Mr Clean AutoDry
 

after reading a thread on a bmw forum which had some mr clean reps posting in it, i decided to get this. i washed my car and my dads car; a 99 camry and 97 camry. mine is dark green which makes it very easy to see spots and other crud.

the autodry definitely works. i cant see myself using any other method to clean a car. no bucket, no towels...all you need is the autodry unit and a sponge type thing which you should have anyway. both cars dried spotless and had a nice shine that they have never had after being washed (used to use meguiers soap). when my aunt gets home from work ill wash her 8 using it. it should look even better than the camrys. ill take some before and after pics for you guys.

Interesting......... I find it a bit tough to use a mr clean product on my car - just not what they are in the business of doing so it does not on the surface seem to fit. I wont knock it til I know more. I would be concerned that my coats of zaino/wax will be eroded quicker by a product that was not designed with the high end detailing products in mind. Anyone else use this?

if it makes you feel better about it, it was in development for 4 years by proctor and gamble

heres the bimmer thread about it if you want to learn more

http://www.bmwboard.com/forum/showth...&threadid=3297

I believe it uses a deionizing / demineralizing filter made by Pur for the final spotless rinse. I'd try it if I could wash my own car in the apt complex I live

where are these pics jonny B

I've heard of that Mr Clean auto dry on tv, went to the site and what not, seems like its good stuff. no hassle, nuttin'

id like to see before and after pics

she didnt get home till nighttime. im gonna wash it now.

I've heard that it's SHIT!! :eek:

ok im finished. the pics are too big to attach so im gonna start uploading right now.

these first few pics are before i washed it. it was kind of hard to see the dirt when i took pics of the whole car...the pic of the trunk and rear windshield is basically what the whole car looked like. also notice the dirty rims, i used the autodry on them too.

http://images.cardomain.com/member_i...6_239_full.jpg

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after pics

http://images.cardomain.com/member_i...6_246_full.jpg

http://images.cardomain.com/member_i...6_247_full.jpg

no spots!!

http://images.cardomain.com/member_i...6_248_full.jpg

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cardomain sized these pics down alot. if anyone wants to see the larger ones let me know and ill email them to you.

Which stores are carrying Mr. Clean Autodry?

I've seen it at both Wal-Mart and Target. I have been using it and haven't completely decided if I like it or not.

You can also get it at Pep Boys

just about any place that sells automotive accessories should have it

I tried it and had a strange experience. I use a boars hair brush (From Griot's Garage) designed for paint work to wash my wifes car. Figured it was best to start on hers in case it removed paint.
It did a good job, but I noticed that the brush bristles seemed to be covered with a dirty wax substance. As if the soap removed the wax from the car. Other than that it seemed to do well on both our Mazdas.

yeah i noticed that too. the dirtier the car was the black my previously white sponge got. here is what the autodry guy said about this in the bimmer thread

"AutoDry does not strip wax!
The greasy, dirty deposit on your mitt was probably stuff that the AutoDry soap washed off your car. Nothing in the AutoDry soap can do that.
Of course, rinse your mitt or sponge occasionally. But do it with the fresh, clean water that comes from the AutoDry sprayer's regular rinse setting. Don't use a bucket."

I washed the brush with hot water and what came off was this greasy grey scummy crap. Seemed kind of like wax. Although the same stuff seems to come off of me after a shower. Sorry if you were eating.

I used the damn thing once, and will NOT use it again. It hindered the beading action on my several coats of zaino for more than a week. It left the car dingy, and NOT clean. With time, and a couple of washings and hand drying, the nasty coating subsided. Since then I have applied 2 more coats of Zaino, and have returned to a state of happy beading & shine. I gave the thing to my friend, so he could use it on his old ass van. Good bye Mr. Clean.....you are not the man.:mad:

English:

That sounds like a conflict between the zaino and anything in the Mr. Clean wash...

I personally don't have the Mr. Clean wash, but I watched a demonstration first hand at an autoshow. I was convinced and I'm going to buy it in the spring.

There's no perfect replacement for a good hand polishing...

part of the car owning experience is shining up your car manually.. i dunno.. I'm wierd, but there's something about hand polishing that makes it all worthwhile.. kinda like buffing up a nice gold coin.. or washing your beloved pet.. in a way, the more the work, the greater the reward.... hmmm I guess ????

Well, I just hand-detailed my RX-8 again and I can assure you that it sucks.
I spent a total of 10 hours over 3 days to get all the scratches, swirls and blemishes that the winter has so far provided, followed by glaze and wax.
I'm going back to using the rotary and orbital next time as there is no visible benefit (other than my bulging triceps) from hand detailing. I could have done the same job in 3 hours with the air tools. I just wanted to see if there is a real difference on a fresh finish.
I use a combination of Meguire's and 3M. 3M is by far the best professional stuff out there (P31 and Zaino included).

BTW - to the "beading water" crowd:
A perfectly waxed surface won't bead, it will sheet.
Beading is from an uneven wax coat.
If your wax coat is good, you can rinse the car down with the open hose and almost all of the water will slide off of the car in a sheet.

OK. I tried it, I like it, it seems to do what they say it'll do, namely dry spot-free (though rinsing seems to take just about as long for me as drying the car with a chamois). I understand that the soap does leave a polymer coating that washes off in two or three rains (or hosings).

My question: If I'm just washing the car, that's fine. But if I'm washing it with the intent of applying Zaino or Meguiars wax, that polymer is going to be in the way, yes? So I'm thinking for pre-wax washes, I'll need to use Zaino (or Dawn) and wash the car the old-fashioned way. I guess I answered my own question, but no one has really addressed the appropriateness of the Mr Clean gadget for a pre-wax wash. Thoughts?

ok i tried it on my Protege and it works as advertised, with couple caveats:

1. you have to MAKE SURE you wash every square inch of the body with your mitt/sponge, otherwise after it dries any unwashed sections will have waterspot/dirt residue

2. doesn't clean the really tough road grimes on the alloy wheels all that well, those will probably require much stronger cleaning agents like Simple Green or something.

other than that, i'm quite impressed with the AutoDry with what it does. I think with more practice a 20-minute PERFECT wash is definitely doable.

I'm still wondering whether it's OK to use this Auto Dry stuff before waxing, as it leaves some sort of polymer on the car. Actually, that polymer (or whatever it is) is beginning to bug me - the car looks great after it dries, but the paint feels slightly dirty/sticky. Anyone else notice this?