OK, here is something different. I know that most of you are blessed with the pristine weather of California, but someone has to hold down the fort in the rest of the states! I drive my C4S through most of the winter. Even on the best of days, it will pick up salt residue.

Here is the before. Lots of salt residue!


Luckily, our laundry tub is next to our garage, so a few dollars worth of parts and a hole thorough the wall under the laundry tub and I have warm water in the garage.



For the underbody wash you really should check out this nozzle from Griots. It has adjustable angle and length, and a nice fan shaped spray.


Nice beading, but there's a catch--it's partially frozen.


So, inside for an espresso while the car thaws out in the garage. FYI, I have Peet's Garuda Blend sent via FedEx about every 2 weeks.


Of course, this is what makes it possible. This is the first time I have had a heated garage!


One downside--a serious ice patch in the turn-around.


And, the final product safe and warm. And with a trickle charger in place.


PS: Why do this at home? We live about 10 miles from the nearest self-wash location, so the car would be a mess by the time I made it home. This technique has worked as long as the temp is over 20 F.

:cheers:

 

That's awesome!! Great job and I commend you as a fellow detailaholic. Oh, anyone who'se a Peet's aficionado is also a friend in my book. We did have a little drizzle today down in Southern California, but it soon cleared up and it wa in the 70s. Talk about bad weather

 

You are nuts!

 

 

Is that wallpaper on the garage walls or paint? It looks nice. Great idea by the way.

 

That's some detailing job!

I like the look of a clean vehicle too, I can't stand anything being dirty.. once I detailed our seven passenger SUV in -8 degree weather, everything instantaneously froze.. I had to park it in the garage and next morning all the ice turned into water with exception to the roof which was still covered in ice. I'm never doing that again, today was around 0 degrees, so I decided to give it a nice detail today and it turned out great.

I just want summer to come already!

 

looks great! i feel your pain by washing in the snow! when we were snowed out in seattle a few weeks ago i bundled up in about 10 layers just to go out and wash my girl!

the things we do for love! =D

 

Hey thanks everyone. Just thought a little different take on detailing was in order. Plus I am REALLY sick of winter. Typically we have cold but not these "nuisance snows" where we get just enough to keep the roads sloppy. But the Blizzaks work great.

Another couple of notes: I warm the car up with a drive then leave it in the garage for about 30 minutes to let the outside warm up just a little.

Also, after washing, do NOT leave the handbrake on. Found this one out the hard way.

By the way, the interior walls are rather unique. We have a friend that has a business that uses very high grade plywood, but results in a lot of uniform sized cutoffs. So they gave us the cutoffs and we used them as paneling. It's about 3/4 inch so strong enough to mount anything too. We stained and urethaned it for a finish.

PS: That Griot's nozzle is my all time favorite for cleaning. Try is sometime!

 

niceeeee lov the BBS wheels

 

Thanks--up here the Blizzaks are on from 4 to 5 months, so thought I might as well have some nice wheels to ease the pain . . .

 

I live outside of Aspen, Colorado and also have to deal with washing my cars in winter conditions. I do this with a pressure washer that is supplied hot water from the Hot water heater drain faucet. This works great. To avoid creating an ice rink, I clear away an area of snow on the lawn next to the driveway to wash on.