First, let me say that I am not affiliated with the company that manufactures this product in any way. I first saw this system a couple of years ago at a car show and have been wanting one ever since. I have family in the city where they are made and serviced, so this weekend on a visit I took the plunge. It turns out it was worth it....

This little guy is called the Invisible Chamois.



The system consists of the main filter, the input water line and the exit water line and sprayer. I also got a total dissolved solids meter. It will tell you, in PPM, the number of dissolved solids in your water.

Here is the meter reading my tap water:



This filter produces deionized water that is free of all mineral deposits. The manufacture calls it ultra pure water, and it is. We tested tap water in their building (375 PPM), reverse osmosis water (5 PPM), and DI water from this unit (0 PPM). The filter contains a plastic resin that filters the water via ion exchange producing pure clean water. Over time the resin will become unable to filter the water as effectively, and the manufacture will regenerate the unit for a fee and send it back out to you. They recommend sending the unit in when the meter reads 10 PPM. If you don't use the meter, you just send it in when the water begins to spot.

There are three different sized units, mine is the medium. Washing once per week and using five gallons as a final spot free rinse, this size unit is rated for 54 washes. This number will vary depending on the hardness of your water, and I believe that number was based on the 375 PPM rating of their city water. Mine should last longer because my water is not as hard.

So how well does it work?

Here is the filtered water out of the unit:



After washing the truck normally, I did a final rinse with the DI water. Here you can see it drying on the bed cover.



I am extremely happy with this purchase. I no longer have to worry about water running from the door handle, mirror, or emblems and spotting the paint. There is no doubt this system is an investment, but after the initial cost, it works out to about 1.50 per use. That won't be bad over the long haul. I remember the days of spending eight bucks at the car wash!

 

How Much, theres another company making a system also SpotFree...

 

349 for the system. The spot free is a water softener. It will soften the water, but it is an exchange. You are removing some calcium carbonate, but you are adding in sodium. That is why you can recharge it with salt. Depending on the hardness of your water, it might be enough, but it isn't a true spot free rinse. It is great for wash water and soap rinsing though!

 

Very interesting system... Looks like a nice one too...

Just curious, what's the regeneration fee?

 

Can you email me some vendor info on this system....???

 

Rockpick,

79 bucks with shipping to the manufacture included. I pay return freight or just pick it up. It will go for 270+ gallons before this is needed. I am guessing I will see around 300 because my water is not as hard as the water used in the 54 wash calculation. I can push it even further with a carbon block pre-filter.

I am planning on needing regeneration around once per year. After the initial purchase that works out to less than a buck fifty per use. Well worth it IMO.

F150truck-in - www.invisiblechamois.com

 

Definitely an acid regeneration hence, the send off. Not a bad option on the market... first time I've seen this particular one... Thanks for the info.

 

i still like my mr clean autodry whatever it is
dug the wifes falcon out of storage over the weekend gave it the once over and used it on it

i love it

...zap!

 

How much pressure come out the end of the hose? THese RODI units are used alot in the salt water reef aquariums. I have a 100g/day unit for $149. The di unit lasts for 2-4k gallons

 

Just as an aside, I always kept my last vehicle's finish highly polished, and after washing it I used a leaf blower to dry it, about $69. Never had water spoting problems abd it blew most of the water out of door handles, along windows, seams, etc. This is just an alternative idea.

 

It just so happens that Im into saltwater fish so I use RO/DI water for water changes on my 150 gal tank. The bonus to keeping two 55 galon barrels of this RO/DI water is that I use it to do the final rinse on my truck. Ive been doing this on all my rides for years.

 

Is ths better than the Mr. Clean autodry system?

 

I think it's safe to say that this is a similar item on a much larger, higher volume - scale.

The MrC is, indeed, a type of resin filter. The reason you toss them is because you can't regenerate them like this system (which is probably done by a very strong acid strip).

For my money, there are better options out there beyond the MrC but, indeed, the MrC does serve a nitche in the market and does a pretty good job.

RP

 

There is a definite pressure drop, but it is plenty strong for a final rinse. I have no problems pushing the tap water across the surface leaving the DI water to dry.

This is an enthusiast product for sure, but if you go to the extremes that I do to keep your paint it top condition then this can be a valuable tool.

DSG man,

There are lots of folks using blowers with great success. I have a Stihl backpack blower and a small electric, but the last thing I want to do is get out the extension cord or blow 2-stroke exhaust on the paint. That is the lazy side in me coming out.

 

Well I don't want to burst anybody's bubble here,
but all you need is a normal gardening-type spray
can setup with the hand pump for pressurization on top.
Then fill it up with distilled water, (use the distilled water
as a final rinse after rinsing the car with tap water.)

It takes a little longer, but I guarantee you wont
have any spots and it's a helluva lot cheaper.

Us black paint guys know these tricks.