Cosmoline (or so I've read someplace on here) is a good sealant, but it's "sticky" (meaning that road grime gets trapped in the surface). That's all well and good, but after a season or two it's a black, grungy mess.

SOmebody makes an underbody sealant that, instead of remaining sticky, actually hardens into a protective shell, making cleanups much easier.

The drawback? Seems as if (IIRC) you need to hoist the car up into the air, then spend several hours meticulously scrubbing all the cosmoline off the underbody before applying the new coating. Some people here just took the car immediately from pick-up to the place they did the new coating, and report that stripping the cosmoline off a fresh car is worlds easier tyhan after it gets grunged out (shrug)...

 

Hm. I guess so. I remember that conversation about undercarriage sealant replacement was weaker than cosmoline. However, there might be that hard shiney one that lasts even better. hm. I definitely have no way of removing that stuff realistically so I guess I let it chill till it gets older and grungier before I consider treating it for safety/rust protection's sake.

 

Yep, I agree... as much as I love the idea of being able to hose away the grime, it's just not realistic for me and the tools I have access to.

 

How do I carefully remove the salty grime once the snow has past?

I know winterizing and car washing in the winter has pretty much been forumed to death, so I am sorry to re-ask this.

We just suffered what would be blizzard like weather to us southerners, and we are expecting pretty clear weather for a while, I want to take care in washing the grime off since I didn't get a good wax on my car before the snow fall (bad mini owner).

I have read the advice so far on how most owners use power washes in the winter to get the grime off, and that handwashing isn't recommended until the grime is off. So my question is....

Should I power wash to get the salt off first, and then do what has already been recommended for washing/detailing?

What do you detailing experts recommend as an after snow detail?

 

Personally I avoid power washes because their pressure seems to embed dirt and salt even more. I'd go the other way- gentle spray, lots of car wash soap (I prefer Griots), and lots of rinsing. To get the undercarriage I put an oscillating water sprinkler under the car, move it occasionally, and let it rinse the salt away. Of course, I rarely do this with the MINI because I try to keep it out of the salt in the winter and use the CRV when it's slushy outside.

 

In general, yes, going to a coinop powerwash is OK and a good idea to rins off that salt (just don't use the brush...even just a soap spray and rinse is good to get the bad stuff off). Just be careful with the power wash, don't direct it into seams or fragile items at full power.

 

I've been using the power washer for the grunge, followed by a wipe-down with DP's Slick - the water gets the worst of the particles off and the detail spray lubes whatever's left on the surface. I can see I'm getting some light spiderwebbing on the surface, but I expected it. I should be OK in Spring after a good PC polishing.

 

Just to clarify the part where you paraphrased me back in August and I never saw this post.....

That was a specific product, and I actually recently found out I was misinformed about the product in question. I mistakenly thought that #66 Quick Detailer from Meguiar's was Carnuba based, and that using it first--a combination paint/cleaner/wax then topping with #21 Synthetic Sealant was a good solution for having filling properties with the protection of a synthetic on certain paint finishes that needed it.

But what I found was that Quick Detailer (not the Quik Detailer detailing spray) Cleaner Wax was actually polymer based and along the lines of ColorX.

So essentially, this post was to explain that no, I wasn't applying a synthetic over carnuba--I was using synthetics all the way, I just didn't know I was.

Richard

 

Every time I wash my Mini I have grit or tar stuck to the paint near the bottom of the doors. I have already waxed it. I have been rubbing it off with slick and a monster fluffy...which may be a bad idea. But, to clay each time???

 

I have a question regarding Heather's recommending clay-paint cleanser-sealant wax. Doesn't clay get all the stuff off the paint? What's left on there for the cleanser to remove?

 

Good observation! You're very right in that clay and paint cleansers DO overlap a bit. However, there are some kinds of particles that only clay will remove and likewise some kinds of particles that only paint cleansers will remove.

If you could somehow accurately measure and determine exactly what is on your paint at a given point in time, then you could probably figure out when you need just clay, or just use a paint cleanser or use both. In reality though, you can't do measure and determine what's on your paint so it's hard to say for sure. This is why the most thorough recommendation would be to do both instead of one or the other.

I think it's important to note that one or the other is MUCH better than neither before you wax (especially with a synthetic wax/sealant). It just really comes down to how thorough you want (or need) to be. It depends on your personal style and the current condition of your paint (ie, has it ever been clayed or cleansed or was it just the other day, etc.).

I hope that helps clarify.

-Heather

 

How about hardcore winterization for our MINI engines? Does anyone have tips on where the frost plug heaters go, or what weight oil to use for severe cold temperatures? I'm thinking pure synthetic 5w30 will do...