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    Jun 19, 2006 10:20:39 AM

    nick1
    Senior
    nick1
    Loc: austria
    Posts: 668, Gallery
    Registered on: Nov 23, 2004

    Car Care in colder climates

    Hello, Everyone!

    we've had plenty of threads on detailing (zaino, swizöl, etc), but from my observation most people who responded were from some sunny states/countries. (í'm thinking LA and Florida here)

    now i live in Austria, where the winter is a bit longer and harsher than, say in LA and suppose that this climate also requires some different car care...

    what do you people in less heavenly climates use, to protect the car from salt dirt and other weather influences? is, for example, Zaino as effective for the European winter as it is for creating "show car shine" someplace where its nearly always warm and sunny?

    My car is coming in 1 month and i still haven't decided with what product to treat it so ALL COMENTS WELLCOME!

    Jun 19, 2006 12:04:54 PM

    jcs
    Pilot
    jcs
    Loc: nj
    Posts: 308, Gallery
    Registered on: Mar 3, 2006
    Reply to: nick1

    Re: Car Care in colder climates

    I think the worst for a car's finish is the sun , heat and dust . So you are probably better off in Austria than someone in So. Cal.
    During the winter I would just make sure to get any road salt off as soon as possible .

    Jun 19, 2006 1:56:12 PM

    MMD
    Rennteam VIP
    MMD
    Loc: usa
    Posts: 9652, Gallery
    Registered on: Dec 16, 2004
    Reply to: jcs

    Re: Car Care in colder climates

    When I was at school in Boston I had a BMW which I fully waxed and didn't wipe off dried wax. Except for spraying out the wheel wells and undercarriage, I then never washed the painted parts of the car for the entire winter!! (kept vandals away too).

    In the spring I washed it and removed the hardened wax and the car looked great. Frequent washing in winter probably dulls the paint.

    Jun 19, 2006 2:12:03 PM

    bluelines
    Rennteam VIP
    bluelines
    Loc: Argovia , Switzerland
    Posts: 11655, Gallery
    Registered on: Apr 29, 2005
    Reply to: MMD

    Re: Car Care in colder climates

    Servus Nick! I put on a few layers of Meguiars Gold Class Wax and did not wash the car for the entire winter. It looked terrbile for a few months, but once spring arrived I washed it all off and put on a new fresh layer of wax - Now it is shiny again A car detailer I talked to recommened a layer of hard wax (like Swizöl) before the winter. Swizöl actually has a special hard wax for two-component coatings on modern Porsches (Swizöl Zuffenhausen). I think I will try it this winter

    Jun 19, 2006 9:33:23 PM

    nick1
    Senior
    nick1
    Loc: austria
    Posts: 668, Gallery
    Registered on: Nov 23, 2004
    Reply to: bluelines

    Re: Car Care in colder climates

    Grüß dich, Bluelines!

    i sure cant go several months without washing the car, just looks too dirty.

    keep the comments coming!

    Jun 19, 2006 10:06:57 PM

    TheOldMan
    Co-Pilot
    TheOldMan
    Loc: Montreal, Canada
    Posts: 214, Gallery
    Registered on: Sep 27, 2004
    Reply to: nick1

    Re: Car Care in colder climates

    We have winter here as harsh as most civilized places on the planet; snow, ice, -30C, salt and sand. From my experience, most modern car finishes go through winter a lot easier than they go through hot summers. The underbody is a different story!

    In our family, we keep our cars for at least 10 years before getting rid of them. In most cases, the exterior finish on all the cars is in great shape. A regular wax before winter, then again once a month with weekly washes in between seems to the trick. But probably the most important thing we do is keep them in the garage and out of the sun.

    The underbody is a diffent story. The salt and sand will cause a significant amount of corrision to the drive train/suspension and engine components. The actual body of the cars and SUV's are rust-proffed on a regular basis, and that helps a lot, but for all the parts that cannot be rust proofed show the story after many winters.

    The trick to keeping the cars in good shape during the winter months is regular washes under the car and by using good maintenance procedures in the spring. For example, it is always good to have the brakes serviced once winter is over to remove the sand and salt that are on the calipers. The other is to realize that certain suspension components will corrode with time and to have them inspected and changed as required.


    The only car we do not drive in the winter is the C2S. For our family it is just not worth the trouble of winterizing it for the few days you could actually 'use it'. But I know of at least 10 people that use there p-cars every day during the winter and the cars still look excellent.

    I have driven in Austria in the Winter and compared to Montreal, winters are not nearly as harsh. Given what I know, I would drive a Porsche all winter in Austria with weekly washes, monthly wax treatments and a set of snow tires. Life is too short not to...

    Jun 19, 2006 10:07:18 PM

    ResB Offline
    Rennteam Pro
    ResB
    Loc: Yorkshire, where roads are twisty... , United Kingdom
    Posts: 2858, Gallery
    Registered on: Jan 19, 2006
    Reply to: nick1

    Re: Car Care in colder climates

    Swissol Products are particularly good in my opinion. HOwever, you only really need two wax's.

    First being "Best of Show(TM)" for dark colours and "Saphir(TM)" lighter colours.

    This is quite possibly the best wax I have ever used. www.swissol.com for more info.

    Jun 19, 2006 10:13:05 PM

    MMD
    Rennteam VIP
    MMD
    Loc: usa
    Posts: 9652, Gallery
    Registered on: Dec 16, 2004
    Reply to: ResB

    Re: Car Care in colder climates

    A warning about selfserve car washes used to spray the undersides of the car:

    They supposedly recycle water! So though it may be filtered it still can be loaded with salt and other dissolved contaminants.

    Better to wait for a sunny wamer day and use your own garden hose at your house.
     
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