Too much Winter Washing? Opinions Wanted!

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dropscience

New member
Is there such a thing as doing too much Winter Washing? I can't stand the salt and grime buildup on my car during the winter months. As such, I will do the craziest thing and hand-wash my car with my own bucket and supplies at a coin-op in the middle of the night. The only thing I use at a coin-op is the pressure rinse - twice. Once to loosen all dirt from car and after my handwash to rinse off the soap. I then proceed to hand dry with my waffle-weave microfiber towel.



Question is, is doing this once/week during the winter bad?
 
In sloppy winters, I hand wash with QEW/warm water, at least once a week. Then a quick wipedown with my fav detail spray, Z6.



Then in the spring, I do the whole undercarriage blast and go back to my normal washing routine.



Why would you think it was bad to wash weekly?



(P.S. Remember... I'm the guy who QD's every day that it's not raining!) PROUD to be ANAL!!!
 
accumulator is right.. i managed to ruin 2 coats of collinite 476 by using tons of soap (and yes, it was real soap, not dish soap) i washed my car like every 2-3 days because i commute to college, and like you, couldnt stand seeing the salt on there.. accumulator and a couple other people told me earlier this week, that too much washing OR too much soap is really hard on your lsp, even if its decent car wash soap.. once a week sounds fine to me, thats as often as im goign to try to do mine :-)
 
I also agree with accumulator, unless you use the Zymol Clear wash. I use it on my Grand dad's after i apply a zymol wax to them and it doesnt seem to take off the clear after many washes...
 
I'm just using Meguiars Gold Class car wash. I try to schedule the washes when there's a good stretch of dry weather with zero to little change or precipitation the following days.



yes, the autopian disease!
 
I do think that you will be inducing more marring the more often you wash. No matter how well you do with the pre-wash high pressure rinse, there will still be debris on the paint. Hand washing the car with debris still on the paint will undoubtedly scratch the paint....especially when your LSP protection is getting thin.



This winter i have washed the car every ~2 weeks...but i have only used the high pressure rinse, high pressure soap, and high pressure rinse again. No wash mitts have actually come in contact with my paint this winter. The water is still beading fairly well (over 2 months). I took a good close look at the paint the last time i "washed" the car and it looks fantastic....It looks just as good as it did in the fall.
 
^ I see what you mean and I guess I can't have both. Attempting to wash the car like the summer may potentially cause more damage if all residual dirt has not been rinsed off. The pressure rinse, soap, and rinse will do the job but it just won't be "pretty" after. I guess that's the trade off of living on the east coast :(
 
I don't wash every other day in the winter (maybe once a week) but I do use the rinse at the car wash around the corner to get the bulk of the grime off follwed by ONR at home. I haven't noticed my lsp being effected but I also use a spray wax during these months every other wash or so.
 
Winter washing. I have to hand it to all of you. It is cold out. I just piled up the Collinite back in november and havent touched my DD since. *sips hot chocolate*
 
RDAVEX7 said:
I don't wash every other day in the winter (maybe once a week) but I do use the rinse at the car wash around the corner to get the bulk of the grime off follwed by ONR at home. I haven't noticed my lsp being effected but I also use a spray wax during these months every other wash or so.
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I use a similar program on my daily driver in winter. Fortunately my daily commute takes me by two quarter car washes. I use the rinse mode only once or twice per week and on rare days of above freezing temp. I use ONR at home. I love that product! Occasionally Duragloss Aquawax, temperature permitting. I started off with Zaino CS. Be happy to see spring weather this year!
 
I can't tell you how grateful I am to have a garage that is completely weatherstripped. It stays around 50 degrees even with around 0 degree outside temperatures. I also have a wash basin to hook my hose onto, both hot and cold water taps. Personally I do a high pressure rinse and then go back over it lightly with my hand and follow by spraying the area. Pretty much removes everything and allows me to wash, rinse and dry as usual. Once or twice a week is not too much washing and I have my cars 3 year old shine to prove it.
 
shadow85 said:
Winter washing. I have to hand it to all of you. It is cold out. I just piled up the Collinite back in november and havent touched my DD since. *sips hot chocolate*
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Haha! Well we've been really lucky this year (Kansas City area)... Yesterday it was 68*!!!



I can guarantee, every day that's like that, I'm outside detailing at least one, if not all, of my cars.



(This morning it was 18* and calling for snow tonight.... uuuggghhh.... Hate winter.... just gimme some HEAT and 5 or 6 Vettes to detail....THAT'S MY GAME!:woot2::woot2::woot2:
 
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