swanicyouth
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- Mar 3, 2011
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Anyone wash there car when it was so cold the hose water actually froze on the roof or the trunk?
Washing car in cold weather climates
- Thread starter DEXTERITY
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Ryry11
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- Oct 4, 2012
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I live just outside Detroit, winters suck...cold, snow, salt, and the cars sit outside always. Having polished all the vehicles over the summer, I'd love to keep them clean this winter. My plan is to run them through touchlesses to get the majority of crap off, then do a rinseless, weather permitting of course as I'd have to do it outside. I've done a lot of reading on rinseless, and even though it sounds like tons of people have great success with it, it still makes me completely nervous. The thought of running just a wet wash mitt with some wash solution over the paint scares me. I'd hate to instill swirls and scratches in the paint and have to live with them for another 5 or so months until the weather warms back up to polish them out. Granted they're daily drivers and they'll never be completely perfect, they look good and I'm totally anal about good looking paint. However, I also like driving a clean car, so I'm thinking about giving the rinseless washes a shot...
Divine Details
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- Jun 8, 2012
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There is a really good article on this but its on another site that sells Detailing supplies so i dont know if i can post a link to it but i will pm it to anybody who wants it.
StuDLei
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- May 28, 2012
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Get yourself some ONR and try it out before it cools off too much. The stuff is absolutely AWESOME. It works so well it's almost like magic, haha! Once you use it a couple times you won't have any fears anymore. It is truly great stuff and it makes washing your car fun. It also leaves a little bit of protection--you could put it on a car without wax and it would probably bead for a week or two. It won't take off an lsp either. Just try it!
Ryry11
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- Oct 4, 2012
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I'm definately going to try it, just makes me nervous. Question for you, have you used it on any cars that were freshly polished, or on any that weren't swirled or scratched? Everyone always says how good it is, but never read a review that said they used it on paint that was perfect and when they were done it was still perfect. Just curious
- Thread starter
- #26
thanks for the replies and the congrats. I appreciate it..good to know the hose won't freeze right away if it is under 32. I like the idea of having a valve inside the garage. might have to add that to the list of to do items for the near future.
My garage is kind of small as well since the current owner has shelving all the way around for tools, etc..
My garage is kind of small as well since the current owner has shelving all the way around for tools, etc..
StuDLei
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- May 28, 2012
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Do you know who Scottwax is? I don't think he posts on here, but I know he posts on Autopia A LOT.
I don't post on Autopia, but I do post on another board that Scottwax frequents. He has been a professional detailer for something like 20 years and he uses ONR almost exclusively afaik. He has gotten MANY members on the board I frequent to use ONR...
To respond to your original question-- Think about when you use a normal wash. What do you do? Probably get the car wet and blast as much loose dirt off as possible right? But I'm guessing you still run a wash mitt over it, which has the potential to instill swirls, same as drying or any other time you wash the paint. My point is that either way, you're going to run a wash mitt over the paint. Now granted, the whole point of ONR is that you don't need to rinse the paint beforehand (or afterwards for that matter). But if your car was filthy you COULD still do it if you wanted to.....
Over the last couple weeks I've been using 105, 205 and 85rd on my fairly well swirled black 350z. I've had to do it one panel at a time as I get a chance. During this time I've ONRed the entire car several times, including panels that I had buffed out and I haven't noticed any new swirls. I hope that helps ease your mind a bit.
The way ONR works is different. I'm not a chemist so I don't why it works the way it does, but it's very slick stuff, so there's a lot of lubrication as you wash. It usually takes one swipe to wash and one swipe "just for good measure" and then dry. I love it.
If you do decide to buy some and try it out, you could was the car beforehand, or just rinse it off per the norm and then use ONR just to see how it works and gain some confidence in its ability.
Ryry11
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- Oct 4, 2012
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Awesome, I appreciate it, it does ease my mind a bit. I'm the type of guy that if I notice a new swirl or scratch it ruins my day lol i actually bought dp wash and gloss and used it once on a car I polished out about a month ago, and it seemed to work very well. This was my "test" you could say before winter to see if I was going to do it or not. It was on a light colored car, so it was actually hard to tell if I did any scratching to it, but I'm pretty sure I didn't. After reading all the positives on ONR I broke down and bought some of that too, so I have DP and ONR, so I'm all ready for winter. It's just getting the technique down now
StuDLei
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- May 28, 2012
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Yes, I'm still mastering the technique myself. It's the drying that gets me, so really not specific to ONR. But.. I do sometimes get streaking when I dry, but I tend to not use the two towel technique as often as I should. The streaks I get are reallllly tiny and I won't see them until later on most of the time, when I'm like 2 inches from the paint and I'm in just the right light. The sort of "streaks" that I'm talking about can be wiped away with a clean microfiber even hours after the car is dried. Again- it could probably be totally avoided if you properly did the two towel technique when drying.
Have you used the ONR then?
Ryry11
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- Oct 4, 2012
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Nope, haven't used ONR yet, only the DP, going to as soon as I can. Do you presoak panels at all? I presoaked each panel with dp waterless wash and then washed, figured it's just some extra lubricity and insurance against scratching
StuDLei
New member
- May 28, 2012
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I don't. It really isn't needed unless your car has caked on mud.
Most of the time my car isn't that dirty when I wash it, because I've been doing it so much though.
The real test will be this winter. I'm actually excited to use it when my car is really dirty, because I'm confident it will work well. When it is super dirty I'll probably switch to the two bucket method and probably mix up 4 gallons w/2oz of ONR in the wash bucket (double the norm), just so I have that much more water to dilute the dirt. With a rinse bucket that might be unneccasary though.
The newest ONR leaves a lot of gloss behind too. I noticed this after about the third time I used it, that the panels on my car that handn't been sealed (with Opti-seal) looked sealed/waxed just like the others. That is supposed to be one of the pros to the newest formula too--more gloss.
pcrjunkyamd
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- Sep 16, 2012
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hot water freezes faster then cold
jvs1991
In time out
- May 30, 2012
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Try the Garry dean wash method. If you google it you'll find the video to it. It's really a very good method and works quite well. Also a pre soak can't really hurt but I do suggest a pressurized sprayer for that because a trigger sprayer will tire your hands out quickly.
AeroCleanse
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- Nov 17, 2008
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ONR is fine to use in those conditions, I have been doing that for years. You just need to use a little more liquid and let it run over the paint before you wash it. Use no pressure and it comes out fine.
ski2
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- Dec 2, 2011
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I know I've posted this in other threads, but think it bears repeating here: When washing in the winter either outside or in an unheated garage with either a conventional wash or an ONR wash the hands get cold--even if using warm water.
I've been using these Neoprene Gloves for years since I lived in New Hamshire and they work exceptionally well --like a diving suit for your hands and they fit snuggly so easy to handle your wash and drying media.
http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/...word=neoprine gloves&p_origin=MN_Home_LstCh12
And BTW been doing ONR washes in the winter for nearly 10 years with no real increase in marring--you just have to be careful--presoak with ONR spray (when the salt and sand are really caked on)--use a medium pile MF mitt (not the noodle like fibers, but soft medium length pile--Neatitems.com and Microfiber Tech have them) use little if any pressure--first dry wipe with a medium pile ONR wet/rung out MF and final dry with a long soft pile MF.
jfelbab
New member
- May 10, 2011
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I have taken to using this approach for the past couple of years now. I live in Wisconsin and we see lots of cold weather, many days below zero, and this has got to be the salt use center of the world in winter.
I can't hand wash my DD in the winter as I don't have a heated garage and I have been developing arthritis in my hands. So what to do? I've been negotiating bulk purchases of Laser Touchless car wash codes from the local car wash (half off). I buy the "Super" wash which includes an underbody flush. When I get home I QD the car with M135 (Meguiar's Synthetic Spray Detailer a.k.a. UQD) to remove any traces of remaining grime then I use D156 (Meguiars Synthetic X-Press Spray Wax a.k.a. UQW) to restore the original LSP. This process takes less than 30 minutes. These products seem to work well at the near freezing temps inside my garage but I don't store the products there.
The DD continues to look good all winter, does not get swirled and is still beading come spring. I typically run it through the touchless wash at least weekly to remove the salt and slop. While I concur the detergents used might be harsh, this approach replenishes the LSP and keeps the car in better condition than any alternative I have at hand. D156 clearly lasts from week to week in this approach so the car stays protected.
I can't hand wash my DD in the winter as I don't have a heated garage and I have been developing arthritis in my hands. So what to do? I've been negotiating bulk purchases of Laser Touchless car wash codes from the local car wash (half off). I buy the "Super" wash which includes an underbody flush. When I get home I QD the car with M135 (Meguiar's Synthetic Spray Detailer a.k.a. UQD) to remove any traces of remaining grime then I use D156 (Meguiars Synthetic X-Press Spray Wax a.k.a. UQW) to restore the original LSP. This process takes less than 30 minutes. These products seem to work well at the near freezing temps inside my garage but I don't store the products there.
The DD continues to look good all winter, does not get swirled and is still beading come spring. I typically run it through the touchless wash at least weekly to remove the salt and slop. While I concur the detergents used might be harsh, this approach replenishes the LSP and keeps the car in better condition than any alternative I have at hand. D156 clearly lasts from week to week in this approach so the car stays protected.
Have any of you guys ever rented garage space? I'm looking into it now - seems to be around $100/mo here in suburban Philly.
My house does not have a garage - I'd actually think about keeping a rental year-round in order to be able to work out of the direct sun. Just need to find something close to home.
My house does not have a garage - I'd actually think about keeping a rental year-round in order to be able to work out of the direct sun. Just need to find something close to home.
terrangama
New member
- Oct 21, 2012
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I currently rent garage space at my apartment complex. Mine costs 85 a month, but I think it is worth it. Unfortunately I have no heat in there =(
Crazy Diamond
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- Nov 28, 2012
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I say move to sunny Florida. Shine on.