Cleaning off salt spray

[hemi1300]

Love this time of year trying to keep a vehicle clean once they start salting the roads. Would Rinseless or waterless wash be safe to remove light salt spray/haze from the paint, or should u always power wash it first to minimize the chance of swirls?

[LT1xL82]

I do rinseless/waterless all the time...including winter in Upstate New York. In the winter, I'm more liberial with the amount of product and towels I use.

 

The key to avoiding damage is what you mention...LIGHT spray/haze or power wash first. Actually, pressure wash pre-rinse is the ideal, but a good pre-rinse with a garden hose pretty works well. 

[hemi1300]

Should have worded my post better. What I really meant, would it be safe to do a Rinseless wipe down when the vehicle has some light salt/road spray on the paint, without spraying it off first with a pressure washer or hose. Just detail sprayed the truck last night and they salted the roads bc it snowed a bit. After a drive today there was a slight amount of salt film on the paint, but didn't have time to hose it off first. Just soaked it down good with waterless wash followed by a Rinseless wash. Next time I will remember to stop by the pay and spray on my way home

[LT1xL82]

Yes...with LIGHT salt/road spray I have done waterless/rinseless without a pre-rinse and it appears to be safe. I do use maybe 2X the product and towels. (BUT a thorough pre-rinse is clearly the best approach.) 

 

To be more detailed, I do sort of a hybrid waterless/rinseless using Rinseless product diluted 132:1 and 16:1. I dampened the entire towel in 128:1 like a rinseless wash, and pre-spray the panel well with 16:1 like a waterless wash. Wring out the towel as needed. Dry  the panel with a 2nd dry towel, ideally with a little Detail Spray. 

 

And...personally I love Rinsless/Waterless, BUT it has its limitations. One is washes without a hose does not do a great job of getting contaminants out of the nooks and crannies of the vehicle. Another reason to pre-rinse when possible. 

Edited December 11, 2016 by LT1xL82

[Chris@Adams]

I think if it were I, I would blast off the salt at the car wash first then use WW as you dry. Because if you have salt on your paint you have it under your fender wells too and you want to clean the salt from there too.

[FINISHING TOUCH]

I think if it were I, I would blast off the salt at the car wash first then use WW as you dry. Because if you have salt on your paint you have it under your fender wells too and you want to clean the salt from there too.

Agree