well, I did it

[III]

A couple of days ago I posted a topic which delt with salt on a vehicle for almost two weeks. I watched the 7 day forecast yesterday and it was going to be in the mid 20`s all week. I said forget this. I was hoping for warmer temps, but I really wanted to get that salt off. Just to show all of you just how important a clean car is to me, I washed my two vehicles in 21 degree weather. Am I crazy? My neighbors probably think so. I did everything with the hose and my grout sponge. I did each section separately with running water for about 40 seconds, then used soap and rinsed using the sheeting method. I didn`t dry the sections for two reasons. I was doing two vehicles so I wanted to get this over with kind of quickly. The water would freeze up anyhow after about a minute and a half. Yeah, I guess I could have dried each section right away with my cwb and some towels, but I didn`t. My main concern was getting the salt off. I did however, dry the rubber molding strips inside the door jams. I`ve always washed my vehicles in the winter, but more in temperatures like 25-30.



As with all the topics I start on this forum it`s because I have questions. This thread is no different. I have a couple of questions if you people don`t mind trying to answer.



1. Do you think it would have been just as good if I would have rinsed the vehicles off with just water (no soap) to dissolve the salt? Was using soap a plus?



2. If you people had to pick between leaving salt on your vehicle or washing it, but NOT DRYING it, what would you pick? Would you people have done the samething by not drying it like I did?(some of you might have answered this in my other post)



3. I could have went to one of those spray booths with the power washer wand, but I tend to stay away from them. Do you people think that it`s always better to just do it yourself (like I did)with the hoze instead of using these?

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

I am the owner of a mobile detailing business here in Southern New Jersey. This past week the temp warmed all the way up to about thirty-five degrees. So on wednesday, I decided to give my cars a quick wash.



Well by saturday, it had snowed again and here it is monday and it is currently snowing. And the forcast is for more snow tomorrow and possibly wednesday too.



It looks like the temps may get into the low thirties again later in the week so I`ll probably give the cars another wash.



I really would not wash a car when the temp get too much below freezing. You could be okay if the temps about 28 to 30 degrees on a sunny day. However, when you get down to near 20 the water can begin to freeze so quickly that you could sometimes be doing more harm than good.



Think about it. At those low temps the water begins to turn into tiny particles of ice. And ice is hard. And you are smearing those hard ice particles all over your car. That could be a recipe for those pesky fine scratches. I would choose to leave it alone until the temps get above freezing.



As long as you started the winter with a good coat of wax protection, I really don`t think the salt matters too much.

[III]

Originally posted by mirrorfinishman

Think about it. At those low temps the water begins to turn into tiny particles of ice. And ice is hard. And you are smearing those hard ice particles all over your car. That could be a recipe for those pesky fine scratches. I would choose to leave it alone until the temps get above freezing.



As long as you started the winter with a good coat of wax protection, I really don`t think the salt matters too much. [/B]



I appreciate the comment. However, as stated in my first post, I rinsed each section separately with water until all the ice/salt was gone completely from that particular section. (I did this for the exact reason that you brought up. Nothing got smeared.) I then used soap and then rinsed. After the rinsing I didn`t dry anything, so nothing got smeared while or after the washing. Plus, even if I did create little scratches, come spring they would get buffed out when I detail the vehicle.

[togwt]

~One man’s opinion / observations~



As long as the temp is below freezing the salt/chemicals are basically inert (its only by adding water that salt become acidic) and won`t react easily with the car components. Once the temp gets up above freezing, then is the time to wash the salt and sand etc.



I agree with Frank moving ice around the paint film surface could cause more damage than inert salt.





~Hope this helps~





Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*