Cold Weather Car Washing

[yoomoogoo]

Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine from AutoGeek works great on a lightly dirty car. I usually use it once a week. Use a clean microfiber towel only once for one section of the car (little to no pressure). I usually use about 10 towels for the entire car. Blot dry with clean microfiber drying towels. 30 minutes - your baby is sparkling

[RCowan]

I lived many years in north GA & TN. As long as its over 40ish you are good to go. Bundle up and wash as normal. If thats too much for you and you have a garage, put a little heater in there and bucket wash it inside. You are in ATLANTA, not like its the frozen north. Also there are advantages this time of year...it doesn't dry as fast and water spots are less of an issue.

[MLL67RSSS]

Originally Posted by 05stram

I have done the hot water in bucket method for over 30 years and have never experienced a problem with paint cracking. I would think it would be worse to wash a car with a surface temperature above 70 with cold water from a hose than to do the opposite. Hot water in the winter will loose its temps very quickly once you pull the rag from the bucket. However a hot car usually will remain wash and work your tail off trying to keep it from spotting. I do not recommend the hose on the hot spigot though - I have had one freeze while washing and often wondered why the hot water will freeze faster than the cold but so be it, but the temp was in the teens.

Yeah it seems others haven't had problems so I'm probably wrong on this one. Maybe the difference was I wasn't using a towel/sponge, I filled a bucket with water from the hot water tap, walked outside and poured it on the car. Dohhh!!! So don't do that! Unless maybe the paint on your new Camaros is so thin it can't crack. Just kidding!

[05stram]

Just wished cars were still painted with Lacquer - you guys do not know a shine until you get a real lacquer job shining. Back then the glass you could almost do anything you wanted to as it was about as thick and heavy as it needed to be - damn the EPA

[Rat]

Scuba gloves make washing in the cold no problem.

Adams has a full video up on you tube for winter washing.

[SimpleGreen]

Never get too cold for me to wash the car here.

Problem I do face however is all the friggin rain we are getting this winter. I swear its like the Northeast right now. RAIN RAIN RAIN. 5 days a week.

[HDRDTD]

Originally Posted by MLL67RSSS

Soon after the hot water hits the freezing paint as the paint warms too quickly shocking it. And it can happen on a 3 year old VERY well cared for '84 Monte SS with PLENTY of wax and polishing done to it. :( Trust me on this. Of course the paint is probably a bit different now, the thicker it is the more likely it will stress crack as the bottom layer of paint is still freezing and the hot water heats up the top of the paint too quickly.
NOT saying it will happen but you should still be cautious of it.

Bought a gorgeous blue '84 Monte SS in April '87 with 33 k on it. Had another car but was living in an apt. at the time so it sat out. I NEVER drove it in the winter unless it had rained to wash the streets and they were dry, hell I didn't even drive it if it was raining or going to. Well it'd get all snow covered and icy sitting out there and and when it got above freezing and it all started melting one time it bugged me so I decided to hurry the process along by pouring some buckets of warm water on it. Next time I went to wash and wax it there were areas (I think where it was still snow covered) on top of the car that had hundreds of little 1/8-1/4" cracks running all different directions. The bad part was I wasn't even going to drive it, just wanted to get what snow was left off of it.

Sounds to me that your Monte may have had a bad paint job on it.

I've always taken ALL my cars to the local $.25 (now $1.50) car wash in the dead of winter and never in more than 45 years of owning cars have I seen or had one crack the paint even a little bit.

Nor have any of the windshields cracked .

[429]

Bucket of warm water from the bathtub

[ctbassman]

Just a thought for those that live in colder climates. I am a surfer in SoCal and the ocean is pretty cold most of the time, in the winter it is very cold. You could order yourself a pair of 3MM or 4MM wetsuit gloves and be just fine washing the car in colder climates.

[Bucci]

If you use hot water for the wash and it is very cold outside, then be sure to keep the hot water away from your windshield.

The windshield does not like the temerature difference at all

[scythezo6]

Originally Posted by 429

Bucket of warm water from the bathtub

Exactly what I did on near years day. Went well, it was about 28 out. The water was so friggin hot it made ME hot and I had to roll my sleeves up lol.