I have taken a little longer to create this post which was supposed to be a quick guide to a couple of products. As I went along this guide just got bigger and has grown substantially. My intention was to cover the growing trend of ‘Waterless Washing’ products and their processes. I think the term ‘Waterless Washing’, should actually be replaced with ‘Waterless Cleaning’ which I believe is a more of a technically correct term. The basic cleaning of the paint, will be supplemented with a raft of optional steps top create a show room quality clean vehicle; all without water. Some of the optional steps are dependant on the quality of your paint and the levels you want to go to in order to get that showroom finish. If you just want to clean the car and not worry about the best possible shine or protection, you can jump straight to the ‘Body Work’ first step, ‘Wheels’ for the second step and ‘Glass’ the third step then you’re done. If you want more shine, or a more thorough clean, then the optional steps will help you get to that showroom finish!

Where water is scarce, such as a hosepipe ban, or difficult to obtain due to the water’s supplies location (like living in flats or apartments), then ‘Waterless Washing’ is a process that can be your best friend. Waterless wash still needs to be used with care as the waterless process is not intended to clean a car if you have just driven through a swamp or go off roading!

This is contact cleaning, and very different to the contactless cleaning methods we are taught these days.

The whole car can be washed with specialised products including the wheels which are probably the most stubborn to clean even with water. Typically the brake dust, heat and road film will embed onto the wheels and the tyres in such a short space of time. But it can be done without to much hassle.

Glass cleaners are by nature a waterless product, ironically the majority of them may be diluted, but they don’t generally require you to wash the glass first.

Plastic Trims & Rubber, most of the time these are a liquid form application to rejuvenate the plastic back to black. The plastic should be clean and a waterless wash should be fine for the cleaning. Seals around the doors and frame of your car for wind noise or water ingress could also be waterless cleaned. If you have chrome of polished metal parts, like windscreen wiper arms, we will touch on that too. Rubber on the tyres ideally need to be cleaned first for a good shine.

I have listed out below quite a list of what you will or could need, the products, their application and their pros and cons. There are plenty of tips to help with your cleaning without water so you can get a show room shine.

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