I never wash my car during the winter. I do this because I put a nice thick coat of sealant before winter starts and I find that frequent winter washes remove this coat really quickly, because of all the grime and salt that builds up on the car. When the weather warms up, I do a single, full wash and the sealant is still underneath, protecting the paint from the elements. Unfortunately, this leaves the car looking like a salt lick for most of the winter.
A few weeks ago, a hand car wash opened up in the neighborhood, just south of Summerhill. Called Mr. Shine it’s located at Yonge and Roxborough, just across the street from the Shell station. I took the car there to support a new local business – they had the tedious task of removing 4 months of dirt from the car. They did a pretty good job, and I recommend them. A basic exterior wash, without detailing, is $16.99. Usually I spend $13 in a car wash bay, so it’s not that much more. I detail my car myself, so I haven’t seen the results. However I’ll probably stop by soon and find out what products they use – and whether or not they use a sealant or a wax (or both!).
Tags: bar, cable, car, clay, detail, porter, soap, synthetic, Wax
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can you recommend a sealant (and process?). i’ve never done this but i’ve always tried to continually wash the car throughout the winter every couple weeks (gotta love those free esso points). usually i take the car for a wash when it gets so bad that my jacket touching the car gets full of dirt and roadsalt.
check out these two posts:
http://blog.jasonseto.com/2008/05/17/detailing-cars-waxes-vs-sealants/
http://blog.jasonseto.com/2008/09/01/obsessive-car-detailing/
i don’t really think many people will do the entire process, if you want a “lite” version, pick up a good car wash (simple green) and a good sealant (meguiars nxt tech wax) and do a wash then a wax. only someone hardcore would do the clay bar/polish/sealant treatment.