Being in the "snow belt", washing the car in the winter is not an option (and too lazy to find a place indoors that lets you wash).

So how do you all manage?

I needed to get the salt off (NOT Thick at all, just a little and mostly on the black vinyl below).

Tell me if I did something "bad"

I took some detailing mist (wolfgang) and got the water spots off (yep water spots from rain).

There is still plenty of wax on the side on backs (easy to tell because in the rain, the little drops are still perfectly circular but the bonnet is another story). Took some crystal spray carnuaba and did a little on the bonnet ... it really makes a huge difference.

Got the salt of the vinyl with the vinyl cleaner on the black and then just got the brake dust off the wheels best I could

Finally, rubbed down the leather seats with Meguirs leather towelettes.

 

Well, I'd be a bit concerned about scratching the paint from the salt & other grime.

Are there any laser-guided carwashes near you? These are the ones you drive in and the apparatus "drives" around you, nothing ever touches your car. It's good for a rinse and you don't have to do anything.

I then wipe down the door jambs, etc....and am just a bit less **** in the winter about wiping the car down for fear of scratches in the finish.

 

Salt was very light on the vinyl. Nothing really on the paint. It was waterspots from rain on the paint. Our winters are cold but very little snow

Nope, car washes are not option ... aint going near one

 

have u tried a wand wash?

That's what I do, until an hour ago when I lost my mind and washed my car by hand with a mit in my driveway, it's currently snowing and 25 degrees.

Wand washes don't get all the crap off because ur not using any sort of agitation to get off surface contamination, but with some of the stuff u get on your car here I don't wanted to touch my paint until I have powerwashed all the major stuff off first.

Mikey

 

I guess I should clarify it better. Its not REALLY dirty. Dirt being relative. Its actually quite clean simply because we get little snow and it isn't driven in snow or the salt aftermath. Its just a little salt on the black vinyl down low, mostly in the front. The paint itself had water spots, which happen all the time when it rains here, and those come off very easily with detailing mist.

 

Like I said I think using a wand wash is your best bet, especially if it is not that dirty. I even prefer wand washes over laser b/c for about 22 quarters, considerably less than the 9 dollars for the laser wash, you get up close and personal with your car for about 15min, the stalls around here are heated, don't know about where u are, and are fairly well lit with flourescent lighting. I think that is your best bet though.

Mikey

 

i just take my commuters.

but since i do take my cars out when roads are fairly clean, i just
use A LOT of water to rise first top and bottom (fender liner area,
along the sides of the car), then shampoo regulary when it gets
warmer outside.

 

yeah, I do the hand wash too occasionally...I have a whole setup of thick rubber gloves, my gore-tex pants and boots to keep dry.

note that in the laser wash (albeit expensive) nothing touches the car, like the brushless ones which drag wet and gritty strips on the car. This is why I'll occasionally use one, it also has the under car spray when you drive into the bay.

and, don't they use a sand/salt mixture down there? Seems to be the norm on the east coast now. I've seen the sanders they have in D.C., 2 guys in a dump truck shoveling the mixture out

 

heated stalls?? What a concept! I coin-op self-wash mine as well in the winter, but its more like using a small snow machine on a cold day, the car is encased in ice and your hands are numb before you even start! But it gets the nasty salt off.

As an aside, a reminder to polish your real metal chrome parts every month or so as well. Last winter I waited till the spring and had some bad pits in the gas cap.

 

I am lucky that I have a heated garage with a drain. I keep it about 45° daily so the cars are out of the major chill, then up the temp when I am out there. It takes about 15 minutes to 60° or more.

But there is a downside....as picky as we detailing nuts are, I find myself washing the car practically everyday during lousy winter weather. It drives my wife nuts and takes a lot of time...but I can't help myself!

 

Man, what a set-up. You rock BradB!

 

Brad, I've just spend the last 20 minutes looking at the pics of your cars and your garage - Gorgeous! I'll eventually get my garage to look like that, but it will take a while. I lived in St. Louis before moving to FL, and it was great seeing downtown Clayton (my sister lives there) in some of your pics of the Mini!

 

Are laser washes the same as touchless? I have never seen a laser wash.

Around here all the coin op places have signs that say "no bucket washing", (I understand, the lines to get into these washes can get very long) and no way am I going to use the wands provided. So I just go to the touchless washes. They don't do that good of a job, but it gets the majority of the salt off.

We are getting some warmer weather now so hopefully soon I'll be able to turn the outside water back on and wash my car by hand!

 

Like BradB, I wash my MCS in my garage. I added a hose spigot and HVAC vent when I bought our house just for this purpose - washing our cars.

When it is cold, I keep the garage door closed and wash away! When it is realy hot outside, I do the same thing! It also works great to be able to wash in the shade and not worry about the sun drying the water and spotting on the car before you're done!

If you don't have a spigot in your garage, don't worry, just run the hose under the door and turn it on from the outside spigot.

Outside of that, I'm going to go and beg for a finished garage to the level of BradB's. Mine looks good, but BradB...dude, that's just sick! I'm so green!

 

the car actually rusts less if you keep it frozen outside. this is from
personal experiment on daily commuters crusted with road salt.

 

This is a really important thread for detailing.

I guess I have to thoroughly investigate how it all can be done this winter. Useless to detail/protect if you cannot protect it during the worst few months of the year.

Undercarriage cleaning is a must as well. I see some touchless that have that as an option but, I doubt it gets it all off unless you go once a week for it maybe. Which is an idea. I guess. hm.

 

In Germany, touchless car washes don't exist. All I have is a pressure washer station between me and work. It looks as if I will be rinsing it off daily during every trip home, then doing another rinse to ensure all salt/grime is off. I will ensure all cracks are rinsed out, and ensure the undercarriage is cleaned.

I am even thinking of not using my boot door and taping up all the cracks with plastic and painters tape.

Its alot of work, unfortuanalty Winter can last from Oct through March and having my MINI rust or be tarnished by the weather is not an option.

 

Drive something you dont care about

I have a wrangler that I drive in the winter. Never heats up, isnt fun to drive with a top on...but if its rust...its easy to get a new Tub or frame...and its 4 wheel drive.

 

Yeah but, dude, you have, what, 3 dozen cars?

 

Haha, when everyones home, and friends are over..its like a used car lot.

Anyone want a used CRV, its for sale.

 

Actually, my daugter will be looking for a beater in like 6 months, when she gets her license. I'd prefer she have a pickup, though... 16 year olds should only be able to carry one passenger and should have a car that you don't care if they back into trees, mailboxes, fences, curbs and the like... Anyone in your extensive circle of friends have something dependable, cheap and moderately fugly along those lines?

 

Thats great advice and all, but I will only be in Germany for one more Winter, and then I get to return to Good Ole US of A . Kind of pointless to buy a beater and then try to sell it right after Winter which is about 5 months of driving. Don't think that I didn't think of this, but if I was here longer, it wouldn't be a waste of money.

 

Man, that's exactly what I was given when I first started driving. My daughter has 2 years till she starts and is already asking what kind of car am I going to get her. If only she knew, it's a pickup truck!

 

It's the best, logical choice... Everything I've read about teen driving indicates that the more passengers a new, young driver has with them in the car, the greater the liklihood of an accident, or the chance an accident will end up being serious. Small pickups have the advantage of convenience (everyone needs one for picking up mulch or car parts or furniture), height and, best of all, a single passenger seat, if you avoid extended cabs. We had a line on one, but it turned out to be held together with baling wire and rust, and that's TOO MUCH of a beater even for me. I don't want her hitting a pot hole and having the car fall to pieces...

Good choice, Ords!

 

Hah..not for safety though. My first car was a small pickup and even though it probably had 75hp and only 4 speeds, even on dry pavement I could easily spin the tires. People would always yell at me going around corners, even at 20mph felt like 100.