winter detailing

[dajuiceman]

So i'm almost done getting my garage fully insulated and heated. My question is how do some of you detail in the winter time. Do you wash your car outside and drive it into the garage to dry and wax it as well as clean the interior. Just looking for different ideas since winters here now.

[coupe]

Do you have a floor drain?
If so just do it like you would in the summer only do it all in your garage.

[XoticGA]

Washing it outside doesn't seem too bright, especially in the dead of winter and it's 15*

Do it all in the garage if you've got the proper draining.. Or, tough it out all winter, it won't stay clean very long anyway, not to mention if you've waxed in the past couple months, it won't need another coat until spring I'd imagine

[GA_GT1]

personally, for the winter, i would just go through the automatic car washes. They dont take long and they clean your car that way you wont need to sit in the freezing cold and clean your car yourself, and you wont have to worry about having a drain in your garage.

[XoticGA]

personally, for the winter, i would just go through the automatic car washes. They dont take long and they clean your car that way you wont need to sit in the freezing cold and clean your car yourself, and you wont have to worry about having a drain in your garage.

I'd let my car sit filthy before I ever took it through an automatic...

[coupe]

personally, for the winter, i would just go through the automatic car washes. They dont take long and they clean your car that way you wont need to sit in the freezing cold and clean your car yourself, and you wont have to worry about having a drain in your garage.

Very very very very bad idea

I'd let my car sit filthy before I ever took it through an automatic...

Good choice.
Paint gets damaged in 1 way and 1 way only. Its the physical act of something touching it and *moving* in one way or another. Dirt, pollen, tar, salt, mudd ect ect ect wont hurt your paint one bit by just sitting on it. Its much better to just leave it dirty and to not touch it at all costs throughout the winter. Then the first chance you get to wash it in the spring is by hand useing the 2 bucket method and using proper tools, products and techniques.

[sunrunner_pei]

Yes, but the salt WILL damage the unprotected metal under your car. It's a good idea to give the undercarriage a good rinse occasionally throughout the winter, particularly during warm spells, as it is when it's warmer out that the salt will react with the metal.

[Blackhawk]

^ That's why I go through the touchless washes every once in a while in the winter, I get the lowest option that has undercarriage washing.

[GMFWDFAN]

I still don't see what's so terrible about a touchless automatic car wash. Sure it's not as good as a hand wash/detail, but it does at least get the salt off the undercarriage.

Now, the car washes with the huge brushes that literally beat your car clean (like the one at the Ford dealer I used to work at), they're a completely different story.

I'd just run it through an automated touchless wash after a bout of nasty weather (and of course after the roads are clean) to get the salt off and leave it be until spring. That's what I'm gonna do.

[Nighthawk243]

Yes, but the salt WILL damage the unprotected metal under your car. It's a good idea to give the undercarriage a good rinse occasionally throughout the winter, particularly during warm spells, as it is when it's warmer out that the salt will react with the metal.

And thats why I sat under my car with a brush and a bottle of 10W-40 :lol:

[coupe]

No carwash will actually remove the salt and dirt from the underbody without actually touching it. Just spraying water/soap at it even at a high PSI (a carwash) wont remove it. You would have to physicaly get under your car with soap, water and a few scrub brushes to remove it. The only thing the carwash will do is *maybe* remove any excess, but it will still be there.

Touchless is the safest way to go BUT it wont actually clean your car.

[dajuiceman]

I was thinking of washing it outside because I have no floor drains. My plan was to wash it real quick right in front of the garage and drive it in to dry it and detail it. I hate the auto car washes because even though they have spotfree you still end up with alot of spots. I dont want to chamois my car after an automatic carwash because of the obvious reasons, they dont get all the dirt off. So my only 2 choices are to do a good handwash in front of my garage and drive it into my garage to dry it or go to the auto carwash and drive around with spots on my car.

[Nighthawk243]

Well... a big issue that arises from washing it in the winter is that your car is wet... and stuff will freeze. Trust me when I say it is not fun to climb into the trunk, lower the 60/40's, and climb through the back to gain access into the car. :lol:

[Blackhawk]

You wait for mild days.

[99blackSE]

I am lucky, I can go to the local wand wash and it is heated somewhat, two bucket all winter for me!

[dajuiceman]

Well we had a crazy snow storm on saturday. Yesterday I took it over to a touchless car wash with my pail and car wash mitten and went to town. I chamoised it afterward. It came out nice but I couldnt feel my hand for awhile.

[99blackSE]

If you want you could also look into ONR (or other similar products) for washing.

[GregFarz78]

I go to a touchless car wash and get the works after every snow storm so I can rinse off all the salt and road grime, yes its not perfect but its too damn cold out to wash my car outside and I won't go thru a car wash with brushes.

[RM FAN]

Colorado uses mag chloride on the highways in the winter and its very corrosive so you have wash you car the first chance you get. I have enough of a slope in my garage to wash my car inside and not have to worry about the cold.

[JBlack16]

Try to wash my car every week at a touchless car wash. Reminds me I gotta get it washed tomorrow.

[Twista89]

yea I was gonna take my car to one of those hand held car washes sometime next week after I get my speakers in the mail :D cuz I need to clean the inside and outside out...my car is the dirtiest Ive ever seen it right now :(