Winterizing a car?

[Focusedonsound]

This winter the Mustang will be put into hibernation as I will be getting a second beater car. The Mustang will be kept in a fairly climate controled attached garage and I have some questions and thoughts which hopefully some of you can give me some help/ suggestions.

I plan on taking off the wheels and keeping the car on jack stands (I have after market sub-frame conectors so this is not a problem) This will also give me the opertunity to fully detail the wheel wells, wheels, and surronding areas.

Is there any Exterior paint pre-prep that I should do?

Also on my leather interior being that it will have time to sit I was thinking of doing some type of deep cleaning and following up with a heavy coat of leather conditioner. (thinking this will not only keep the leather moist but perhaps even help soften the leather even more!)

I also have some additional projects that I will be doing on it throught the winter of which all of the interior will be coming out. So I plan on scrubbing down all of the interior trim panels and then re dressing them before re-installing them to be sure to get full/even coverage. Is there anything else I should do for added protection to these panels?

The convertible roof? Being that it will be indoors all winter it will not be getting wet/ no sun ect. Is there anything that I should put on it to keep the vinal wet (moist if you will as to not dry out)/ protect it! Same with all the rubber around the doors/ trunk.

thanks in advance.... I am trying to put together some what of a check list of things I will need to do for the winter to the car.

[brwill2004]

As for the leather, treat it with leatherique products. They are a bit on the expensive side, however, if you want to soften the leather, this is the stuff to use.

[shotime]

I wouldn`t take the wheels off it and jack it up. It`s not good for the shocks to be fully extended for long periods of time, which is why when you buy them they`re sold compressed. I`d go to some car dealerships and try to find a set of junk tires to put on. Put some gas stabilizer in with a full tank of gas, a couple moth balls inside, cover it and you should be all set. There`s no need to go crazy detailing it.

[Focusedonsound]

Well my goal was to do all the detailing that I hate doing all of the other times IE: the wheel wells!

I also figured that being that I don`t have to rush to do anything I would be able to do all of these things right... like a full engine detail.

I wasn`t going do do this before I put it away... i thought i would take this opertuntiy to give it the million dollar detail if you know what im saying

[G35stilez]

Make sure the car is freshly sealed with EX or EX-P.

The interior should be cleaned thoroughly and everything protected well. 303 or Natural look on everything and some leather conditioner on the seats. This may need to be repeated sometime over the winter depending on how dry it is (some places get bloody nose dry).

The wheel wells are up to you. I like using Simple Green and/or TOL`s Wheel Wash with some brushes to agitate it clean. Then 1 - 2 coats of dressing. Make sure you get all the suspension rubber components too.

Let me know if I missed anything. :)

[Focusedonsound]

Thanks GSRstilez,

Thats exactly what im looking for!

I figure that being that the car will just be sitting there It would be best to utilize this time for doing the deep cleaning the car really neads.

specificly on the leather interior being that the seats will be coming out of the car for another project that I will be working on I was thinking of using a soft bristled brush to do a scrub on the seats! What kind of solution should I use for doing this? Would this be a bad thing to do?

With the leather conditioner I was thinking of applying a thin coat of Lexol leather conditioner and instead of rubbing it in..would it be ok for the leather to naturally absorb the conditioner and then go back 1-2 days later and remove the excess product?

I also was wondering about the door hinges, trunk and hood hinges. I figured I would just add a little more grease these areas a little more than usual?

Most of all the roof is my big concern! Due to it sitting and not moving I am afraid of dry rot, cracking ect. Again would it be ok to put a heavy coat of 303 on the roof and allow the vinal to absorb the product naturaly? Is there something better that will help moisten the vinal if you will?

[dr_detail]

For storage, as shotime said, it`s not a good idea to have the shocks fully unloaded. If you jack it up, invest in two sets of stands, one for the frame, one for the a-arms/axles. Jack it up, put them under the frame, then remove the tires, and with the tire off, load the springs with the jack and put a stand under them. If it`s gonna sit for an extended period, and you do not plan to fire it up and idle for 30 minutes every other week, you might consider removing the plugs, putting a few squirts of WD40 in each cylinder, then replace them. Another area that can cause some problems is in the carburetor -- stale fuel can easily turn to varnish.

For the wheel wells, I like to clean them thoroughly then spray with flat black taking care to mask off or remove plastic parts and things I don`t want painted. Once dry, a coat of dressing will shine it up.

I don`t think dry rot will be a problem for one winter, then again I live in So-CAL.

For the leather, I think Hide Food is a better treatment than Lexol for long term storage. Clean them first, then apply as directed.

A good carcover might not be a bad investment either. Give it a good detail, roll the windows down a crack and cover.

I know there are more things and as winter approaches, more will be revealed.

[G35stilez]

I wouldn`t touch the seats with a brush. Just use a Water:Woolite solution (6:1) in a spray bottle with a MF to clean. Repeat if necessary.

I usually let the conditioner absorb in...1-2 days and you will see almost no product. Some may disagree, but I believe this method works pretty well in the long run.

I wouldn`t worry too much about grease in the jams. This is the absolute optimal condition for them. Snow, sleet, and salt would be killing them, not a hot garage :D

I would do like 2 coats of 303 - 1 day apart on the roof to be safe.

Good Luck.