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      02-22-2021, 04:36 PM   #1
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M3/M4 winter car wash

Hey Guys !! It's my first winter with M4. I use electric pressure washer with a foam cannon to wash my car in summers. However it is difficult to do this in winters with freezing temperatures. I also do not have the facility of warm water in my garage.

My car is ceramic coated. I have heard about ONR. What's the best way to wash the M in winters?


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      02-22-2021, 06:15 PM   #2
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I don't wash mine, once a week maybe ill pressure wash the salt and garbage off if i have driven it.

But i also only drive it like twice a week
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      02-22-2021, 06:16 PM   #3
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go to a hand car wash?
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      02-22-2021, 06:25 PM   #4
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I usually pressure rinse the salt off when it's warm enough and take it to a touchless car wash when I can. I have ceramic as well and just get the basic wash. Don't want all the cheap waxes and stuff on my car.
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      02-22-2021, 07:48 PM   #5
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If it snows where you are and the car gets absolutely filthy I'd take it to a trusted detailer once a month who has an indoor wash bay. If its mildly dirty and doesn't have road salt and snow on it then an ONR wash in your garage would be perfect.

What I did in college since I lived in an apartment was I went to a self car wash that wasn't busy and pressure washed the car and then used my pump foamer (IK foam pro 2) to foam the car up and had a bucket of soapy water (I suggest filling with hot water at home) with a ton of towels soaking in it and used them to clean the car and then set the towels aside as soon as they got contaminated and grabbed a new one. Then rinse the car off and used my drying towels to dry it off. Sounds anal I know but it literally kept my freshly polished car swirl free

Edit: I'm pretty sure Adams polishes and Ammo NYC have some YouTube videos on things you can do in your situation
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      02-23-2021, 06:46 AM   #6
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I pressure rinse the salt off once or twice a week at the quarter wash depending on the weather here in Michigan and take it to a detail shop every month who has a heated indoor garage and they make her shine, even though it will only stay clean for a day or so. Never leave the salt caked on your paint for too long!
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      02-23-2021, 07:10 AM   #7
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I bought an undercarriage spray attachment. Works well on my other cars but on the M3 it *just* clears at stock ride height.

Until we get a warm spell, it’s just foam cannon and rinse. Leaf blower helps too.
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      02-23-2021, 07:24 AM   #8
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Temps in freezing

I take a Bucket of hot water and clean small microfiber towels and just rinse it off very gently
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      02-23-2021, 07:37 AM   #9
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There's a touchless car wash I use to get the big stuff off, then when I get it home I finish it off with a waterless wash.
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      02-25-2021, 01:57 AM   #10
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I try to wash my cars at least every other week during the winters. I live in Pittsburgh and they like to salt their roads. I'm lucky enough to have a drain in my garage but if you don't just do the pressure washing outside or at a near by coin op and do the rest in the garage.

I've been using ONR for the last 8 winters and won't use any other technique. I pressure wash the majority of salt and grime off the car. Concentrate on wheel wells, body gaps, moulding and around trim pieces to minimize the chance that hidden grime will scratch your car while washing. Wheels get tire/wheel cleaner and pressure wash too. Once a month I'll do the underside.

ONR is just a single 5 gal bucket of warm water with a grit guard and a Big Red Sponge. I won't go into details as there are plenty of youtube videos on it. Once a month I'll do additional wheel cleaning using a wheel brushes and a microfiber mitt with the leftover solution. Leaf blower to mostly dry the car and get water out of the crevices. Finish with clean microfibers and a quick detailer as a drying aid. Every other month, I'll use a ceramic topper like Carpro Reload to refresh the ceramic coatings on my car.
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Last edited by AlmondJayRoM3; 02-25-2021 at 02:09 AM.. Reason: add pic
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      02-25-2021, 06:19 PM   #11
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I usually try and wait for a sunny winter day to wash the car by hand. Otherwise, if it gets too crusty, I will run it through a local automatic car wash. I'm too old to freeze my fingers off or skate around my driveway - it is just a car and the ceramic coat should withstand the evils of rotating brushes once or twice a year.
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      02-25-2021, 07:56 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stumpel View Post
I usually try and wait for a sunny winter day to wash the car by hand. Otherwise, if it gets too crusty, I will run it through a local automatic car wash. I'm too old to freeze my fingers off or skate around my driveway - it is just a car and the ceramic coat should withstand the evils of rotating brushes once or twice a year.
While the protection and benefits from ceramic coat will still be there, the dirty brushes from an automatic car wash will still scratch the coating. Stick with the brushless type.

https://youtu.be/tbgkv0dUgoE
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      02-27-2021, 06:34 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amancuso View Post
There's a touchless car wash I use to get the big stuff off, then when I get it home I finish it off with a waterless wash.
This. But only when it is warm enough for my garage heater to make a difference in my semi-insulated garage.

Otherwise, I go to an indoor coin-op a few hours before they close and do a pressure wash rinse and then a full rinseless wash with a pre-prepared bucket of ONR. I then use my drying aid of choice with lots of towels from The Rag Company. As long as people aren’t waiting to get in (and they are not at that time of the night), they don’t mind if I take up a stall.
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