Hey,

Do you guys have any method of washing your car in winter. Today I tried to clean the G in my insulated garage and failed miserably. I first went to the local carwash and sprayed out my tirewells to get salt + sand out of there, and did a light mist on my rockers. After that I drove back home, parked in the garage.

Poured 1 lid of ONR into 1 Gallon of water and started washing my car with my sheep skin mitt. But the problems began half way through the driver side of my door, the water on the car started to freeze! So I had to keep adding the wash and trying to wipe it as quickly as possible (i.e. under 3 seconds), but each time the water would freeze a sheet before I could do it. I kept trying this method until there was a ice sheet under me, and my waffle weave towel froze onto my car... The Result was a half ice sheeted-dirty vehicle, and the worst thing is the temperatures are only going to be going lower after today. I think this was the same reason why my Lexol didn't work properly. I sprayed some on a sponge and started rubbing it into my seats, but my sponge froze in the process! I added water and tried again, but I did not see any foaming from the Lexol cleaner despite it specifically saying it does that.



So to sum it up, is there anything I can do to wash my car in my garage? Possibly a (cheap) heater that will be efficient for heating a double garage? I have a 1500W heater, but I don't think it will do much. I remember George specifically saying not to use the car wash bays sprayers, but they don't allow people to bucket wash in the bays, so I don't have the method of washing my car there except using their brushes. I was also wanting to clay bar my vehicle and apply Klaise but judging from these conditions is it too late to do anything like that?

 

If you have the money, try investing into a heated garage...

Also, rust proof the car! Best defense against salt.

Prior to winter, you could also apply some good paint sealant. I did this previous winter and it worked pretty well. Just spray off dirt and salt at a car wash and drive home. Be sure to spray thoroughly so the water that freezes up on the car isn't dirt or salt. Summertime came around, the paint was still very close to the condition before winter came.

 

Thanks for the advice, any estimate on how much I can expect to pay, I was looking more at a temporary solution like portable heaters. Only times I really need the garage to be heated is on Saturday mornings so not sure if I would be ready to fork over the money to get the garage heated.

The ironic part is I have Klaise paint sealant sitting right here, ready for me to apply it, too bad my garage is too cold... My local carwash is actually not bad at all, they have a huge fan so right before you pull out, it sucks out all the water from your car. Only thing I hate though is they don't allow bucket washing so I can't make sure my paint doesn't get scratched or apply any sealants/waxes.

Rustproofing would be my natural choice, but seeing how the G is leaving come spring I just want to make sure the paint is looking fine for another 3-4 months. The car has never seen salt or snow before, so I think it will do fine this year with weekly tire well cleaning.

 

Basically, no heat = a no win situation.
I just use the spray wash in winter to rinse the worst off.... 2sec down the road it's getting dirty again anyway.
Just make sure the paint gets sealed b4 winter.

 

+1, a good coat of sealant on the paint and a good wheel sealant help to keep it protected. My car generally looks pretty good through the winter and I just use the DIY spray to get the bad stuff off.
I don't have a garage.

 

A heated garage is one of the worst things for your car during the salty winters. Heat will actually cause your car to rust faster. Just wash the salt off weekly and you should be good.

I've never heard of sealants but that seems like a good idea. Will have to try that next year.

 

i've got a couple of questions...

is the garage door closed?
are you only doing one panel at a time? from you description that's what it sounds like.
are you using warm/hot water from the tap at home? It could probably help prevent it from freezing onto your car. It also keeps the hands warms