What do you do when it's too cold to wash?

[Jean-Claude]

Funny story...
One time I was washing this guy's car prepping it for a full detail on a really really cold morning here in Atlanta. His driveway was sloped downward and that's where I was washing. No joke, the rear half of the car had water freezing before I could dry it and the front didn't freeze one bit. The car sat directly between freezing and non-freezing weather.

Even with the right clothing and gear I was freezing that day. It SUCKED.

[vanbmw]

Originally Posted by Lester

I once watched a woman wash her car with the window squeegie at a gas station. Using the sponge side first (with the nylon bug screen), followed by a wipe down with the rubber side. Using the dirty washer bucket fluid. Nice!

That's a good one! Imagine the scratches it would put in the paint.

[thez99]

Sorry but I laugh at all you crazy fucks who call to "man up" n just wash the car anyways in the freezing cold sleet n snow weather.

Fuck
That

If anything, just save some quarters and visit a self pressure wash spray place once every week or every other and put like 3 bucks worth of quarteres in, keep the nozzle close to the paint, go slow, get all the shit from underneath the car and ur done. If you're really OCD, bring a silicone squeegy along to squeeg the windows after ur done.

Other than that, do a decent wash and good wax before the shit really starts to hit the fan and your paint wont be in too bad condition. This is what ive done for many seasons now in the NE winters. Then if I feel it needs it, I take it to my local detailing guy and have him do a good polish, etc. job after the snow is all done with. ANd thats it, no freezing ur ass off every week washin ur car outside like a shmo or "delicately" washing it in ur garage tryin ur best not to get any walls or ceiling wet which is pointless. Go to the self sprays like I said, blast all the salt n shit off ur paint, underbody, wheels, etc. and thats that.

We arent driving Lambo's in 3 feet of snow here or anything, and if we were im sure we'd all have private indoor garage washers anyhow.

[new128]

What does this mean, from previous post - "Sucks for us guys with custom wheels. Drive thru wash is not an option". Exactly what is your definition of "custom wheels" and why can't you go to a car wash with them. My previous car has the stock alloy wheels - don't know if these count as "custom wheels" but, in 8 years, they have never been damaged by a car wash.

I understand that you guys want to keep your cars looking great, but believe it or not, the paint is not going to peel off if you go through a car wash. (Car washes and paint really have improved over the years. Imagine how long it would take for car washes to go out of business if they were damaging wheels and paint. "Regular people" don't want their cars damaged either and use car washes all the time.)

Have been using "brushless" car washes forever. When I got my 128, my old 2004 RSX went to my wife. It has been going through car washes, in winter, since new. Its never been damaged by a car wash and it still looks like it just came off the show-room floor.

OK, I'm ready for all the non-car wash fanatic responses - I can take it.

[texasmojo]

Originally Posted by new128

What does this mean, from previous post - "Sucks for us guys with custom wheels. Drive thru wash is not an option". Exactly what is your definition of "custom wheels" and why can't you go to a car wash with them. My previous car has the stock alloy wheels - don't know if these count as "custom wheels" but, in 8 years, they have never been damaged by a car wash.

I understand that you guys want to keep your cars looking great, but believe it or not, the paint is not going to peel off if you go through a car wash. (Car washes and paint really have improved over the years. Imagine how long it would take for car washes to go out of business if they were damaging wheels and paint. "Regular people" don't want their cars damaged either and use car washes all the time.)

Have been using "brushless" car washes forever. When I got my 128, my old 2004 RSX went to my wife. It has been going through car washes, in winter, since new. Its never been damaged by a car wash and it still looks like it just came off the show-room floor.

OK, I'm ready for all the non-car wash fanatic responses - I can take it.

My tires are 225/35/19 on aftermarket wheels. Very low profile once you see in person. The average rail height in the atoumatic car wash is about 4 inches tall and is all metal. The lip of my rim is exactly 1 3/4 inches off the ground.
I also had a lincoln truck with 24x10 inch rims. I tried going thru a carwash rail and ended up with a dent on the rim because they were too wide for the rail.

[new128]

I understand your pain.
But, in defense of car washes, your example is far from the normal wheel setup that goes through a car wash. In your case, I can understand your reluctance to go through a car wash.

As with any equipment, the design is for the "standard". Most tires stick out beyond the wheels and the tires touch the rails, not the wheels. Otherwise all wheels would be getting damaged and car washes would be out of business.

[thez99]

I think i can solve your problem!

Dont go thru automatic car washes you dunce!!

They are shit to begin with, any kind of auto wash with the brushes is TERRIBLE for your paint. And the ones that are touchless are way too expensive and dont even cover your car as much as putting 2 bucks worth of quarters in a DIY spray wash place.

Just get smart, no need to stand out in the fridged cold hand washing the car, nor is there any reason to pay $6+ for a shitty auto wash. $2 for a DIY sprayer every 2 weeks thru winter, and everything is fine, every week if the weather is bad. As long as you did a good wash, polish and sealant right before winter (like me) you shud be fine for a few months atleast with that.

No worries, this isnt a Bentley with a $75000 paint job

[MuttGrunt]

Originally Posted by new128

What does this mean, from previous post - "Sucks for us guys with custom wheels. Drive thru wash is not an option". Exactly what is your definition of "custom wheels" and why can't you go to a car wash with them. My previous car has the stock alloy wheels - don't know if these count as "custom wheels" but, in 8 years, they have never been damaged by a car wash.

I understand that you guys want to keep your cars looking great, but believe it or not, the paint is not going to peel off if you go through a car wash. (Car washes and paint really have improved over the years. Imagine how long it would take for car washes to go out of business if they were damaging wheels and paint. "Regular people" don't want their cars damaged either and use car washes all the time.)

Have been using "brushless" car washes forever. When I got my 128, my old 2004 RSX went to my wife. It has been going through car washes, in winter, since new. Its never been damaged by a car wash and it still looks like it just came off the show-room floor.

OK, I'm ready for all the non-car wash fanatic responses - I can take it.

Car washes will jack up your car period.
Ones with clothes/brushes grind against your clear and create swirls all while stripping your wax. Touchless car washes use heavy degreasers and chemicals to "clean" your vehicle without touching it, which isn't good for your rubber seals and plastic over time, let alone will completely strip off your wax in a single wash.
Of course these places are smart enough to use beading agents in the rinse water to give you the illusion that you still have protection on your paint, but one standard two-bucket wash later you'll see the water laying flat on panels because there is nothing there that would break the surface tension like wax or sealant.
Once you have no protection on your vehicle, the clear-coat is at higher risk for acid etching from bugs and bird bombs, and won't be as resistant to mineral deposits from hard water.

What is "good enough" for your car is certainly a matter of opinion, but even so, there's no doubt automatic car washes aren't good for your vehicle by any means. Maybe its the most time effective method of having a clean ride, or maybe it is the cheapest, but the damage they do can't be argued.

[thez99]

Originally Posted by MuttGrunt

Car washes will jack up your car period.
Ones with clothes/brushes grind against your clear and create swirls all while stripping your wax. Touchless car washes use heavy degreasers and chemicals to "clean" your vehicle without touching it, which isn't good for your rubber seals and plastic over time, let alone will completely strip off your wax in a single wash.
Of course these places are smart enough to use beading agents in the rinse water to give you the illusion that you still have protection on your paint, but one standard two-bucket wash later you'll see the water laying flat on panels because there is nothing there that would break the surface tension like wax or sealant.
Once you have no protection on your vehicle, the clear-coat is at higher risk for acid etching from bugs and bird bombs, and won't be as resistant to mineral deposits from hard water.

What is "good enough" for your car is certainly a matter of opinion, but even so, there's no doubt automatic car washes aren't good for your vehicle by any means. Maybe its the most time effective method of having a clean ride, or maybe it is the cheapest, but the damage they do can't be argued.

If by talkin bout the heavy degreasers u mean the touchless washers like at Wawa or sheetz n that kinda shit where u select your shit and drive in and the thing goes all around ur car, thats one thing. However, most times those give you the option of selecting just a wash, or underbody degrease, yada yada. Otherwise its just a cheap soap, not an uber heavy degreaser. Least I have yet to see one as such.

Either way, you just go to one of the spray it urself washes and just use the RINSE function for straight pressurized water. Blasts a good bit of the salt, snow n dirt that accumulates. End of story, least thats the best Im gonna do while the temps are freezing. Honestly, thats why it pays to do a decent polish and wax after winter or pay someone to. Takes all the pain away and you didnt have to brave the snow n ice washing you car just to feel like ur keeping up

[AW128i]

I've been meticulously cleaning my cars since I started driving many years ago. BMWs don't require any more or less exterior maintenance to maintain their condition than any other modern cars. Get a good wash, clay bar, and wax in right before the really cold weather sets in, drive the car as much as needed or wanted and then when the weather finally breaks in late winter or very early spring, get out there and do another wash, clay bar, and wax. Unless you've been off-roading in your car or hugging the a$$-end of a plow/salt truck on a regular basis, and provided you used a high-quality wax, there's no reason that the post-winter detailing won't have the paint looking like new again. I will try and wash the wheels on a somewhat regular basis in the colder months to keep the brake dust from eating away at the wheel finish, but a set of winter wheels helps to cure this, especially if they're a set that you could care less about. Once the weather breaks, a weekly wash and periodic clay bar and wax sessions are the norm.

For all of you that are "manning up" and washing the cars in literally freezing weather...you're nuts. Your BMWs aren't the princesses you make them out to be and let's face it, are you even going to keep your car long enough to have that ridiculous cleaning regimens matter? After all, the majority of BMWs are leased

[TOGWT]

Washing your vehicle in winter

• Touchless car washes use very high alkaline soaps to do the cleaning, one or two washes and your paint protection (wax or sealant) is gone. After a couple of this type of wash will cause a hazing due to the harsh chemicals used.

• Hand wash places work on volume not quality so they do they dry with paint safe towels. They will inadvertently leave swirls or worse on your paint surface

• Weekly go to the wand wash and use just the first rinse water and get off all the heavy salt /road grit and d spray the undercarriage Use the second rinse cycle and allow the paint to air-dry.

• If you have out a pre-winter detail and have a good sealant and a sacrificial wax on your car the salt and chemicals can be removed along with the renewable wax; remember to re-apply the sacrificial wax and your paint should be well protected.

• When clearing snow from the vehicles paintwork leave an inch of snow to melt on its own, otherwise you risk moving snow and grit across the paint that will cause scratches, much like using sandpaper.

Optimum No Rinse™ Wash & Shine (ONR) is an innovative product that protects automotive paint, while preserving our most valuable resource, water; enabling you to wash your car anywhere, anytime even inside your garage. It’s a multi-purpose product that serves as a shampoo additive, no rinse wash, quick detailer and clay lubricant.

Use as a winter car wash or in areas that have hosepipe ban, water usage restrictions, or where a water supply is not readily available (apartments, car shows, etc; cleans and protects while minimising water usage, 100% environmentally safe and it reduces water usage to a fraction of a conventional car wash, 1- oz ONR per 2- gallons of water to wash the entire car.

When sprayed on a dirty surface; surfactants break down the soil by releasing its surface tension or bond with the surface, encapsulating the soil particles, and the polymers provide surface lubrication to enable safe (marring free) removal (For further information see the technical article “Rinseless Car Wash”)

[titleistforged]

i secretly use the window washer squeegee on my stock 128i nonsport rims hahahhaha

[AntonV]

man up.....

not this week. its freeeeeezing here in NY!

[gnpower]

use hot water.

[thez99]

Originally Posted by gnpower

use hot water.

[1SerieStud]

Originally Posted by N55_BBM

Well by cold I most certainly don't mean Florida..

I'm talking about below freezing temps... When if you take your gloves off you won't last too long

You certainly haven't been watching the news...3 days with temps dropping to the teens and 20's here in FL.

[N55_BBM]

Originally Posted by 1SerieStud

You certainly haven't been watching the news...3 days with temps dropping to the teens and 20's here in FL.

wow i posted that several weeks ago.. this topic has already been overkilled haha i think i got my answer.

and you're complaining about weather in florida?!?!?! cry me a river... dropped to 20's sure, but then it'll be right back up. we'll be in the 20's for at least the next 2 months straight here in the northeast

so can we stop posting to this thread haha? it's been overdiscussed and revived like 5 times already

[1SerieStud]

Originally Posted by N55_BBM

wow i posted that several weeks ago.. this topic has already been overkilled haha i think i got my answer.

and you're complaining about weather in florida?!?!?! cry me a river... dropped to 20's sure, but then it'll be right back up. we'll be in the 20's for at least the next 2 months straight here in the northeast

so can we stop posting to this thread haha? it's been overdiscussed and revived like 5 times already

Oh I don't care much about posting to this thread...I was just reading over it and apparently people have the misconception that FL doesn't get cold. We actually had a colder day yesterday than NYC. And when it's not in the 20's it definitely stays around the 30's-40's for a couple of months...plus wind.

Good luck to you and your cold weather!

[MuttGrunt]

^ good luck to your and your warm weather.
Let me know how long a snow man lasts where you live :P

[1SerieStud]

Originally Posted by MuttGrunt

^ good luck to your and your warm weather.
Let me know how long a snow man lasts where you live :P

Lol I don't need luck...warm weather rocks! Snowman?!? Nah man, carved ice is all we get!

[BlackjackMulligan]

I just wash my cars in the garage with ONR and warm water in a bucket. My garage isn't heated, but there's enough residual heat from the house that it doesn't get super cold in there. If I wear a sweatshirt sometimes I'm actually too hot while washing it lol. Takes maybe an hour by pre spraying a panel, dipping the media into the wash bucket, wipe the panel, flip and wipe again, and rinse in rinse bucket. Dry it with a WW towel and on to the next. Really not a big deal if you have a garage but if you don't I could see issues.

[MuttGrunt]

I should have a video coming within the next few weeks on this