Winter washing

[orionz06]

Well, my house hunting has gone well into the winter, and i have come up with a more affordable way to remove salt from the car...


what you need:
car shampoo
bug sprayer bottle (the kind you pump up)
squirt bottle

1: I use megs hyper-wash, 1 oz per bottle, and fill to top, shake to mix
2: Fill bug bottle and pump
3: On one panel, spray with car wash mixture
4: Let the spray float down, lifting most of the grime
5: Once you think it has sat enough, spray top to bottom with bug bottle to rinse


this has kept me from the coin-op wash and in control of what touches my paint much longer than before... there is a chance of freezing and the wash method doesnt remove everything, but it reduces the stuff that will collect on the paint, and makes me cringe less... it also removes enough grime for me to safely use ONR when it is warmer... (when i use ONR, i spray with bug bottle as well to fully wet the surface and remove residual grime)


this method has also sparked a new desire to place myself in a new home sooner than ever...

[Emile]

I'm confused.

[orionz06]

spray with car soap/water from squirt bottle to soak the panel
let stuff run off the panel
rinse with bug sprayer


repeat

[AeroCleanse]

I use my steam cleaner, works amazingly well.

[orionz06]

I use my steam cleaner, works amazingly well.
hot damn... i will be tryin this with mine...

[CharlesW]

What you people are doing is great, but it doesn't work very good in my area.
With temperatures staying in the mid 20s down to below zero, even the coin-op car washes are only open limited hours.
One thing that helps me handle it:
It's 59 days till Spring!

Or:

* 5,097,600 seconds
* 84,960 minutes
* 1416 hours
* 8 weeks (rounded down)

[orionz06]

What you people are doing is great, but it doesn't work very good in my area.
With temperatures staying in the mid 20s down to below zero, even the coin-op car washes are only open limited hours.
One thing that helps me handle it:
It's 59 days till Spring!

Or:

* 5,097,600 seconds
* 84,960 minutes
* 1416 hours
* 8 weeks (rounded down)

its 7 degrees right now.... it was 8 earlier...

it will reach 10 tomorrow, but go back down later...

we have had it down to -5 last week...

[CharlesW]

Then the system you mentioned in your first post probably isn't going to work very good.
Around here, those temperatures don't allow much soap and water solution to run off. :D

[orionz06]

Then the system you mentioned in your first post probably isn't going to work very good.
Around here, those temperatures don't allow much soap and water solution to run off. :D
used hot water yesterday and it worked pretty well... a steam rinse would be great though...

[AeroCleanse]

What you people are doing is great, but it doesn't work very good in my area.
With temperatures staying in the mid 20s down to below zero, even the coin-op car washes are only open limited hours.
One thing that helps me handle it:
It's 59 days till Spring!

Or:

* 5,097,600 seconds
* 84,960 minutes
* 1416 hours
* 8 weeks (rounded down)

Steam works, trust me. Of course you have to be able to bear the temps to work on your car.

[CharlesW]

its 7 degrees right now.... it was 8 earlier...

it will reach 10 tomorrow, but go back down later...

we have had it down to -5 last week...
used hot water yesterday and it worked pretty well... a steam rinse would be great though...-5 to +10 still freezes water here. I doubt that I could spray warm water on and wipe it off without it freezing, let alone the damage it might do to the finish.


Steam works, trust me. Of course you have to be able to bear the temps to work on your car.And you need a steam cleaner. Probably not a lot of us own one. :)

Someone definitely agrees with your idea.
Check this out.
Clean By Steam (http://www.steamcarwash.net/index.htm)

[Emile]

spray with car soap/water from squirt bottle to soak the panel
let stuff run off the panel
rinse with bug sprayer


repeat
Why would I rinse my car with bug sprayer chemicals?

[YankeeFan]

used hot water yesterday and it worked pretty well... a steam rinse would be great though...

Hot water on a cold car - isn't there danger of your seals being damaged?

Howard

[Bunky]

Why would I rinse my car with bug sprayer chemicals?

He is saying some ONR in sprayer bottle (obvious not filled with bug chemicals) to spray,

I am guessing he uses the word "bug" but I would call them garden sprayers (the type you mix up chemicals, pump up to get pressure, and use to spray stuff like grass killer, bug spray, etc). This is how many do rinseless pre-soaking.

[orionz06]

no real damage, the wax finish hasnt been effected from what i can tell, and besides, ill take hot water over salty water any day... they use calcium chloride here too, which is still worse than hot water with potential to freeze...


as cold as it has been, the water hasnt been freezing or causing problems before it drips off, but again, its the best i have right now, and anything is better than a blue car covered in chalky white/brown dust...

EDIT: and yes, its a garden sprayer, but its made by ortho, which made me think bugs... it has never seen anything but detailing stuff and once i used it for carpet spraying indoors with laundry soap in it... great little item to have... especially if you mix bulk ONR...