Midwest Winter Paint Protection

Thanks for all the great replies!! Tons of great information. When I say I'm in the Midwest, I'm way up in the northern Midwest and We pretty much have snow on the ground from October/November through April and sometimes May. And a 25 degree above zero day would be warm during Dec, Jan, or Feb. The touchless washes are closed during the winter more than they are open because it's just too cold.

I have access to a heated shop for quick washing only and it's one of those privilege things that I don't want to abuse and lose so I usually only use heated water and no soap, just the water to get the salt off the surface and undercarriage. If I were to apply product, I think I would be pushing my "privilege" limits. Want to see something pretty interesting, pull a car in from 25 below zero air temp into a 50 degree heated shop and spray it with water... it instantly turns into a giant block of ice in seconds. But I typically will water rise once a week for the entire winter. Does it help? I guess I'm not sure... it makes me feel better and my mind thinks it helps but maybe it's not doing much. The salt on the undercarriage is a never ending battle as even when the roads are dry the dry salt dust covers everything anyway. Salt it the one thing I hate the most about winter!

I HATE SALT!

I have a Tundra and a couple years back Toyota issued a frame recall due to premature rust on their cheap imported steel... the recall paid for the truck to get completely coated underneath with a tar like black goo. Supposedly it'll help slow down the terrible corrosion. Not sure it'll work or not but the stuff doesn't dry all the way and is nasty as it gets on everything it touches, including me anytime I need to work on anything under the truck.
 
Bobby B. said:
Ceramic Coatings would be the most durable followed by Paint Sealants and Waxes. You could also use a product like Blackfire HydroSeal or Wolfgang Uber SiO2 Coating Wash while doing your maintenance washes during the winter months for added protection.

Any of these products would be a great choice for winter protection -

Blackfire, Pinnacle Black Label, Wolfgang, Optimum, McKee'37, Gyeon, CarPro, GTechniq, P&S - Ceramic Coatings
Gyeon CanCoat
Sonax Polymer Net Shield
Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant
Blackfire Paint Sealant
Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Sealant
RejeX Paint Sealant
McKee's 37 High-Def Paint Sealant
Finish Kare Ultra Polymer Paint Sealant
Jescar Power Lock +
Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze
Finish Kare 1000P Hi-Temp Paste Wax
Collinite Super DoubleCoat Auto Wax #476
Collinite Insulator Wax #845
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Of these sealants - what ones can be applied with a DA polisher? Can any ceramic coatings be applied with a DA or are they all by hand? Thanks!
 
Northwoods said:
I have a Tundra and a couple years back Toyota issued a frame recall due to premature rust on their cheap imported steel... the recall paid for the truck to get completely coated underneath with a tar like black goo. Supposedly it'll help slow down the terrible corrosion. Not sure it'll work or not but the stuff doesn't dry all the way and is nasty as it gets on everything it touches, including me anytime I need to work on anything under the truck.
Click to expand...

That was their fix?? Good God. Smh.....
 
Appears that you're allowed only mere minutes in some heated shop.

There's an old adage, "one hand washes another". Some fair compensation is often worth its weight in gold.

A homemade Apple Pie-Cobbler, some fresh T-Bones or Brats from the local Butcher, a case of the right kind of Beer your friends like....you get the picture. This goes far.
 
Northwoods said:
Of these sealants - what ones can be applied with a DA polisher? Can any ceramic coatings be applied with a DA or are they all by hand? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yes, any liquid polymer paint sealant can be applied by DA Polisher. Ceramic Coatings should be applied carefully by hand. You can use a ceramic primer polish by DA Polisher before applying the Ceramic Coating.

Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant
Blackfire Paint Sealant
Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Sealant
RejeX Paint Sealant
McKee's 37 High-Def Paint Sealant
Finish Kare Ultra Polymer Paint Sealant
Jescar Power Lock +
 
Thanks Bobby! I assuming a foam fine finish/wax pad would be the best pad to apply a liquid polymer paint sealant with a DA polisher then correct? Or would a MF pad be better?

Can a DA Polisher be used to apply Sonax Polymer Net Shield product even though it's an aerosol? Or would I be wasting my time?
 
Northwoods said:
I live in the upper Midwest where we can have 7 months of hard winter. What is the best option for protecting the paint and finish on my daily drivers assuming that I can wash the vehicle during the winter months but I will not be able to apply any product? I frequently wash during the winter months so would like the paint protection layer to be able to handle that as well.

Would a wax work or do they just not last long enough? How about a paint sealant? Or a dedicated paint coating?

Or should I lay down a layer of sealant and then wax over the top of that? Are dedicated paint coatings for more advanced detailing folks? I usually only polish daily drivers once a year, would that work with a paint coating?

Looking for the most simple option that saves on time and $$$ but still offers good protection...?

Thanks!
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Paint coating IMO. Best product out there for ease of cleaning and maintaining gloss levels. Trim coatings are even better. My vehicles deal with OH, MI, IN, PA winters all the time and have held up awesome.
 
Mid-December, two month update on my DD Accord winter protection plan.

In mid-October I clayed it, applied BF One Step by machine with a polishing pad, buffed it out by hand, applied Sonax PNS, buffed it out by hand, and then applied a single coat of Collinite 476 by machine and buffed it out by hand.

We’ve had a really hard winter thus far with over 50 inches of snow, tons of salt, and many below zero temps. I’ve given the car a water only rinse 1 to 2 times per week to remove the salt where nothing but water touches the paint. I have only washed it with soap and MF mitt once. I have not applied any new product at all.

As of today, the protection is still holding up well. The paint is still nice and butter smooth to the touch and water continues to bead on the surface very nicely so I’m very happy with the results thus far. I wish I could easily coat everything under the car with the frame, suspension parts, etc… as well as the paint to protect it from all this nasty salt!!

With anywhere from 4 to 5 months of winter left, we’ll see how long it lasts but that’s the 2 month update.
 
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