Winter washing - what to do?

Careful with those automated washes that spray the underside. The majority use recycled water for that. Ask me how I rusted the underside of my Tundra in record time.
 
skibik said:
This is what I do also. One thing I do different is that when the grime doesn`t seem to rinse off I do the unthinkable and run it through the soft touch. It is either that or I leave it on all winter. I have pretty much gave up on keeping my Camaro clean through the last few winters. Right now it hasn`t seen the car wash for almost a month and that is because we have had frigid and now subzero temps(today`s high -7F, tomorrow`s high -18F) and won`t see above zero until mid next week. I might be able to get the salt off next Friday, if not what`s another week!
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Tell me " bout it .. Yowww!!!
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I really sympathize with you folks who don`t have climate-controlled facilities! Honestly, I`d probably rethink my approach to the whole car ownership thing (let alone Detailing) if I didn`t have a shop.
 
If needed I have a torpedo heater that I can run and get the garage into the 60`s with when it gets above 0 but the surface temp of the car is a lot harder to get up to temp and takes forever. The first couple winters I would go wand the car off and then drive the 13 miles home, warm the garage and do a rinse-less wash. I tried DP and then Blackfire and both seemed to streak and never really got the car clean but it did get the harder grime off though. Working in the garage even in the 60`s is cold so I just quit trying.
 
skibik said:
If needed I have a torpedo heater that I can run and get the garage into the 60`s with when it gets above 0 but the surface temp of the car is a lot harder to get up to temp and takes forever...
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Yeah, that was my experience too (did it that way in the `70s). Did work OK, just took a lot of time.
 
Well, with temps in the single digits - with 20 the high, I`m just going to wait a bit until we see temps a bit milder and scope out a touchless wash place, just like others have stated and get that heavy salt/grime off. I will just have to live with a car that isn`t pristine until a warm day comes up - and sometimes it does happen here where youget a winter day that soars to the 60`s. I just can`t bring myself to go to a regular, commercial (even a "good") car wash place. Sometimes I think things were easier before I paid such attention to detailing!
 
bob m said:
.. Sometimes I think things were easier before I paid such attention to detailing!
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Ah, the Curse of Autopia rears its head ;)

But not really, I guess...keeping the salt from rusting out a vehicle is way beyond detailing, and IMO its basic maintenance if you plan to keep a vehicle for an extended period.

Eh, gotta keep the windows clean anyhow, just for visibility, and I`d sure hate to do that outdoors this time of year! I honestly don`t know how people get by without garage facilities.
 
Accumulator said:
Ah, the Curse of Autopia rears its head ;)

But not really, I guess...keeping the salt from rusting out a vehicle is way beyond detailing, and IMO its basic maintenance if you plan to keep a vehicle for an extended period.

Eh, gotta keep the windows clean anyhow, just for visibility, and I`d sure hate to do that outdoors this time of year! I honestly don`t know how people get by without garage facilities.
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Well, before I got so bitten by the detailing bug, I`d keep my car clean aand protected/ waxed/sealed, but I would be heading to the car wash and not be terribly concerned about the swirls.
 
bob m- Ah, then it *IS* the Curse of Autopia after all! What I mean is...in the functional sense, swirls simply don`t matter. They only matter as much as the beholder cares and it`s possible to have an utterly *WONDERFUL* automotive experience without giving them a moment`s thought. Rust, OTOH, can be serious, even life/death issue so keeping it (truly) clean (everywhere, even underneath) is a whole different matter, Autopian or not, it`s necessary.
 
Accumulator said:
bob m- Ah, then it *IS* the Curse of Autopia after all! What I mean is...in the functional sense, swirls simply don`t matter. They only matter as much as the beholder cares and it`s possible to have an utterly *WONDERFUL* automotive experience without giving them a moment`s thought. Rust, OTOH, can be serious, even life/death issue so keeping it (truly) clean (everywhere, even underneath) is a whole different matter, Autopian or not, it`s necessary.
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This then begs the question - if you are in a cold snap withh weather at best in the 20`s for the forseeable future and you don`t have access to a heated garage of even a "touchless" wash, do you week a few more weeks hoping to get a 40 degree day or bring it to a "better" auto car wash and let it air dry or use my own MF cloths? (Have a coating (Nanolex))on for some months now. Would it damage/remove the coating?
 
bob m said:
This then [raises] the question - if you are in a cold snap withh weather at best in the 20`s for the forseeable future and you don`t have access to a heated garage of even a "touchless" wash, do you week a few more weeks hoping to get a 40 degree day or bring it to a "better" auto car wash and let it air dry or use my own MF cloths? (Have a coating (Nanolex))on for some months now. Would it damage/remove the coating?
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I`m the wrong guy to ask as that situation is pretty unimaginable to me; under those conditions I`d rent a car or something.

BUT, OK...back in the early `80s when I got serious about my education and quit playing with stuff like cars, I bought something boring/reliable and just ran it through carwashes. Yes indeed, "wash-induced marring" something awful. I just traded it in that way after getting my Bachelor`s, and the dealer who took it thought it looked great, marring and all. IME, nobody outside Autopia gives [two hoots] for swirls/scratches/etc.

Now OTOH, if you really do *care* about the vehicle in question, that`s a whole `nother ballgame and a challenging one indeed! I`d rent something until conditions improved, or find a local Pro. Pricey solution that I`m sure isn`t right for many people, but I honestly see it as a no-win situation where you simply have to rank your priorities.

This topic does make me think of how every home I`ve had, even which state/region I`ll live in (or not), was chosen with my vehicles firmly in mind. The tail has indeed wagged my dog in that regard :o
 
I don`t mean to sound like a total butt wad but I think you are taking detailing way to serious. I say this because I was in the same boat winter of 2012/13 and then winter of 2013/14 before I realized I was getting way too serious trying to keep my Camaro clean. I never treated any of my past vehicles this nice and of course my intentions were to not drive this car in winter. Well for me owning two cars just doesn`t make sense so I was going above and beyond to make it look nice this time of the year. It is almost impossible and I have succumbed to accepting it as it is. My last car, a 2004 Monte Carlo, got washed at a wash when it was warm enough, we are talking at least 15F. Never got polished but got waxed about twice a year. Sure it had swirls but it didn`t like this black does. When I traded that car off I cleaned up up and it actually looked quite nice after 8 years and not a spot of rust.

It has now been at least 4 weeks since it has been washed and was hoping to get it through the car wash tomorrow but the highs that were predicted last weekend for this week went south and tomorrows high will be around -5F. Looks like another week before it sees the car wash as I certainly hate standing outside trying to dry door jams at -5F. I certainly have lapsed this year on detailing it. The car has not seen wax in a year, more my fault being burned out on making this black thing look nice. I was going to get a coating on last October but thanks to someone back into my car and knocking a hole in the bumper and scraped the fender I did not get around to waxing or coating it. I am actually still waiting after 3 months to hear from the shop when they are going to fix it(small town and only one or two shops within 80 miles to do it). Spring it will get a full polish(first in 3 years) and wax and it will like like new, provided the front end is fixed by then. Then it will be time to trade it off for a brighter color that doesn`t show the nasty stuff so much and one that I don`t are about this time of year.

There is an alternative, buy a vehicle that has been through the ringer that still runs good and drive it through the winter.

Again if I sound like an ass that really is not my intention.
 
I have no advice - just popped in to say you guys are making me feel bad for not washing my car in temps below about 50-55 haha. I hate being cold.
 
You are just living too far south!. My drive to work this morning at 6:30 was a calm and cool -29F. It wasn`t all that bad but that was because there was absolutely no breeze.
 
skibik said:
I don`t mean to sound like a total butt wad but I think you are taking detailing way to serious. ...Again if I sound like an ass that really is not my intention.
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If ya spend enough time here, it`s very easy to take this stuff too seriously. Heh heh, it`s also easy to sound like a [jerk] to other Autopians, on both sides of this particular fence...I kinda feel like I do it (and I seem to argue both sides too!) all the time.
 
Well, I have my solution at hand. I called the detailer who placed XPEL and Nanalex coating on my Allroad last year- Phil at Detailers Domain (NJ) and made an appointment to have him hand wash the car. Yep, it`s an hours drive and about an hour wait but will at least get the last month`s salt and dirt off the car.
 
Left work an hour early and it was still about -10F. Dead calm and actually felt quite nice since the sun was out. I was looking at the touchless car wash on the way by going to get groceries, one in the stall but I just could do it. I might take a road trip on Sunday and it is supposed to be in the mid 20`s so might have to find a touchless where I am going and get it done, I might even settle for a soft touch since it has had a month to set in. We have a few nice days coming then single digit and light snow coming in the forecast so it might be a waste of time also.
 
Off topic ....SO, looks like we might have a stint of warmer weather starting mid week. Hopefully the forecasted rain on next Friday will wash away some of the dust/salt/etc that is in the air/and streets !


What are ya`ll using for your heavy winter washes.
Ahh, decisions, decisions.

I think for the salt crusted one where I can`t even make out my license plate, I`m digging out the AF Avalanch to give it another round of testing again
For sure, Reset for the post pre-wash.
 
skibik said:
Left work an hour early and it was still about -10F. Dead calm and actually felt quite nice since the sun was out. I was looking at the touchless car wash on the way by going to get groceries, one in the stall but I just could do it. I might take a road trip on Sunday and it is supposed to be in the mid 20`s so might have to find a touchless where I am going and get it done, I might even settle for a soft touch since it has had a month to set in. We have a few nice days coming then single digit and light snow coming in the forecast so it might be a waste of time also.
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Ran mine through the wash around lunch time yesterday it was 4 degrees out my MF I was using to get any remaining water off it and the door jams was getting frozen lol. But it looked great


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