Mr. Clean AutoDry and the 911.

[Moses]

Well, I liked the idea of not drying my car after a wash, so I bought this new little gadget. The idea is that after washing and rinsing, you give your car a "final rinse" with treated water that contains polymers that cause the water to bead up and leap off your car.

Well, there's nothing special about the soapy water this thing dispenses except it's cold and not soapy enough. So after washing the car the old fashioned way with a bucket of hot soapy water and a mitt, I hosed the car down with regular water then applied the Mr. Clean no-dry 21st century space-age polymer rinse according to the directions. After finishing, I watched and waited for the water to bead up and jump off my car... Lots of beading, but no jumping.

I decided that a little high speed drive would have those little droplets leaping off my car in no time. As I approached 100 MPH, I realized that some of the smaller polymer encoated droplets were quite stubborn. As I calmly worked my way through the gears, they seemed to flatten out and hunker down, clearly determined to hold on to the car. It was then I realized that it wasn't the top speed that mattered, but the rate of acceleration. You have to get to 100 MPH as quickly as possible before the polymers have time to react.

Well, it worked. The car is clean and dry. If you use this product you will find the drying cycle quite exhilarating! The cold soapy spray isn't worth a crap, but the high-speed polymer release is great. I give the new Mr. Clean No-Dry Car Wash two thumbs up!

[Emission]

So, how do you clean the bugs off the car after the 100 mph sprint?

[89turbocabmike]

[Por_sha911]

That's what I like! An excuse to do some hard acceleration:
"But officer, I was just trying to avoid water spots..."
"Yes hun, I have to drive this fast or the car will have water spots all over it and I'll be forced to wash and wax it again next week."

[SpeedracerIndy]

I just got one of these things too. The final rinse "polymer" is nothing more than a activated carbon filter and deionizer. It works very well. The startup filter that they give you though is only good for three washes. THen you have to get (at $6) a replacement filter that lasts for 10 washes. I agree that the soap they give you is a joke. I perfer to stick to the old bucket and sponge method and use the washer for the final rince to prevent spotting. I've used it on a silver, red and brown car, and all three were spot free after they dried in the sun. Worth the $20 to me not to have to scratch the paint by using a terry cloth that might have some dirt trapped in it.

[wcc]

I too like this device, however I just put in my last 10 wash rinse filter and I see now that they are no longer available. I found some on ebay and They are going for $20. So my question to you guys is what are you doing now for a spot free rinse?

[SpeedracerIndy]

Well, I've progressed quite a bit since this post in 2004. I got tired of replacing the spot free rinse cartridges every 2 washes so I bought a water deionizer. It was very expensive, but I love it. It has a much higher output that the mist of the Mr. Kleen thing. I can rinse my car at full pressure with this thing: CRSpotless.com - Wash, Rinse, and Walk Away I'll never touch a towel to my paint again with this thing. I've washed my cars about 50 times with it since I bought it and the TDS meter is still reading 0. Just used it today as a matter of fact!

I think I paid $400 for it and it came with an extra recharge of resin, nozzel with quick connects, and 25ft hose. Sams club sells them.

Griots Garage sells one too, but it's not as big.

[GaryR]

Clean Water Filter Kit, clear inline hose filter, car wash filter kit

[SpeedracerIndy]

Originally Posted by GaryR

Clean Water Filter Kit, clear inline hose filter, car wash filter kit

I looked into doing a water softener because it was cheaper, but it still leaves spots on the car. The spots are salt and easier to wipe off, but there still there and I would have still had to wipe my car down. A water softener will replace the minerals with salt, while a deionizer will remove the minerals. The only other method of removing all of the minerals is a reverse osmosis system, which is what the big car washes use. The only problem with one of those is that the throughput is very low, so you would have to have a storage tank to hold the water when you're ready to rinse. Our water in this part of the country is very hard, so your results might be more favorable with a softener.

[kilodawg]

I keep the finish on my cars super slick and always use a leaf blower which gets off 95% of the water along with the added benefit of getting it out of the nooks and crannies where it can pool and cause corrosion. Then just a light spot wipe with a microfiber and quick detailer. Don't see me ever going away from a leaf blower as long as the finish is slick (as it should always be right...) this is a simple no brainer.

[mkc1962]

Double on the leaf blower approach. Been using that on all vehicles for years. I keep all of them waxed with a good carnuaba wax , which in itself needs doing a time or two a year, or more. But Ive found that by not using the chamois or drying rag the slick to the touch wax job lasts much longer with the blower approach. And you get a double benefit. The cars stay slick and spotless and you keep that 2 stroke leaf blower engine going year round. If you also own a few bikes, a leaf blower is a great time saver on wash day...Hmm its about that time of the year to clean/blow the shop out as well.

[cellison]

+1 on the leaf blower.

[Quickstep192]

Great idea with the leaf blower. The exhaust on mine exits into the air stream, so I always thought the 2 cycle exhaust would leave an oily residue on the car. No?

[Canada Kev]

Hmmm, possibly. I think most use an electric blower for this job.