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edisonfire
12-24-2008, 01:28 PM
for those of you who have had a load of snow dumped on you for the last week, the roads are completely wet and dirty

how are you guys keeping your car clean? sooo much salt on the road

hand wash or car wash?

ChinoCharles
12-24-2008, 01:29 PM
You don't. Wax the heck out of it in October and wait for it to clear. :iono:

SIPNGAS
12-24-2008, 02:11 PM
Car wash about once a month just to get some of the salt off. But really, it's a losing battle until spring.

thebarber
12-24-2008, 06:10 PM
find a powerwash and spray the body and undercarriage weekly

make sure you do it at a time of the day that it can drip off in the sun so your doors don't freeze shut (eg, dont do it at 7pm on a night where its going to be -10c)

ChinoCharles
12-24-2008, 06:44 PM
find a powerwash and spray the body and undercarriage weekly


Yeah, that is what you SHOULD do. :smile: Good advice man. Get some jack stands and a power washer.

thebarber
12-24-2008, 07:46 PM
Yeah, that is what you SHOULD do. :smile: Good advice man. Get some jack stands and a power washer.

well, in the GTA they have power wash places you can go to....too cold to DIY

were you kidding w/ the jackstands?

LtNoogie
12-24-2008, 07:50 PM
What is GTA? All I could find was Grand Theft Auto.

ChinoCharles
12-24-2008, 08:10 PM
No... but I'm lowered. I can't really spray underneath without them. Woops. :smile:

SIPNGAS
12-24-2008, 08:21 PM
What is GTA? All I could find was Grand Theft Auto.

I think here it means Greater Toronto Area...


:biggrin:

YAR1S
12-24-2008, 08:35 PM
havnt washed my yaris in a whille .... its tormenting for me... I usually have it washed by hand at least once a week... but now my fingers get frost bite... and I dont rust the car wash places much.... guess I'll have to do the self-wash thing.....ugh.

eTiMaGo
12-25-2008, 12:25 PM
What is GTA? All I could find was Grand Theft Auto.

You mean you never found the secret carwash minigame?? :biggrin:

06vitzRS
12-25-2008, 12:49 PM
I wash mine at a drive in wand wash before work. I'll bring her inside the shop and up on a hoist so i can wash underneath and let it drip dry for the day. No frozen locks or doors.

koala
01-17-2009, 10:36 PM
I just take my cars to a wand-wash type place. Never use the foam brush of course. I always go hard with the low pressure pre-soak as it gets most of the dirt off before hitting the paint with the high pressure water.

I also make sure I use the power dryer on anything that I don't want to freeze the second I drive out of the car wash (door handles/windshield washer jets/wiper blades, mirrors, and on my M Coupe I also dry the brakes as they're perforated)

jambo101
01-18-2009, 06:34 AM
Car wash in the winter?=Bad idea as it melts the salt thats up in all those little hard to reach places and melted salt starts getting active again causing rust,also water will accumulate within body panels and when it turns to ice it will expand and cause numerous future rattles and squeaks,also if its cold enough when you drive away all your weather stripping around the doors freezes which could be damaged when opening a door,door locks can freeze up basically locking you out of the car,and power windows can freeze putting risk to the little motors if you try to open a frozen window.On top of all that its expensive to get your car washed only to see it looking just as dirty an hour later.Unless you will see several weeks of dry weather i'd wait till spring.

Demon
01-18-2009, 07:27 AM
every time I wash my car, the next day rains, always...-_-

koala
01-18-2009, 07:34 PM
Car wash in the winter?=Bad idea as it melts the salt thats up in all those little hard to reach places and melted salt starts getting active again causing rust,also water will accumulate within body panels and when it turns to ice it will expand and cause numerous future rattles and squeaks,also if its cold enough when you drive away all your weather stripping around the doors freezes which could be damaged when opening a door,door locks can freeze up basically locking you out of the car,and power windows can freeze putting risk to the little motors if you try to open a frozen window.On top of all that its expensive to get your car washed only to see it looking just as dirty an hour later.Unless you will see several weeks of dry weather i'd wait till spring.

That salt on your car is going to corrode things a lot quicker than the water you use to rinse it off with (and when the temps get above freezing I'd rather have very little salt on my car than a lot of it from a lack of regular washing). And all of the concerns with freezing can be easily avoided by drying the car after washing.

Plus at the end of the day it's just a car. They all rust and get old eventually.

why?
01-18-2009, 07:40 PM
Wash a car? Why? That is what rain is for.

Seriously though, went years without washing any of my cars. Nothing bad ever happened to the paint or finish. And yes, just in case you were wondering, I didn't wax them either, lol.

I think I've washed my Yaris once since I bought it. So for those keeping count, that is 2 years and 7 months, with 1 car wash.

The quality of the stuff used in the factories nowadays makes that type of thing only necessary for show cars.

firemachine69
01-18-2009, 07:46 PM
Either a wand wash or a touchless wash. I ain't gonna break my stuff in -28C weather!

koala
01-18-2009, 09:57 PM
Wash a car? Why? That is what rain is for.

Seriously though, went years without washing any of my cars. Nothing bad ever happened to the paint or finish. And yes, just in case you were wondering, I didn't wax them either, lol.

I think I've washed my Yaris once since I bought it. So for those keeping count, that is 2 years and 7 months, with 1 car wash.

The quality of the stuff used in the factories nowadays makes that type of thing only necessary for show cars.

I think its more about pride of ownership, wanting to have a clean car. The Mazda CX-7 I just turned back in after the lease was done... I washed it only a handful of times in the 2 years I had it. I just didn't have any pride of ownership in that vehicle.

Washing a car can be therapeutic. My girlfriend washes her Yaris more than I wash my BMW... she is really happy to have her own brand new car and wants it looking new.

why?
01-18-2009, 09:59 PM
I think its more about pride of ownership, wanting to have a clean car. The Mazda CX-7 I just turned back in after the lease was done... I washed it only a handful of times in the 2 years I had it. I just didn't have any pride of ownership in that vehicle.

Washing a car can be therapeutic. My girlfriend washes her Yaris more than I wash my BMW... she is really happy to have her own brand new car and wants it looking new.

Well yea, that is a different story entirely. If you like doing it, and want to, then you might as well.

firemachine69
01-19-2009, 12:26 PM
I've seen some cars and trunks look like ghetto rides after only a couple of our winters with the salt all over the road. Seriously, washing is a necessity here, or you'll pay dearly for it.

devinlamothe
02-03-2009, 06:19 PM
I've seen some cars and trunks look like ghetto rides after only a couple of our winters with the salt all over the road. Seriously, washing is a necessity here, or you'll pay dearly for it.

Either that or the pot holes will get you.

BTW good to see another Sudburian Yaris owner on these boards :w00t:

IdaGuy
02-07-2009, 07:46 PM
The quality of the stuff used in the factories nowadays makes that type of thing only necessary for show cars.

What "stuff" are you referring to that makes proper paint care obsolete?

firemachine69
02-07-2009, 10:03 PM
Either that or the pot holes will get you.

BTW good to see another Sudburian Yaris owner on these boards :w00t:



"I'm not drunk officer, I'm dodging potholes!" :biggrin:


Sudbury drivers FTW.


www. sudburyrides .com



Take out the spaces from the above address...

raz1121
02-08-2009, 10:06 PM
all i do for the winter is put 3 layer of Zaino z-2 on there and then wash it everytime global warming kicks in and theres a random 50-60 degree day.

SeaYa
02-08-2009, 10:19 PM
What "stuff" are you referring to that makes proper paint care obsolete?

He may be referring to things like etch resistant clear coat and newer generations of e-coat (electrocoat) that are better quality (even though a few runs through an auto car wash will still leave hairline marks in etch "resistant" clear). Those don't make the car invincible though, and I can't imagine going all winter without washing once or twice....depends how bad your winters are. I made the mistake of going 6 weeks without spraying underneath back in December, just a hectic time, and I'm getting rust all over my exhaust already...only on the 12th payment.:cry: At least I know what my next project is!

At least for safety, spray / clean your lights and windows every now and then.

CTScott
02-08-2009, 10:30 PM
Here's my winter wash technique - Break the snow bank along the driveway with the Xterra, then drive it and the Yaris off the driveway into the snow (to keep the driveway from icing up).

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/ctscott329/Misc%20Yaris/SnowWash.jpg

IdaGuy
02-09-2009, 01:52 PM
I understand paint and clear coat technology has come a long way, even in the past decade. While these advancements make the clear coat resistant to light scratches and some of the elements, there is no reason to believe that responsible paint care is not necessary to maintain a quality paint job.

How much time and money one wants to spend on their vehicle is entirely up to them. Although, considering the OP came in asking a reasonable question about how to take care of his paint, I would expect they are willing to put a little effort into it. Telling someone it's alright to go years or even seasons without taking care of the paint is bad advice.

That said, at the very minimum put a quality coat of wax on the car a couple times a year. Automatic and quarter washes contain harsh soaps that will strip the wax off your vehicle, so I only use the "rinse" setting and spray the body/under carriage clean. Whenever you see fit, wash with a good quality soap that produces lots of suds to carry away debris and contaminants. Use a good waffle weave microfiber towel to dry and keep water spots off the paint.

Doing this will keep your paint looking good but won't take up very much of your time. Good upkeep will make it easier and more rewarding to detail in the summer when you can catch a break in the weather. Do not neglect your paint, as it is expensive to respray and hurts your car's resale.

daf62757
02-22-2009, 04:11 PM
I wash mine once a week at a Mike's car wash. While Mike's isn;t the best...they do get the salt off.

360cubes
02-27-2009, 09:23 PM
Infinity has a new self sealing paint that can "fix itself" from light scratches! It's standard on that new silly looking EX35 crossover based on the G35/37 platform.

Anyway, I wash my vehicles every couple weeks in summer. In winter, I rarely touch them. And if a day is really bad where the wet weather won't subside at all I'll coat my door seals with silicone and wash it at a DIY bay so the doors will open freely the next morning when it's -25 outside.