# Pearl Waterless - A Review



## Concho (Jan 11, 2011)

So today I managed to get round to a quick clean with Pearl Waterless, I had a free half an hour so was only a quick one as the weather was decent and there was no wind!!

I am planning on a full wash inside and out, plus using their nano product on Thursday when I'll have a lot more time to play with, but for now I'll show my opinions on the Professional Waterless Wash, the Universal Cleaner used on the alloys, and the Eco Tyre Shine used on the, er, tyres!

Here's the products line up:










So, the technique as described on the side of the bottle is identical to the ONR technique in that you spray the microfibre then spray the panel of the car with a fine mist and wipe in a lifting manner so you don't cause scratches, then buff with a clean cloth straight away, no need to leave it to work like ONR. I have been using ONR a lot and also "Spray'n'Shine" as a waterless wash, but looking for something new after their very poor customer service (SnS, not ONR), which is how I found Pearl. I must admit the spray doesn't seem as thick as Spray'n'Shine but it does buff a lot easier.

I did the demo on my own car, a 2008 Seat Leon FR which hadn't been washed for over 3 weeks and has done a few motorway miles in that time, was very dusty, here's some before pictures:
































































So I got to work using the techniques above. I was surprised how easy it was to work with and didn't use that much to do the whole car. I used the Universal cleaner for the alloy wheels. I was actually very surprised with how good this was as I wasn't expecting much as I wasn't too impressed with the ONR or Spray'n'Shine on alloys, but this was very good. The tyre cleaner was good too. I usually use Autoglym Instant Tyre Shine, but I think this gives results as good but I have to say uses a lot less to get the same results. The whole car what is shown below took around 25 minutes so just a quick wash really but overall I was quite impressed so I'm definately going to go ahead and get that trade account with them, and make this my number one waterless wash. Here's the after shots starting with a pic of how much of the product I used:










Tyre Shine on the left, Universal in the centre, and Waterless Wash on the right.









































































Overall I'm happy with Pearl products. I'll add more on Thursday when I get a chance to clean inside the car with the Universal stuff and use the nano stuff they sent me.


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## Lowiepete (Mar 29, 2009)

Thanks for this intro. It would have been good to see the wheel cleaner in 
action. One question, does the overspray of the bodywork cleaner dry clear or 
white? 

Regards,
Steve


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Great stuff...:thumb: and you beat me to a test...:wall:...:lol:

I have a question as could be the light and tyre wall pattern but when you took the pics was the tyre cleaner still drying as seam to be wet white marks much as you see when putting the Autoglym on.

So do you spray on and leave to dry?

Was it still drying when picture taken most notable on the rear tyre...:thumb:


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## toni (Oct 30, 2005)

Nice review!

How many towels did you need for the bodywork?


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## Matt_Nic (Apr 15, 2011)

Is this a bit like Go-waterless? 

That stuff is insane and defies all your instincts to not use it.


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## Concho (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks for the comments.

Lowiepete - I just sprayed the universal cleaner on the alloys and wiped straight away, didn't leave it to work for any period of time. Cleaned quite well. The overspray was clear.

james death - I did spray and leave to dry and this was taken just after, it did dry without any white marks, will show more pics tomorrow.

toni - I only used 3 cloths in all, less than normal but the car was only dusty there was no real hard dirt there otherwise would have been more.

Matt Nic - I've used go waterless before and it is good, very similar but if I had to choose I'd say I prefered Pearl for the ease and quality of finish. Spray'n'Shine was the other good one I've used which does give good results too but Pearl is easier to wor with so that gets my vote as the best waterless I've tried.


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## Marchosias (Jan 27, 2011)

Thanks for sharing, I'm awaiting my samples if they are any good which they seem to be I'll be using that on my and friends cars!.


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## Matt_Nic (Apr 15, 2011)

So what is the general opinion of Detailing World towards waterless products?

It seems to be a more open attitude here than any where else (individual car clubs) to it who usually just say "might as well use sandpaper to wash your car"

Of course none of those that say it have tried it.


On the other hand, surely if they were that good then water washing would pretty much be redundant by now and we'd all just carry a bottle of waterless cleaner in the boot and never go near a hose & shampoo again?!


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## Marchosias (Jan 27, 2011)

Matt_Nic said:


> So what is the general opinion of Detailing World towards waterless products?
> 
> It seems to be a more open attitude here than any where else (individual car clubs) to it who usually just say "might as well use sandpaper to wash your car"
> 
> ...


Depends really, tbh most people haven't tried it yet and think with their mouths instead of facts. 
Give it a try it'll be fine, stick to instructions. There's a reason for them and it doesn't damage the car. 
It's dependent but most cars can be cleaned with waterless so long as they aren't for example a farmers range or something along those lines then I would probably use ONR then something like Pearl. But it's all down to individual techniques and likes really. What works for me might not work for others.

This is what I use for my customers and my self included.

:thumb:


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## Concho (Jan 11, 2011)

You can damage a car using any method if you do it wrong, it's all about technique and following the instructions as Marchosias said. Waterless is perfectly safe if you do it properly, and it's not difficult either.


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## Matt_Nic (Apr 15, 2011)

Like I say, I've used it and thought it was tremendous.

This was my car after using go-waterless a few years back, I was amazed by it.


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## Concho (Jan 11, 2011)

First of all to people who were waiting for my review on the rest of the Pearl stuff (ie Nano), I know I promised it would be done over a week ago but my girlfriend in virtually 9 months pregnant (due next Sunday!) and we had problems with the pregnancy so were in and out of hospital so that took all my attention, but thankfully every test came back ok in the end after a lot of stress so back to the car!!

This morning I gave the car another quick clean with Pearl Professional, again it was dusty but not terrible and again I must say once again I was very impressed as I was first time round. This time though, I used a lot less liquid and was still happy with the results. The car had been mauled by birds and used as a toilet last night and it was cleaned effortlessly so top marks there.

So this evening around an hour ago I went out and finished the job, cleaned the wheels and applied the nano stuff for the first time. Last time it was requested to see the Universal cleaner in action when cleaning the wheels so I have pics of that this time. As far as the nano went, it was applied really easily. Felt slightly greasy but buffed in very easily and I was actually surprised how little effort was needed.  I was told by the manufacturers to apply it in the same way as the waterless (I have a sample before it's gone to production and there were no instructions printed on the bottle, simply a white label to identify it). I did the same way, spray on, wipe with one microfibre and buff with a second. I took pictures again but the results of this obviously will take time to see so I'll keep checking up on that

(Apologies for picture quality, my girlfriend has packed the digital camera away in her hospital bag so I was limited to a camera phone). All pics taken roughly 8pm Monday 13th June














































Wheels:

Before (been sprayed with Pearl Universal Cleaner)


















50/50









After (with Pearl nano applied also)








(I didn't bother getting inside the wheels to clean as they're coming off on Thursday for 4 new tyres so gonna clean them properly inside and out then, plus put the nano spray on (either Pearl or Enduroshield)

One more for fun - my new decoration for the back window


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Thanks for posting, the Nano is to be launched at the international trade show or something..


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## Griffiths Detailing (Mar 29, 2011)

Baby blue on board!!! Im going to need one of them myself!!! Come on you blues!!! 


Thanks for the write up also and goodluck with the Baby, my mrs is nearly 6 months at min with our first.


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## Concho (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks guys!

Was in a rush as I got back to the car today after it had rained but just had enough time to snap a quick pic of the beading:


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## Concho (Jan 11, 2011)

Used the eco tyre wash on the dashboard (does say it does dashboards as well, all plastics and rubber etc) , came up really good, and smells lovely!




























Also, there's easily enough for four waterless washes in the bottle I originally used, still got a small amount left so going to order some more from them soon as I am genuinely very impressed.

The universal cleaner is good for the wheels, and upholstery and doesn't require a lot of liquid to get good results. I intend to try it on some upholstery which is a bit more of a challenge than on my car but I must admit to not going out on the road much these last few weeks due to the baby and being busy with other things. My business partner is coming round today so I'll give it to him to try and get reviews from him.

The tyre wash I am very impressed with and that is something I will definately comtinue to use, it's far superior than the Autoglym stuff I used up until now.










As far as the initial coating of the nano product, when I asked how long it would last they would not commit with an answer saying there were too many different factors involved, which is fair enough, but the thin coating I put on initially is still going strong and obviously makes cleaning in future a breeze. Think for the nano it's more of a long term review, but it's still beading nicely. I personally haven't used much similar though tbh, except for a couple of Autoglym and Turtle Wax waxes and finishing products.

I going to carry on testing it on clients' cars now, with my business partner doing the same, and I will run down all the other products I have in the van but my feeling now is I am no longer going to use Autoglym Super Interior Clean, Autoglym Tyre Shine, Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner, or any other waterless wash. I'l still carry ONR but just for its' versatility, and I think I'll keep a dedicated glass cleaner (Turtle Wax Clear Vue), and a proper shampoo and air freshener, but I will be cutting down the amount of products I'm using in favour of Pearl, I am that pleased with them.

So, I hope I've helped other people with this little lot, sorry I couldn't spend much more time doing this, all my washes effectivley became quick cleans of the car instead of spending the amount of time I would normally (for example not doing wheel insides), but even so I think it shows the quality of the products and I've given some decent examples.

I would recommend people to try these products, especially people who currently use any othe type of waterless wash. I don't know where sells this at the moment apart from Pearl direct.


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