Salt Removal

[Lonestar57]

My M3 is my DD but unfortunately I live in the NE and have to drive through snow and salt. I do a full wash once per week in my heated garage. Do you think it would be beneficial to rinse the car off daily? My concern with doing this is water spots.

[Olivo]

Spend the money on getting a water filter such as the CR Spotless and either rinse it down or foam it and then rinse everyday or every other day. With the water filter, you won't need to worry about water spots.

[maniz]

No need to rinse daily. Weekly is enough. But understand that paint already protects the exterior metal. In the absence of major rock chips that go down to the metal (and should be touched up as soon as they happen anyway), rinsing primarily provides a cosmetic advantage only. The important piece is getting the undercarriage thoroughly clean. For that, you will need a pressure washer at home, or take it to a coin op nearby.

[XsltAnalyst]

No rinsing it off daily would be waste of water and just not necessary. New cars have pretty good rust protection and warranty against rust so just enjoy the car.

If you're worried about the underneath the car then just take it weekly to a touchless wash with good undercarriage wash

[M2 Pilot]

Heated garage will accelerate whatever corrosion that may occur.

[domino_z]

Just use a pre wash traffic film remover like auto finesse citrus

Will remove 90% of salt road grime before you begin the wash process

[espressoo]

If you're that concerned about salt on your paint (not under-body) just get your car ceramic coated (including the wheels). My detailer told me all I need to do is use a pressurer washer with foam cannon and to dry it use a leaf blower. For winter time washing, it doesn't need to be spotless so you can skip the wash mitt part.

[Wo-Wo]

If you're LSP is good then rinsing between washes shouldn't be an issues, I do this now without problems and have done for years.

[Detailers Domain]

yup I would make sure that you can get to the undercarriage, more importantly make sure it's nice and dry, after each wash to prevent rusting etc.

[uniqueMR]

Great info...