Storing The Car For Winter - Preparation Walkthrough
01-01-2010, 06:58 PM
#41
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10-11-2011, 08:14 PM
#43
Staging Lane
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NEVER WASH A CAR WITH DAWN NEVER NEVER NEVER you do more damage than you do good to the car. Use a high quality car wash soap. Dawn kills clear coat. Just a word for the wise.
10-12-2011, 03:32 AM
#47
i cant wait to move out of ohio, im sick of these winters up here, mark my words i will be in the south in the next few years, i have tried to put my car away twice now, both times i have given in and kept it out lol, but we have had some really nice weather lately , nov 1st in when it goes away for good, i usally try and take tons of pics and vids so i have something to watch over winter for when i start to miss my car, hey it helps those are hard times lol
10-12-2011, 10:02 AM
#48
Staging Lane
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Just my .02 though, you can take it how you like.
10-12-2011, 12:54 PM
#49
I can show you a whole fleet of service trucks of my fathers company and show you the ones that have been washed in dawn and the ones that have been washed with mcguiars. I can also introduce you to the man who helped me get my painting certification through out votech who did an entire weeks worth of teaching on proper washing and paint care.
Just my .02 though, you can take it how you like.
Just my .02 though, you can take it how you like.
I'm not even going to touch the McGuiars, that soap doesn't remove wax.... What I mean is that McGuiars is a good soap bc it doesn't remove wax. I use their gold class shampoo
10-12-2011, 04:48 PM
#50
Launching!
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Well I guess I will be the official poster for this topic 
Maybe just maybe this can be a sticky?? 
Here is the process that I took for storing the Trans Am. I will be as detailed as possible
- Fill the gas tank ALL THE WAY UP, and add a bottle of Sta-bil or Seafoam to it.
- Do an oil/filter change like you normally do, as well as fuel filter change. I am sure none of you changed it all year, now is the perfect time.
- Wash the motor. This is merely for your own sake of knowing that you have a clean motor under the cover. Also a clean motor is happy motor
- Obviously dry the motor, take it for a nice drive for A) to get rid of any standing water and B) this is the last drive of the year
- Wash the car with Dawn dish soap. Yes this will take OFF ANY WAX on the car
- Dry the car. I prefer to use a leaf blower and a microfiber towel
- Clay bar the car. This is designed specifically for above surface bonded contaminants, such as tree sap mist, industrial fallout, over-spray, road dirt/grime and road tar.
- Re wash the car again
- Dry the car again
- Wax the car with a wax of your choice; this is a no brainier step. Do what you normally do here!
- After your done with the Exterior, now for the Interior. Detail the interior. Clean the dash, clean ALL glass, and vacuum every inch of the car.
- This step is where I clean my wheels/tires. Wash the tires to get rid of any tire shine. Then I dry the rims, and polish them. I would not add tire shine when putting the car away for winter.
- Go over the car again to see if there is any water dripping from the rear taillights, under the mirrors etc, etc
- Air the tires up to 45 PSI, this will help stop flats spots being created for sitting in a particular spot for a long period of time.
- DO NOT JACK THE CAR UP! It is not good for the suspension, leave it on the gorund!
- Go over the car again, just spot-check everything.
- Don't forget the Damp Rid from Home Depot. This product takes any moisture out of the air inside the car. it fits perfectly in the cup holder of the center console.
- Stuff towels in your tail pipes and e-cut out. You do not want any critters making that their home
- At this point either A) disconnect your battery and take it in for storage or B) hook up a battery tender to it.
- Time to cover your baby up for a long cold 6 months. At this point kiss the car and say good night
This is all that I can think of for right now. If you guys have anything else to add or feel what I described is wrong let me know. And as for starting and driving the car, that is up to you. if you do that, you need to get the car all the way up to operating temps and drive it for a good 20 miles. This way you will burn up any condensation that is in the lines.
Maybe just maybe this can be a sticky?? Here is the process that I took for storing the Trans Am. I will be as detailed as possible
- Fill the gas tank ALL THE WAY UP, and add a bottle of Sta-bil or Seafoam to it.
- Do an oil/filter change like you normally do, as well as fuel filter change. I am sure none of you changed it all year, now is the perfect time.
- Wash the motor. This is merely for your own sake of knowing that you have a clean motor under the cover. Also a clean motor is happy motor
- Obviously dry the motor, take it for a nice drive for A) to get rid of any standing water and B) this is the last drive of the year
- Wash the car with Dawn dish soap. Yes this will take OFF ANY WAX on the car
- Dry the car. I prefer to use a leaf blower and a microfiber towel
- Clay bar the car. This is designed specifically for above surface bonded contaminants, such as tree sap mist, industrial fallout, over-spray, road dirt/grime and road tar.
- Re wash the car again
- Dry the car again
- Wax the car with a wax of your choice; this is a no brainier step. Do what you normally do here!
- After your done with the Exterior, now for the Interior. Detail the interior. Clean the dash, clean ALL glass, and vacuum every inch of the car.
- This step is where I clean my wheels/tires. Wash the tires to get rid of any tire shine. Then I dry the rims, and polish them. I would not add tire shine when putting the car away for winter.
- Go over the car again to see if there is any water dripping from the rear taillights, under the mirrors etc, etc
- Air the tires up to 45 PSI, this will help stop flats spots being created for sitting in a particular spot for a long period of time.
- DO NOT JACK THE CAR UP! It is not good for the suspension, leave it on the gorund!
- Go over the car again, just spot-check everything.
- Don't forget the Damp Rid from Home Depot. This product takes any moisture out of the air inside the car. it fits perfectly in the cup holder of the center console.
- Stuff towels in your tail pipes and e-cut out. You do not want any critters making that their home
- At this point either A) disconnect your battery and take it in for storage or B) hook up a battery tender to it.
- Time to cover your baby up for a long cold 6 months. At this point kiss the car and say good night
This is all that I can think of for right now. If you guys have anything else to add or feel what I described is wrong let me know. And as for starting and driving the car, that is up to you. if you do that, you need to get the car all the way up to operating temps and drive it for a good 20 miles. This way you will burn up any condensation that is in the lines.
10-12-2011, 06:28 PM
#51
You guys would hate Alabama... It might be hot, but not in the good way; the humidity makes the summers feel like 120 degrees, hurricane seasons keep springs and falls wet, and the winters are usually in the 30's and wet and snowy (however, not cold to me by any means, as I come from Siberia where average winter temps. are -50). All that being said, my car sees a plethora of weather conditions year-round.
10-12-2011, 07:15 PM
#52
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A little off topic, but what would you do with factory prestine leather seats that have been pulled out? Will they stay good wrapped in plastic and in a carboard box, or do they need to breathe?
Chris
Chris
10-13-2011, 06:02 AM
#53
http://www.amazon.com/Allstar-Perfor.../dp/B003BZQRH6
10-14-2011, 05:29 PM
#56
Staging Lane
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The clearcoat is probably ruined because maybe the person never put any wax on the car and it sat in the sun all the time.
10-15-2011, 09:19 AM
#57
Whoa dude relax. Dawn is fine to use on a car. The worst it does is drys out the rubber and trim a little bit if you use it a lot. I don't know where you heard this from but detailers have been doing it for decades to remove wax from the car. I've used it many times and never ruined anyones clearcoat.
The clearcoat is probably ruined because maybe the person never put any wax on the car and it sat in the sun all the time.
The clearcoat is probably ruined because maybe the person never put any wax on the car and it sat in the sun all the time.
Exactly what I said on post #49!!!
10-16-2011, 01:31 PM
#59
I dont understand why people store so early when the wheather is just cool outside. My 02 firehawk has 21000 miles and I dont put my car away till it begins to snow, I put about 600 miles a year and enjoy it every minute I can. I remember driving my hawk last haloween thru some november wheather was still nice no salt or snow. There are some great tips here for storing your car over the winter. Im also in Chicago and these LS1's enjoy the cool air this time of year.
10-16-2011, 09:34 PM
#60
I can show you a whole fleet of service trucks of my fathers company and show you the ones that have been washed in dawn and the ones that have been washed with mcguiars. I can also introduce you to the man who helped me get my painting certification through out votech who did an entire weeks worth of teaching on proper washing and paint care.
Just my .02 though, you can take it how you like.
Just my .02 though, you can take it how you like.
your certification, but even zainobros.com specifically mentions Dawn by name to wash the car to strip the old wax before rewax/claybar. I'm gonna take the experts word.http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?