Question on Washing Procedure with Deionized Water

[1Wolf]

Hello.  You'll have to forgive me as I'm a bit new to the world of detailing.  Previously I'd always just gone to the corner car wash or done it myself with a bucket and a rag.  I simply didn't know any better.  However, with my new black Ford Raptor I really wanted to take good care of it and keep it looking nice.  I knew being a big supercrew truck, and black...it would be a challenge.  I also had a Modesta coating done to it at a reliable and trusted detail shop.  So I purchased a whole bunch of Adam's Products a couple months ago and have been slowly learning the proper ways to use them.

 

I've got the merino wash mitts, wash buckets, soap, detail spray, double-soft towels, great white drying towels, single soft towels...I even have the Master Blaster Revolution for drying...and a whole bunch of other Adam's stuff.  I think I have most of everything I might need, and probably a bunch of stuff I won't.

 

However, My water here is ridiculously hard.  One of my earlier attempts at washing my truck, even using the products above, was pretty disastrous.  My cloud cover dispersed and I ended up in the 2pm sun, with a black soapy truck.  By the time I was done it looked worse than when I started and was covered in really hard water spots.

 

I purchased a TDS meter and my water scored about as bad as it could get on the chart.  I recently purchased a "Simple Chuck" (CR Spotless) Deionzied water device and between that, my Adam's Foam Cannon, and my pressure washer, it has really solved 99.9% of my problem.

 

On to my question...

 

My question was how and what should my wash/dry "routine" be with the Simple Chuck and how to work the presence of the deionized water into my procedure? 

 

At its most basic...my procedure would be:

 

1) Pre-Rinse with Deionized water & Pressure Washer (I prefer to use Deionized water both for the rinse & the soap itself.)

2) Foam Cannon with Adam's Shampoo.  Then let it sit & soak for a few.

3) Rinse with deionized water

 

(At this point, if the truck wasn't that dirty then I can stop the 'washing' stage here and move on to drying.  Otherwise, I move on to a 2 bucket wash...)

 

4) Foam Cannon again with Adam's Shampoo.

5) 2 Bucket Wash (Though I'm moving to the one bucket method using a stack of Merino Mitts)

6) Rinse with Deizonized Water

 

Ok...at this point is where my questions come in and where I'm confused what I should do next...

 

Because its deionized water, should I just skip using the master blaster, great white drying towels, detail spray, or any of that and just let it dry?  I tried doing that for my last wash and it worked "pretty good" but I still had some water spots and some runs from the door handles, mirrors, etc.  Also, it certainly was very shiney but I noticed it didn't quite have that same level of "shine".

 

Or...should I go ahead and use the master blaster after rinsing and blow all the water off I can?

 

Or....is the correct procedure to spritz each panel with Adam's Detail spray and THEN use the Master Blaster?  Or should i use the Master Blaster and THEN detail spray?  Should I not be using detail spray at all?

 

If I should use detail spray...should I use it with a great white drying towel or with a double soft towel?

 

As you can see, I'm just not sure whether or not to use (or if I should use, where I should work in) the use of detail spray, the master blaster, or the use of any towels?  Or maybe with the deionized water I should be using any of that stuff at all?  I've read of folks saying that the detail spray attracts alot of dust so maybe I should be using detail spray at all?

 

What happens if you let the deionized water dry and you DO have some runs or water spots?  How do you clean those up?  Waterless Wash?

 

I'm also just confused because I'm not sure whether its best to use the foam canon & deionized water and try not to touch the truck at ALL?  Or whether I still DO need to touch the truck?

 

Hopefully those questions made sense.  Once again, I'm a newbie at this so please forgive if any of those were silly or stupid questions...or if I'm simply doing it wrong.  Thanks in advance!

 

[Firebuff17]

@HeavenOnWheels

 

I think you are on the right track with your procedure now... using a separate hose for DI rinse and not using the pressure washer.

 

I have been causally looking into doing DI rinse at home (smaller scale than your tanks) and from what I have read most of the sites, articles, manufactures have all mentioned using a low flow misting nozzle (something like 0.75 or 1.25 gpm.. can’t remember off the top of my head).
 

So using a pressure washer for DI might be to high of a GPM..... not sure why they are rusting out though... but I could see why they might be burning up by not having enough incoming gpm’s. 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Firebuff17

[mc2hill]

@HeavenOnWheels I would recommend looking at Rinseless Washing.  If the cars have a good coating of wax (or sealant or a coating) you can wash & dry them in 30 minutes or less. 

 

On the DI water and the pressure washer, I am wondering if the DI system is reducing the amount of water needed by the pressure washer.  

[TheWolf]

@HeavenOnWheels

 

My theory is that your DI filters are leaking resin material, and when the resin gets into the pressure washer pump, it is ruining the pump seals.  The ground up resin would also have the same color as rust, which is what you may be seeing.

 

I have had my low-flow electric pressure washer running nothing but DI water for 5 years, with no problems and no rust.

 

A gas pressure washer does need more water than could come through the DI filters, so it may have damaged the screen or mesh that keeps the resin in place.

 

Test this theory by running water through the filters and into a bucket with just a short hose (no pressure washer), and at maximum flow, then check to see if there is resin in the bucket.