How do you handle the winter?

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Romans5.8

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I've been looking around and searching; and apologies if I've overlooked it. I've seen a lot about waterless and rinseless washes; but what about dealing with a FILTHY car?

Like this picture (just pulled from google);

_DCH3014-742150.jpg


Unfortunately, it's a reality for my daily drivers once or twice a winter. Temps could also be below freezing. What would you all do in that situation? And for those who don't live in a climate with snow; a car can look like that after just a few miles of driving. It's the slushy nasty mix that happens with salt/cinders melt the snow. So it's corrosive, nasty, gritty stuff. This is not a situation of just sheer neglect.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!




John
 
i use touchless in the winter about twice a month. I live in Indiana so I can wash my car up until nov and again in march. Ive had my car for 2 years and it still looks brand new. The touchless doesnt do a great job but knocks a bunch of salt off.
 
wrb_subie said:
i use touchless in the winter about twice a month. I live in Indiana so I can wash my car up until nov and again in march. Ive had my car for 2 years and it still looks brand new. The touchless doesnt do a great job but knocks a bunch of salt off.
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When you say touchless, you mean like a touchless automatic?

I considered that. Though many of them close when it's really cold, I supposed they shut the water off to prevent freezing! There are usually some that are open, though.
 
take it to self serve and power rinse it. If you do it late at night, you can probably take your buckets in there and do a 2BM. Or if you can get it rinsed really well, then follow that with a rinseless wash.

touchless automatic soaps will lessen the life of any sealant you have applied. Keep that in mind.
 
I put on a lot of warm clothes and drag all my gear to the pay n spray. Nobody is there (too cold) so I look like a freak basically paying to use their water to do the whole deal.

If its above freezing, I'll just do it at home and enjoy the luxury.
 
I hibernate...




... but really, I visit the coin-op power wash and knock off the vast majority of the dirt and then do a rinseless wash in my garage when I get home (since the coin-op power wash is literally across the street)
 
Thanks for the posts, guys!

I live in a rural area. It's not hard for the coin op wash to be empty ALL the time. Even on a beautiful summer sunday afternoon there are booths available.

I know the harsh detergents in the touchless will ruin sealants; but I generally wax frequently in the winter; and I usually wax before forecasted snow. Try to stay prepared to handle all the nasty stuff.
 
I shy away from RW's and WW's myself. I'll brave the cold to have a freshly blinged whip.

Winter prep with Collinite.
 
I have to walk through our laundry room to get to the garage. Last winter I was eyeing the hot water spigot for the washer every time I walked by... It looks to be the same thread pattern & diameter as a "normal" outside hose spigot. I wonder if anyone has tried this before with a hose rated for hot water use?
 
Vegas Transplant said:
I shy away from RW's and WW's myself. I'll brave the cold to have a freshly blinged whip.

Winter prep with Collinite.
Click to expand...

They were all out of whips so I just bought a car. Er... Yo.

Hehe. I think I'll do the coin-op setups. Sounds easy enough. That's kind of what I was thinking but I wanted to see if there where any tips I hadn't thought of or heard of!

Always hate the way the roads are. Luckily though, I am far 'south' enough that we still get a lot of rain in the winter, which washes away the grime on the roads; until the NEXT snow!


Nicholas@Autowerx said:
I have to walk through our laundry room to get to the garage. Last winter I was eyeing the hot water spigot for the washer every time I walked by... It looks to be the same thread pattern & diameter as a "normal" outside hose spigot. I wonder if anyone has tried this before with a hose rated for hot water use?
Click to expand...

It is the same standard hose thread. That's an interesting idea though; but not feasible for me.
 
When its really dirty and THAT cold I do nothing to the car, gotta trust your layers protecting the paint at that point, I mean why risk breaking a door handle or anything else because its all frozen, or worse yet, slipping at the car wash.

Rinseless wash can handle a dirty car but something REALLY bad, like others have said, quarter or touch-free to get most of it off and then a rinsless wash or one of those waterless washes.

Its time to layer....NOW!

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
 
Klasse Act said:
When its really dirty and THAT cold I do nothing to the car, gotta trust your layers protecting the paint at that point, I mean why risk breaking a door handle or anything else because its all frozen, or worse yet, slipping at the car wash.

Rinseless wash can handle a dirty car but something REALLY bad, like others have said, quarter or touch-free to get most of it off and then a rinsless wash or one of those waterless washes.

Its time to layer....NOW!

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
Click to expand...

The Taurus is layered.

The Focus I'm still waiting on from the factory! The issue is, of course, when it gets REALLY dirty. A lot of these videos and stuff show after months of not washing. Mine can look that bad or worse just driving HOME in this slush. Maybe it's because it doesn't get way below freezing here. So maybe it's 25 or 30 or 35 degrees, so the salt is super effective and my car is under a constant barrage of nasty slush. I dunno, either way, the cars are NASTY.

Generally it had always been a trip to the touchless auto before.
 
Nicholas@Autowerx said:
I have to walk through our laundry room to get to the garage. Last winter I was eyeing the hot water spigot for the washer every time I walked by... It looks to be the same thread pattern & diameter as a "normal" outside hose spigot. I wonder if anyone has tried this before with a hose rated for hot water use?
Click to expand...

Nicholas, dont put hot water on a cold car. You will crack glass real quick. I tried to defrost my windshield fast because i was late for high school(yes 20 years ago) and found this out the hard way.
 
For really dirty cars I spray off the dirt and then do a warm rinseless wash in my heated garage.
 
Sorry to say it but I am sure I am not the only one... I have a heated garage with hot & cold water out there. I spoiled myself while building my garage back in 2006!!!
 
Heated shop on same property as my home. I run my full time detailing business here. I can wash in my wash bay but i usually do rinsless every week if it isnt too bad. Not very much snow here in springfield mo. Im super spoiled.
 
sweatthedetails said:
Nicholas, dont put hot water on a cold car. You will crack glass real quick. I tried to defrost my windshield fast because i was late for high school(yes 20 years ago) and found this out the hard way.
Click to expand...

Yikes! Thanks for the warning!

Sent from my LG-VM696 using AG Online
 
Like many others, I go to a touchless car wash. I found one near my home that has a really good under-body spray, so that is an extra bonus in getting the salt off the undercarriage.

If it warms up enough, I'll go to a coin-op self serve, but most of the time I just count on the durable sealant I applied in the fall and live with what ever the touchless can do for me.
 
statusdetailing said:
Heated shop on same property as my home. I run my full time detailing business here. I can wash in my wash bay but i usually do rinsless every week if it isnt too bad. Not very much snow here in springfield mo. Im super spoiled.
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Ha. Well I don't live far from you. Couple hours east. But, even though we get very little snow, the snow that we DO get is nasty, disgusting, slushy snow that makes everything filthy.

No heated garage here! :P
 
The winters aren't that bad down here in NC usually so I generally don't do anything different from the other times of the year. If it does get cold (Below freezing) it usually warms up pretty quick during the day.

If it does snow (Ice and sleet usually) I just go to one of the coin self wash places and spray them down to get the salt off.

I do have a heated garage though, one car so I keep my Jeep in the garage and the truck stays in the weather.
 
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