Coldest weather youve washed in?

[jasonmac]

I may have you all beat. I washed my Audi last week at -13 celcius. Hot water to wash and rinse, and most of it rolled right off, thanks to a long lasting combo of AIO, Acrylic Jett and Insulator wax. Still runs right off and beads like crazy.

Similar to that, I took both cars to the 'spray bay' at the car wash to hose off much of the salt and grit before bringing them into the garage to ONR them. The water beads froze in place on the cars in the stall, all the way back to the house! Kind of funny looking.



I've also washed outside in the 20s (in the sun) but had to defrost the hose because I forgot and left it out -- I dunk the hose in a big bucket of hot water and that seems to speed up the thawing.

 

[Conundrum]

Arguably I don't know how you all do it....if its any colder than around -4C outside if I try to QEW wash I get a lot of streaking, and I'm worried about the surface icing over a bit. I have an attached garage but no heater, so it really only sits a degree or two C above what it is outside...

 

[itb76]

Arguably I don't know how you all do it....if its any colder than around -4C outside if I try to QEW wash I get a lot of streaking, and I'm worried about the surface icing over a bit. I have an attached garage but no heater, so it really only sits a degree or two C above what it is outside...

Put a thermometer in your garage. Mine is attached, unheated, and uninsulated (for now), and my house seems well insulated. When I washed on Friday it was 14º F, after I was done washing in the garage the temp readout said 34º. Car was warmed up when I pulled it in. I use ONR, usually no streaking problem but I did notice one on the back window this last time. It was 0 to single digits all weekend, and the doors, locks & windows all worked this morning. ONR is the key to washing in cold weather IMHO.

 

[lex89]

Try this:

Winter gloves inside rubber gloves inside the wash mit. Now your hands won't get wet!

 

[GlossyTundra]

I have washed at 30* outside, but tonight I will be washing in the wash bay where it's a cool 70*. I just cant powerwash in there tho b/c the exhaust from the motor will kill me.



I have washed boats before in freezing weather and water froze on the boat so I just left it alone.

 

[PhaRO]

When I left out today it was 25-27 out. I think the high was 30 today. Only had a few cars to do so it wasn't too bad. Nice and sunny which helped out a lot. Tomorrow morning when I leave the forecast says it will be 18 out. That will be a record for me. Good news though it's going to be warmer tomorrow! High will be 35

 

[AuAltima3.5]

I used to wash in cold weather, but found the water freezing in the door jambs and various other places too annoying.



I washed at about 35-40*F. I used rubber gloves and warm water in the bucket.

 

[BlueZero]

I just went though the gas station touch less tonight. I had to do it, the salt has been driving me crazy. Current temp here -2* wind chill -20*. I could see the soap turn to ice crystals on the windshield. I think that might have been too cold... lol

 

[n2_space]

I've done QEW in 0 before.. and it was windy Never again, it froze and smeared so fast

 

[titsataki]

I can do the surfaces in the garage. Around low 40s in there. But how can I do the undercarriage? (besides taking it to the self serve car wash bays).



It was a crisp 5 F this morning.



Cheers



Nick

 

[whitejavaS500]

6 Degrees. Uninsulated garage. ONR and 2 hot-water Buckets. And I did both the Beemer and the Range! But, I did not enjoy a SECOND of it.

 

[vwspeed32]

Currently in York, PA it is like 10F. Once wind chill added your talking like -12F. So yeah it's cold, and if your outside for 2 minutes you lose all feeling in your hands. C'mon spring

 

[imported_Astral]

How do you folks do QEW/ONR in freezing weather? Doesn't the soap freeze up on the panels?



The coldest I've washed using QEW was about 32-33 degrees, and when the wind blew, it froze things right up (as the sun was setting, it was getting colder).

 

[White95Max]

I just washed my car today in the garage. 11*F outside and sunny, 31*F in the garage. I had a little icing on the wheels, but no big deal. I'm wondering if I should deliberately cover the wheels in pure water and let it freeze. That way all the road grime would just be on the ice, and when the ice melted, it would self-clean.

Furthermore, any salt would just slowly melt the ice coating, and as it melted, the salt would just drip off in solution.

 

[itb76]

How do you folks do QEW/ONR in freezing weather? Doesn't the soap freeze up on the panels?

Nope. 17º tonight, well warmed up car, closed attached uninsulated garage, hot water w/ONR. Nothing froze except on the floor of the garage, and that cleans up with a broom or snow shovel. Not an uncomfortable procedure, either. Hot water is the key. Without a hose you're not applying that much water, so things don't freeze.

 

[Cassman]

Last night, -2 F. Uninsulated garage. Probably 6 F. Very hot water QEW. As I was doing it, I realized that any doubts that my wife had about my sanity were now appeased - she now KNOWS I'm crazy. I just couldn't go any longer with my black car being white. Had to QEW twice to get most of the streaks out.

 

[BlueLibby04]

Ive always heard that HOT water will shorten the life of the LSP.. Anyone believe this is true?



I usually just use warm water b/c of this..

 

[White95Max]

The hot water from your water heater is unlikely to be above 120*F. Your car's paint can easily reach temperatures higher than that while sitting in the summer sun. I doubt hot water has any measurable effect on an LSP's durability.

 

[66#1]

I had a freshly restored '64 Chevrolet C-10 pickup in high school. I had the bedwood finsihed really nice, and I would get up in the back of the truck barefooted and wash the bed of the truck. I've done it in near-freezing weather many a time.



Now I can't take it under 45 degrees! 50 is actually more like it!

 

[BlueLibby04]

The hot water from your water heater is unlikely to be above 120*F. Your car's paint can easily reach temperatures higher than that while sitting in the summer sun. I doubt hot water has any measurable effect on an LSP's durability.

While that is true, your not rubbing on the paint when its over 120 degrees.



Thats great if it doesnt shorten the lift though.. Ill just use hot water now. :chuckle: