The winters around here are nasty and it is hard trying to keep a car clean. I have no place to wash a car and really don't like car washes.

Is there a way to clean a car without harming or scratching the paint?

TIA,

 

Don't you have the self-service, wand-type car washes where you are? That's the only thing I'll use, aside from washing in my own driveway.

Just take along a nice microfiber sponge with you. Rinse the car down, soap it good, then pull out your sponge for a quick washing, then rinse.

And for the love of all that's holy, do not use the "foaming scrub brush" at the car wash!!!!

I only wash my MINI at home, but I wash my wife's Pilot at the wand-wash. Who wants to wash a big pig like that by hand?

 

I think the best method is touchless carwash. Another alternative is Quick Easy Wash method from Autopia.org. Personally, I have not try quick easy wash method before. GL

Neo

 

We have long cold winters here, temps stay below freezing for about 4 months.

I go to a wandwash then, and use my washing mitt to wipe the car once I get most of the grime off with the wand. NEVER use the soapy brushes, they are full of grit and WILL scratch your paint.

Most of the wandwashes here have hot air blowers for drying locks and things you can't get with a drying towel.

Some charge by time, I go to one about every 2 weeks and detail spray the car after washing.

I do go to a true touchless carwash, no flapping brushes, but only once in a while.

 

Luckily my detached garage is heated and has a big ole drain in it so I can wash my cars in the garage all winter. I don't have water out there but what I do is roll out the hose which I can hook to a freezeproof spigot at the house. The water outlet is pre-mixed to be any temperature I want it to be from inside the house so I set it so I can wash with warm water. Ahhhh! :smile:

So I wash my cars at least weekly no matter the weather! Crank up the stereo, maybe watch ESPN, the furnace set to 72 degrees. Heaven!

 

Oh don't rub it in. I wash all winter, even at -40F, at least once a week

Can't do much detailing, but I keep my MINI clean and free of road crude, no matter the weather

 

When I first moved from sunny Southern Cal to northern Vermont I was in the habit of washing my car every Saturday. I persisted in that practice until one day in mid-February when, at minus 20F, the chamois froze to the roof. I was out of quarters for the wand, so had to drive home that way...with the chamois sticking up like the spine of a dragon all the way! Took a week to get it off!

 

I know I shouldnt laugh, but in Houston, it rarely hits 20*, much less -20.

 

I can remember a winter in Georgia (late 1980s) when school was canceled but I washed the car in the driveway... but they closed school if they saw anything more than 2 flakes per hour.

 

You go to an outdoor wandwash in the winter

 

When I lived up in Connecticut, I'd run my car through a touchless car-wash every time I got gas in the winter. Make sure it is one of those where nothing but water and soap touches the car... no brushes or wipers.

 

Oh yeah... and pay the extra $1 for the under carrage wash... Anything that removes road salt from the underside of your car is well worth the cash!

 

I drove my MC40 last winter and was very frustrated trying to keep in clean while driving in the heavily salted roads around this area (north of Chicago, IL).

I think I found a way to keep it clean this year.

I bought a Jeep while they had the employee discounts and 0% financing. They even knocked $500 off the price because I had been in the service.

Now the MINI can stay in the garage until the salt and snow are gone.

I'll miss driving it, but I don't have to worry about salt, snow, or someone sliding into me.

I wonder if I can fit an open intake to the Jeep....maybe some lightweight wheels...stripes on the hood...

 

(Good God, Brad. Do you Zaino your floor too? )