I washed the Camry with Optimum No Rinse for the first time today. I haven't seen ONR discussed on this forum, and wanted to share my impressions.
If you're not familiar with ONR, here's a link for info. Essentially, it's a car wash that's formulated to allow you to bucket wash your car without rinsing.
http://autogeek.net/opnoriwash12.html
Why ONR? I only have shade in my driveway REALLY early in the morning and REALLY late in the day. This limits my "traditional" car wash opportunities. I wanted to try it because of the possibility of washing in my garage.
The Camry was averagely dirty. No "major" accumulation, but visible "splash" on the lower panels from driving on wet roads, film on the rest of the car where dust had been rained on and dried, and visible brake dust film on the wheels up close.
I mixed 4 gallons of wash (probably didn't need that much) using 2oz or ONR. I washed the painted surfaces with a sheepskin mit and dried with a high quality waffle weave microfiber. I used Some lower grade MFs for the other suraces.
The car came spotlessly clean with no marring/swirling that I was able to detect in full sunlight, and had a nice sheen like it had just been QDd. After washing and drying thoroughly, I was unable to detect ANY dirt on my drying towel.
Some Pros
You can wash any time day or night in your garage.
You can supposedly wash in full sunlight since you're washing and drying one panel at a time, but I haven't tried that yet.
Since you're doing a section at a time, interrupts don't matter. You can walk away and come back later if you need to with no worries about water spots, etc.
You only use the water that's in your bucket.
No hose to get out, put away, drag around, etc.
No overspray. You could wash right next to another car if need be without getting it wet.
Perfect for people that can't do a traditional wash, i.e. apartment or dorm dwellers that don't have easy access to a hose, etc.
Cons
Don't know of any yet.
It seems pricey when you first look at it, but I got mine when Autogeek was having a sale AND free shipping. You only use one ounce per 2 gallons so based on the price I paid, I used less than 60 cents worth to wash my car.
For those wondering about the mess in the garage, I got less water on the floor than I expected and it dried pretty quickly. I have a big floor squeegee that I would have used had I wanted to dry it faster, but it wasn't really necessary.
Summary
First impression is good. It allowed me to wash my car at a time of day when I normally couldn't. It was quick, easy, and did a good job. It was less hassle than a normal wash 'cause I didn't have to drag out the hose or put it away, etc.
I'm not convinced yet that I'd want to use it if the car was REALLY dirty, but apparently people do. I've seen some online videos and pics where people used it on some pretty trashed cars. I'll have to work my way up to that
very nice
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