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Any tips for exterior cleaning after winter?

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Norway is not what it used to be in terms of winters, and today we've hit 7C in the Oslo area.

I've decided to wash my Model S by hand, and have found out that some surfaces of the car are rough. It is probably from all the salt and s**t you get from the roads. It can mainly be felt around the tires and on the rear of the car.

How can we get rid of that layer of roughness without damaging the paint? Any tips?
 
Best bet is to use a pressure washer, either your own or what you may find at a car wash. This will knock off most grime and salt from the car and won't damage the paint or the trim. Just be careful around the frameless windows. My rear windows leaked a bit when I took it to a touchless wash; I guess the pressure of the sprayer was too high.

You can start with just water and use a foam lance (if you have one) with an appropriate soap. The foam may freeze, but probably not at 7C. At this point, you can either do a traditional two bucket wash with some microfiber mits/sponges or use Optimum No Rinse. You can use warm water either to make it easier on you.
 
You can always try this:

Extreme Insane Mercedes CLS 350 Car Wash - YouTube

Let us know of the results :)

WTF?? Did he then microwaved the car to dry it?? :tongue:

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BTW, I've tried with the high pressure washer, but it's still not OK.


It's difficult to show the difference, because you cannot really see it, or at least pictures will not show it. But you can easily feel it when you touch different areas of the car. Some are rough, as if it hadn't been polished after painting.

I think I'll just have to wash it by hand again later on, and get serious with the sponge on those areas :tongue:
 
The pressure washer just gets the bulk off; you have to do another pass with something that actually comes in contact with the paint (e.g., wash mit). That's where the Optimum No Rinse comes into play.

If your car is still rough after that, it might need to be clayed and polished.
 
Did my pressure wash and ONR this weekend.

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Sounds to me like you will need to clay the car to get that off. It's common to have little gunk stick to the paint that washing will not remove. I've been using clay for years and it works great. I always do it prior to waxing and the difference is huge. Check out GriotsGarage.com. I'm sure you have the same types of products/sellers over there. Also check out AmmoNYC.com for products and videos that are excellent. They also have a uTube channel. Tons of really helpful info on exterior/interior care and restoration. Larry is an excellent teacher and a total pro.
 
kevincwelch, what a mirror you have there!! :eek:

CHG-ON, it seems I'll have to clay the car, for sure. I'll just wait a little (another month) to make sure temperatures do not go below freezing again, and no more salt from the roads messes with my car.

Thanks for the tips!