Winter cleaning options/products

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Blackc43

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Hello everyone,
i have a black 19 c43 that i have hand washed/waxed since new. With the cold weather upon us in the Midwest, what are my winter time washing options? I have a garage but no drain inside. I have access to water and pressure washer. I have been looking into rinseless washes and waterless car wash. Anyone have any tips or insights on how I can keep it looking sharp even in the coldest months?
 
Where are you at in the Midwest if you don’t mind me asking? There’s a few of us in the Midwest who are quite active here and if you’re near me I’d be willing to help you out, show you techniques and some products.

I’d recommend any of the rinseless washes available here, you can dilute them to make a rinseless wash and waterless wash. Some of the most popular would be Wolfgang Uber Rinseless wash, Optimum No Rinse and Duragloss rinseless with Aquawax.

I’d also grab an easy to use spray wax/sealant, which you can use as a drying aid, in a “wax as you dry” situation, or after drying the wash solution off. Here I’d grab whichever spray wax/sealant that matches the brand of rinseless you go with just to keep it easy on the decision making and product synergy. Wolfgang has a spray wax(can’t remember it right now), I really like Optimum Opti-seal, lastly Duragloss Aquawax.

In the cold months some products can become harder to use just from the temps and possible changes in humidity. I’ve never used the Wolfgang products but have used the other two in summer and just above freezing temps without issue!
 
Blackc43 said:
Hello everyone,
i have a black 19 c43 that i have hand washed/waxed since new. With the cold weather upon us in the Midwest, what are my winter time washing options? I have a garage but no drain inside. I have access to water and pressure washer. I have been looking into rinseless washes and waterless car wash. Anyone have any tips or insights on how I can keep it looking sharp even in the coldest months?
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Rinseless wash can be done in a garage with no drain. I did it for years. Wash the car, go have lunch, by the time you come back, the water on the floor has dried. Might take longer in the winter though.
 
I dont have a drain in my garage either. My floor is pitched 4inches over the 28foot back to front. What I do when I have to wash inside (winter time) is get my old shop vac out and just put it near the door. The water runs toward the door and the vac sucks it up. Maybe some water barriers and a vac can help.
 
I’ve had good luck with McKee’s N-914. Inexpensive and works awesomely! I like to rinseless with that and then use Car Pros Ech20 mixed to waterless dilution with a little bit of sio2 sealant as a drying aid before drying of the N 914. Been a good year round option to me.

Mixing the Ech20 for me has come down to 2-2.5oz Ech20 with one once of sio2 sealant. Helps dry and leave a little protection


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dcjredline said:
I dont have a drain in my garage either. My floor is pitched 4inches over the 28foot back to front. What I do when I have to wash inside (winter time) is get my old shop vac out and just put it near the door. The water runs toward the door and the vac sucks it up. Maybe some water barriers and a vac can help.
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Hmm...I always squeegee the water out of the door but it creates an ice issue, I have to salt it and I loose precious heat opening the door. I am going to try the shop vac this winter. Thanks for this tip
 
I am known in my neighborhood as the crazy guy who washes his cars in the winter. As long as it is 35 degrees and sunny, I will do a two bucket wash in the driveway in shorts singing "Winter Wonderland". My hands do get cold so I use Glacier Bay ice fishing gloves and they work very well.
If it is too cold for the garden hose, I will go to the local coin op and blast as much crud as I can off the vehicle with the power washer and then bring it home for a rinseless wash in the garage. My garage is not heated but it is insulated and always above freezing. Some water will get on the garage floor but it is not much and it does not cause a problem. My rinseless wash of choice is Wolfgang Uber and the number of wash mitts I use depends on how dirty the vehicle is.
Don't let the winter diminish your passion for a clean car. We will persevere.
 
I too detail in the winter. My wife tells everybody she is married to a crazy man. I do a good sealant and wax ahead of winter than as long as it is above freezing I do a spray wax and wash outside. Now that my daughter has a garage it should be easier this year. lol I did this in Ct and now in RI.
 
Dunno what kinda protection you have (wax, sealant, coating) but here in NE Ohio I do as little as possible during the winter, sometimes 'less is more'. Its a nice vacation from the regular maintenance of Spring, Summer and Fall.

Won't really even touch em aside from a wash if a rare 60 degree day shows up. Maybe if it's been 2+ months will run thru local touchless tunnel but that's more for undercarriage rinse really.

If'n I tried to waterless/rinseless wash I'd just do more harm than good
 
It has to be in the mid 40's for me to do a wash. I'm thinking of using Optimum No Rinse going forward. I've never used ONR but have heard good things about it. I'm willing to try it. I'd love to not have to rely on using a hose/water.
 
NJNinja said:
It has to be in the mid 40's for me to do a wash. I'm thinking of using Optimum No Rinse going forward. I've never used ONR but have heard good things about it. I'm willing to try it. I'd love to not have to rely on using a hose/water.
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Not sure where you are at but you need something like a 1 gallon pump sprayer.

A pre-rinse doesn't do much for salt,brine or oil films but it sure knocks the snot out of the sand.
So while your towels will be dirty hopefully they don't carry sand or salt chunks.

ONR works great in the pre-rinse and wash solution. ECH20 is a little more money but is more slippery.
 
Good to know. I was wondering how it would handle a salted up car.
 
Another midwesterner here. Personally I'd just run it through a touchless or leave it alone until you can do a wash proper.
 
All of my outside water lines are turned off thus I use an Sunjoe SPX6001 battery operated pressure washer (as long as it is above 38) in the driveway. Plenty of pressure to remove salt. I do not use it in the garage, only outside. Once the car is prerinsed it either gets washed in the driveway or rinseless in the garage
 
DetailZeus said:
Another midwesterner here. Personally I'd just run it through a touchless or leave it alone until you can do a wash proper.
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The trial and error of being DIY is what helps make informed choices.
Rinseless in winter means a lot more towels.
I have done rinseless for 6 years in extreme temps to find out what is workable. I also did these in a garage with no real heat. It works, plain and simple.
I have a touchless at the BP a mile from the house but I don't like waiting. It does do a decent job with the cheapest wash option with under carriage.
 
Mckee's N914 or Griot's Garage Brillant Shine rinseless wash are the way to go, N914 for WW and Griot's Garage Brillant Shine rinseless wash for doing an RW with either the grout sponge using 2 buckets and grit guards or 1 bucket with 5-8 plush, edgeless mf towels thrown in there.

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A Worx Hydroshot also works well for blasting crud off of the vehicle. You can draw water right from a bucket in case the garden hose is frozen, like it was yesterday.
 
3-5" coming tomorrow, then cold and a slight warm up going into next weekend, so hopefully a good chunk is melted by a week from today. I just filled up the washer bottles with RainX 2 in 1 in both cars and checked the oil, tires checked last weekend...here we go, already!

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Hello. I've been wondering about combining my car soap, with a concentrated waterless wash and adding some 99% alcohol to lower its freezing point. The idea being to create a low freeze-point, foamable, high lubricity spray that could be used in something like the big IK sprayer. Any ideas as to whether or not this could be a terrible idea?
 
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