Spot Free Rinse, is this OK?

**Changeling** · 12-19-2006, 04:51 PM

During the winter I take my black truck through a "No Touch" car wash which washes with streams of water, no car contact whatsoever, other than streams of water, soap, and something called "Spot Free Rinse". This rinse really does a great job of leaving the paint surface spot free and "Slick" looking!

I have to admit that the SFR is really nice, you drive off and the vehicle is flawless of water spots very quickly.

Is there anything wrong with this type of rinse? I haven`t noticed any problems, but who knows?

If it is OK, is there a product that I can use on my vehicle at home instead of drying by hand?

Example: I would like to be able to hook something to the end of my garden hose that I use to wash the truck like one of the plastic bottles that you use for putting chemicals on your lawn or whatever. This would make things very easy for me and be a very efficient means to not drying by towels/whatever.

I am very serious and would really like some feed back if you have some actual knowledge of this type of surface rinsing.

Changeling

**tyoung** · 12-19-2006, 05:17 PM

The Mr. Clean Autodry sounds like what you are looking for

Mr. Clean AutoDry Carwash System

And a thread about using it on a black car:

http://autopia.org/forum/detailing-p...hlight=autodry

Hope this helps!

**Changeling** · 12-20-2006, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by tyoung

The Mr. Clean Autodry sounds like what you are looking for

Mr. Clean AutoDry Carwash System

And a thread about using it on a black car:

http://autopia.org/forum/detailing-p...hlight=autodry

Hope this helps!

No, this is not what I am talking about.

I`m talking about washing your vehicle at home in the usual correct manner with a good washing soap for autos and the correct/accepted procedures for washing.

Then, using a hose with a canister type container to put a stream of some form of liquid "Spot Free Rinse" product over the vehicle so it does not have to be touched by towells. This is about as clear as I can think of what I am talking about.

Is there a liquid of this type available for doing what I have described?

Changeling

**BigJimZ28** · 12-20-2006, 05:26 PM

I think the "spot free rinse" at my coin-op is just filtered water

**Eliot Ness** · 12-20-2006, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by Changeling

No, this is not what I am talking about......

....Is there a liquid of this type available for doing what I have described?......

A spot free rinse is obtained by using filtered water (like BigJimZ28 mentioned)..... it is the impurities and minerals that cause water spots. I guess you could put distilled water in a garden sprayer and do it that way, otherwise you have to use some type of a filter system.

The Mr. Clean AutoDry was mentioned because it has a filtered rinse, but the filters are expensive and the filtered water output is pretty low, but it does work if you`re patient enough..... just don`t use their crappy soap.

The following thread has some links to different filtering systems if you`re interested (note post #8):

http://autopia.org/forum/car-detaili...good-cars.html

**Changeling** · 12-21-2006, 03:18 PM

Sorry, I thought the spot free rinse was a mild chemical you added to water.

Changeling

**qballjr13** · 12-21-2006, 03:21 PM

You could hook a water-softener to your plumbing that feeds your hose and you`d have the same thing as a Mr. Clean system.

**sspeer** · 12-21-2006, 04:08 PM

They also make an inline water softener/filter that easily attaches to a garden hose and you can recharge it yourself with softener pellets.. can`t think of who makes it or where to find it though

**Krodad** · 12-21-2006, 04:39 PM

There are still disolved solids in softened water...I`m far from an expert on this, but it takes Reverse Osmosis filtered water to get what you want like the coin ops or automatic washes.

I have probably the best water softner available, plus a 5 micron whole house filter, and I always get water spots unless I dry quickly or rinse with the RO water. Makes beautiful suds, though.

Over a period of a few days, I load a few gallons worth of RO water in my pump up sprayer for rinsing. You can spend as much as you want on an RO system, but even a system less than $200 will get the job done if you want...takes a longer time for the cheaper systems to regenerate, though, and if you hook them up through your refrigerator water dispenser and ice maker, they can sometimes cause problems becuase the lower water pressure does not activate the shut off valve.

**imported_samjake** · 12-21-2006, 08:41 PM

It is likely that your car wash adds a rinse agent to the water supply for the final rinse. See the following site: Spot free rinse additive that reduces drying time. Adding a rinse agent to the water will greatly improve spot free drying. The Mr. Clean Autodry Soap includes a rinse agent but they call "Dry Rinse Polymer."

**Changeling** · 12-24-2006, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by samjake

It is likely that your car wash adds a rinse agent to the water supply for the final rinse. See the following site: Spot free rinse additive that reduces drying time. Adding a rinse agent to the water will greatly improve spot free drying. The Mr. Clean Autodry Soap includes a rinse agent but they call "Dry Rinse Polymer."

Thanks, I emailed them for more information.

Changeling

**Eliot Ness** · 12-24-2006, 03:46 PM

Some of those rinse additives can leave a film on your paint/windows. That`s why most members, when looking for a spot free rinse, use a filter system. I know the Mr. Clean soap left a film when I used it, but just using the rinse filter by itself seemed to work OK..... pretty weak output of water...... but it did dry pretty much spot free. I have only used it a few times because it`s faster for me to just do a "sheet" rinse and dry with a WW.

If you read the thread I linked to earlier there are some fairly decent filter systems that aren`t too expensive..... with some probably cheaper than buying 5 gallons of that rinse additive. The filter system mentioned in that article had another review with pictures of how they set the system up, etc.. I don`t have a link to that thread, but if you`re interested I`m sure you can find it.

**Changeling** · 12-25-2006, 06:03 PM

Originally Posted by Eliot Ness

Some of those rinse additives can leave a film on your paint/windows. That`s why most members, when looking for a spot free rinse, use a filter system. I know the Mr. Clean soap left a film when I used it, but just using the rinse filter by itself seemed to work OK..... pretty weak output of water...... but it did dry pretty much spot free. I have only used it a few times because it`s faster for me to just do a "sheet" rinse and dry with a WW.

If you read the thread I linked to earlier there are some fairly decent filter systems that aren`t too expensive..... with some probably cheaper than buying 5 gallons of that rinse additive. The filter system mentioned in that article had another review with pictures of how they set the system up, etc.. I don`t have a link to that thread, but if you`re interested I`m sure you can find it.

I went back and read it, sorry. I have a system like this on my well, it is located on the "out" side of the storage tank in the house. I bought it at Lowe`s, it looks exactly like the system link you gave me , I would be willing to bet they all come from the same company!

The filters are relatively cheap, depending on what you want to do.

I bought my system about 3 years ago and change filters about once every couple of months (whole house). It appears I already have a filtered system!

However I have never used anything other than the basic filters! Now I know what to do, because they have loads of other cartridge filters to fit the system.

By the way guys, it only cost about $35.00, give or take, and made a world of difference in the water quality. I installed it myself, not a very big deal!

This is a very good item to have, I highly recommend it.

Changeling

**Changeling** · 12-25-2006, 06:13 PM

Originally Posted by Eliot Ness

Some of those rinse additives can leave a film on your paint/windows. That`s why most members, when looking for a spot free rinse, use a filter system. I know the Mr. Clean soap left a film when I used it, but just using the rinse filter by itself seemed to work OK..... pretty weak output of water...... but it did dry pretty much spot free. I have only used it a few times because it`s faster for me to just do a "sheet" rinse and dry with a WW.

If you read the thread I linked to earlier there are some fairly decent filter systems that aren`t too expensive..... with some probably cheaper than buying 5 gallons of that rinse additive. The filter system mentioned in that article had another review with pictures of how they set the system up, etc.. I don`t have a link to that thread, but if you`re interested I`m sure you can find it.

I went back and read it, sorry. I have a system like this on my well, it is located on the "out" side of the storage tank in the house. I bought it at Lowe`s, it looks exactly like the system link you gave me , I would be willing to bet they all come from the same company!

The filters are relatively cheap, depending on what you want to do.

I bought my system about 3 years ago and change filters about once every couple of months (whole house). It appears I already have a filtered system!

However I have never used anything other than the basic filters! Now I know what to do, because they have loads of other cartridge filters to fit the system.

By the way guys, it only cost about $35.00, give or take, and made a world of difference in the water quality. I installed it myself, not a very big deal!

This is a very good item to have, I highly recommend it.

Changeling