to washing your car.

jftjr

I've had good luck with the Mr. Clean system... but I have pretty soft water here anyway. I don't, however, use Zaino so I can't speak as to how it does with their product, but with Mother's pure Carnauba i've had no problems at all.

paulgo

This is a crazy tip for people who love to wash their cars alot. I bought a Stilh gas powered blower and I now use it to dry my car after washing. The benefit is that you can get most of the water off the car quickly and you can get water out of tight spots like the mirrors. It is also great for winter washing as it helps you get back inside faster. When finished I take a chamois and do a quick touch up and your done.

Paul G.
Avon, Ct.

Nocturnal

I have a picture somewhere of me with an electric blower drying my S4. Because I was wearing shorts and rain boots it wasn't the most elegant pose so I won't post it But I can confirm that this works quite well. Very noisy though.

Treblig

Can you use any other soap in the Mr Clean system?

bkw

I do the same thing. I have a b&d one that supposedly blows up to 200mph and works like a charm!

I still dont trust those spray and wash type systems yet. I still wash my car the good ole way - soak, wash, rinse, dry.

RandyChicago

Yeah, I've been using an electric blower to dry off my cars for about 5 years now. The neighbors all think I'm nuts. I use 100% cotton towels after I blow most of the water off the car... Overall, there is a lot less friction/rubbing with the towels, and it really cuts down on swirl marks. The best part is getting the water out of the doors and mirrors, preventing the dried water spots from forming later.

Randy

jftjr

If there's one word that needs saying in the cleaning/detailing area, it's MICROFIBER. Throw out your cotton towels, your terry cloth, your chamois...and get a bundle of microfiber detailing towels.

They're really absorbent, dont' scratch, don't lint, and they're great for interior or exterior. A microfiber towel lightly dampened with clean water will do your entire interior, from glass to dash to leather.... and nothing beats them for drying your car.

I don't use a blower, although that's a pretty good idea. Before I switched to the Mr. Clean system, which obviates any need to dry the car, I'd use an all-rubber squeegee to get all the big drops off the car before touching up with a microfiber.

RandyChicago

Yeah, I've tried the microfiber towels, but I still prefer cotton. Microfiber products seem to vary greatly in quality from one brand to the next, and they labeling of what they're made of doesn't seem to be accurate across the board. The bulk package of them that I picked up from Costco for about $20 (they're bright yellow) leave a TON of lint on anything they touch, even after repeated washings. Another expensive one I bought, just as one towel, also leaves lint, especially on mirrors and glass. I own a few microfiber towels that I actually like, but they are too small for drying a car and too expensive to buy a bunch... I do use them on occasion to get the dried Zaino polish out of the edges of the 3M Clear Bra... Where do you get your microfiber towels?

Randy

lflorack

I get my microfiber drying towels at Autopia Car Care. Specifically, try this for a great MF Drying Towel

jftjr

Believe it or not, I got them at Pep Boys. They were a bit linty out of the box but after a wash and a tumble dry (no softener!!!) have been perfect.

I tried the Costco yellow ones. I agree, they're crap.