SCG Rinse-Free Wash and Wax

[CamaroDreams07]

Dylan asked me if I wanted to give some of their new rinseless wash a shot. Of course I'm always willing to give an unbiased review of any product, so I've had a few opportunities to use this now and I wanted to give you guys a look at this product.

Let me start by saying that rinseless wash is one of those products that is just plain tough to compare. Let's face it, they all do the same thing and for me to sit here and say product X is a better/worse rinseless wash than product Y is extremely difficult. All the ones I've used are very, very similar, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

What I can say, without a shadow of a doubt is that SCG Rinse-Free Wash and Wax is a terrific product.



First thing I like: They recommend the Gary Dean method. This is the method that says you soak several towels in the solution, then wipe a panel, flipping the towel when it becomes soiled. You never put the dirty towel back in the bucket. When you run out of clean sides you toss it aside and grab a new towel. This is the best method for rinseless washing and it's the first time I've seen it listed on the bottle as the instructed method. Kudos to SCG.

I tested this product as directed, 2 oz. solution in 4 gallons water, for fairness sake. Although I'll give my opinion on this at the end of the review, as it has nothing to do with the product*.

1. Lubricity 5/5 - Excellent job of creating a super slick solution that easily glides across the paint, gobbling up dust and leaving you with peace of mind that you're not damaging your clear.

2. Cleaning power 5/5 - Whether I used this on the lightly dusty uppers or rain spattered lowers, the paint came out squeaky clean every time. This is important because when you go to dry the panel, you want the assurance that you're not grinding leftover residue into the paint. My white drying towels stayed pristine, meaning this did its job.

3. Clarity 5/5 - I was left with a perfectly clear, reflective surface each time I used this. This product does have a carnuaba additive, but there was nothing to worry about on paint, glass, or trim.

4. Cost effectiveness 3.5/5- Let's break this one down by the numbers for rinseless washes I've used:
ONR: $16/32oz x 2oz per wash = $1 per wash
Adam's Rinseless: $18/16oz x 2oz per wash = $2.25 per wash
SCG: $16/16oz x 2oz per wash = $2 per wash

We are still talking prices 2x that of ONR here, so it needs to be better to be worth it. The version of ONR I'm referencing is the version WITHOUT wax, so you may or may not view that as an advantage of SCG. I've gone on record saying Adam's is a better rinseless wash IMO than ONR. I'd put SCG right on the same level as Adam's, with SCG getting the slight nod in value.


So which rinseless wash is best for you? If you're on a tight budget or using a high volume, ONR is still a plenty viable option, and a must-have due to its myriad uses.

However, if what you're looking for is top notch, then you can splurge on the upper echelon of products. At that point I think you really just need to ask yourself whether a wax additive is value-added for you, which I think comes down to your chosen LSP regimen.

For me personally, I use a lot of very high end coatings and sealants. They are designed to last a very long time, and when they need touchups, generally need to be done with specific products. For these reasons, I prefer to keep wash and wax separate. I'm not saying that using this would do any damage, heck, it might even improve things if I weren't so stubborn. I am just the type that likes to know exactly what I'm working with at all times.

However, if you're the type that uses traditional waxes, or tops your sealant with a wax, this might be perfect to top off your protection each time you do a rinseless wash. If you are in this camp, I say by all means go out and order some SCG Rinse-Free Wash and Wax. You will NOT be disappointed.

At least that's the way I see it. YMMV.

We are so fortunate these days to have such a plethora of fantastic products from such a variety of vendors that picking one over the other becomes difficult. Often it comes down to personal preference and the confidence in the people behind the product, which is the case here.


*Cheapskate note on rinseless wash with the Gary Dean method: Whenever we see or hear of rinseless wash, we are usually told to fill our bucket with rinseless wash solution and put our towels in it. The more I do rinseless washes, the more I find this a complete waste. In the Gary Dean method, once a towel comes out of the water, it never goes back in. Because of this, the only water you use is the water that is in the towels initially. Therefore, it stands to reason that any solution not soaked up by the towels is wasted. Being the extreme cheapskate I am, I generally now only put enough water in to cover the level of the towels and allow them to become saturated. This saves me >50% of the solution I would have used to create a whole bucket of rinseless wash that I don't need.

[RiCorvette]

Thanks for the write-up and opinion.
Great, just great! Being easily swayed and an easy victim to the latest advertising, I now have another bottle to add to my collection.
Being in CA, I'll have to look forward to seeing their booth at a Car Show and try to snag a sample.

Having adopted the GDWM, I found as you did - no need to fill a bucket full of water and ONR (or whatever). I prepare the solution by putting an oz., maybe 1.5 oz ONR (or whatever) into a gallon of distilled water and pouring that onto my towels as needed. I use the same solution in a atomizing plant sprayer (Home Depot) to mist the panel before wiping with a wet waffel-weave towel, followed by a saturated towel that was well wrung out for the final wipe.

I've been experimenting with mixing solutions since I have ONR WnS (blue), CGs EcoWash, ONR WnW (green) and various detail sprays - it all seems to work about the same, weather unadulterated or mixed, but I do find myself gravitating towards 1.5oz ONR (either) and 1.5oz CGs Ecowash into a gallon of distilled water.

[DylanVK]

Thanks for the review - and happy to hear you enjoyed it.

Originally Posted by CamaroDreams07

I've been experimenting with mixing solutions since I have ONR WnS (blue), CGs EcoWash, ONR WnW (green) and various detail sprays - it all seems to work about the same, weather unadulterated or mixed, but I do find myself gravitating towards 1.5oz ONR (either) and 1.5oz CGs Ecowash into a gallon of distilled water.

This is an interesting point and something I've kicked around as well... I mean theres the method I've demo'd for other products before - treating it like a 2 bucket wash with rinse and resuse of the towels, but even there you're losing 'solution' to the rinse bucket each time and then taking water to the solution bucket meaning over time you are actually diluting the solution further.

I recently read a writeup someone did using the double stacked GG setup in their bucket and using that to scrub each towel, using only one bucket. I will have to try that to see how I feel about putting the grit into my solution bucket. The encapsulating part of the process does make the dirt blobs tend to sink, so naturally they want to be a the bottom of the bucket, just not sure how well it will work.

More experiments to come.

As far as the wax thing - correct - the added benefit depends entirely on the individual and if they see the need. It does definitely add a little cost to the equation. The benefits could be identified as added 'slickness' to the feel... the wax will have some minor enhancing effect in terms of filling/shine.

IMO though it becomes most prevalent with the diluted uses for spray on... it behaves somewhere between a waterless wash and a quick detailer when used at that dilution.

[DylanVK]

Also - just expanding on my earlier thoughts -

If you do fill a bucket with 4 gallons you can, in theory, use that solution again later. Assuming you have a bucket with a lid, just seal the bucket up and use the solution a few times (with fresh towels of course) before dumping it out.

As long as you're not dunking dirty towels into the mix at any point its safe to assume the solution is clean and ready to be used again multiple times.

[JTruck]

So about how much actual rinseless product are you using? 2 oz?

[CamaroDreams07]

2 oz to 4 gallons. Adjust depending on how much you want to make.

[DylanVK]

Originally Posted by JTruck

So about how much actual rinseless product are you using? 2 oz?

The recommended dilution is 2oz per 4 gallons... adjust accordingly though depending on how much 'solution' you need.

If you can manage with 2 gallons, just 1oz will suffice, which still should put your mixture above the grit guard 'waterline' to submerge your towels.

EDIT - dammit, beat me.

[JTruck]

Originally Posted by Dylan@SCG

The recommended dilution is 2oz per 4 gallons... adjust accordingly though depending on how much 'solution' you need.

If you can manage with 2 gallons, just 1oz will suffice, which still should put your mixture above the grit guard 'waterline' to submerge your towels.

EDIT - dammit, beat me.

Is it necessary to use grit guards for the gary dean method?

[DylanVK]

I do just to be safe... you know how it is... you never MEAN to contaminate a towel, doesn't mean it won't happen. My buckets are spotless inside, but since I use them for car washing (hose/bucket) as well theres always that fear some little bit of grit is hiding in the corner and I don't see it.

In the end its cheap insurance - if you're confident in your bucket being completely free of any grit then you can skip the GG I guess.

[CamaroDreams07]

I agree. I use one just to give me assurance against anything that might have already been in the bucket or maybe got introduced from the hose nozzle. You never know.