Keeping the car 'clean' in the winter

Coopers ST

Coopers ST

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Nov 23, 2013
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Hey all,

I have a question about keeping the car clean in the winter. How do you do it? It is way to cold to get wet here (-27 this morning), but the car is still getting dirty. I know it is going to some, but it is new and I want to do my best to keep it looking decent. I have gone to a spray and wash once, and a touchless once. I like the idea of the touchless as it has a undercarriage spray to knock some of the grit off the bottom. Is there a better idea to keep the chemicals and road grit off the car once a week?
 
Don't drive it ever :). Do you have a garage? If you have a garage your to options are rinse less wash of a waterless wash.
 
Get a cheap beater to run around in during the winter and keep your new ride new. If you have to drive it don't follow close to others and if the roads are wet just clean the wheels at a coin wash when you can. You don't need to always wash the paint cus the more you rub it the more chance of scratching and swirling your gonna get, your better off to do it when The weather is nice and you can do it the right way safely not at a harsh car wash. You do t know what kind of soap they use or if there is soap. When ever you take a very dirty car through on of those here it looks ok but then it dries and it's all still there.
 
Rinseless wash all the way but if its -27 outside how could your non-heated garage be 40? I ask because this morning when I wiped down my car with my "FrankenDetailer" it was 6 outside and 48 in the underground garage.

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well what i do (thankfully it doesn't snow here in california) i plug my hose to my kitchen sink and run that warm/hot water ;) ahahaah even though thats my only choice to run it from my kitchen
 
Sometimes if it gets that cold you're just doing to have to deal with not washing it, sorry that's just how it is for some. You could get away with washing it your garage but its hard for us to judge how dirty you car is. You could do a rinseless wash with the Garry Dean method and heavily soak the panels before hand with a pressurized sprayer. Again, this all depends on how dirty you car is and whether or not you want to leave the crud on it or take the chance of marring it because it was too dirty for a rinseless.

My truck sits outside 24/7 so I don't event touch the automatic touchless wash unless it gets anywhere near close to freezing. So sometimes that can be a month or more. Oh well, I'll take that chance for being able to live in God's Country with all this snow. My paint is prepped to handle it though.

spiralout462 said:
Fly south! I always question why people CHOOSE to live north of the Mason Dixon line.
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Because I can't handle heat and I love driving in snow. Plus its easier to clean snow off than mud.:D
 
Coopers ST said:
I live here because of the lack of people. The entire state only has 500,000 people. Temps like this make me evaluate my decision though.
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Chris's FX4 said:
Because I can't handle heat and I love driving in snow. Plus its easier to clean snow off than mud.:D
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I have lived in Virginia my whole life and I enjoy the change of seasons. It's the length of the northern Winter that makes me shiver. 2 or 3 months of it is all I can stand! It looks beautiful up there in the Spring. :)
 
CooperST, "FrankenDetailer" is the name my buddy, fellow AG'er Derek0609, has given my version of QD. I make a gallon using whatever rinseless wash I'm using currently, right now its Turtle Wax (yes, THAT Turtle Wax) and add 2 ounces of Klasse sealant glaze to the mix. With this, not only do you clean and shine your finish, but also add a layer of legit protection.

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
 
Trying to keep the car clean during the winter is not fun at all...

However, I like to bring my car to a 'coin operated' place and do this:

1. Spray undercarriage with water
2. Spray undercarriage with their soap mix
3. Rinse whole car off with WATER ONLY
4. Rinse down undercarriage
5. Squeegee front windshield
6. Drive home with wet car
7. Perform normal rinse less wash with warm water and also have a spray bottle in hand mixed with ONR
8. Clean windows

Now luckily for me I have a 'coin operated' place 5-10m of me in opposite directions and can take back roads to both, so I'm not sure how my method would work driving back home on salty/dirty roads going 50+mph.
 
It may not be fun trying to keep the car clean but atleast while your "in the zone" doing your thing your being productive, that's important this time of year. I know there's going to times where I clean my car and its going to snow the next day, say a weekend day but I might not have to drive my car till Monday, so I roll the dice and clean it up, hoping the snow blows over and roads are cleared and when I pull out of the garage Monday the car is clean, yeah, I'm that guy, LOL! I used to wonder what it would be like to be him, now I know, all thanks to having an underground, out of the environment parking spot, no more outside 24/7 for me anymore!

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Klasse Act said:
It may not be fun trying to keep the car clean but atleast while your "in the zone" doing your thing your being productive, that's important this time of year. I know there's going to times where I clean my car and its going to snow the next day, say a weekend day but I might not have to drive my car till Monday, so I roll the dice and clean it up, hoping the snow blows over and roads are cleared and when I pull out of the garage Monday the car is clean, yeah, I'm that guy, LOL! I used to wonder what it would be like to be him, now I know, all thanks to having an underground, out of the environment parking spot, no more outside 24/7 for me anymore!

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
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I see you're from EGV; was born at Alexian Brothers Hospital over there and grew up in EGV.

Anyways...The weather here in Illinois is so annoying and even if it stays nice for a few days the salt dust is everywhere and immediately coats your car; especially your windshield. :(

This is all very irritating.
 
I would if it's that cold (-27), leave it until it warms up some then spray it down at the coin wash really good...

Use that and the touchless to keep most of the grime off it until it warms up enough to really do something with it.

As long as you aren't touching the paint you won't be marring it....
 
FranklyI just go to a new automatic soft cloth car wash in the area. Everybody I know goes there for a car wash . I wash my car twice a week , because it sits outside 24/7 , and I dont notice any swirls or marring at all .My concern is always a clean car . I wax my car about 4 times a year , but I use spray wax often.
 
It was -12 this morning in my neck of the woods. I chose not to do any washing this weekend knowing that we are getting 1-3" in the next couple days.

I go to the local coin op wash and do a two bucket method when things get really dirty. Otherwise I do a waterless/rinseless hybrid in my garage or at work (underground heated).

If your personal garage is above freezing, then doing a rinseless hybrid is a very reasonable solution. If necessary, take it to the touchless or coin op to knock off the heavy grime, then bring it back home for the rinseless hybrid & a coat of spray wax.
 
Coopers ST said:
I have gone to a spray and wash once, and a touchless once. I like the idea of the touchless as it has a undercarriage spray to knock some of the grit off the bottom. Is there a better idea to keep the chemicals and road grit off the car once a week?
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Personally, I do just what you mentioned. I live in Wisconsin where it is very cold and cars are caked in dirt and road salt all winter long--too thick, IMHO, to trust that you can spray off the crap and use a rinseless wash without causing swirls.

This year, my strategy was to apply a nano-coating in early autumn. Now that the weather is cold, I go to the touchless wash, and then I usually touch up the vehicle with UWW+ or with CarPro Reload when I get home. This takes care of any water spotting if the car didn't dry completely and gives me a nice shine and a little more slickness. If nothing else, the car looks nice and it makes me feel better.

I haven't noticed any degradation of my coating by taking the car through the touchless, but it's still early in the season. Regardless, I don't find it practical or much fun to wash by hand during the winter months, so this is the next best thing for me.
 
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