Before salt season
The best time to protect the paint is before it's covered in salt, on a dry day above 40°F. Around here that window usually closes sometime in late November or December.
- Wash the car and get the bonded grit off. A clay bar pulls off what a wash leaves behind, so wax has clean paint to stick to.
- Put a coat of wax on. It gives the paint a layer between it and the slush, and salty water runs off instead of drying on.
- Clean the door jambs and wheels while they're still clean enough to clean easily. Salt packs into both.
- Put rubber floor mats in if you have them. They hold the slush so it doesn't soak into the carpet.
If you'd rather have it done, wax is $10 and a clay bar is $50 on top of an Exterior or Full Detail.
During the winter: rinse the underbody
The paint gets the attention, but most salt damage starts underneath: the frame, the brake and fuel lines, the inside of the wheel wells and the rocker panels. That's where slush packs in and stays wet.
A rinse every week or two, and after every storm, keeps it from building up. You don't need a detail for this. An automatic wash with an underbody spray works, and so does a hose aimed up under the car on a warmer afternoon. Go on a day above freezing so water doesn't freeze in the door seals and locks.
Don't save it all for one warm spell. Salt does more damage on mild, wet days than on frozen ones, so a January thaw is exactly when you want it off.
What not to do
- Don't wipe dry salt off the paint with a towel or brush. It's gritty and it leaves fine scratches. Rinse it off first.
- Don't pour hot water on frozen glass. Use the defroster and a scraper.
Salt stains in the carpet
The white crusty rings on carpet and floor mats are salt left behind when the slush from your boots dries. Vacuuming won't take them out, because the salt is dissolved into the fibers.
At home
Mix warm water and white vinegar about half and half, spray it on the stain, give it a few minutes, then blot it with a towel. A wet/dry vac pulls out more than blotting. Repeat until the ring stops showing, then let the carpet dry all the way with the windows cracked, or it can start to smell.
When it's past that
After a whole winter, the salt is usually deeper than spray and blot can reach. An Interior or Full Detail takes it out of the carpet and mats as part of the job. If the carpet is badly stained, that's priced as heavy dirt / stains (+$60), and you see it on the estimate before you book.
When to book a detail
- Late October or November, before the salt: wash, clay, wax, and clean jambs and wheels.
- Midwinter, when the forecast stays above 40°F: get the salt off inside and out. We need every hour of the appointment above 40°F, so winter times depend on the forecast, and we let you know ahead of time if it's going to be too cold.
- March or April, after the last salt: the full reset. Salt in the door jambs, slush stains in the carpet, and a winter of road film on the paint.
Winter jobs also end earlier, because we only work in daylight. In December everything is done by about 4pm.
If you'd rather not keep track, the monthly plan puts a full detail on the calendar every month through the winter.