road salt question

OneQuickGT1 said:
Well, it's hard to avoid salt in the midwest, but when I do get it on the car, I try to take it to a coin op if I can't do a QEW or whatever. Bad part is, it's snowing here today and I have a car that simply has a dealer coat of wax on it. I need to do it BADLY!
Click to expand...



I am in CA this week and I know my wife is driving my car in the snow. :cry: Good think I put those 4 layers of SG on last month. :2thumbs:
 
AndyH_STi said:
I do this in the evening or morning after driving in the snow. I fill a watering can with luke-warm water and "rinse" the salt off the lower 1/2 of my car. Certainly not as good as a proper wash, but it does rinse the bulk of the salt off of the finish and makes me feel a little bit better (I hate the thought of salt sitting on my car's finish for an extended period of time). My neighbors probably think I'm nuts to "water" my car, but I don't care.
Click to expand...





Wouldn' t that be more dangerous regarding that when you "water" your car you fill the tiny holes and scratches with water and when it freezes, the expanding water actually widens those holes / scratches, promoting them into cracks ?? :scared:

Just thinking... :nervous:
 
Astral said:
BTW, how do you all wash the underbody at the coin-op washes? My car is pretty low to the ground... pretty much just try to get the handle to the floor and shoot the water up into the underbody and hope for the best?
Click to expand...



Yep. My car is pretty low also and that's what I do - I normally shove the wand up under from the front, back, and then through the wheel wells. I don't really worry too much about salt on the underside since I've got a coating, but still - the less salt the better.
 
Murat said:
Wouldn' t that be more dangerous regarding that when you "water" your car you fill the tiny holes and scratches with water and when it freezes, the expanding water actually widens those holes / scratches, promoting them into cracks ?? :scared:

Just thinking... :nervous:
Click to expand...

*shrug* no idea, never had a problem with this method over the last 6-8 years or so. I try to do it when temps are as close to freezing (or above) as possible. I don't think I'd do it with temps below 20F or so.
 
As a side note to salt damage, a mechanical design magazine article states that the new liquid calcium-salt solutions being used in many northern states are extremely corrosive to all vehicles. So much so because of their wicking properties that they get into structural crevices and cause havoc more so than common rock salt. Commerical truck makers are having to use more "exotic" (IE expensive) stainless steels and materials to combat this new challenge. However, the biggest problem is to the highway infrastructure (bridges, overpasses, and concrete roadways) that are deteriorating a much faster rate than before.

We all want safer roads in the winter, but we will paying for it in many ways in the future. JMTCW.
 
In Illinois they use an additive called sodium chloride....sometimes it is premixed with the salt at delivery (thats the "blue" salt you see in the trucks. Other times the plows here have an additive tank attached to the truck and it is mixed with the salt as it is put down on the road. Basically it helps the salt to keep melting ice/snow after the temps drop below the point where normal salt would stop working.



And as said above...it does bad things to polished (uncoated) aluminum and other metals. I guess thats how we pay to have good driving conditions though!!
 
chaotik said:
In Illinois they use an additive called sodium chloride....
Click to expand...





Sodium chloride (NaCl) is a salt. It's the same salt that you use in your kitchen. NaCl is effective for melting salt down to about 15*F. Any molecule that dissolves in salt will add ions to the salt, therefore reducing it's freezing point (and increasing boiling point...see what happens when you add salt-rich macaroni to the boiling water - it stops boiling!).



The additive you speak of may be calcium chloride (CaCl2), which is more effective at lowering freezing point because it dissociates into 3 ions (Ca + Cl + Cl) rather than just two with NaCl (Na + Cl). More solutes (ions) in the water allows for a lower freezing point.



Whatever the freezing point is, that's the bottom of the range where the salt can effectively melt ice.
 
I just washed the H2 and noticed that some of the chrome billet pieces i put on have some small pit marks in them. :furious:

I just put them on in July. This is my forst wash in about 3 weeks. Since then we have gotten snow and salt. Everything looked good before the salt!!! I hope that this winter doesn't destroy them. :hairpull
 
The met report says it will start snowing tomorrow... :nervous: of course the "shakers" started parking at the "pockets" at the roadsides they are designated to standby for the worst of the blizzard...



They will wait there until the blizzard hits so they can start showering our cars with the rock hard slush to chip our paintwork and help our cars' undersides rot quicker than ever... :angry
 
do you guys think i should apply another layer of ex-p before i head to the snow? i applied one coat on last week.
 
foxtrapper said:
Heck no!

That's the reason salt is put on the roads in the first place. It's very reactive, melting the ice. Even at sub-zero temperatures where the ice is not melted salt is reacting with metals. The chemical reaction is not temperature controlled.
Click to expand...



Its not temperature control in itself but is controlled by the presense of moisture and the colder it gets the less moisture available.



we have had temperatures in the teens for a couple weeks now and the roads have been snow covers and no slop. In the last day or so it made it up in the low twentys and the salt that was on the roads is now starting to melt the snow/ice on them.
 
Intercooled said:
I just washed the H2 and noticed that some of the chrome billet pieces i put on have some small pit marks in them. :furious:

I just put them on in July. This is my forst wash in about 3 weeks. Since then we have gotten snow and salt. Everything looked good before the salt!!! I hope that this winter doesn't destroy them. :hairpull
Click to expand...



The salt will totally mess up a lot of billet stuff .. especually if its not clear coated and is aluminum.
 
kompressornsc said:
Here's a new one on me. Found this on indystar.com:







The Indiana Department of Transportation has 1,100 salt trucks and snow plows across the state – including 57 in Marion County, said INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield.



Each truck has four tons of wet salt and is responsible for specific routes.



"We found the wet salt sticks better to the highways,'' Wingfield said. The city of Indianapolis uses a mixture of slat and molasses for the same reason.



---



Now, I'm assuming they meant 'salt', but I dunno about the second ingredient :confused:
Click to expand...

I wish they had just salt in PA! They use anti-skid material. It's actually small bits of limestone they mix with the salt. It's terrible on vehicles and causes a lot of chipped paint and windshields. I've tried emailing and asking PennDot administrators to eliminate it from their mix but they refuse. Very frustrating!!!
 
As much as I'm concerned about salt & ice on the paint, I can prepare for that as best as I can with a sealant (SG) & carnauba (#476) and wand wash frequently and bucket wash when I can.



I'm more concerned with the liquid salt solution that lays in corrosive puddles waiting to coat the undercarriage & get splashed forcefully into every nook & cranny. Can't do much about that & you can very easily end-up with th e best paint on the block and a rotted-out subframe.
 
^^^

agreed. i just gave my car 2 coats of sealants and 1 layer of wax. i think im good as far as the paint goes. i hope.



now im worried about the undercarriage. i cant really do anything but spray it with water as soon as i get back home.
 
Well, 6 coats of Zaino in July, followed by MULTIPLE applications of various carnaubas since then has got me feeling pretty good about the protection on the WRX. And AIO+SG on the wheels, of course.



I've got the best protection for the S2000, though - Washed, Waxed and Covered in the garage until spring :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top