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Finally bought a new car of myself this past spring…first one in over 20 years and want to try keeping it look new as long as possible. Just concerned that my regular hand- wash, wax, detail routine is not going to be possible to continue over the winter months due to the cold temps in NE.

I see a number of folks use waterless products now to clean their cars, how does this stuff work with all of the sand, salt, etc. that is found on the roads over the winter? Is one product better than another?

Also, I typically keep my car garaged at home but when I come out from work and find a bunch of snow on my car what can I use to get it off without scratching/marring the paint?

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If you are going to drive your car in the winter then you WILL do damage to the paint. There is no way around it. You can't drive 60 mph through salt spray and not get swirls in the paint. And you can't wash it off, whether it be waterless or not, without scuffing the paint some. It won't be damage like missing paint or anything like that, but anything that leaves marks when you are done is considered damage.

 

When washing your car in the winter the biggest thing you need to remember is that there is a ton of abrasive material on the surface that needs to get loosened up first. So you either need to soak it first so it can come off easier, or use a really slippery soap and be very gentle when you scrub. Honestly, the only time I would use one of those waterless wash products would be for summer washing when there isn't salt all over my car. In the winter it just isn't going to get clean without a brush. So with that being said, I expect there to be a fair amount of damage that will need to be polished off in the Spring. As long as you accept that your car is going to get scratched up a little in the winter and you'll be able to fix that when it warms up, then you'll be fine. Otherwise you'll go nuts thinking about it. It is not possible to avoid marring or scuffing the paint on a daily driver if you have to wash it in the winter regardless of the product you use.

 

My best tip is to wash the car on a day when it is warm enough that the stuff all over your car has been sprayed with slush all day. If you wash it on a day where it is dried and crusty then you'll do more damage. Wash it when the weather has already helped out by softening up the crusty stuff for you a little bit and you'll do far less damage.

 

As far as getting the snow off your car after work, all I can tell you there is that anything that drags across your paint has the potential for scratching it. Put a good sealant on it before the winter begins and that will help things slide off without freezing to the paint. That helps a ton. Avoid making contact with the paint with anything and you'll do well. If you do have to make contact with the paint, just be very gentle and remember that there isn't anything more fragile than Subaru paint. You can scrape it up pretty easily. Brush off what you can, but leave maybe the last little bit for the wind to blow off as you drive away. Or just be really careful with a soft brush and see what you can do. I've got a great brush from OXO that I love. It does a great job of getting the snow off without scratching up the paint too much. But since I know there are going to be scratches from washing it and getting the salt off, I don't worry too much about it. I accept that I've got a couple hours of polishing to do in April to restore the car after a nasty winter.

_________________________________________

“Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.”

O C D E T A I L S . C O M

OCDETAILS BLOG

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I am so glad you responded to this string I was hoping to get your insight! I completely understand what you are saying, just was trying to figure out which would have the least amount of impact on the paint....using a car wash (can't beleive I am saying this) or perhaps doing using once of those self serve places to powerwash the heavy stuff of and then using a waterless process at home to finish things off.

 

Regarding the snow brush I have one of those old wooden handled ones with the red brissles that I have used on my last Subaru as well as my wifes Odyssey but was wondering if there might be something better on the market?

 

Guess in another couple of weeks I will hit the car & wheels with another coat of Collinite, and RainX the windows and hope for the best!

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My family lives up in Bridgeport, CT, so I know exactly the kind of winters you have to deal with. A couple years ago I sent them all a couple gifts just based on my experience. I'm not trying to pimp product here or anything, but if you want to know what I use and what I sent to my family, then here ya go.

 

The Ice Master Scraper I think you can find my review on that somewhere around here. I absolutely love that thing. I actually tracked down the inventor and sent him mine to have him sign it. lol It is the most amazing ice scraper I have ever ever ever used, and trust me... I've used a lot of them. If I had the capital then I would buy fifty of them and sell them to people in parking lots that I see trying to get ice off their windows with CD cases and credit cards. lol

 

For a snow brush I have two of these: OXO Snow Brush I've got a short one in my car and my wife has the extendable handle in our Odyssey. (Best damn van on the planet) It does the trick without filling your pockets up with snow and it is ridiculously durable. I've had mine for at least four or five years now and it is still going strong. Very good brush.

 

There are a couple other products for removing extreme amounts of snow. I haven't done the reviews on video that I'd like to, but I did do a couple for snow stuff.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cxZv4XhLcw&feature=share&list=UU56aulJBvRW0IkiKINh8zvg]SnowMover from Autogeek.net - YouTube[/ame]

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1Q04qvPDZs&feature=share&list=UU56aulJBvRW0IkiKINh8zvg]Ice Master Ice Scraper - YouTube[/ame]

 

I don't know that the snow dozer thing is for everybody, but if you get buried often, then it could definitely do the trick. If nothing else then it is more compact than a sno brum (or however they spelled it wrong) and definitely more durable. It was designed for heavy wet snow areas like the NE or central states. We don't quite get that kind of thing out here in Utah where it is really dry powder most of the time.

 

Anyway, definitely take a look at that OXO brush and the Ice Master if you are looking for a couple great snow removal tools. I haven't seen anything better.

_________________________________________

“Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.”

O C D E T A I L S . C O M

OCDETAILS BLOG

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