dkmura

My '09 G37xS gets us through just about every type of weather here in Colorado. The past few weeks have seen a succession of subzero temps combined with snowstorms on the Front Range. While the Platinum Graphite paint still has some Blackfire protection on it, the flanks and rear trunk were streaked with a lot of dirt and grime from the past few weeks. Certainly not the condition I like to keep my cars in!

So, after filling in up with tier IV premium, a visit to the local touchless car wash was in order. Problem is, the wash bay was open on both ends as I paid my money and started the wash cycle. The high-pressure wash did a good job of cleaning the back, sides and getting the slush out of the wheel wells. Even the grille needed some attention from the road spray. It was only after I began rinsing the G, that a problem came to light. While the section getting the spray was extremely clean, the water overspray was FREEZING to the paint surface on an adjoining panel.

Crap- despite repeated attempts to clean those areas of any frozen overspray, all I succeeded in doing was getting overspray in another section. Tried washing from the top down, but by the time I scrubbed the rocker panels, the swirling winds had allowed frozen water to form on the windshield and back glass. Had to give it up and ran the rear defroster and full front defrost to get home after my fruitless effort. Now the G is in the garage, where I hope it'll get warm enough to melt all of that water and I can finish wiping it down.

It looks like a warmer week ahead. Lots of Colorado sunshine and temps up to the 50's will be a welcome break. Maybe it'll just mean another trip to the car wash. Or maybe it's time to pull out the ONR no water wash. Anybody else have some better ideas for keeping their G clean during the winter?

STownSaint

If you have a garage (preferably heated), you can try to wash your car with Optimum No Rinse (ONR) indoors.

Was critical of this product for a while, but once I used it I was an instant convert. Make sure you use the 2 bucket method along with it (Google search).

Catch is the car can't be heavily soiled (caked on dirt/grime), so you might still have to find a way to quickly hose or powerwash the surface to get the big dirt off

JSolo

iTrader: (14)

I use a touchless wash several times during the winter around here too. Trick is to do it when it's closer freezing temps. Washing it in below freezing temps will result in what you encountered. Of course, a heated garage is idea, but not everyone has one.

dkmura

Yeah, my garage is NOT heated. Using ONR right now also results in a slippery, icy floor where it drips. Maybe I'll take it outside when the temp rises a bit. LOL- I bet all those G owners in Cali and Florida are laughing right now!

Bonemaro

So glad we don't have that issue. I visited Ohio for Christmas. Keep the cold up there.

G37Xtreme

Around these parts, they close the bays when the temps dip too low. This only happens a handful of times each year though...but most of February is discouraging for car washing.

Living in a house, I have access to a hose, and plan to wash the car once this winter. If you could somehow use a regular hose that wasn't pressurized, you wouldn't have so much over spray.

smilinsteve

I've just gotten used to having a dirty car. The Denver weather has made it pretty much a waste of time to try and clean lately. Days of snow, then slush then water, then barely one dry day before the next snow. But this week might be the week to get my baby shiny again.

dkmura

Yep- that cycle is pretty accurate. The warmer weather this week will have me trying ONR to get the G really clean before the next weather pattern.

dkmura

Hard to keep my Colorado G clean. Used ONR and got it decently clean, but looked at it again this morning and it's already getting plenty of dirty overspray on it. I'll probably wait until later in the week when the roads are completely clear of snow to try again. Sigh.