How to Cold Weather?

[Joemomma22]

So i'm new to owning a new car and obviously ive been doing my best to keep it clean. Now that its getting sub freezing temps here in NJ, what do i do to keep her clean. Shes getting filthy but its been far to cold to wash and dry her myself. Any Suggestions?

Also to those of you in the southern half of the country, I don't care about anything youre going to tell me about how its not cold there :clap2::cheers:

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[tsunami]

Use a Touchless Car wash or pay for detailing...

I do my own washing during warmer weather...but decided to use touchless car wash for winter. It doesn't remove any 'sticky' residue but if you run it through more often the residue does seem to disappear. If you use a touchless carwash make sure that it has an underbody spray. It is just about impossible to clean the underbody in the winter otherwise.
My local car wash has a really long duration for the underbody spray. So I go very very slowly over the spray to make sure that the underbody gets max cleaned.

 

[RoninRed]

I recommend purchasing a weed sprayer thats pressurized, new, fill it with distilled or highly filtered water from tap. Buy a ton of quality microfiber, about 70/30 to 80/20 blend works wonders. Then, either blend waterless car wash from concentrate (sonax works well) or meguiars gold class (cheap and only one i can recommend working this way) and mix 1 oz to every half gallon. Take the sprayer and spray down one body panel, then wipe it away with a soft sweeping motion with the microfiber. If its not too cold, you can let the soapy water work on the car. If not, wipe immediately.

Obviously this wont work well with heavy mud or debris. Also you can replace the weed sprayer with a pressure washer as they work similarly, but most pressure washers are not designed to operate in low temps, so you risk breaking it.

any questions just message me.

 

[Rdot9]

I do my own washing during warmer weather...but decided to use touchless car wash for winter. It doesn't remove any 'sticky' residue but if you run it through more often the residue does seem to disappear. If you use a touchless carwash make sure that it has an underbody spray. It is just about impossible to clean the underbody in the winter otherwise.
My local car wash has a really long duration for the underbody spray. So I go very very slowly over the spray to make sure that the underbody gets max cleaned.

I agree with this, I used to live in CT.

Get a nice detail, wash/wax sometime during the fall and use a nice touchless drive through. Find one with an air dryer to speed up the drying process and you can hand dry whatever is left over. Keeps you out of the cold as much as possible

 

[jasonstang]

Bay type touchless carwash.

 

[Joemomma22]

I recommend purchasing a weed sprayer thats pressurized, new, fill it with distilled or highly filtered water from tap. Buy a ton of quality microfiber, about 70/30 to 80/20 blend works wonders. Then, either blend waterless car wash from concentrate (sonax works well) or meguiars gold class (cheap and only one i can recommend working this way) and mix 1 oz to every half gallon. Take the sprayer and spray down one body panel, then wipe it away with a soft sweeping motion with the microfiber. If its not too cold, you can let the soapy water work on the car. If not, wipe immediately.

Obviously this wont work well with heavy mud or debris. Also you can replace the weed sprayer with a pressure washer as they work similarly, but most pressure washers are not designed to operate in low temps, so you risk breaking it.

any questions just message me.

Any recommendation on a pressurized sprayer?

I agree with this, I used to live in CT.

Get a nice detail, wash/wax sometime during the fall and use a nice touchless drive through. Find one with an air dryer to speed up the drying process and you can hand dry whatever is left over. Keeps you out of the cold as much as possible

I don't know of any touchless washes anywhere near me. what i need is a heated big ass garage

Bay type touchless carwash.

What?

 

[JohnBoyNC]

Any recommendation on a pressurized sprayer?

https://www.snowjoe.com/product/sun-joe-2030-psi-14.5-amp-electric-pressure-washer-spx3000

I don't know of any touchless washes anywhere near me. what i need is a heated big ass garage



What?

 

[jasonstang]

Any recommendation on a pressurized sprayer?



I don't know of any touchless washes anywhere near me. what i need is a heated big ass garage



What?

This. Don't use the ones with a rail unless you want your wheels all destroyed.

 

[2015Etrac]

This. Don't use the ones with a rail unless you want your wheels all destroyed.

The one near me has a rail, IDK who came up with the bright idea of putting 2 steel bars 6in high and hoping someone can align their wheel perfectly enough so not to mess it up while driving between it.

 

[2015Etrac]

So i'm new to owning a new car and obviously ive been doing my best to keep it clean. Now that its getting sub freezing temps here in NJ, what do i do to keep her clean. Shes getting filthy but its been far to cold to wash and dry her myself. Any Suggestions?

Also to those of you in the southern half of the country, I don't care about anything youre going to tell me about how its not cold there :clap2::cheers:

I have the same problem here in PA. I use the self wash bays at the car wash, and recently I purchased a foam gun for home use, it lets me spray down the car quickly, hit it once over with a wash mit, and rinse it off. Save a lot of time in the cold, and no need to use buckets if you're in a hurry.

 

[Joemomma22]

I have one of these but if its still outside it doesnt really help that whole its freezing thing.

This. Don't use the ones with a rail unless you want your wheels all destroyed.

Yeah i dont have one of those anywhere near me. the drive in diy one has brushes that smack the car like crazy

I have the same problem here in PA. I use the self wash bays at the car wash, and recently I purchased a foam gun for home use, it lets me spray down the car quickly, hit it once over with a wash mit, and rinse it off. Save a lot of time in the cold, and no need to use buckets if you're in a hurry.

Right now my option is just pay my detailer for a full detail every time lol. I'm sure i could have him do a wash but i have to schedule with him and everything.

 

[2015Etrac]

I have one of these but if its still outside it doesnt really help that whole its freezing thing.



Yeah i dont have one of those anywhere near me. the drive in diy one has brushes that smack the car like crazy



Right now my option is just pay my detailer for a full detail every time lol. I'm sure i could have him do a wash but i have to schedule with him and everything.

You might be able to find an automated touchless carwash without the rail. I've been to a few in South Jersey. I still wash my car in the winter, I just fill the buckets with hot water. It's not too bad with hot water in the buckets, just wait for the warmer 40+ degree days. My main concern is the undercarriage though which is tough to clean.

 

[SR56]

Both SunJoe and Green works have highly rated pressure washers on Amazon. Not all that expensive, either. Hook it up to a warm water source and get to blasting.

 

[blk_5.0]

I make sure I do a full strip, clay, polish, seal, and wax in the fall to try and keep the paint as protected as possible......To maintain throughout the winter I do one of two things. Use a touchless wash as stated above or take a warm bucket of water with me to the local quarter wash and give her a quick wash. Some tips - wear waterproof gloves and an extra pair of sweat pants/hoody (will keep you dry and clean). I typically rinse the car, scrub any heavily soiled areas (quarter wash water is warm so it wont freeze initially) then get down on the ground and power wash the entire underbody. At this point you should have a relatively "clean" car that is pretty much frozen in a shell of ice. Make sure you use the warm water to spray off the driver side door (to keep it from freezing shut on you), strip the extra layer of clothing you were wearing and drive home. I park mine in the garage for about an hour to thaw, then go back out with Adam's waterless wash and some clean microfibers to freshen up the paint/dry it. On nicer days I will refresh the "seal" on my paint with Adam's Gloss Guard. I highly recommend using this product to keep the salt etc out of your paint.

[ame]

 

[vernonator]

I make sure I do a full strip, clay, polish, seal, and wax in the fall to try and keep the paint as protected as possible......To maintain throughout the winter I do one of two things. Use a touchless wash as stated above or take a warm bucket of water with me to the local quarter wash and give her a quick wash. Some tips - wear waterproof gloves and an extra pair of sweat pants/hoody (will keep you dry and clean). I typically rinse the car, scrub any heavily soiled areas (quarter wash water is warm so it wont freeze initially) then get down on the ground and power wash the entire underbody. At this point you should have a relatively "clean" car that is pretty much frozen in a shell of ice. Make sure you use the warm water to spray off the driver side door (to keep it from freezing shut on you), strip the extra layer of clothing you were wearing and drive home. I park mine in the garage for about an hour to thaw, then go back out with Adam's waterless wash and some clean microfibers to freshen up the paint/dry it. On nicer days I will refresh the "seal" on my paint with Adam's Gloss Guard. I highly recommend using this product to keep the salt etc out of your paint.

I do exactly the same thing, just try and target those "warm" days when the weather gets above freezing at least. (Adams Polishes products ROCK)

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