[milliethemini]

Now folks, people will think you are nuts, but your MINI will love you for it

If you live in a snowy climate, and your roads are regularly salted, you will want to wash your car at every possible opportunity. Unlike summer washing, where the focus is on making your car look as good as possible, the main reason for winter washing is paint protection and rust/corrosion prevention.

Even if you prefer to hand wash, like I do, or not have the paint finish of your car marred by micro scratches from going through a car wash, it is still better to have your car washed regularly in the winter by any means. A micro scratch can be buffed out; get rust on your car finish though, and you might as well kiss your resale value goodbye.

Here are some web articles I found which have convincing arguements for washing your car in the winter (and more often than in the summer):

http://www.commuter-register.org/wash2.html

http://www.rlrouse.com/car-care.html

http://www.dccarcare.com/tipowk/tipowk18.html

http://tips.tipking.com/handyman/tip_329.shtml


So don't wait till spring to clean your car!!!

[Eric B]

Anyone use the "touchless" car washes? How well do they work?

[HarryHBMCC]

Touchless don't work that well -- sometimes a couple of passes works OK. Might help in getting some of the salt out, especially with undercar washes, but doesn't get the car looking as good as a hand wash.

Harry

[scooterboy]

I agree with Harry - the touchless will wash off the major stuff, but will leave behind a film which will only come off with a hand wash.

[Dark Silver S]

scooterboy,

Are you hand-washing your Mini? How are you keeping your hands from freezing off? You have a heated garage with a floor-drain?

[Minty]

i stick mine throught the wash at work most weeks.

steam clean it first then throught the soft brush wash....then chamois it off......500m down the road its filthy again...ho hum

[IBMiniG]

LOL, I hand wash mine in the driveway, When its real cold I worry about creating a sheet of ice I almost washed while it was snowing last week, just for posterity

[scooterboy]

I go to a local carwash that has bays where you can pull in your car and spray it with a high pressure water gun. I first rinse it off as best I can, then wash it with Zaino wash and my mitt, then rinse it all off again with the gun. The water is very warm (almost hot) so my hands don't get too cold. It costs $2.50 for 4 minutes of the gun. So I rinse, wash, and rinse again for $5. Then I pull out onto the road where the car gets dirty again almost immediately.

[Clutch Cargo]

Personally I tend to leave mine grubby thru the winter, especially during the coldest months and the slushiest months, since it only stays salt-free for a few moments anyway. I rely on the modern undercoatings and metal primers, and hope for the best.

[Eric B]

We don't salt here so that won't be an issue, just want to be able to see the pretty blue all the time Of course I need to actually GET my car so right now it is all theory anyway

[Hat]

luckily our winter has been mild so far so theres not been a lot of road salt around. i still clean the car most weekends though usually with a trip to the local jet wash to get the worst off & give the underside/wheel arches a clean & then home for a finish off clean & dry

[Dark Silver S]

Quote: Originally Posted by scooterboy

I go to a local carwash ..., then wash it with Zaino wash and my mitt, then rinse it all off again with the gun.

Even in your recent sub-zero weather?

I use a near-by touchless with underspray. At least it looks like the salt is gone, even for a block or two.

[SteveM3]

Well I'm a softie, I put warm water in my bucket with shampoo oops auto bathe
and use a big sponge. I spray the car first and rinse with spray but holding the
hose gun doesn't make your hand too cold. Shammying is the coldest part so
in the winter I will only do the windows. I also have a large SecondCup coffee
cup which is semi-insulated and this keeps me warm. Being British I get perverse
pleasure knowing only a select (i.e. mad) band care enough about their cars to
do this. It's the same when I had cross-spoke wheels that were difficult to clean.
I always felt happy when I completed the task and that memory made me keen
to get out there and clean again. I refuse to bow down to the mild british winter.
Not so sure if I was in Canada though, frozen icicles don't do any favours to the
Mini styling.

[scooterboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dark Silver S

Even in your recent sub-zero weather?

I try and wait until temps are at least in the teens.

[Chris A]

I spent 3 hours washing on Saturday and my LY Cooper was filthy again on Sunday. I've decided I'll probably hose it down every evening and give it a full wash every Saturday. Is this likely to protect me from rust?

[bubblegoose]

I wash mine with a steam washer, car shampoo, sponge. I then chamois leather all the water off. I do it all on a 3 week rota - 1 week just wash & leather, next week - wash, leather & polish, week after that - wash, leather, polish & then hard wax!!! (Paint protector). Oh & every week I clean the interior ie vacuum & clean off all trims!!
Sad arent I !!??
Love it though

[miniburger]

Being a winter weenie, I was running my Cooper thru the Octopus Car Wash (in NM USA). Turns out their guide rail system is a bit too tall and rubs the bottom of the shock mount on driver's side rear. This damaged a triangular washer and the protective rubber boot around the shock base. I suspected but wasn't certain it was the car wash until running it through after replacing the offended parts. Sure enough, it was the guide rail.

If you run your Cooper thru these type of washers, better inspect for damage. I won't be doing it anymore!

For photos, go to www.nmmini.org/octopus.html