APC With Rinseless Wash

[dg150]

I've recently switched to doing rinseless washing due to the cold weather. I've only done the method a couple times but I think it's my new favorite way to wash. I have been stopping by the pay and spray on my way home and just rinsing the chunks of salt off before doing the rinseless. My only complaint is that it doesn't seem to get all of the road film off of my truck. I was wondering if it would be ok if every couple washes to "pretreat" the area with some diluted APC? I would let that sit for about a minute then give it a spray with waterless mixture and then do my rinseless. I know doing this will probably be hard on my sealant but plan on doing a spray wax after. My only concern is not being able to get all of the APC off with the rinseless. 

 

Appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.  

[cwp2016nd]

When it starts getting cold out I don't worry myself too much with the thoughts of stripping my sealant for the fact I use a drying aid every wash in the winter. 

 

If I happen to use APC before-hand to help remove caked on grime and it began to degrade my sealant, no biggie. I add spray wax (non Adam's) to the panel when drying which should provide another 2-3 weeks of protection which is longer than I go for maintenance washes. 

 

Once it is spring/summer I don't use APC often because I don't have that caked on grime on the vehicle. 

[cwp2016nd]

3 hours ago, dg150 said:

I've recently switched to doing rinseless washing due to the cold weather. I've only done the method a couple times but I think it's my new favorite way to wash. I have been stopping by the pay and spray on my way home and just rinsing the chunks of salt off before doing the rinseless. My only complaint is that it doesn't seem to get all of the road film off of my truck. I was wondering if it would be ok if every couple washes to "pretreat" the area with some diluted APC? I would let that sit for about a minute then give it a spray with waterless mixture and then do my rinseless. I know doing this will probably be hard on my sealant but plan on doing a spray wax after. My only concern is not being able to get all of the APC off with the rinseless. 

 

Appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.  

I've done it many times. 

 

A better solution would be to spray the panel down with your APC and THEN rinse it down at the pay and spray. The stuck on crud will come off much easier that way in my experience. 

[dg150]

41 minutes ago, cwp2016nd said:

I've done it many times. 

 

A better solution would be to spray the panel down with your APC and THEN rinse it down at the pay and spray. The stuck on crud will come off much easier that way in my experience. 

 

I also considered doing that. I just assumed doing it right before the rinseless would maybe work better. Doing the rinseless would agitate it compared to just rinsing it off. Maybe i will try doing it before the spray and pay and see if it works that way. Also if the APC is diluted, say 1:5 with distilled water, any ideas on how much damage will be done to my sealant? 

[falcaineer]

I'll offer a different point of view. In my mind, using a pay and spray is only meant to get off the caked-on crud. Any residual film or leftover dirt from there can be removed safely with the rinseless wash alone. As you're aware, even diluted APC will weaken or possibly remove sealant or wax. It's the same premise as adding a couple ounces to a wash bucket for a strip wash, only on a smaller scale. In other words, any protection you add could be removed, so you're basically wasting product however often you use that process.

 

I recommend you spray off most crud at the wash first. Then, at home, pretreat with diluted RW 16:1 and do the RW. No impact on your sealant/wax that way, and no wasted product. 

 

My two cents.

 

Here's another way to do winter washes:

 

 

 

[dg150]

2 hours ago, falcaineer said:

I'll offer a different point of view. In my mind, using a pay and spray is only meant to get off the caked-on crud. Any residual film or leftover dirt from there can be removed safely with the rinseless wash alone. As you're aware, even diluted APC will weaken or possibly remove sealant or wax. It's the same premise as adding a couple ounces to a wash bucket for a strip wash, only on a smaller scale. In other words, any protection you add could be removed, so you're basically wasting product however often you use that process.

 

I recommend you spray off most crud at the wash first. Then, at home, pretreat with diluted RW 16:1 and do the RW. No impact on your sealant/wax that way, and no wasted product. 

 

My two cents.

 

 

So what you are recommending is what I've been doing. Even after that I'm left with some road grime/residue from about the midpoint of my door down and there's buildup on my lower panel by my exhaust. It rained the other day and my truck was "clean" before it rained. When I looked at the truck the lower half wasn't beading and had almost an oily look to it. 

[Chris@Adams]

I wouldn't use APC it will cut down on the longevity of your wax, sealant etc.  (protection). I would try using more WW on the dirtier areas.

 

[falcaineer]

4 hours ago, dg150 said:

So what you are recommending is what I've been doing. Even after that I'm left with some road grime/residue from about the midpoint of my door down and there's buildup on my lower panel by my exhaust. It rained the other day and my truck was "clean" before it rained. When I looked at the truck the lower half wasn't beading and had almost an oily look to it. 

 

Hmm. What protection do you have on it now? How long ago was it applied? Have you tried to clay it?

[dg150]

35 minutes ago, falcaineer said:

 

Hmm. What protection do you have on it now? How long ago was it applied? Have you tried to clay it?

I used a liquid paint sealant. I applied it about 6 weeks ago. I haven't clayed it. I figured that would completely remove it. 

[falcaineer]

14 minutes ago, dg150 said:

I used a liquid paint sealant. I applied it about 6 weeks ago. I haven't clayed it. I figured that would completely remove it. 

 

Since you aren't seeing much water beading, I'm wondering if the sealant you used bonded properly. Not to pick on you at all, but is it possible you didn't seal the entire car...forgetting the lower portion? I ask because RW on a sealed car works really well and I've not seen the film you mention even after CO snow storms. Maybe it's your RW method...how do you do it?

 

Yes, clay might remove, or at the very least weaken it. I was just wondering because it might also help remove whatever grime was on the car. And if you're gonna use the APC, that would also remove/weaken the sealant.

[mc2hill]

@dg150I have added 2-3 oz of APC to Rinseless Wash without issue.  I have changed my process, and now clean and dry the panel/section, then spray it with Coating Prep or similar prep wipe from other vendors.

 

 

[dg150]

16 hours ago, falcaineer said:

 

Since you aren't seeing much water beading, I'm wondering if the sealant you used bonded properly. Not to pick on you at all, but is it possible you didn't seal the entire car...forgetting the lower portion? I ask because RW on a sealed car works really well and I've not seen the film you mention even after CO snow storms. Maybe it's your RW method...how do you do it?

 

Yes, clay might remove, or at the very least weaken it. I was just wondering because it might also help remove whatever grime was on the car. And if you're gonna use the APC, that would also remove/weaken the sealant.

 

Before I sealed my truck I strip washed, clayed, polished, and then wiped it down with alcohol. I applied the sealant by machine. I made sure everything was evenly coated. The tires on my truck stick out past the fenders so I do end up throwing a lot of stuff down the side of my truck when it snows/rains. 

 

My rinseless process is as follows. I go to the pay and spray and rinse the truck off. I follow the regular rinse with the nonspot rinse. I then drive home, about 15 minutes on the highway. That gets most of the water off of the truck. I then use my sidekick to blow off any extra water. I spray each panel down with rinseless mixed a waterless wash strength. I let that sit on the panel a couple minutes then do the rinseless and dry it. 

[VicHalen]

Hold on guys. What if the guy uses pH neutral APC, like Chemical Guys’ Nonsense Invinsible Super Cleaner to soften up any caked on grime? Shouldn’t damage the sealant/wax right?

Edited August 27, 2023 by VicHalen