How I prep for winter + cleanup afterwards

**heisenberg** · 09-15-2016, 11:03 AM

I made this a very long time ago and wanted to share this(as well as be eligible for the Rupes contest that`s currently going on)

Winter is coming.

This is what it was like last winter in St. Louis. It had been snowing for maybe an hour in this photo and it was heinous. Knowing that, I knew my winter prep had to be better this year. I documented my process for preparing this year.

First you need to get your car clean and the name of the game is going to be protection. That means starting with a clean surface. 2 bucket method with CarPro Reset and my Incredimitt. I like this soap because it rinses very clean and is a fairly tough cleaner. My car is not coated and I still use it.

Washed and a high pressure rinse. It appears my protection is on its last leg because the water is sticking to the car.

At this point you would want to check to see if you need to decontaminate your car and do so if desired... this will extend the life of whatever protection you put on. I did not need to, so I went to my next step, which was determining what protection I had left on my windows and wheels.

Checked on my glass coating during my rinse. Looks good on everything but the windshield, where it has worn off because of wiper usage.

I touched up all the windows with CarPro Reload. I`ll be reapplying the coating to the windshield later in my process. If you don`t have sealant or a coating on your windows, skip this and just apply one at the end of the process. It helps a lot with clearing off snow.

My protection on my wheels was gone too. I reapplied CarPro HydrO2 at this point. The water was sheeting right off. You can use a traditional sealant here, but I use a spray one because my wheels are pain to get into. I spray my wheel wells with HydrO2 as well.

Next go ahead and inspect your paint to see if you want to give it a light polish or use a chemical paint cleaner before focusing on the protection aspect. Here`s what my paint looked like. I really, really hate my black Mazda paint. I`m careful with all my processes and it still finds a way to mar. Fortunately, it`s very light and goes away with a light polish.

I used HD Polish. I like this a lot because it is low dusting, you don`t need a lot, and it has next to zero fillers. Extremely easy to remove as well. CarPro Reflect, Optimum Hyper Polish, and ol` M205 are other great polishes for this step. If you just want to deep clean your paint, go for something like Pinnacle Paint Cleansing lotion. After you`ve gone through the polishing stages, it`s time to protect.

Next come the three kings. These were my favorite protection products at the time. I`ve used other ones I enjoy very much since and you also have the various options of coatings now.

I applied both the Blackfire with red LC pads. You need very little of each, and if you can see a large buildup on your paint you`re probably using too much. The BFWD is the easiest product to remove I`ve ever used. I feel like you could blow on your paint and it would come off. I applied two coats of BFWD.

Next I went around and touched up all my trim with a sealant. Plastic and door trim as well. This stuff lasts extremely long and provides a darkening effect as well. It`s great. A little goes a long way and you can apply with a foam pad.

Applied the glass coating with a foam pad.

Don`t forget about your interior! Give it a good vacuum and switch out your cloth mats for some all-weather rubber ones, then make sure every surface is protected. I use Ultima Interior Guard Plus. Matte appearance and makes surfaces feel soft and supple. I also treat my carpet with 303 Fabric guard and I never get salt staining after winter is over.

303 Aerospace is another popular choice for hard surfaces.

You should be protected throughout the winter. I try to run through self-serve or touchless washes whenever salt/grime buildup becomes too much but this has worked for me every season and looks like it will continue to do so.

During winter here`s how it beads:

Here`s my after winter cleanup process!

Yuck.

Time to bring my products back out.

I pulled all my mats out and put them out. I use a heavy APC concentration to clean them. High pressure rinse, liberal spray, then scrub. They`ll come out looking brand new.

I hosed down all my wheels before working on them first. You can see how much cleaner it is compared to before just from being rinsed. I have them sealed with Hydro2. It`s on its last leg, though.

I have those treated with both Hydro2 and 303 Fabric Guard for the carpeting in the back. They rinse pretty clean after a while.

After just a HP rinse...

Roof still beading BFWD:

Go ahead and perform a two bucket wash, rinsing your mitt and changing your water often. Now you are ready to check to see if you should clay by using the baggie test, and if you want to follow up with a polish, or skip right to your LSP. There`s nothing special to cleaning your car up after winter really, just be a little more cautious since you`ll have a lot more dirt on it.

She still cleans up nicely! Not pictured: ice scraper induced swirls. Tires still undressed. However, you can see that winter appears to be removed from my car and hopefully your LSP holds up to whatever type of winter you get.

I sure do miss my 6 but my TSX is what I prepped for winter last year. It`s ready for round two.