How To: Optimum No Rinse (ONR) Detail Spray
by Joe Metlow
Detail spray is one of the most used items a detailer can use, you can go through a lot of detail spray even during just one detail. The list of uses for detail spray are endless and here are just some of the uses below:
- Dust Removal
- Finger Print Removal
- Door Jamb Cleaner
- Window Cleaner
- Bird Bomb Removal
- Clay Lubricant
- Light Wheel Cleaning
- Dash Cleaning/Dust Removal
- Interior Wipe down
- Drying Aid Lubricant
- Water Spot Removal
- Hard to Remove Wax/Polish
- Pre Customer Inspection/Pickup
- Polishing Pad Conditioner
The need for a detail spray is significant in any detailers arsenal, no matter if you are a pro or enthusiast. ONR detail spray is one of the most used items in my shop and it gets the job done while being extremely cost effective for the following uses above.
Today I am going to show how to make detail spray from the famous Optimum No Rinse.
Dilution
Here is what you need to get started (Due to the many uses I stated above we are going to make a gallon of ONR Quick Detailer)
- Quick Detailer: ratio 1:16 or 8 oz/1 gallon or 240 ml to 3.84 liters for water (62.5 ml per liter)
- Clay lube: ratio 1:64 or 2 oz/1 gallon or 60 ml to 3.84 liters of water (15.6 ml per liter)
Please Note: If you do not want to make a complete gallon of ONR Quick Detail spray you here are the following dilution ratios for smaller bottles
- 16oz bottle: 15oz distilled water 1 oz ONR concentrate.
- 32oz bottle: 30oz distilled water 2oz ONR concentrate.
1 gallon of distilled water (can also be found locally at any market, Improves product performance drastically).
After you poured your distilled water into your 1 gallon container, you need to add 8oz of ONR concentrate to 120oz of distilled water. If you do not have measuring cups, you can use the cap that comes with your ONR. The cap is approximately 0.5oz so you need to add 16 0.5 caps to make 8oz.
Make sure when pouring your ONR, you do this over your gallon container to help reduce the chances of spilling any product. There is also a simple way to pour/transfer your ONR
I highly recommend using the DI Dispenser Bottles to ensure that you do not spill or waste product while mixing/adding the concentrate, as even when the tip is flipped open drips will only come out.
These bottles also make it very easy to travel with if you are doing a mobile job.
After you have poured your ONR concentrate put the cap on and shake vigorously.
Now you are ready to pour your detail spray in a bottle .
A quick tip that I recommend is to have a little 4oz Spray Bottle to keep in your car to clean bugs off the windshield or remove the dreaded bird bomb. I always keep a bottle in my car and it comes in extremely handy.
Using ONR for a detail spray is very cost effective for a pro and an enthusiast. ONR-QD is the detailers work horse for detail spray, as you can use it all day and not think twice about wasting product.
ONR detail spray might not give you the gloss and slick feel that traditional detail sprays typically leave behind, however that is not necessarily a bad thing as sometimes you just need a clean surface.
This is one of the best bang for your buck products you can buy as it has an endless list of uses.
If you have any questions or comments leave them in the comment box below. Thank you for reading!
Glad to have you on board with the DI team brother!!..already off to a great start with an awesome ONR how-to!!…love This stuff!!..I have the original and wash and wax and love both..normally use wash and wax to wash and the original as a detail spray and/or clay lube..im wondering if I can use the wash and wax as a detail spray as well??..hmm
Hey Frank! Thanks for the welcome and support, means alot.
The Wash & Wax is a great detail spray. There is some applications when the wax aspect is something you wouldn’t want in example: polishing pad conditioner. You wouldn’t want to add any wax protection to your pad while buffing.
However the Wash&Wax is a excellent drying aid, as it will boost protection! So yes you can use it as a detail spray.
The Wash & Wax would be my ideal drying aid for maintenence.
No problem man you guys are awesome and help me so much in my detailing journey …that’s right that makes perfect sense why I wouldn’t want the wax aspect..sweet bud thanks a lot for the reply..you’ll be hearing from me again..keep up the awesome work!!!
Very nice write up! I really like ONR…I have only used it for exterior detailing. In your article you wrote that it could be used for the interior as well. I actually have heard this before, but I am unsure of the dilution rate. What would be the dilution rate for interior cleaning/detailing? Thanks for your help, brother!
Hey Kevin, Thanks for reading!
And yes ONR can be used on interior, Its more of a maintenance type product when used on interior as it will only take care of minor dirt, dust, scuffs. A designated interior product will always be better. However ONR is still a really cheap and cost effective way to maintain a interior.
You can use the detail spray ratio, or even the clay lube ratio to wipe down your interior. It really depends on what your trying to do. I usually stick with the detail spray ratio as I always have gallons of made in my shop and it gets the job done!
If you have anymore questions don’t be afraid to ask !
Thanks for the clarification of being used as an interior maintenance product!
I should also say that I like the 4oz spray bottle idea for use on bird bombs, dust, fingerprints, etc. I believe I am going to place an order of 4oz. bottles and make a dilution of ONR to keep in my car and give them out to customers.
Awesome right up I to would also know if I can use this for my interior and will it harm my leather?
Hello Justin!
Like I stated above yes you can use it on your interior, it is a excellent interior maintenance product as it effectively removes some dirt, smudges, dust, scuffs etc. You can also use it on leather however it is not going to have the cleaning power as a designated interior product, It is great to wipedown your seats to remove any smudges or dust.
I use ONR on my fabric seats on my Jeep when my daughter makes a mess and it usually does the job.
If you need any interior product recommendations with some more cleaning power I would be happy to assist you.
Joe: first off great tutorial. Thanks so much.
Question: is the any reason not to mix the 8 oz of ONR straight in the gallon of purchased distilled H2O?
Hey Victor! Glad you enjoyed.
And to answer your question, You can absolutely add the ONR concentrate to the gallon of distilled water. Just understand that the gallon is 128oz and your adding 8oz so It will over flow. So if you don’t have a gallon container make sure you spill out about 8oz of distilled water to add the 8oz of concentrate. Or whatever spray mixture you are making.
I like to use that open face gallon container so I don’t spill any product and I don’t have to use a funnel. If you do plan o n adding it into the distilled water gallon make sure to use a funnel to ensure you don’t spill excess product!
I have the green ONR which has wax in it. I find it to not be good for glass. Does the blue ONR do better or are these products not good for glass?
Hi Patrice!
ONR is actually very effective as a glass cleaner. Myself and many other detailers use it for glass cleaning with great success.
Did you dilute your ONR wash n wax to a detail spray ratio ?
Try claying your windows, wax and dirt don’t play nice with each other, and if you were having problems I would imagine that there is contamination on the glass.
I use designated spray wax on glass all the time so you shouldn’t have a issue.
Hi Joe,
Thanks for this write up!!! I have looked through the website and the product reviews on here and found people using various different dilution rates and have always wondered what the correct ratios were when using as a QD.
I have a couple questions for you…
1) Would/could you use the ONR as a “presoak” (especially in some of those extra dirty areas) when doing the rinseless wash? If so, what would a sufficient ratio be for doing so?
2) When using the ONR Wash/Wax as a detailing/drying aid as you mentioned above, I’m assuming I still use 16:1?
Thanks again for the timely, pertinent, and helpful info!
Rick
Hi Rick!
Thanks for reading.
The ratios i have published all come from recommendations by Optimum. The manufacturer always know their product best.
as for the pre-soak question, ABSOLUTELY extra lubrication is the most important thing during not only a rinseless wash, But any wash for that matter. As far as the recommendation for the pre-soak ratio you do not have to over think that. If you have a gallon of pre-mixed ONR detail spray you can use that. or you can use 0.5oz to 1 gallon of water. being that ONR is 1 oz per 2 gal. However the lowest ratio i would personally use is 1oz per 1 gal. As I would want more polymers and lubrication to help soften and encapsulate dirt.
As for the Wash n Wax, You are correct the same dilution process for that as well. The Wash N Wax would be my preferred spray over regular ONR to help boost protection and add extra lubrication during the drying process.
If you have any more questions Rick let me know, I hope i answered your questions.
Thanks for reading.
Hi Joe!
Thanks for the quick response…and on a Sunday!
I am fairly new to the detailing world. Although I’ve always taken care of my vehicles, I am certainly not even close to expert, but I am definitely an enthusiast. Although when I look back at my past practices and products to where I am now, I kinda feel like an expert. I believe I came across this site about a 1 1/2 or 2 yrs ago. Thanks to this site, both its writers and its followers, for all incredible products, knowledge, and reviews! I can say it has truly transformed how I “wash” the cars:) I try to give back when I can by writing reviews.
Got sidetracked…I did have one follow up question. Seems trivial but I need to ask….when drying and using the ONRWW, is it necessary to mist the car or just spritz a little on the
Thanks and take care,
Rick
No problem Rick, It’s my pleasure to help.
Im glad you enjoy Detailed Image its a great company, and really assisted me in my professional detailing field they are second to none.
As far as your question I think you might have deleted your complete question by mistake, If you mean by spraying it all over the car or a panel at a time, I do panel at a time.
Or if your question is to use alot or a little, a little tip is use 2 towels during the drying process, One that is already damp but not dripping prime it with ONRWW and spray it on the panel as well after that use a dry towel to buff off any streaks.
I hope i covered your questions, if not just re-type it and i will answer it asap.
Thanks again for reading. and im glad you are progressing in your detailing adventures it’s a very addicting hobby/passion.
Trying to understand why the need for both products? I understand one has wax in it, and I’m sure each has their place just trying to understand which one is better for what.
Do u typically but a gallon of each or is that over kill?
Hi Shuan, Both would be nice to have, However both are not needed. It really depends on your specific situation wants and needs etc. If you are a pro or a weekend warrior the ONR with no wax is nice because you can perform a polish/paint correction without leaving wax protection behind, If you just have the wax version and you are about to polish/seal/wax your paint you would not want the wax protection that is left behind. The wash & wax is an ideal product to maintain your current vehicle condition, IE: if you already polished and waxed your car to your satisfactory level, doing rinseless wash & wax washes will maintain and boost overall protection. the need for both can be overkill I usually opt for just the regular ONR again because I do alot of polishing/waxing/sealing. It really depends on your needs and specific situation. There are situations where the wax can be desired and undesired. If you have any more questions let me know.
Have you tried Carpro EcH2O already? How it compares against ONR?
onr mixed with regular car shampoo/foam anyone tried it? i feel it will turbo charge the car shampoo ! then ofcourse needs to be rinsed
Just got a new 2017 RAV4 Super White…made a mess of my 2014 black Prius, hated the swirl marks showing up in our Florida sun. Researched the ONR, your site is very helful, thank you. 😉
My question, will the ONRWW solution in my wash bucket be reuseable to aid bug removal and touch ups (after QD spray) for an extended period of time ? ! I use the one bucket, with multiple micro cloths, never resuse the same wash cloth…
Thanks in advance
Hello, Irish.
As long as you are never contaminating your water with dirty wash media, Yes it is very safe to reuse the water! Infact many people seal their lids to re-use the water afterwards.
If you are outside just make sure no debris,dirt , or leafs get into your bucket inspect it for obvious dirt!
Thanks for reading.
Cheers 😉
If i want to clean my interior windows and only have a 500 milliliter bottle
how much ONR do i have to put in?
We do ml not oz in Australia
cheers
Adam – The ratios can be found directly in the article. For ml, 240 ml to 3.84 liters for water (62.5 ml per liter).
Cheers Mate! =)
62.5 ml of ONR just for the windows, is that a little strong?
I wont hurt my tint
I tried 2:32, 1:32 and 0.5:32 ratios on widows, and it was.horrible. It streaked so bad. Wolfgang Uber Rinseless did a much better job.
I was curious how much ONR QD product you end up using for a typical mid-size sedan?
Hello. May i use ONR as drying aid?
So the detail ratio is what one would use for interior and exterior window cleaning??