Washing Salt Off

[rherring16]

I was wondering if anyone did anything different to wash salt off during the winter. I was considering using some Optimum No Rinse but I didn't know if that would be safe if the car was loaded with salt. Would the mitts smear the salt and cause swirls?

[Murr1525]

Re: Washing Salt Off

Giving a good pre-rinse is of course important.

The dirtier the car, the more often you will want to rinse you wash mitt, even change the rinse water. I might do a panel with one side of a mitt when the car is clean, or one panel might take both sides of a mitt when dirty.

[speed3blackmica]

Re: Washing Salt Off

there's not much really to it, probably the most important thing would be to get it off as soon as possible ! other than that, a good rinse is definitely key. most of the salt will rinse right away. just be more cautious while washing...for example, just like murr said with flipping the mitt, on a mildly dirty car i would use one side of the mitt for a door panel..but when its that dirty and salty, i would use one side of the mitt, and when i reached half way down the door, id flip over the mitt to a clean side to not instill any scratches or swirls. and of course frequent rinsing of your mitt is another key factor. other than that, its just like washing your car normally

[Garage Troll]

Re: Washing Salt Off

Last weekend mine was loaded too. I sprayed it off outside, then did a quick ONR pre-soak using a chemical sprayer. I went over the door panels without applying any pressure which I had to do four times but the salt came off and didn't cause any scratches. I find with ONR sometimes you have to go over a panel more than once but it will come off. The trick really is to not apply pressure and let the product and pile of the mitt do the work. Just my .02.

[Murr1525]

Re: Washing Salt Off

Yes, some sort of pre-soak can help as well.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Washing Salt Off

I would say, rinse, rinse, rinse. You have to get at it as soon as possible.

[kimchiyuk]

Re: Washing Salt Off

I usually use both sides of mitt per panel as Murr said also. I also change rinse water after half of vehicle is done. This is of course done with two bucket/grit guards in use. A few weeks ago my truck had pretty heavy salt. After washing it, I dumped most of rinse water out to see what was looming in the bottom, under the grit guards....OH MY! Not only was there quite a bit of dirt, but the SIZE of the particles blew me away. Full gains of sand, imagine using poor washing with that on your mitt! Here in NY, they usually mix the salt with sand for certain road conditions...even with a thorough, before wash rinse, there is still a lot on the surface.