Meguiar's Waterless Car Wash Kit: Review
Product Information :
http://www.meguiars.com.au/waterless.htm
Given the hassles of bringing your own products to many of the drive in car washes today, I thought I'd look around for a waterless solution and see just how good they are. I got booted from one car wash when I tried to use my own stuff instead of the products pumped through the wash systems and, being a quiet and retiring fellow, I found the scene a pain and actually felt a bit sorry for the guy who lost his rag simply because I didn't fancy using industrial cleaners and filthy industrial style brushes on my car. My old E30 is a bit battered and long in the tooth but, hey, it's MY old and battered E30 and I like to try and treat it as best I can....
At any rate, review time....
I recently came across a new Meguiar's product, a waterless system, that I thought I'd try and see how it fared. Depending where you buy you're paying $30-40 for a kit that will give you 5-10 “washes”, depending how liberal you are with the product.
The kit comes with a spray-bottle of NXT speed-detailer, polishing cloths, and a good quality buffing cloth. The process is straightforward, spray onto a panel, use a polishing cloth to pick up dirt and contaminants, then buff up with the micro-fibre polishing cloth. Done. Anywhere that you can spray water, you can use the detailer (eg., wheels).
I was pretty impressed with the ability of the product to lift everyday crud from the car. A couple of spots of bird droppings, a few dabs of tree detritus, everyday road grime...everything came off quite easily. No hard rubbing required at all (this is a good thing!). Buffing up left the car looking pretty good, with a very smooth finish. No residue is left sitting on your paintwork, no marks, no sign of varied amounts of application. Nice. I even used it on my wheels ~ and the results were pretty good, though seated grime will need more power than the product supplies. I'll stick with the BMW wheel cleaner for this one, I suspect; but for wheels that are clean to begin with and only need relatively fresh brake dust removed, the Meguiar's does a good job.
Given today's water situation, and the expanding niche for this style of product in the market place, I suspect that we'll see more and more waterless systems come into play. Try one and see what you think. I was left pretty impressed.
Ade
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I used Meguiar's "Quick Detailer" for a few years and was pretty impressed at how "unobtrusive" it was, so I didn't have any qualms with "washing" the car with this kit. It really does appear to do what it claims...at the moment, but I'll need to give it a few more "washes" to see how it stacks up over time. Again, and this must be stressed, it makes NO claim to totally replace a traditional water wash. It is designed as a practical supplement to periodic washing ~ at least as I understand it. I had a look at the car again this morning and I'm still pretty impressed with the appearance.
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It looks really good on your white paint but i've noticed here in Sydney in the last couple of years with water restrictions and the increase in waterless car cleaners how many deep metalic paint finishes i've seen that are covered in swirls and i'm sure it's these waterless washes. As the cars approach on the road they look superb with a deep shine and spotless and as they drive passed and the light catches the whole car is just deep swirls all over. It's either the waterless washes or the cafe/carwashes that have sprung up everywhere.
I'm very keen on keeping my cars polished and clean and i've found that if you do it every week one bucket of water is all you need. With the dry weather and lack of rain it's not as if our cars get dirty anyway, it's more often just dust and bird crap.
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Still, after a few days, the car looks as good as it did when I used the Meguiar's. I am pleased with the product.
That being said, I know Meguiar's look upon dark coloured cars a little differently (see the entries for the 2 step wax and polish system on their website), so I'm not sure I could dismiss Paul's comment out of hand. Sherv does have a point, however. Perhaps the activity of "washing the car" is radically different to what it once was?
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i wouldnt even attempt to use the meg kit on my car
its not a proper water saving wash, theyve just cashed in on the water restrictions and water saving wash buzz by grouping their quick detailer with a mitt
that quick detailer will not break down and remove dirt, on a dark color you will scratch up the paint something shocking
if you are serious about using a water saving wash, grab the DP 4in1
http://forums.eurocca.net/showthread.php?t=20223&page=2
this product is specifically designed for dry washing. It is highly lubricative and can be used also for claying, quick detailing, i even used it as lubrication for RO buffing. It has enough strength to break down the dirt on the car so u can remove it without scratching
i now maintain a clean swirl free car whatever restrictions bracks throws at us
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I thought the DP 4 in 1 still required water.
"Dilute 30ml of DP Four-In-One Rinseless Wash & Shine in 4 litres of water. Soak a microfibre or sheepskin mitt in the mixture and wash the vehicle one section at a time. Re-wet the mitt as needed. Note: Use the two-bucket method to further protect your vehicle from wash-induced swirls. Rinse the wash tool in a bucket of clean water before re-wetting it in the wash bucket. Dry each section with a clean microfiber towel."
From:
https://www.waxit.com.au/proddetail....d=DP460&cat=27
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You do need water with the DP, but there is an easy and completely legal way of getting enough to wash your car.
I religiously catch the first water from the shower each morning in a bucket. On top of that, any half-drunk glasses of water etc that would otherwise go down the sink go into a bucket instead. I can usually catch about 15 to 20 litres of water per week doing stuff like this, but I can wash my car in less than 10 litres using QEW (same goes for DP)
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Originally Posted by EuroCCA
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