Salt versus my car

D

dc5

New member
Well, here's a picture of my car (complete with snow tires!) right now with all the salt and grime on it. Took it this morning before 7am.



Not a pretty sight...



at least I have a layer of Collinite 846 on top of my Z2. I hope it'll help...



http://members.rogers.com/zaius/snowcar.jpg



http://members.rogers.com/zaius/salt.jpg



My rear window is frozen with ice. How do you guys scrap it off? Just gently? I sprayed a crapload of Rain-X DeIcer and didn't help that much.
 
Don't you have a plastic ice scraper? They work great on windows. I have only used the RainX De-Icer a few times, and that was just for frost on the glass. I don't think it would do much to a layer of ice.
 
zaius said:
My rear window is frozen with ice. How do you guys scrap it off? Just gently? I sprayed a crapload of Rain-X DeIcer and didn't help that much.
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Can't you just let the rear defroster melt it? Even with the fancy scrapers from Stratmosphere, I just hate scraping ice off if I can avoid it. Always worried about some little piece of grit scratching the glass.....
 
I have never in my life had to remove that much snow from one of my vehicles and don't ever plan on it. I can only imagine what a pain that would be.
 
Well, I really don't like idling my car long enough for it to melt the ice in the back (bad for engine and environment)



So I sprayed a ton of the D-Icer stuff and it sort of worked once I let it sit for a bit. Then I carefully "scraped" it away. I hate the sound of the *chip chip, krrrrrrrr*taking off the ice.



At least today wasn't as cold as yesterday's -20c. I don't think that D-Icer stuff would work as well.



I wonder how I should take all that salt and sand off now...
 
zaius said:
Well, I really don't like idling my car long enough for it to melt the ice in the back (bad for engine and environment)



So I sprayed a ton of the D-Icer stuff and it sort of worked once I let it sit for a bit. Then I carefully "scraped" it away. I hate the sound of the *chip chip, krrrrrrrr*taking off the ice.



At least today wasn't as cold as yesterday's -20c. I don't think that D-Icer stuff would work as well.



I wonder how I should take all that salt and sand off now...
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if you are worried about your car hurting the environment, why didn't you get a hybrid?



Vernon
 
Scrap it! Give it hell! Screw those $30 ice scrappers. I got mine from a bum for 5 bucks.

That D-icer stuff sucks. It fogs up the inside of the window, so you have to wait till your car defogs the window after that.

Man that's a silly azz ?
 
You don't have much of a choice but to scrape it.



Safety should come first, so whatever you do pls don't drive around like some people is see with tons of snow and ice on their car. They can't see where they're going or oncoming traffic because they didn't clean their car and are trying to peek around the ice.



I've used a scraper on my cars for years and i havn't had a problem. It's un-nerving to hear the sound of all that scaping but its necessary.



I use an old California duster to clean the snow off the body.



Bob
 
Once you've removed the snow it may be advisable to 'neutralize ' the road salt



Undercarriage-

·Thoroughly spray an undiluted citrus cleaner (P2IS Total Auto Wash) and let it soak in, remove by thoroughly rinsing with water. If you have a pressure washer available, fill tank with citrus cleaner and spray undercarriage (do not use excess pressure as water may penetrate crevices and seams where it cannot drain, causing corrosion), let it soak and then remove with plain water

·Spray undercarriage with (POR-15 Marine Cleanâ„¢) one application will leave no residues, noxious fumes or flammable solvents (Canada-POR15.com)

Apply two coats (allowing first coat to dry) of a rust inhibitor paint (POR-15 Rust Inhibitor, allow drying between coats.
 
Why not just rust proof your car in the fall ?



I get my cars done at Krown. They do a great job and the product is superior. I also get them sprayed while the weather is still some what warm so the product can creep in the crevices properly.
 
It would be better for your engine if you let it idle for a few minutes too. You shouldn't be jumping into the car and driving immediately at our current temperature.
 
OJ_GTI said:
It would be better for your engine if you let it idle for a few minutes too. You shouldn't be jumping into the car and driving immediately at our current temperature.
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But you dont want to idle your engine too long or it would be worse for it - they say 30 seconds. I leave it for how ever long it takes me to scrap the ice and snow off. It's best to drive off at slower speeds to warm everything up - including suspension, wheel bearings and tranny.



I have been using the engine block heater this week. It has made a big difference!!
 
93zder said:
But you dont want to idle your engine too long or it would be worse for it - they say 30 seconds. I leave it for how ever long it takes me to scrap the ice and snow off. It's best to drive off at slower speeds to warm everything up - including suspension, wheel bearings and tranny.



I have been using the engine block heater this week. It has made a big difference!!
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You guys in Toronto idle longuer than that stuck in traffic on the DVP ! ;)
 
I feel for you dude, I live about 2 blocks from Lake Huron, talk about lake effect, woke up yesterday morning to find 7-8 inches of snow and a half inch of ice underneath that on the car cover... and under the cover from when we had freezing rain when i was at school last week (Doh!). Speaking from experience, theres not much you can do. If its light snow, get it off the windows, get on the highway and start going, itll mostly fly off :) . The only other alternative is to brush it off the paint (shivers down the spine just thinking about it), take it to a do-it-yourself spray wash and melt it off and hope your doors/locks dont freeze, or, the option i usually end up with, just leave it. Yeah, it looks crappy, but if you get the snow off the glass, you'll be ok. Winter sucks man.



Oh yeah, with the rear window defroster, dont know bout how it is there, but about hte last 2 weeks, it melts the snow, and before i can get out of the car to brush it off its all refrozen again. Yeah, its been that cold. I can drive 10 miles at 55 before my car warms up, usually when its like 15 out it only takes like 2. Welcome to January in Michigan....
 
foxtrapper said:
Spraying a ton of D-Icer kinda negates your concerns about the environment and your car.
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i think an alcohol based product is less sever than say idling a car for a few minutes no?



anyways, either way, i hate scraping. i did scrap, and ahhh! the noise. oh well. safety does come first.



lake huron is BITTERLY cold. i was up by kincardine (the east side) and wow. the wind just howls off the lake.



i have rust proofing done. well, is that soft tar stuff which i'm afraid will dry up when my car is older. i don't know if it's any good in the long run but i got a good deal off my mechanic (who does it for acura)
 
zaius said:
i think an alcohol based product is less sever than say idling a car for a few minutes no?
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Yes, as a basic statement. That's why I used the word kinda. I'm not trying to bash you, honestly. However, de-icing sprays are not particularly nice to your car or the environment. The effects of alcohols on waxes and sealants is well discussed here. These sprays also tend to contain acetone, toluene and the like, admittedly in small quantities. Their effects on painted surfaces is also well known. Most of the chemicals in de-icing sprays are VOC's, and many are toxic to various degrees.



Switching gears to the rubberized undercoating. Some are good, very good in fact. The stuff Ford uses is quite good in my experience. Others are not, like the stuff Volvo uses. The best judge I've found is to scrape a screwdriver through it on edge. The Ford stuff will not scrape clean down to the paint or bare metal, it will not peel, and in a few days, it will heal the scrape. Stuff like Volvo's will go down to the paint, may lift, and will not self-heal.



The asphalt type undercoatings are not good as a general rule mostly, imo, because they are applied to older cars over contamination, and they are typically applied cold. *Really* clean and dry things, and apply hot, and they will do a far better job. However, they always allow creep from the edges. If you leave an edge where wheel spray will get to it, you'd have been better off applying nothing.
 
93zder said:
Why not just rust proof your car in the fall ?



I get my cars done at Krown. They do a great job and the product is superior. I also get them sprayed while the weather is still some what warm so the product can creep in the crevices properly.
Click to expand...



Having the vehicle protected from rust beforehand is definitely a good idea. But if you don't have that protection or before you apply that protection you need to clean off and neutralize any residue.



Our salt corrosion comes from a different source, Florida sea air so I clean and neutralize the undercarriage and use a paint decontamination system

JonM
 
foxtrapper, understood. :)



As for rustproofing, all i know is that I took my car into my mechanics, and they sprayed "tar" onto the under carriage of my car and wheel wheels. The "tar" is still sticky and I can dig my nails right into it quite easily in the summer. I hope it's good... but then again, it is the one that Acura offers. Oh well, at least I took it in the next day when I bought the car (when it was brand new)



I just heard that we're getting 15-20cm (6-8") of snow in Toronto tomorrow on top of this dasterly cold weather. YAH!!!! I can't wait to get more salt onto my car. :rolleyes:



Should I bring my car to a wash bay (or car wash!) and spray it down temporarily, or just let it be till it warms up?
 
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