thank goodness it never gets this cold over here in cali! 
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=302600
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=302600
A little TOO cold to wash the car
- Thread starter Neb
- Start date
I once washed my Chevelle in 25 degree weather (during that stretch in Dallas when we had 10 days straight of sub freezing temperatures in 1983). The water at the car wash was heated, but my hands were like ice when I finished. I used the spot free rinse and driving the car blew off the rest of the water, so there was actually very little ice on my car.
Well it barely cracked 20 degrees in Cleveland yesterday, and I washed my car (I MUST be an Autopian, lol). Here's what I did:
Went to the drive in do it yourself wash bay and used the rinse cycle only to rinse off all the caked on salt and rinse the undercarriage (this was hard to do because the concrete in the bay was covered in ice; it was a wonder I didn't slip and fall on my ***).
Then parked the Passat on a very sunny, sloped driveway (where it was about 24 degrees) and let the sun melt any ice on the car. While that was happening I filled two wash buckets in the house - one with water only and the other with ProtectAll Quick and Easy Wash.
Then I washed the car 1 panel at a time (drying it immediately with a waffle weave MF towel). I was amazed at how well this stuff works, you don't have to rinse it at all. Afterwards I went inside to warm my feet up awhile. I layed my wet mf towels and sheepskin mitts over the back of a patio chair in the garage. When I went back out to wash the wheels the towels were stiff as a board because it was so damn cold!
My hands stayed warm the entire time because the water I used was warm (you could see the steam rising out of it). My feet got cold because I guess some of the water I used dripped onto them while I was working. The only time my hands were nearly frostbitten was when I washed the wheels and wheel wells! The temperature had started to fall again it was about 17 degrees when I finished the wheels!
The only thing I didn't wash were my floormats, but I'll bring them INSIDE to wash them today!
The QEW is a great way to wash the car in the winter. I was getting tired of paying 10 bucks to wash it in the touchless car wash (where they don't really get clean enough) every week! The bottle of QEW was 7 bucks at Camping World (I only live about 10 miles from their store).
Crazy Clevelander or True Autopian? You Decide!!!
Went to the drive in do it yourself wash bay and used the rinse cycle only to rinse off all the caked on salt and rinse the undercarriage (this was hard to do because the concrete in the bay was covered in ice; it was a wonder I didn't slip and fall on my ***).
Then parked the Passat on a very sunny, sloped driveway (where it was about 24 degrees) and let the sun melt any ice on the car. While that was happening I filled two wash buckets in the house - one with water only and the other with ProtectAll Quick and Easy Wash.
Then I washed the car 1 panel at a time (drying it immediately with a waffle weave MF towel). I was amazed at how well this stuff works, you don't have to rinse it at all. Afterwards I went inside to warm my feet up awhile. I layed my wet mf towels and sheepskin mitts over the back of a patio chair in the garage. When I went back out to wash the wheels the towels were stiff as a board because it was so damn cold!
My hands stayed warm the entire time because the water I used was warm (you could see the steam rising out of it). My feet got cold because I guess some of the water I used dripped onto them while I was working. The only time my hands were nearly frostbitten was when I washed the wheels and wheel wells! The temperature had started to fall again it was about 17 degrees when I finished the wheels!
The only thing I didn't wash were my floormats, but I'll bring them INSIDE to wash them today!
The QEW is a great way to wash the car in the winter. I was getting tired of paying 10 bucks to wash it in the touchless car wash (where they don't really get clean enough) every week! The bottle of QEW was 7 bucks at Camping World (I only live about 10 miles from their store).
Crazy Clevelander or True Autopian? You Decide!!!
There's little issue washing the car when it's in the high teens - mid 20's if the sun's out. Make sure you're ready to pull into the garage before the sun goes behind the clouds or go down for the day. I washed the Rover and the Benz this am, never got above 25. No issues at all...
imported_dookiebob
New member
I would like to say that this WRX owner is not indicative of WRX owners as a whole 