Dreading winter washes in Boston!

**Jeff_M** · 06-10-2005, 03:43 PM

I will be moving back to Boston, MA this summer. One of the great things about living in the Pacific Northwest is the ability to do year round car washes by hand. Now that I have my finish nearly blemish free (via my new PC - AWESOME!), I am wondering how i will keep it clean during the winter. Any suggestions?

**Jeff_M** · 06-11-2005, 10:41 AM

Any ideas?

**Ben Kenobi** · 06-11-2005, 10:57 AM

Hi Jeff,

Oh man, you had to mention winter? We just got rid of it!

I know some people use QEW during the winter. Stevet who I had the pleasure of meeting swears by it. He goes to the coin op and rinses the car then does the QEW at home. He reports no damage to his car so I think I`ll be trying that this coming winter.

The touchfree wash I used gave me some new marks and left this horrible wax everywhere.

Good luck!

Paul

**jeff5614** · 06-11-2005, 11:01 AM

Yup, many swear by QEW.

**Intercooled** · 06-11-2005, 11:07 AM

Just frequent washes (at least once a week) using the 2 bucket method and carefull drying technique. Marring and minor swirls are inevitable , but nothing that a light spring detail couldn`t fix up.

**Ben Kenobi** · 06-11-2005, 11:15 AM

Gee must be tropical in NH in the winter Intercooled. I don`t know about you but I`m not standing outside doing the two bucket method in the freezing cold with snow all around. My garage isn`t heated either but I guess QEW in there with a heater going would help.

Brr! I hate winter.

Paul

**magictouch24** · 06-11-2005, 11:32 AM

There are plenty of detail shops that offer hand washes. If you can`t do it in the freezing cold on your own, a detailer is better than a car wash.

**Ben Kenobi** · 06-11-2005, 11:47 AM

True enough, I think Jeff is like most of us in that he doesn`t like other people touching his vehicle. Also I don`t know if I`d trust any of the detailers in my area.

My last thoughts on the subject.

Paul

**Intercooled** · 06-11-2005, 05:41 PM

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi

Gee must be tropical in NH in the winter Intercooled. I don`t know about you but I`m not standing outside doing the two bucket method in the freezing cold with snow all around. My garage isn`t heated either but I guess QEW in there with a heater going would help.

Brr! I hate winter.

Paul

I woudl have to say that I didn`t go more than 2 weeks with out washing outside. We will always get a day thats in the high 30`s where an outside wash is possible. Like I said during the coldest of cold snaps, It woudn`t be much more than 2 weeks without an outside wash.

**rollman** · 06-11-2005, 06:17 PM

Relax and enjoy the summer , worry about winter when it comes .

**Glossmaster** · 06-11-2005, 06:26 PM

I was born in Boston & lived in the Boston area ( Quincy & Rockland ) for 34 years. Moved here to West Texas in 2002 & even though I hate the wicked hot weather in the summers here, I`m loving the fact that I can detail my truck year round. ( no road salt here, either. )

**Steve530** · 06-11-2005, 06:59 PM

How about using one of those "touchless" car washes? The kind with a jets of water and no brushes.

**MorBid** · 06-11-2005, 07:16 PM

There is a chain here in Rochester owned by ClassyCarWash (or something like that) which I found to be the best (car still needed to be wiped down after coming out though.

Probem was that the lines would be half way around the block.

I brought a 170 BTU ReddyHeater (built in thermostat) from Lowes for > 1/2 price when spring started for the garage.

I was doing the QEW two bucket method outside in the snow before that.

**magictouch24** · 06-11-2005, 09:21 PM

Touchless laser washes are horrible. Many of them have a higher concentration wash to compensate for the touchless aspect so that stuff on the outside of the car actually comes off. Because the chemicals are harsher, they are less safe for your paint and strip the wax. I`ve also never seen a touchless car wash that got the whole car clean or dried it properly.

I still wholeheartedly recommend having a detailer wash the car - I know in the Boston area (south of Boston, anyway) there are plenty of professional detailers that offer hand washes (myself included). I also don`t think I`d be opposed to letting someone wash their car in my shop if they still paid me the regular amount.

BTW, BlkTaco05: A few weeks ago you asked me if I knew if a place called Buff n Stuff was still in business in Quincy - I said no at the time, but I was searching the yellow pages the other day and noticed they`re still listed.

**Scottwax** · 06-11-2005, 10:46 PM

Just knowing winter will be back depresses me. I`ve loving these 90+ days we`ve been having along with daylight to nearly 9 PM.

QEW will serve you well in the winter.