I was wondering what kind of brush do you guys use to remove the snow from the G. I have an old bristle brush who's tips feel a little rough and I don't want to scratch my paint. Would something with rubber work better than a regular brush with bristles???
Thanks.

 

General consensus around most detailing forums is that Infinity clear coat is pretty soft and is practically a magnet for marring and swirls. So I would say that it doesn't matter what brush you use, you are bound to be left with some defects.

Just pick the softest brush you can find. Don't use a lot of pressure, and be extra- careful. Then in the spring get a buffer and polish your paint back to perfection.

 

There shouldn't be a need to brush snow off of the vehicle except for on the glass, which can handle pretty much any brush

 

If you're talking about very light 'dustings' of snow, then fine. But if you're saying that there is no need to brush off snow when there is several inches of accumulation, then this thread is going to take a very harsh turn right now.

SCREW anyone who drives down the road without brushing the snow off of their car.

Firstly, you're endagering yourself because the snow blowing from your hood onto your windshield is impairing your visibility.

Secondly, the snow blowing off of your car is impairing the visibility of the driver behind you.

And thirdly, it is very much illegal to drive with accumulated snow on your car for the reasons mentioned above.

Last year in my town, the police chief had decided to really crack down on this exact thing. Over a two week period (the first 2 or 3 storms of the year) the police in my town handed out SEVERAL HUNDRED warnings to drivers who did not brush the snow off of their car. In a town of 12,000 that is ALOT. The published a message in all the local papers telling citizens that they will be fined in the future.

After that, they started slapping people with tickets. This wasn't a threat, I definitely know people who got tickets. I dont' remember the exact amount but it was definitely over $200.

I'm not saying your town is the same. Our Police chief is a bit of a crusader, but that doesn't change the fact that it IS illegal, and you CAN get a ticket. And regardless of that, it's just a douche-bag thing to do. I can't stand driving behind someone and getting a constant blast of blizzard conditions aimed directly at my windshield.

So ask yourself, which would you rather do?

1) Brush the snow off carefully, and ensure the safety of yourself and other motorists. The worst consequence being that you have to spend half a day in the spring buffing out a few swirl marks.

or

2) Endager yourself, and others on the road by hampering visibility and risk getting a ticket that would cost more than paying a professional detailer to fix the swirl marks in your car anyway.

Sorry for the rant, but I REALLY REALLY REALLY hate it when people do this.

 

I know it sounds stupid but I take a sturdy piece of cardboard and put an old t shirt or sweatshirt on it and brush it off with that. Or a microfiber floor mop.

 

My sleeve of my jacket.

 

You are right, there is no such law here, because we at most get 3-4". IF I had to remove snow from a car(why it isn't in a garage/carport in the first place is a whole other issue), I would use my leaf blower to prevent any marring. No brush, not matter how soft, well prevent the dirt that is already on the car from marring the paint

 

In NJ you are not allowed to drive around with your vehicles covered with snow. The police will stop you and ticket you. A little bit of snow left over on your hood, roof, or trunk is not a big deal, but a couple of inches it is a big deal.

Anyway been researching this topic all day at work found a couple of interesting products which i came across through other forums.
http://snobrumusa.com/
http://www.simplygoodstuff.com/rubber_brooms.htm
http://www.autogeek.net/oxo601.html

Also they have brushes that are made out of boar's hair. But those are more expensive.

The Snow Brum has been recommended in a lot of the forums. But you still have to be careful, and not worry too much about leaving a small layer of snow.

 

Look for brush with bristles "fluffed up" at the tips-looks like bristles were split into finer fibres. Touch it with your hand-you will definitely feel a difference with "non fluffy" brush. That OXO brush seems to have "fluffy" tips
I ALWAYS brush the snow off my car and do not have any problems with scratches when spring comes-even when I brush off some dirt along with snow. Chips from undissolved road salt and ice rain are much bigger concern.

 

I agree, there is no such thing as a marring-free brush. Period.

However, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't still brush the snow off of your car.

For me, I actually LIKE detailing my car. So I don't mind a few swirls and marring. To me, nothing is more satisfying than taping off half of my hood, polishing one side, and then looking at that 50/50 shot of the polished vs. unpolished paint finish.

I'm going to be doing it every single spring, no matter what. So I'm not about to comprimise my safety just so I can avoid something I like doing anyway. Obviously, I'm not reckless. I have a pretty soft brush, and I'll even use a california duster if the snow is light enough. I still have to drive the car around all winter, and I don't want to have an inordinate amount of swirls. But as you said, some marring is just unavoidable.

As for the leaf blower, good luck dude. I have enough trouble on snowy days just bunding myself up, shoveling the stops and walkway, cleaning off my car, and still getting to work on time. I can't imagine pulling out the extension cord, and runnign the leaf blower long enough to clean snow off of my car. Especially if its really wet and heavy. That sounds like it could take hours.

 

I don't know how you guys do it. Its supposed to be right at 32 tonight, and that is super cold for us. Those of you having to deal with wicked cold temps...ice...and all this snow...wow...I just don't know how you guys do it.

 

-32C (-41C with windchill this week) . I clean the snow off my glass; and do a light cut off the top of the snow on my roof (leaving the thin layer in contact with the paint to fly off while I drive). I haven't ran into much issues with marring this way (although one time last winter my dad cleaned the car with a wooden snow bristle and it ended up marring my paint ).

I hate the ice buildup on the inside of glass the worst; I wouldn't mind all the snow if this stupid thing didn't happen.

 

Ice on inside of glass? Man...sometimes I forget how much I love Cali...until I hear stuff like that.

 

Leaving a thin layer in contact with your paint to "fly off while you drive" is still illegal, and simply wrong.

I don't care who you are, or what brush you use, or how much snow you leave on the car. If you have a car that you drive in winter conditions, it's going to get marred. No matter what. End of story. Just deal with it through the cold months and fix it in the spring.

Use a good wax and sealant, use light pressure, keep the car clean with touchless car washes or ONR, and get through it.

Otherwise, keep your car in the garage and buy a used Tercel with 250K miles to drive in the winter.

Oh, and ice on the INSIDE of the glass? That should NOT happen. It means condensation is getting inside your car some how. You should look into that.

 

I say an old softer sweater works great. Usually I don't want to stay outside long enough to take 15 min to clear snow off my car.

As far as the leaf blower goes, that will work maybe 50% of the time, if at all. If you get heavy, wet snow, that leaf blower isn't going to do anything. As for saying just make sure the car is in the garage, that's hard to do when you're at work for 8 hours and it is snowing the entire time We are expecting 7-10 inches today here in Iowa, along with up to 1/2" of ice. Not looking forward to that... and back in North Dakota where I am going for Christmas they just got a foot of snow, along with -20F air temperature (-50F windchill). Oh how I love the north!