Washer fluid and wax. Stripped it off ! ?

Cleanfreeek

Cleanfreeek

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Hello folks

I noticed last night during a light rain that the collinite 845 had been eaten by the washer fluid. I can see the parts where the washer fluid touched the wax and stripped it. Water was beading all around the affected areas.

The problem is I'm winter we need washer fluid that doesn't freeze and contains extra chemicals (de-icer etc). The summer months are one thing and I could get away with gentle washer fluid, however, winter is a whole other ball game.

Any recommendations for winter safe fluid? And summer fluid?


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It may not be that the fluid has eaten through the 845, but it's actually sitting on top, which is preventing the beading from taking place. One thing I found was normal wash shampoo might not get that tough washer fluid off, but a QD spray might. The cheap Meguiars stuff in the maroon bottle worked great for me.

I live in a same sort of environment and have had no issues at all with 845. I drive a hatchback and the rear window gets covered with salt very quickly, so I go through a ton of washer fluid in the winter. Despite all of that, the 845 never stopped protecting the paint and a quick wash got it all off.
 
Yup, just another example of a residue, likely a glycol, in this instance. Hot water would likely sort it.
 
I thought most of the inexpensive washer fluids are alcohol based.

That may account for removing the wax.
 
I was under the impression they used glycol or other chemicals to keep it from freezing. I've used several different brands of low temperature fluid and didn't notice any alcohol odor or evaporation. However the OEM stuff in my VW does have it as the odor is very noticeable.
 
You get alcohols and you get glycols and you get blends. The smell should give it away. In any case, as per my previous posting and as is increasingly being accepted, a good LSP is not easily removed. A quick spray with alcohol solution should only do damage to a very average LSP, something like 845 is likely to be fine with even an extensive clean using such an alcoholic solution. I would stick with my thought that you have a residue of something like ethylene/propylene glycol - common ingredients in screen wash and also well known to leave stubborn residues when baked on.
 
Awesome stuff guys! Thanks for putting my mind at ease a little. The stuff I have right now is from Hyundai so who knows what it is.

I'll get a bottle of glycol based and see what happens. Maybe it is sitting on top like mentioned above.

I'll try hot water and soap :)


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From Wikipedia:

"Consumer advocacy groups and auto enthusiasts believe that the alcohols and solvents present in some, but not all, windshield washer fluid can damage the vehicle.[citation needed] These critics point to the corrosive effects of ethanol, methanol, and other components on paint, rubber, car wax, and plastics, and groups propose various alternatives and homemade recipes[specify] so as to protect the finish and mechanics of the motor vehicle."
 
I wouldn't doubt it. Thats probably why windshield cowlings look like crap after the car is a year old.Homemade would be better for summer but winter I wouldn't where to start.


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Awesome posts and great read!!!

Thanks so much. I'll look into the opti-coat. Similar to collinite?


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The Super generic - 20 degree no additives for cleaning rain x blah blah is methanol and water. That is it. Some ranging from 50:50 water meth to 80:20 water meth.

By super generic I mean the plain old low temp blue washer fluid.
 
^^^ is that a joke or you being serious? Hard to tell


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Absolute serious. The negative 20 degree washer fluid is actually a common fluid to use for water methanol injection on built performance vehicles. If you bring up the msds sheets they will show the content of methanol vs water.
 
The rainx fluids and bug cleaning fluids or anything not plain blue -20 fluids all contain other additives which I couldn't tell you a thing about but plain blue is straight methanol and water.
 
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