mkarolow

So, for all us stuck up in the snow belt, I thought it would be usefull to discuss what everyone does about getting their cars washed in the middle of winter. I know I would like someplace that uses warm water so I don't freeze my a** off while trying to get my car clean.

I'm in the Boston area, but I'm sure those in New York, Toronto, Chicago... could use the same advice.

- Mike

RJC RSX

those high pressured sprayers can cause swirl marks

żGotJazz?

Mike,

You don't want to wash the car in the middle of winter if the outside temperature is approaching freezing.

You can have two problems:

(1) Ice forming on the door frame that trap you inside (or out of) your car.

(2) Potential windshield breakage if the water is a lot warmer than the glass temperature.

gordon_gekko

I assume these helpful tips come from your years of driving experience in wintery Socal or Arizona?


"You don't want to wash the car in the middle of winter if the outside temperature is approaching freezing."


Please. Let's not get overdramatic here. It's 35 degrees! What are you doing washing your car man?! The motor might freeze! What if the steering wheel freezes too! Don't risk it!

Gimme a break. Wash your car whenever you want people.


1)This concern is somewhat legitimate, but only if you don't plan on drying your car before you leave. And even then, a little extra tug on the door will break the ice free in most cases. If you dry your car in the bay, you got nothing to worry about.

2)This is plain ridiculous. Noone's windshield is going to crack because of a sudden temperature change in the glass(in this scenario). I'm pretty sure I live in the coldest city of 1 million people in the entire world! And I wash my car any day I want to during the winter. I also work at a car dealership, where many cars are washed each day, regardless of outside temp. So, again, if you dry before you leave, you should be fine.



For me, during the winter, I pretty much reserve myself to the fact that NO MATTER WHAT, I won't be able to keep my car clean for any prolonged period of time. Hell, in most cases your car will be dirty again that same day you wash it. So, it's just nice to get all the snow/salt washed away from inside the fenderwells, rims, tires, underbody, wiper blades, etc Then once spring rolls around, it's ZAINO-time baby! Get your ride lookin real nice so you can pack it full of girls :devil:

Hope that helped.

NsX Pilot

Im just curious where you got this information from ?

RJC RSX

club rsx car care forum, and personal experience

it's not the water itself, but the high pressure causes any debris on the car, however small (dirt particles and road salt for example) to scratch the clear coat.

acur8ly

iTrader: (1)

Do you use the Foam Brush? I think its the brush not the water.

RJC RSX

good god, i would never allow a brush to touch my car! :wow:

Yaaro Dhana

I use the coin-op bays with the dual-pressure hand sprays. Works quite nicely, even in 40-degree days up here in the Central NY area. Don't use the soap or brush from the coin-op and you should be OK. I take my own car wash and a bucket that I fill there. Approx. procedure:

- rinse the salt and dust off the car
- fill the bucket and mix the car wash in
- wash the car; I use a sheepskin mitt
- rinse the soap off
- dry

I use the lower pressure and hold the spray nozzle far away from the car for the rinse.

There is also lots of information at www.autopia.org regarding washing your car in winter. Some people seem to use Quick and Easy Wash (QEW) a "waterless" wash product with some success as reported there.

SilverBulletCLS

Wrong. The high pressure sprays are the way to go to protect the finish of your car. Just DON'T use the brush. The brush is what causes the swirls.

RJC RSX

a brush is only one way to cause swirls. what i just said does as well, but you're much safer if you rinse down the car first, freeing any debris.

żGotJazz?

gordon_gekko - Actually, both of those things I mentioned have occurred.

The door freezing occurred back when I lived in the Midwest. My father had just washed the car, and we went out for ice cream. (Why were we going for ice cream when it was nearly freezing outside? I dunno. When you're a kid, ice cream always seems like a great idea )

After we had our ice cream, the sun had set and the temperature had dropped below freezing. When we got out to the car, we couldn't get back in. The locks had frozen solid (couldn't get the keys in - it was before remotes). My father walked to a nearby gas station, and bought a spray can of some stuff designed for this very purpose - put the nozzle into the lock, and it was some liquid that unfroze the lock. However, our problems weren't over yet. There was enough water around the glass/weather stripping around the window, that it had frozen as well. The doors were very tough to open, and when my father finally pulled it open, it ripped some of the weather stripping - enough that it had to be replaced. We probably should have used the key lock unfreezer on the window seals, but we didn't think about that until afterwards.

The other incident (cracking winshield) occurred to my next-door neighbor. His windows were messed up from the recent snow storms. It was below freezing, and he wanted to get his windshield clean fast. He came up with what he thought was a brilliant idea - pour warm water on the windshield and squeegee it before it froze again. Well, as soon as the warm water hit the glass, his windwshield cracked. I remember that it was pretty cold that time - most people wouldn't be washing their cars at that temperature, so this probably isn't as much of an issue.

BTW, the same neighbor figured out an easy way to clean off his driveway. He poured hot water on the snow, which got rid of it pretty fast. He didn't take into account what would happen to the water afterwards, though. Instead of having snow that he could gradually drive through, he ended up with a super smooth and slick sheet of ice you could almost skate on. And, the end of his driveway angled back towards his house - he couldn't get out until he pulled out the salt like the rest of us ...

Majorhouse

I am soooo glad I live in South Florida. All of the things that you all have mentioned in this thread really suck. I don't know how you guys can live through the frigid climates (and all that comes with it) every year.

Tripp11

Ehhhhh, Midwest weather....it's ok.....up-side to it all is that when it snows I can make a mean-arse snowball and am deadly anywhere within 50 feet.

TorontoTL

Do you guys have an opinion on touchless car washes. I'm not concerned about bird droppings on my car which I know the touchless washes do a poor job of removing. I used one in the past when I had a light coloured car. Now I have an Abyss Blue Pearl car and I'm wondering if they will do a good job cleaning the car and if it would be okay with the finish of the car. I have been using the coin operated car wash bays but have found that even without using the foaming brush, I'm still getting a few marks in the clear coat. And because there is so much water left at the end of the wash, it is hard to dry the car without leaving smudges on it.

rets

I found lots of hand-wash places, they use high-pressure sprayer in the beginning(unfortunately), and hand-wash your cars with soft-cloth stuff... it's about $7-11 with vacuuming and drying. If you don't want to wash it yourself, it's the good choice.

danno

I go to the coin operated wash and just use the water nozzle only BUT, i ALSO bring the bucket with warm to hot water/soap and cotton mit with me. By the time i get there, the water`s a perfect temperature. I also use the California Wiper Blade to wisk off excess water before drying

mkarolow

Some excellent information guys. I'm a little concerned about what Yaaro said:

I'll probobly freeze my hand off before I finish the car!

I did some googling and found a wash bay place that looks reasonable. I'll probobly check it out this weekend. The brake dust is starting to look horrible!

- Mike

Yaaro Dhana

I haven't tried it when the temperatures are less than 40-degrees, but have done it without any problems when it goes above this. I wouldn't try it if we get really cold days here though - too much trouble.