Rinsing?

[HealthyCivic]

Do you guys ever bother rinsing off a car? I ask because some weeks I'm VERY VERY busy so would it be of any use to just rinse off the car or should I just continue to wait until I can fully wash the car? If I use the pat-dry method, would drying after a simple rinse be OK or would it still put swirls in? Thanks.

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Rinsing?

If you can do it in a way that you would avoid water spotting and mineralization, rinsing is probably OK. I would do it at night and have a water de-ionizer to rinse it off.

If the car is slightly dusty, might it be better to blow the dust off with a shop vac/leaf blower/pancake compressor followed with a quick application of Last Touch or Quik Detailer?

[akimel]

Re: Rinsing?

I wouldn't do it, but that's just me. I just know that if I tried a rinse and pat down on my Luthien, I would swirl the finish. If the car is too dirty for a quick detail or dusting, then I'd just wait until I could wash her properly. And if things got too bad, well ... I might even avail myself of the coin-op car wash ... but of course I'd never admit it to anyone here on MOL.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Rinsing?

DO NOT just water rinse and then touch the paint to dry it.

If you want to do a cheater rinse from time to time, visit your local DIY carwash bays and use 2 minutes of high pressure wax (I prefer that to the high pressure soap since I do not know if it will remove the wax), and then 2 minutes of spot-free rinse, starting at the top, and working down (making sure to get the cracks!).

Then air dry it. If there are some small runs or dry spots later on, go over it with QD.

Otherwise you greatly increase the risk of scratching it.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Rinsing?

Well it sounds like you are saying that the vehicle just has a light coating of dust and/or fingerprints. This is what the quik detailers are made for. I would feel a lot safer if you tried this method for light dust and fingerprints. Get some qd or any qd of your choice and clean your car. You will greatly reduce your chances of scratching your paint by using the proper product.

If it is to dirty for a qd, then your best bet would be to wash the vehicle.

[roushstage2]

Re: Rinsing?

If you want to do a cheater rinse from time to time, visit your local DIY carwash bays and use 2 minutes of high pressure wax (I prefer that to the high pressure soap since I do not know if it will remove the wax), and then 2 minutes of spot-free rinse, starting at the top, and working down (making sure to get the cracks!).

Exactly how I do it.

[Megafast13]

Re: Rinsing?

NO! Don't just rinse off your car and dry it. You aren't removing any dirt really. Drying it will then further instill swirls into the finish.

I suggest using UQD if your car is just dusty. Otherwise you'll have to wash it.

[Tuck91]

Re: Rinsing?

i would just wait until you can wash it properly, i would rather have a dirty car than a swirled up car

[SVT Lightning]

Re: Rinsing?

i would just wait until you can wash it properly, i would rather have a dirty car than a swirled up car

Unless you only have a days worth of dust.....

[Carfire]

Re: Rinsing?

We do at the Fire Department, but then again we do not really care about swirls.
I would not want to rinse my truck off, for the risk of dragging dirt across the surface.

[HealthyCivic]

Re: Rinsing?

Alright I'll stick with the good-old wash than. Thanks.