holy crap!

tensors22288 · 02-28-06, 12:46

well all of us northeasters know how bad a car looks covered in that crappy salt so i decided to give my SUV a nice wash outside. well i started with the hosing down which took me about 20 minutes to get all the salt off, and my fingers were freezing so figured they'd thaw out in the warm soapy wash water. i washed the whole car and before i dried it i spray the whole car down (thats just something i do to get anything off and to make sure no drops of water dry before i get to them) so i squeegee (spelling) the windows and by the time i get to the side thats not in the sun, ALL of the water was frozen on!! i couldnt believe it. it literally froze in 3 minutes. so its in my garage now defrosting so i can get the rest off lol. this happen to anyone else??? im in jersey an my temps reading 28 with about 15 after windchill

wannafbody · 02-28-06, 01:21

never traditionally wash below 32 degrees- its freezing. You can end up with dirt trapped between the paint and forming ice. Would you wash your car with an icecube? Adding antifreeze to your wash water would solve the problem

Beach15 · 02-28-06, 02:47

Yeah...regardless of how bad it looks, it's usually best to forget about washing until it is at least over freezing.

I tried, back in January, when it was right at the 32 degree mark and very windy, to take a bucket of hot water and a rag, and then ring it out until just damp to wipe down my one Cadillac to get some loose dust/dirt off it had from sitting in the drive...worked for the first couple of panels, then just started freezing on the surface. But, since it was only a barely damp rag, there wasn't a whole lot to freeze...just looked like morning frost.

The moral of all that? Forget trying to wash when it's that cold out...you'll just make more of an issue

jchetty · 02-28-06, 03:26

well lets just i got the bright idea to wash my out one of the self serves when it was low 30's

: and lets just say it didnt take 3 minutes to freeze..more like flash froze

then lets just say i couldnt open my door

...when i finally did open it i had to scrape all the windows

and oh yeah this was the rinse phase..

Neothin · 02-28-06, 05:12

if you have access to a garage, you could always try to use QEW. Maxy just did a nice writeup recently of his QEW technique. Check it out sometime

jchetty · 02-28-06, 05:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neothin

if you have access to a garage, you could always try to use QEW. Maxy just did a nice writeup recently of his QEW technique. Check it out sometime

that's what i was going to do..but i like to get most of the dirt b4 qew.my car was that dirty...but yeah..nj winters suck

Neothin · 02-28-06, 05:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by jchetty

winters suck

I wouldn't know

Just throwing a question out there to QEW users... How much marring are you getting from QEW washing? Even using a full foam gun routine, I'm still getting a few swirls here and there. I just don't see how QEW solution provides enough lubrication to the dirt to prevent them from marring the paint.

jchetty · 02-28-06, 05:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neothin

I wouldn't know

Just throwing a question out there to QEW users... How much marring are you getting from QEW washing? Even using a full foam gun routine, I'm still getting a few swirls here and there. I just don't see how QEW solution provides enough lubrication to the dirt to prevent them from marring the paint.

i dont get much but then again i have a white car

i also use a spray bottle filled with water and prewet each panel

daveb · 02-28-06, 05:37

Welcome to the coldness! Mucho colder here

I always dry the non-sunny side first.

tensors22288 · 02-28-06, 08:55

i do have a garage but not any QEW. ive ready about it an i can see how it would be very handy in some cases, but i have chrome wheels and i honestly just need to hose ALL that **** off and take some cleaner to it. especially the inside because the salt is causing some serious problems there

and im pretty sure i know what exactly QEW is an it just seems alot more time consuming. Sure it may eliminate the cold and all, but i had SOOO much salt on there it seemed like only a hose would take care of it.

titsataki · 03-01-06, 10:50

QEW works quite well in the garage. It is faster than the regular wash and you can use a regular wash mitt or a MF towel. I keep them quite wet and follow/finish drying with with either another plusher MF towel or even WW drying towel. By the way I use two buckets just like regular wash(filled with warm water if you want to). Follow through with some QD (425 or something) and the car looked very nice. Did I say it rained hard then next 2 days?

Cheers

Nick

White95Max · 03-01-06, 11:22

Is this salty enough for you?

We often go for many weeks without seeing one day above freezing. I prefer not to leave my car covered with all the road crap for that long, so QEW is a total lifesaver to me.

I tried washing the Maxima with the hose once, when it was below freezing. It doesn't take long for it to freeze, and it looks worse covered in ice than it does with the dirt/salt on it. Leave it alone unless you are washing one panel at a time with QEW.

Neo - the polymers in QEW and QD encapsulate the dirt particles on the paint, breaking their contact with the paint. This is also what causes them to fall to the bottom of the rinse bucket faster. Many of the particles are so small that they would take a VERY long time to settle out on their own. The polymers bond with the dirt particles, and increase their density in the rinse bucket. The same process is used in wastewater treatment plants to remove the dead bacterial cells, which would take far more time to naturally settle out than could ever be allowed.