Winter washing - what to do?

mobiledynamics said:
Even a mildly dirty car looks amazing FRESH AND CLEAN against bright white snow backdrop.
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Exactly!

I *just now* finished giving the Tahoe another Pressure Washer Rinse, not doing one of my washes until it really needs it.

PW with regular (softened/filtered) water. PW again with Deionized water. Hit the areas that still looked filthy with the Tornador (filled with Distilled water, just used that rather than switch to Deionized). Blew most of the water off with the Air Wand and did a cursory follow up with the compressor. Wiped the running boards and pebble-grained trim with ONR (not wasting my IUDJ on this) and did the exterior glass (GG PFMs for Glass, Christmas gift from Accumulatorette, work *great*). Vacuumed and wiped the Floor Liners. Wiped the door seals with ONR, left them open so things`ll dry better/OK. Done in under 90 minutes thanks to working FAST; it was hard, constant-motion work, but the thing looks OK so worth it IMO. No, it`s not nearly Autopian, but it`s Best SUV in the Parking Lot for my area at present.

When I finally *do* give it a Real Accumulator-style Wash it`s gonna be a brutal task playing catch-up, but I`ve been getting by with just this kind of thing for an incredibly long time while reserving my resources for the Audis, which get washed properly every time.
 
Maybe I`m not as picky as I used to be, or have gotten lazy, but during the winter time it is the automatic touchless for me. Living in the area I do there`s pretty much a constant salt layer on the mountain from late November to early March. I`m not dragging my wash stuff out of the basement, fill the buckets with warm water in the tub, etc. if it`s going to be slightly salty the next drive. The S10 I`ll grab some quarters and use the self serve bay. I`ll double layer so I can kneel on the concrete to blast underneath (I get some strange looks for that...). The car wash in the town I work in has a desalt solution that is great for that. Sure it`s a little rusty underneath already, but why create more? Right now with temps around 5° to 15° nothing is getting washed. The company truck is annihilated with salt and muck (thanks PA Turnpike...), but washing it will only freeze the thing solid. You guys that will wash outside around 20° to 30° my hats off to you, I guess I`m not that dedicated anymore.
 
I`ve never tried just a HP rinse. Maybe this friday and well - in staying with the touchless theme, HP rinse and then blown dry ?
Is the HP rinse sufficient enough to actually remove some of the -juice- that is on the car - aka, think of a black car that looks silver, as a example.

IME, even HP water on trim won`t remove the white off trim. I have to test it with paint. I do know that once water hit`s the paint, the salt does create a exothermic reaction, and the panels do get hot and drys whatever moisture/liquid is on the paint . Almost, but not akin, to washing in the sun. Hence, in salt crust, I do foam just to keep as much moisture going on then just straight water.
 
It`s pretty rough in Chicago right now. When the temps are above 20F, I head to the coin-op to blast the salt and grime off the car, but that`s about it. I usually can do this weekly. When it gets above freezing, I usually get a propane heater running in the garage, which is insulated, and that will bring it up to the 40s. This is usually comfortable enough for me to do a rinseless wash (after visiting the coin-op).

As others have said, have a good last step product on your car. If you live in an area with a lot of cold, snow and salt, I HIGHLY recommend a ceramic coating. It will take a beating during the winter months, but it will make your cleanings much easier.
 
Bring on the Heat Wave. Looks like the weather is all in-line for a washing next week. Yay. I`ll let the Friday rain clean up the streets and see if all the streetside snow and slush is somewhat gone. If not, and there is still black slush remaining.....kinda pointless even turning on the tap to wash it.

In my younger days, I would wash every moment there was a warm day. SLowly I learn, it will just get as dirty the minute it leaves the driveway. Now I look at the ~entire condition~ before I wash.
 
edit

..........JUST because I have not tried this combo in winter, APC presoak, HP rinse and just blown dry.
Heh, or may AF Avalanch on DS, and APC on Passenger side
 
mobiledynamics said:
I`ve never tried just a HP rinse...Is the HP rinse sufficient enough..[??!??] ...
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With the obvious caveats/disclaimers about YMMV and how different locales use different stuff to combat winter...

*IME* it works fine. The Tahoe was just *AWFUL* and I do mean like "is that a silver one? Hard to tell..."

The pressure washing..with just water, plus the work with the Tornador, was enough to get it really, really nice. The caked white salt residue rinsed off the paint, the trim, everything except the tires (and most of it came off those). I was running warm, but not hot, water through the pw.

Yeah, I used the Tornador for still-nasty but that wouldn`t have been absolutely necessary; I really reached for that because of how it lends itself to the controlled cleaning of limited areas.

IMO, people using coatings oughta get at least the same results that I do. FK1000P contributes a lot, but doesn`t explain how I can do that on areas that have something else on `em. The Ultima TTG+, the frequent use of SprayWaxes and QD-strength IUDJ, that kind of trim regimen is, (also just IMO) highly beneficial and contributes to how well such areas clean up with merely the pw.

I`m trying to think of any weird/wildcard areas....OK, the sidesteps/running boards- I usually slime those with Autoglym Bumper Care and would generally expect that stuff to retain [winter mess]. Nope, cleaned up fine and incredibly enough the AGBC and ONR/IUDJ seem to play nice together.

Eh, "Situational Factors" must account for SO much of this...I`ll just count my lucky stars and hope that maybe my fortunate experiences can be of some help to others.

Noting that I really don`t like doing this stuff...I *am* genuinely looking forward to trying out my new siphon-feed cleaning gun :D That, teamed with my older/smaller one, the Tornador, and the pw..teamed with the AirWand and the compressor for drying...oughta add up to a homebrew Touchless.

EDIT: FWIW, no the FK1000P/etc. are not fresh/recently redone. Last coat was a long, long time ago. The trim gets the spray-stuff treatment at every regular wash though.
 
mobiledynamics said:
Heh, dedicated to the craft if you are dressing trim this time of the year :P
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Ah, but that`s just the thing....IMO it`s not *dressing* the trim! Gotta clean/dry it anyhow, so I do that with stuff that basically "LSPs the trim". Functional difference IMO, that makes *all* the difference. Get a few coats of the UTTG+ on there in the warmer weather and then just maintain for AGES with IUDJ/spraywax/etc.

Eh, with my current facilities I can`t really accept any compliments related to "dedication during winter". No excuses other than "Eh, I think I have better things to do" and some here would consider that more Autopian Heresy.
 
Accumulator said:
The pressure washing..with just water, plus the work with the Tornador, was enough to get it really, really nice. The caked white salt residue rinsed off the paint, the trim, everything except the tires (and most of it came off those).
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I always tend to forget what the process or effect is on winter detailing every year. Maybe just because I`m sick of Jack Frost these days and am looking towards attending to the landscape again. Going to see if the PW alone does the trick. On the last wash, in which I did take a mitt to it, it did not do much on the brine on the paint or trim. And that was what I would consider lightly soiled on the last wash. This one, I can`t even see my license plate digits
 
mobiledynamics- Yikes, sounds like yours is really dirty too! That whole Situational Factors thing might make our experiences just too dissimilar, but I can`t help think you oughta be able to do OK somehow without the usual Big Production.

Heh heh, and you *had to* mention landscaping! Our endless efforts in that area are something I absolutely DO NOT look forward to in the least. [Freakin`] hate doing that [stuff], though I try to NOT tell myself that lest I awfulize it into a worse task than it already is.
 
Detailing is almost to some level similar on the upkeep/beautification of the hardscape/landscape. Pruning is key, and proper pruning at that. Shrubs, etc, take time to grow and develop. And the lawn, well, one can go crazy depending on how much you want to perfect into it.....another bad hobby I suppose. I`ve ordered way too many Japanese pruners, loppers and hedge shears that my great great grandchildren will inherit one day.
 
I do like the "..my great great grandchildren will inherit .." aspect of that in your case.

Ours is simply the Sisyphean task of trying to keep things civilized in the middle of a woodland, with neighbors who don`t care about stuff like seeds/etc. blowing over the property line. Starting point was needing days with a BrushHog just to find the prop. line.

Our one neighbor runs a big landscaping co. and once remarked that Bill Gates couldn`t afford to have their crews keep our place the way I do :o

Same ol` same ol`....I don`t have to like it, I just have to do it.
 
Hope in GGC. My oldest just turned 4 this summer.

Indeed. And then there are things like Downey Mildew, Boxwood blight, etc. Can`t control the environment around ya just short of living or driving in a bubble
 
I do have a garage but not heated and mildly insulated. (it did get down to the 10`s in it)
I have a propane heater push comes to shove but I like other pointed check the weather and when it pokes above 30-35 I plan a wash.
Last time I did:

chemical guys rinsless wash with wax. (I have Garry Dean`s as well as Meg`s versions)
Many MF towels they can be 6-9-10 etc.
dried with MF waffle weave Towels.

I have a couple pairs of diver`s cloves I use. It makes a huge difference.
I use warm/near hot water. It makes a huge difference.
I try to dry panels as soon as I am done with them.
I can usually do a couple cars in 30-45 mins.

I am only in MA so we have the cold spells but not -10 for extended periods.

Regards

Nick
 
Meanwhile, I`m *still* getting by with just pressure-rinsing the Tahoe! This is getting crazy, but the thing just keeps rinsing clean so I`m doing the time consuming Real Washes on my wife`s A8. OK, I`m IUDJing the (textured black plastic) door handles and cleaning the windows properly, but other than that it`s been nothing but rinses for months now...still "Best Truck in the Parking Lot", which is plenty good enough when our street has loads of gritty slush on it.
 
Accumulator said:
Meanwhile, I`m *still* getting by with just pressure-rinsing the Tahoe! This is getting crazy, but the thing just keeps rinsing clean so I`m doing the time consuming Real Washes on my wife`s A8. OK, I`m IUDJing the (textured black plastic) door handles and cleaning the windows properly, but other than that it`s been nothing but rinses for months now...still "Best Truck in the Parking Lot", which is plenty good enough when our street has loads of gritty slush on it.
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Do you have fk1000p and then IUDJ on top?
Do you know what IUDJ is based on?

It`s impresive that you get by with just PW clean rinse.
 
SWETM said:
Do you have fk1000p and then IUDJ on top?
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FK1000P on *most* stuff, including all the paint, but KSG on the glossy black plastics and Meg`s UQW/D156 or OCW on the pebble grained stuff. IUDJ used as a Drying Aid every wash.
Do you know what IUDJ is based on?
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No, no idea at all. But it sure blows my ONR out of the water.

It`s impresive that you get by with just PW clean rinse.
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Heh heh, yeah...and nobody`s more surprised than I am! And it`s such a wimpy pressure washer too!
 
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