klc317 Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 (edited) Since winter is in full force I like to hear about your preservation tactics of your vehicle. There is a good car wash down the street but I prefer to avoid them because they use a big brush that they dip into a bucket of dirty/soapy water to manually scrub the gunk off the back of the car before going through the wash. Of course the wash also has what they call "soft touch" brushes throughout the trip through the wash but it is a big scratchy mess as more and more dirty/salty vehicles go through. You can just hear it beating on your paint the whole way through and makes me cringe! Anyone that has seen pics of my vehicles or knows me knows that I am a cleanliness/perfection fool when it comes to my cars and winter just kills me....lol There is also a no-touch drive through wash the same distance the other way that is just an automated spray off deal. No brushes. I prefer to use that since it seems to not incur the dreaded swirl marks and has a high-pressure underbody wash bar that seems to do OK at rinsing some of the grit off the bottom of the car as you drive in. I always drive as slowly as possible over that until it times out...lol! I know this is not exactly good either since I've heard they recycle their water and blast the used water back onto your car but you've gotta do something when the vehicle is crusted in salt and gunk and it's way too cold to drag out the hose in the driveway. At least too cold to not have the neighbors question your sanity. What are your opinions? Edited January 10, 2010 by klc317 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TnDEdge Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 Stick with the touchless the only thing worse than an idiot with a scrub brush is an idiot with a scrub brush + road grime. As for the recycled water most modern places filter their recycled water before using it again, after all the debris would plug the sprayers if they didn't filter. One thing I have done is uilized a quick detailer right after I get home from the wash. this will take care of any road residue that the touchless may have left. Hope this helps, ohh yea there is one other thing. you could move to southern Cali where the median temp is 72 degreesF lol. Take care and good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klc317 Posted January 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 (edited) Stick with the touchless the only thing worse than an idiot with a scrub brush is an idiot with a scrub brush + road grime. As for the recycled water most modern places filter their recycled water before using it again, after all the debris would plug the sprayers if they didn't filter. One thing I have done is uilized a quick detailer right after I get home from the wash. this will take care of any road residue that the touchless may have left. Hope this helps, ohh yea there is one other thing. you could move to southern Cali where the median temp is 72 degreesF lol. Take care and good luck Trust me, SoCal sounds good this time of year! From late December to late March there is a constant crust of salt and nasty crap on the roads here in Cincinnati. Plus it's just plain cold, cloudy, and dreary....yuk! I'm usually driving my work car (a Chevy HHR) but when I get to ride in the MKX on the weekends the heated seats and dual climate control is a serious perk. Makes riding in the cold weather somewhat more tolerable. Edited January 10, 2010 by klc317 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TnDEdge Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 Trust me, SoCal sounds good this time of year! From late December to late March there is a constant crust of salt and nasty crap on the roads here in Cincinnati. Plus it's just plain cold, cloudy, and dreary....yuk! Yea I grew up in Colorado, they use a chemical called Magnesium Chloride to keep the roads from icing and the spray off tires creates this black slimy film over the entire car. Other than that they use gravel instead of salt /shrug who knows rock chips or salt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOFSTEEL Posted January 11, 2010 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 I had a spigot installed in my garage so I wash the Edge from top to bottom at least once a week. No one washes my cars other than me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klc317 Posted January 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 I had a spigot installed in my garage so I wash the Edge from top to bottom at least once a week. No one washes my cars other than me. If only my garage was equipped with a floor drain.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 11, 2010 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 Yea I grew up in Colorado, they use a chemical called Magnesium Chloride to keep the roads from icing and the spray off tires creates this black slimy film over the entire car. Other than that they use gravel instead of salt /shrug who knows rock chips or salt Magnesium Chloride IS a salt...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOFSTEEL Posted January 11, 2010 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 If only my garage was equipped with a floor drain.... Mine doesn't have a floor drain. Doesn't your garage floor slope downward? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igcitng Posted January 11, 2010 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 I go to Turtle Wax. Not sure how far reaching they are with locations. They have brushes that are a rubbery material that get the gunk off. Have never had a problem, even with my black cars, no scratches. I got it washed today, could not even see out the windows after all of this snow and ice, and it has been too cold to wash it. I should have taken a before picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kempie Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 I used to only wash my black cars by hand or at Quarter washes that had horse hair brushes. Now I go where the price is good because I know that each spring I going to have to break out the buffer and swirl remover compound to put the paint back in condition. Sorta wish I had never cared about the paint/swirles but now I cant stand them. No matter what...A MI winter is going to cause a workout in the Spring. So, you might as well wash any way you want...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgieguy Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Ill usually wait till we get a high 30's low 40's day and wash the grime off myself. If the water wont freeze when it hits the metal, I'm willing to look a little strange to my neighbors and go wash and dry it in the driveway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaak in TO Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Ill usually wait till we get a high 30's low 40's day and wash the grime off myself. If the water wont freeze when it hits the metal, I'm willing to look a little strange to my neighbors and go wash and dry it in the driveway. Touchless car washes with undercarriage spray!!! I my friends shop has room (Independant Porsche shop), I wash mine by hand in a WARM garage. If there are lifts available I also get under the Edge and power wash it .... :happy feet: :happy feet: :happy feet: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Nap Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 Touchless car washes with undercarriage spray!!! I my friends shop has room (Independant Porsche shop), I wash mine by hand in a WARM garage. If there are lifts available I also get under the Edge and power wash it .... :happy feet: :happy feet: :happy feet: I own a mobile detailing biz and although it's in FL, it has been in the 20's at night and 30-40's during the day. I still need to make money so I wear a pair of jersey gloves with a pair of latex gloves on top of those. This keeps the suuuuper cold water off of my hands. I ALWAYS use a clean microfiber rag and fresh bucket of spot-free water, NEVER a brush. If you do not have spot-free water, blow it off with a leaf blower and then use a microfiber to remove excess water. This keeps the "spiderweb" scratches at bay. Touchless washes are ok for knocking the surface dirt off, but do not clean well. However, they are better than the scrub brush guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klc317 Posted January 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 [ Touchless washes are ok for knocking the surface dirt off, but do not clean well. Thats for sure! I have to live with the film until it's warm enough to do a hand wash. However, the touchless does at least give me some peice of mind of knowing that the crust and collected slop/salt from underneath is cleaned out on a regular basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Nap Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 [ Touchless washes are ok for knocking the surface dirt off, but do not clean well. Thats for sure! I have to live with the film until it's warm enough to do a hand wash. However, the touchless does at least give me some peice of mind of knowing that the crust and collected slop/salt from underneath is cleaned out on a regular basis. agreed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klc317 Posted January 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 (edited) Did get up to the mid 50s yesterday and all the snow has melted off so I got out the hose reel and washing stuff and did a hand wash. Rinsed all the salty crap out from underneath, cleaned out the engine compartment and door jambs. Threw on a fresh coat of Rain-X also. Might not stay this way for long but at least it will look good for a day or two. The Meguires NXT is holding up well since I last applied a coat in November. One complaint I do have about the MKX is how hard it is to get the grille clean. All those little squares take a massive amount of time to dry out and get clean. Maybe I'm too picky. Edited January 17, 2010 by klc317 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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