Car Wash Withdrawl

[MSM0075]

Well as some of you know the weather has been quite chilin in the tri-state area. I know my '88LX isne't the prettest mustang around but it hurts to drive a car with salt and snow stuck on it so bad that me and my buddie drew flames on the sides. Today I coulden't take not cleaning it any longer, it was about 22 degreese out and I took it to a do it yourself car wash. Since the hoses at my house are frozen and I didne't take it to the car wash because i dont like immagrents ridding my clutch and scratching up my car. So I got there and it was like 2.50 for 4 or 5 minz, i maxed it out to like 7 minutes and went spraying with the powerwasher. I diden't know how to use the thing so the whole time i was just spraying it down with the powerwasher. Time ran out i drove it out of the spot and before you know it was freezing up, i quickly attempted to dry it down. My hands were freezing. I brought it home and I relized I never 'washed' it..So now im pretty upset..Are their any DECENT non-water car washes out there? I know turtle wax makes one but I was a little hesatint on trying it..

Thanks guys!
Mike

 

[rjstaaf]

Do you have a garage or some place where it will be above freezing? There really aren't any "waterless" car wash products out there. You need a liquid to provide lubrication so that your paint doesn't get scratched. There are products that minimize the amount of water necessary but, you are still going to have to use some water.

I am lucky enough to have a garage where I can wash my car when it is too cold outside. I use QEW to wash my car in the garage. You just mix it up in a bucket of water and wash and dry one section at a time. You do not have to have a hose to rinse, it is designed to be wiped off rather than rinsed off.

You can buy it here:
http://www.campingworld.com/browse/products/index.cfm?deptID=2&subOf=12&prodID=1545&src=TSC

You can find more info on it at autopia.org, just search for QEW.

 

[Ron Jeremy]

I was doing some touchup paint work on my Mustang earlier this week outside in the cold and I had to wash down the areas where I was going to apply the touchup paint. Let me tell you. It was below freezing out and I was using HOT water and a very soft paper towel from a large plastic container to wipe down the dirt. Every time I applied the hot water with the paper towel I would have to wipe down the small area where I needed to do the touchup work quickly before the water would freeze. It's really very hard to do anything to protect our Mustangs during the wintertime in the subzero cold weather. I was lucky because I was able to finish touching up the small areas that needed some extra paintwork before the snowstorm. I didn't drive my Mustang for one day in order to let the touchup paint dry well.

 

[FordStang]

Dont think it is to good to Use touch up paint or any kind of paint in Below freezing...just my 02

 

[KingDiamond]

Why not just go through an automatic car wash? It costs about $5.50 here and it works pretty good. When you exit the car wash after the blowers, a guy dries off any extra water with a towel. Sure I might be getting swirls but I'll fix that in the spring and it's better than the salt killing the paint and rusting the underside. The only problem is that on some days the lines for the auto car wash are so long it's not even worth it. I tried the DIY wash method a month ago and it was probably 20 degrees out, and I pulled out of the stall after washing the car, and the guy after me started washing his car while I was drying mine and all of the mist came over and got my car all wet again!

 

[dhjones]

I never use an automatic car wash that have the automated brushes or straps. Those thing keep dirt and debris and then really scratch the finish. I will use a brushless to wash off salt and such. But you still have to wipe it down to remove the film that stays on.