Got Any Old School Tricks That Still Work?

M

mx5

New member
Will anyone who lives in a very cold snowy area please post how or what they use to take care of their daily driver during the long winter months. Do products like Klasse really stand up to the beating of salt and freezing weather? I have asked this question before but only received a couple of posts from people that seem to be in my situation. Please do not tell me to buy a separate car for the winter. :) People with heated garages need not apply. :)
 
I think a good idea, besides applying a quality sealant, is try to wash you car as often as you can. Don't let the salt and other road junk sit on you car very long. If you can get the junk off your car faster, your sealant will last longer because it won't be attacked by the chemicals in road salt etc.



If my car sits out during the winter I use a car cover. But if it is going to snow or something, make sure water does not get under your cover or your cover could freeze to the paint :( I like the idea of a cover when it snows, that way I can push the snow off the cover and not have to worry about scrathing the paint by pushing the snow off of it.



P.S-- If your car has leather, condition the seats before it gets cold out. The conditioner does not soak in well in cold weather, and leather seats can really take a beating in the winter months.
 
A Klassed car really helps when you wash your car in the freezing cold. I use the warm water two bucket method in my cold cold garage (weekly), but I fill a water jug with warm water from the tub to fill the buckets. The Klasse does protect that good, but sometimes you have to make due in the winter.



I have been known to half wash (don't wash the dirty lower panels cause of scratching, and the roof cause its clean, trunk may be clean) at least once between regular weekend washing. Half washing also involves the hoseless two bucket method, which if you're really carefull you can pull off. soap a mitt and sqeeze the suds all over the panel, use the mitt to clean off the area then rinse it with the other bucket then take the rinse water and squeeze that over your car. It sounds funny, but hey it's cold and there's no other choice short of just leaving it there. (but that's what I do in the winter, get a method that works for you)



The good thing about washing your car in the winter, is that the air is dry so it evaporates wet garages pretty quickly.
 
I don't think any interior components like the blast of heat coming out of your vents along with the cold dry air that hits them the rest of them time. A lot of 303 for the winter. :)
 
klasse will hold up for the winter...I tried it last winter, klassed the whole car (one AIO and one SG) in sept last year the shine is still there until march this year before I redo the whole process...the water is still beading, and the paint is still slick although not as slick as the first I applied it of course..



I live in Wisconsin btw...;)
 
I live in Michigan so it's the exact same climate. I never trust those spray only car washes. They do not seem to remove the salt as well as a cloth car wash.
 
Sorry but I must give my 1 cent worth.



No winter here! Christmas in shorts. Sunroof open windows down. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.



Lived in snow belt once. Never again!



My suggestion buy a beater car for the winter and keep the good ones lock up tight!



:D
 
A lot of the times we end up with some of your rotten weather that blows up from Michigan so I know what you get there in the winter. Last year for the first time I used Meg#20 poly seal with #26 covering it and I thought it worked very well. It was easy to apply with really no maintenance other than washing. I have a heated garage but if I didn't I would be using the local `wash your own' or the touchless wash places. I did all the prep stuff to the car like treat the rubber seals and dash etc, oil the inside of the doors and under carriage etc, replace the mats with the winter ones - the usual whole change of things. This year though I am using Zaino only because I wanted lower overall maintenance of the paint surface year round. I am very pleased with what i have seen so far but without a sheltered/heated area - it might be too late in the year to apply all the Z's associated with this system. And covers they are a pain when they get wet. what happens you get snow on it - you throw it in the garage and it either melts and/or freezes - ever tried to put a froze cover on a car or you you know what happens to a wet cover when put outside in the winter - stiff like a rock - just not idea for our situations where we live. Great if you are parking the car for the season but that's it. That's my experiences - hope it helps. MTS
 
I put my ideas in a thread on this subject a little while ago.

When its above say 45, I wash by hand with the 2 bucket method. I use a heavy cotton glove,inside a heavy rubber glove, and use my chenille mitt like a sponge.

When it's 35 to 45, I have a chenille mop on the extendable pole and I use that with the 2 bucket method. I also bought extra chenille mop heads for the pole and padded the head with more foam padding.

I dry with the Cali blade and a towel if it's almost freezing, or if it's warm enough, with my water bandit and a MF towel.

Of course i'm lucky enough to have a garage, and have found that I can QD down to about 35 degrees without a problem. I remove the QD with MF towels.

When it's real cold and I have to get the salt off, I settle for the lazer car wash.

See if you can find the thread in the archives because some other folks had some more good ideas, also.

I'm sure I've forgotten a lot of info, but this will get you started. Let us know your method, when you get on line this winter, we are all still searching for that foolproof method. Enjoy!
 
I think it's an accepted fact that a sealant such as Klasse or Zaino etc. will give you better protection than a carnauba product over the winter months unless you have facilities to keep fresh coats of carnauba on. Sealants provide coverage much longer and will stand up better to some of the harsh soaps used in the diy car washes.
 
Here's one. I learned this about 20 years ago from a guy who had Harleys.

I asked him how he kept the chrome on his Harleys so bright and new looking.....

Lemon Pledge Furniture Polish! (Aerosol)

P1080655-702934.jpg


I used it for many years. Still do occaisionally! You won't believe how it makes chrome shine!!!:biggrin::Dancing Dot:

You got any Old School Tricks that still work?
 
Luster said:
Here's one. I learned this about 20 years ago from a guy who had Harleys.

I asked him how he kept the chrome on his Harleys so bright and new looking.....

Lemon Pledge Furniture Polish! (Aerosol)

P1080655-702934.jpg


I used it for many years. Still do occaisionally! You won't believe how it makes chrome shine!!!:biggrin::Dancing Dot:

You got any Old School Tricks that still work?
Click to expand...

Doesn't this attrack lots of dust ^ :huh:

broker99 said:
I have heard about guys using brake fluid as tire dressing.
Click to expand...

Hope it doesn't sling onto the paint ^ :scared:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________
When trying to get ketchup out of a fresh bottle either lay it on its side or stick a butter knife up in there :wizard:
 
Re: Lemon Pledge

Flash Gordon said:
Hope it doesn't sling onto the paint ^ :scared:
Click to expand...

You wouldn't believe the number of people that use Lemon Pledge on their bikes stem to stern. They're usally the same ones that use dishwashing detergent for that once a year car wash, Armor All their seats and hand grips and wax their brake rotors. But hey, it LOOKS good!

Yeah, Pledge shines chrome. It doesn't last, attracts grunge and frequently appears smeary in direct sun, IME. Add to the fact that many chrome bits get incredibly hot, whatever you put on it burns off before you turn a wheel. It's generally favored by those with garage queens who trailer their bikes to rallies so they can stand around with Harley-Davidson logos emblazoned from head to toe looking like they rode somewhere. Those of us that actually ride 'em 20 - 30,000 miles a year prefer products designed specifically to polish and protect.

As for the old school thread... a lot of old timers used to give their vehicles a kerosene bath before winter. It removes tar and road crap and the prevailing wisdom is the petroleum gets in the nooks and crannies and lingers and prevents rust. Might be something to this as the guys that swore by it always drove old iron with no rust in the days before anti corrosion manufacturing techniques prevailed. They were also the guys who sprayed their undercarriage with used oil and then drove down dirt roads as a homemade rustproofing. You could smell them driving towards you a block away. ::::shrug::: Whatever works for you...

TL
 
TLMitchell said:
You wouldn't believe the number of people that use Lemon Pledge on their bikes stem to stern. Yeah, Pledge shines chrome. It doesn't last, attracts grunge and frequently appears smeary in direct sun, IME. Add to the fact that many chrome bits get incredibly hot, whatever you put on it burns off before you turn a wheel. It's generally favored by those with garage queens who trailer their bikes to rallies so they can stand around with Harley-Davidson logos emblazoned from head to toe looking like they rode somewhere. Those of us that actually ride 'em 20 - 30,000 miles a year prefer products designed specifically to polish and protect.

As for the old school thread... a lot of old timers used to give their vehicles a kerosene bath before winter. It removes tar and road crap and the prevailing wisdom is the petroleum gets in the nooks and crannies and lingers and prevents rust. Might be something to this as the guys that swore by it always drove old iron with no rust in the days before anti corrosion manufacturing techniques prevailed. They were also the guys who sprayed their undercarriage with used oil and then drove down dirt roads as a homemade rustproofing. You could smell them driving towards you a block away. ::::shrug::: Whatever works for you...

TL
Click to expand...

I always liked Lemon Pledge on my chrome wheels. I applied it every Saturday right before a car show. It does work. I never noticed any streaking and extreme heat wasn't a factor on wheels.

I've seen guys give their engine a kerosene bath, but I hadn't heard of doing that with bikes!

Here's another one... In a pinch, you can use dishwashing liquid as tire dressing. (Not sure about the long term effects!!!:cornut:) When you wash them a couple days later, they'll be very clean!:w00t:
 
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