Salt on my car.. Please help...

A

ariesu4urlife

New member
I live in Upstate NY. And this time around, the temperatures arent letting up.. its like 1-10F here all the time. So, my black Prelude is currently gray with salt. I cant go out and wash it, because I'll freeze to death.



Sadly, it looks like I am between the rock(salt) and a hard place (carwash). If I take it to the car-wash I stand a chance of getting scratches (tho, I have had good luck). On the other hand, leaving salt on the paint is equally if not worse detrimental!!



Please help me with your suggestions/advice.



TIA



A very worried Autopia newbie!
 
Go to a do-it-yourself wash

and just use their power washer to rinse off the salt. Try to have the car heated up, especially the windshield, to minimize the chances of cracking(ice cold glass + warm water= trouble).
 
yeah, I used to live in Rochester and the spray car wash wash the only solution for these deep winter chills...but then the car freezes into a giant ice cube and you won't be able to open your doors, etc. Oh, well.



BTW, I washed a car yesterday, outside, 'cause the temp got all the way up to 22F!! NICE!! The car was so white I just could not let it go any longer. :mad: It looked damn nice all washed up and I always shake my head in disbelief during these winter months...those Klasse products hold up and yield a shine better than anything I've seen.
 
I had the same problem one year and used a brushless car wash. It was a drive-in, let your vehicle sit while the machine goes around it with high pressure spray. It also washed underneath my truck and removed the road salt, which I was really concerned about. It did a suprising good job and only cost about $6. I notice some of the nicer "wand-type" car washes will have at least one booth with a brushless bay. Worked for me...plus you can sit in the WARM of your car and crank up the tunes!
 
As long as the temp is below freezing the salt/chemicals are basically inert and won't react easily with the car components. Once the temp gets up above freezing .. then is the time to wash.
 
Jesstzn said:
As long as the temp is below freezing the salt/chemicals are basically inert and won't react easily with the car components. Once the temp gets up above freezing .. then is the time to wash.
Click to expand...



LOL! Guess that aint gonna happen in this freezing hell hole anytime soon!! Gonna get back into -ive F here from tomorrow.. But I just shudder everytime I have to grab the door handle and I feel this gritty stuff on there.. :(



I will check around and see if they have any touchless car-washes around here..
 
ariesu4urlife said:
I will check around and see if they have any touchless car-washes around here..
Click to expand...



ariesu4urlife,



You are probably better off just leaving your car as it is. Any attempt at washing you car with the temps below freezing could be a recipe for disaster.



Jesstzn said it best: ' As long as the temp is below freezing the salt/chemicals are basically inert and won't react easily with the car components. Once the temp gets up above freezing .. then is the time to wash'



The best advice: do nothing until the temp gets above freezing.



P.S. I have my own mobile detailing business here in New Jersey and I haven't washed my own vehicles during this current cold snap.



Hang in there...only 68 days until Spring.
 
thanks for the advice. I will hang in there.. the hardest part is when my friends make fun of my car.. "what happened? Did it get herpes from all that pimpin?" arrgghhh!!



Last year, we had snow in May/June.. I hope Spring comes around early this time!
 
I've been sticking to the "salt won't do anything below freezing" thing but today I notice something brushed up against the side pretty hard and I have scratches on one of my doors. :( They don't look too deep, but who knows when I'll be able to try to rub them out. 2-4" of snow tomorrow, I'm not even gonna bother with it tonight. Michigan loves the salt. Half the time I'm afraid I'm gonna wipe out (on foot or in the car) on salt pellets rather than snow or ice. :rolleyes:



Dec 21, the last time I washed her. She looks roughly like this again. :(



WRX01.jpg




But in Dec, you can see Klasse holding its ground!



WRX02.jpg
 
Hi guys.

Don,t know,maybe i am on thin ice now.

but as far as i know the brushless car wash machines recycle the water,that means that the salt from the cars will end up in the washing machines system and spray salt water all over your car
 
I know what you mean. My black Infiniti G20 gets filthy way too easily. I put a fresh coat of wax on the car in the late fall, and have been taking it to a soft-cloth wash about once a month. I try to avoid the touch free washes because I've heard the powerful soap they use strips off any wax or other protectants.
 
It may be weeks before I can clean my Boxster--nothing here even close to 32 degrees. This is where it would be really nice to have a warm garage!



I don't think there will be any real damage, though. I'll take care of it when it warms up.
 
randy98mtu said:
I've been sticking to the "salt won't do anything below freezing" thing but today I notice something brushed up against the side pretty hard and I have scratches on one of my doors. :( They don't look too deep, but who knows when I'll be able to try to rub them out. 2-4" of snow tomorrow, I'm not even gonna bother with it tonight. Michigan loves the salt. Half the time I'm afraid I'm gonna wipe out (on foot or in the car) on salt pellets rather than snow or ice. :rolleyes:



Dec 21, the last time I washed her. She looks roughly like this again. :(



WRX01.jpg




But in Dec, you can see Klasse holding its ground!



WRX02.jpg
Click to expand...







thats what my car looks like, and since we have freezing temperatures in michigan, its hard enough to wash the car as it is. However, i have a kerosene heater and my garage and I plan to wash the car tomorrow to get rid of all the salt that is on my car and w/e dirt is also on it. Gotta love klasse though, its full of durability :)
 
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