Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Bob Heine's Auto Emporium
- Thread starter Bob Heine
- Start date
Workspaces between 485 and 705 squarefeet.
Andrew, Merry Christmas to you, Jenna and Torro, although he's probably not in the mood to celebrate yet.
Pretty sure the wind off the water had everyone huddled by the wall -- I used the zoom on the telephoto lens to capture that brave couple. I labeled the photo 1990 because I'm pretty sure it was raining on Christmas 1989 (and it rained every day from Christmas to Easter in Sydney that year, if I recall correctly).
shortykorte
Well-known member
As you struggle to shovel the numerous feet of snow from the drive, I just want to thank you for your inspiration and wit. Hope to see you in the new year.
May your Christmas be peaceful and filled with love and the New Year be a time of rebirth.
May your Christmas be peaceful and filled with love and the New Year be a time of rebirth.
ODIS
Well-known member
Thank you sir for all your time and energy devoted to posting on your thread and responding to the many other threads on this site.
It is the people like you that bring many of us back to GJ on a daily basis!
Merry Christmas and the best wishes for 2017 and beyond.
It is the people like you that bring many of us back to GJ on a daily basis!
Merry Christmas and the best wishes for 2017 and beyond.
don long
Well-known member
Hi Bob
I have really enjoyed the many visits to your thread
I'm very pleased that you finally put it up. I also appreciat your comments over at the party garage.
Merry Christmas. Be following along again next year.
I have really enjoyed the many visits to your thread
I'm very pleased that you finally put it up. I also appreciat your comments over at the party garage.
Merry Christmas. Be following along again next year.
Stewart, Ody and Don: Thank you so much for the kind words and I hope to spend more time here in 2017 with the friends I've made. Stewart, I'm hoping to see you in person this year as well. Ody and Don, I really enjoy visiting your places in this virtual reality and if I ever find myself within reasonable driving distance, we may even meet in person.
I'm off to my daughter's within the hour.
To all the visitors to my often strange thread: if I didn't wish you a Merry Christmas or Happy New Year on your thread, I apologize. I am not always organized and my memory isn't what it once was. I also don't send Christmas Cards so I'm not very good at this.
I was randomly posting holiday wishes and before long I couldn't be sure who I had or hadn't posted. I was going back through threads to see if I had done the deed and realized I was spending a silly amount of time and feeling stressed.
Instead of stressing, I hope all the friends and visitors who come here know I wish you good will and peace and am grateful to all of you.
If you're pissed off because I didn't post a greeting on your thread, feel free to cut and paste this:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Start Cut Here ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End Cut Here ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You're welcome!
I was randomly posting holiday wishes and before long I couldn't be sure who I had or hadn't posted. I was going back through threads to see if I had done the deed and realized I was spending a silly amount of time and feeling stressed.
Instead of stressing, I hope all the friends and visitors who come here know I wish you good will and peace and am grateful to all of you.
If you're pissed off because I didn't post a greeting on your thread, feel free to cut and paste this:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Start Cut Here ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End Cut Here ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You're welcome!
oldironfarmer
Well-known member
Very clever!
I cut and pasted and got a warning
No, I didn't
Do eitherYou keep me amused and my wife appreciates that!
Stay after the snow, but take it in short bursts and come in and warm up with some hot chocolate between episodes.
2017 is going to be a GREAT year!
Stevelj
Active member
Merry Christmas Bob.
Andy, happy to do everything I can to help your wife cope.Very clever!
No, I didn't
You keep me amused and my wife appreciates that!
Stay after the snow, but take it in short bursts and come in and warm up with some hot chocolate between episodes.
2017 is going to be a GREAT year!
Like my engine hoist, my snow shovel and blower are imaginary. Our last snow was in '77 (boy that makes me sound old) and only a few flakes accumulated on the bridges. They closed the schools just so the kids could go out and see it fall -- looked like turkeys in the rain.
I look forward to every year with unbridled optimism and enthusiasm. I don't expect great or even better so I'm rarely disappointed.
cbacres
Well-known member
Merry Christmas Bob, look forward to another year here with ya!
oldironfarmer
Well-known member
Andy, happy to do everything I can to help your wife cope.
Like my engine hoist, my snow shovel and blower are imaginary. Our last snow was in '77 (boy that makes me sound old) and only a few flakes accumulated on the bridges. They closed the schools just so the kids could go out and see it fall -- looked like turkeys in the rain.
I look forward to every year with unbridled optimism and enthusiasm. I don't expect great or even better so I'm rarely disappointed.
I too look forward to each new year, but this year I am much more optimistic than usual. GJ has helped that, and kind persons like you.
Stevelj
Active member
slimpickins
Well-known member
A belated Merry Christmas Bob! Company arrived before I finished making the rounds yesterday!
All the best for 2017!
Cheers!
All the best for 2017!
Cheers!
Craig, I'm hoping to find a new co-chauffeur/chaperone so I can join the Florida group for some face time in 2017.
Andy you make my days brighter! Please send your health insurance cards to the GJ so they can copy them and submit the therapy charges to the appropriate carriers. I assume you have mine already...I too look forward to each new year, but this year I am much more optimistic than usual. GJ has helped that, and kind persons like you.
Steve, hopefully your commute doesn't involve snow very often. You're living in a beautiful part of the country up there near the Tennessee boarder.
Slimpickins, thank you for the visit and kind words. Hope you are having a great time with the company.
I have only been though the Regina area of Saskatchewan and my mother's family somehow missed living in the province. They moved from Montreal to Grande Prairie to Edmonton and then Winnipeg before sneaking down into Wisconsin. I thought we were tougher so I have no explanation for living in Florida.
Take it easy with that shoulder, better to favor it and let it heal than have the surgeon pissed off and tearing into it again.
A few months ago I bought a car wash foam gun from Chemical Guys. It connects to the garden hose and shoots car wash soap foam on the car to float the heavy grime and with a quick wipe with a mit, the car should be clean. It's mostly plastic and the nozzle can be quickly disconnected from the gun and used to rinse the car. I paid about $50 for it.
The foam this gun sprays isn't real thick so it runs off the car pretty fast. I ended up having to wash the car the usual way with mit and bucket but it was a nice idea.
My car wash bucket is a poor imitation of what real car detailers use. They use two 5-gallon buckets with grates in the bottom for the grit to fall through -- one bucket of soapy water and one rinse bucket for the mits and brushes. My imitation is a split bucket made by Rubbermaid. It's a little over full in the picture and I haven't added the soap and mit to the right side yet but you get the idea.
I don't have any grates in my bucket because my cars don't spend time in the mud and they don't spread anything on the roads in the winter (or summer) in Florida. I only have to wash off the waterspots on the paint from the dust in light rain and the brake dust on the wheels. This is the filthy mess I had to clean up Christmas eve.
Soon after buying that foam gun, I bought that new pressure washer with the electric start Subaru engine. It seemed like a waste to only use it a couple of times a year so I thought I might upgrade from a foam gun to a FOAM CANNON. The foam gun uses household water pressure but a foam cannon requires much higher pressure. An electric pressure washer that puts out 1,200 psi is more than adequate so the 3,100 psi my pressure washer puts out is overkill. Hey, this is Garage Journal. I own a 10-pound sledge for a reason.
I was tempted to buy a foam cannon on sale from Autogeek, Chemical Guys or Griot's Garage but even on sale they're close to a hundred bucks. When I googled 'foam cannon', Amazon had one for less than $20. It looks just like the $100 ones I looked at on the detailing sites and for an extra $10 it comes with its own trigger.
If you've used a pressure washer, they come with a long wand so you can wash driveways, patios and fences (not to mention outside walls on your house). Even with nothing but the nozzle on the end of the wand, it doesn't take long for my wrist to start complaining. Many of the promotional pictures of foam cannons in use show a tiny young woman happily spraying foam with a quart bottle of soap solution hanging from the end of the 4-foot wand. On the bright side, you aren't spraying foam for more than a minute or two.
The foam cannon I bought connects directly to the handle and trigger with no wand of any kind.
Here it is compared to the stand-up wand that came with my new pressure washer. The bottle would normally connect in place of the white nozzle on the tip.
Having spent more than 30 years writing instruction manuals, I was happy to find that none were included with the foam cannon. The fancy sites suggested adding 3 ounces of soap concentrate and then filling the bottle with 30 ounces of water. I ignored this and added only about 1.5 ounces of concentrate. I adjusted the cannon's mixing valve and nozzle opening and couldn't see a huge difference. I covered the car with foam, went inside to get the camera and back inside to get the SIM card and took this picture. Obviously I should have used double the amount of soap because I could still see the car.
The foam this gun sprays isn't real thick so it runs off the car pretty fast. I ended up having to wash the car the usual way with mit and bucket but it was a nice idea.
My car wash bucket is a poor imitation of what real car detailers use. They use two 5-gallon buckets with grates in the bottom for the grit to fall through -- one bucket of soapy water and one rinse bucket for the mits and brushes. My imitation is a split bucket made by Rubbermaid. It's a little over full in the picture and I haven't added the soap and mit to the right side yet but you get the idea.
I don't have any grates in my bucket because my cars don't spend time in the mud and they don't spread anything on the roads in the winter (or summer) in Florida. I only have to wash off the waterspots on the paint from the dust in light rain and the brake dust on the wheels. This is the filthy mess I had to clean up Christmas eve.
Soon after buying that foam gun, I bought that new pressure washer with the electric start Subaru engine. It seemed like a waste to only use it a couple of times a year so I thought I might upgrade from a foam gun to a FOAM CANNON. The foam gun uses household water pressure but a foam cannon requires much higher pressure. An electric pressure washer that puts out 1,200 psi is more than adequate so the 3,100 psi my pressure washer puts out is overkill. Hey, this is Garage Journal. I own a 10-pound sledge for a reason.
I was tempted to buy a foam cannon on sale from Autogeek, Chemical Guys or Griot's Garage but even on sale they're close to a hundred bucks. When I googled 'foam cannon', Amazon had one for less than $20. It looks just like the $100 ones I looked at on the detailing sites and for an extra $10 it comes with its own trigger.
If you've used a pressure washer, they come with a long wand so you can wash driveways, patios and fences (not to mention outside walls on your house). Even with nothing but the nozzle on the end of the wand, it doesn't take long for my wrist to start complaining. Many of the promotional pictures of foam cannons in use show a tiny young woman happily spraying foam with a quart bottle of soap solution hanging from the end of the 4-foot wand. On the bright side, you aren't spraying foam for more than a minute or two.
The foam cannon I bought connects directly to the handle and trigger with no wand of any kind.
Here it is compared to the stand-up wand that came with my new pressure washer. The bottle would normally connect in place of the white nozzle on the tip.
Having spent more than 30 years writing instruction manuals, I was happy to find that none were included with the foam cannon. The fancy sites suggested adding 3 ounces of soap concentrate and then filling the bottle with 30 ounces of water. I ignored this and added only about 1.5 ounces of concentrate. I adjusted the cannon's mixing valve and nozzle opening and couldn't see a huge difference. I covered the car with foam, went inside to get the camera and back inside to get the SIM card and took this picture. Obviously I should have used double the amount of soap because I could still see the car.
oldironfarmer
Well-known member
We're hanging. Did it rinse off? Did the girl come back? Is it dark yet?
krcoomer
Well-known member
"I don't have any grates in my bucket because my cars don't spend time in the mud and they don't spread anything on the roads in the winter (or summer) in Florida. I only have to wash off the waterspots on the paint from the dust in light rain and the brake dust on the wheels. This is the filthy mess I had to clean up Christmas eve."
I washed (more like a lick and a promise) my wife's car this afternoon as it started to rain. Couldn't let the rare 76 degree December day go without knocking the salt residue off from last week. My dad stopped by and laughed at me. I didn't bother drying it because it sat out for about 2 more hours while I worked in the garage. Had to drain the hose too
I washed (more like a lick and a promise) my wife's car this afternoon as it started to rain. Couldn't let the rare 76 degree December day go without knocking the salt residue off from last week. My dad stopped by and laughed at me. I didn't bother drying it because it sat out for about 2 more hours while I worked in the garage. Had to drain the hose too
sublime68charger
Well-known member
No stress Bob have a very Merry Chritmas and a happy new year!
slimpickins
Well-known member
A few months ago I bought a car wash foam gun from Chemical Guys. It connects to the garden hose and shoots car wash soap foam on the car to float the heavy grime and with a quick wipe with a mit, the car should be clean. It's mostly plastic and the nozzle can be quickly disconnected from the gun and used to rinse the car. I paid about $50 for it.
....
The foam cannon I bought connects directly to the handle and trigger with no wand of any kind.
Here it is compared to the stand-up wand that came with my new pressure washer. The bottle would normally connect in place of the white nozzle on the tip.
Having spent more than 30 years writing instruction manuals, I was happy to find that none were included with the foam cannon. The fancy sites suggested adding 3 ounces of soap concentrate and then filling the bottle with 30 ounces of water. I ignored this and added only about 1.5 ounces of concentrate. I adjusted the cannon's mixing valve and nozzle opening and couldn't see a huge difference. I covered the car with foam, went inside to get the camera and back inside to get the SIM card and took this picture. Obviously I should have used double the amount of soap because I could still see the car.
Well that's cool. Never knew what they were called till now. I'll have to put that on my spring Amazon list to buy! (Probably won't work well at -30C).
I'm anxious to see the "after" pic, just like Andy! Did you just leave the foam on?
Waiting on pins and needles!
Cheers!
shortykorte
Well-known member
Bob it snowed! It snowed! Break out the shovels.
Andy, it did rinse off eventually but it was pretty dry because I spent a lot of time trying to find the girl. I think she checked in to the hospital with carpal tunnel syndrome or maybe cute pal funnel syndrome -- hey I'm not a doctor. It did get dark because after I rinsed the Cadillac off, I put it in the garage, shut the door, and forgot to turn on the lights.
Kenny, up north I plumbed a sink in the garage and had hot and cold hose spigots below so I could rinse the salt off my cars and give them a quick wash. Even in below freezing weather, on a sunny day, it was possible to get them clean(er) but it didn't stop the rust, just postponed it by a couple of years. My neighbors thought I was crazy and kidded me about it all the time. I would have rinsed the cars off after work every day but it was dark by the time I got home.
Sub, one of my attainable goals in life is to reduce stress whenever and wherever possible. If it isn't the #1 health issue in the US, it's probably not far down the list. As soon as I stress about something, I take a nap and dream up a solution.
Slimpickins, I am really embarrassed about washing the car Christmas eve. My wife was napping so I thought it was a good opportunity to try out the foam cannon. The wheels had a little brake dust on them so I cleaned them first (that's why there's water on the driveway in the 'before' picture. The car itself had very little dirt on it. We're talking some rain spots on the hood and windshield...Well that's cool. Never knew what they were called till now. I'll have to put that on my spring Amazon list to buy! (Probably won't work well at -30C).
I'm anxious to see the "after" pic, just like Andy! Did you just leave the foam on?
Waiting on pins and needles!
Cheers!
The really disturbing blemishes in the above picture is orange peel you can clearly see in the light fixture and bicycle reflections. The car needs to be cut and buffed but I won't do that while my wife is at home. She worries a lot (my fault) and seeing me sanding the paint on our Chebbie could cause a complete breakdown. Yes, she thinks the engine defines the car so a Cadillac with a blown Corvette 6.2L engine = a Chebbie.
Stewart, it melted right away. Besides, my favorite is a 4-inch wide trenching shovel and that would take forever.Bob it snowed! It snowed! Break out the shovels.
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oldironfarmer
Well-known member
Forgive me, this is a serious comment.
I've wondered about washing cars in freezing weather. I have always assumed the salt needs liquid water to do it's thing and really enjoy being with steel. So if all the water is pretty hard, the salt may not be able to get hooked up and find a date.
My new stock trailer got washed out after every sh!tting trip. In retrospect I'm not sure that was a good idea. It rusted out like they all do. Dry urine and cowpies may not be as bad as pretty well but not clinically rinsed ****. It was my first new trailer and it is twenty years old and looks like everybody else's twenty year old trailer. One of my upcoming projects is a ST T/A (Stock Trailer Turn Around). JB understands.
I've wondered about washing cars in freezing weather. I have always assumed the salt needs liquid water to do it's thing and really enjoy being with steel. So if all the water is pretty hard, the salt may not be able to get hooked up and find a date.
My new stock trailer got washed out after every sh!tting trip. In retrospect I'm not sure that was a good idea. It rusted out like they all do. Dry urine and cowpies may not be as bad as pretty well but not clinically rinsed ****. It was my first new trailer and it is twenty years old and looks like everybody else's twenty year old trailer. One of my upcoming projects is a ST T/A (Stock Trailer Turn Around). JB understands.
I completed a project today. A few years ago we replaced the toilet and sinks in the master bath. The original owners had black fixtures installed and my wife hated them (hard to keep clean). I found a nicer white toilet and matching white sinks at the local Habitat ReStore. I didn't care for the faucets but my wife didn't want me to replace them. I could feel how cheap the valves were -- you can feel the difference between brass and plastic when you open or close them.
I lucked out when my wife mentioned that one of the faucets was dripping and keeping her up at night a few weeks ago. I knew I could purchase new cartridges or washers for the old faucets but I wanted something different and solid. To that end I didn't bring a cartridge with me or even check for a washer repair kit (Home Depot doesn't seem to carry just washers anymore). I showed her the new faucets at Home Depot.
My wife isn't really 'cheap' but anything more expensive than free upsets her. On the other hand, she has good (expensive?) taste and the only faucets she liked were waterfall style. I pointed out that they were hard to care for because a puddle of water always remains in the open tray of the waterfall when you shut them off. I also pointed out that only the ugliest (sorry, least attractive) of the waterfall faucets was less than $250 and we needed two.
My friend Google found a waterfall faucet at Amazon that was 'different' and didn't have an open tray. What it did have was an LED light in the waterfall that changed color with the temperature of the water, from blue (cold) to green (warm) and red (hot). I was having visions of battery replacement issues and wasn't crazy about the feature when I read that the light was powered by a turbine in the pipe. OK, that's cool and I show it to my wife. She loves it and that's when I noticed the price... $46 (now it's $45.99 -- RATS). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0107P115A/?tag=atomicindus08-20
For $46 I expect another plastic faucet but it says it's brass. Hell, even if it's plastic it will do until a better one goes on sale. At that price I ordered three along with two new pop-up drains (the waterfall faucet doesn't have a drain stopper rod setup).
The old faucet came out with very little drama but because of its design, you have to remove the flat nut on top and drop the valve out the bottom (same as the new faucet).
The faucet came with everything needed for the installation except the supply lines and some plumbers putty. It even came with a roll of Teflon tape that wasn't needed with the style fittings used. A little cleaning of the porcelain and the first piece was ready to go in.
The faucets are indeed all brass and quite heavy. The knobs have a button that screws in the side and when unscrewed, exposes the setscrew that holds the knob tight on the faucet shaft.
With the usual "be patient" voice encouraging me, I managed to get the faucets screwed into the escutcheons on top of the sink (plumbers putty helps a little as well). Tightened the ring nuts from under the sink (more "be patient") and connected the faucets to the spigot through a Tee. Two supply lines and the new drain and it was done.... sort of.
I never do a victory dance after completing a project like this and I only did one faucet. Turned on the water, filled the sink and found no leaks. Tested the LED color change and it worked perfectly. I'm happy and my wife's happy but I am going to wait until after Christmas to do the second faucet.
Put the towels back under the sink and cleaned up for the day. The towels weren't wet until the second day. Took everything back out and checked again for leaks. The Tee was leaking but only when both faucets were wide open. Removed the Tee and noticed a hex opening inside -- found the right allen key in the collection and unscrewed the swivel. The o-ring is cut through! I may have done that but I think the swivel was not tightened carefully at the factory -- it came apart way too easy.
My packrat (hoarder?) mentality meant there were three possibilities. I could 1) open the third box and get the o-ring from the spare faucet, 2) go to a store and find the right o-ring or 3) check the Harbor Freight o-ring box for the right o-ring. Strike out! Wait, don't I have a collection of o-rings from the PT Cruiser A/C repair project? Yeah, right here in the tiny garage parts bin -- one of those green ones...
The second faucet went in today without any issues -- so far.
I lucked out when my wife mentioned that one of the faucets was dripping and keeping her up at night a few weeks ago. I knew I could purchase new cartridges or washers for the old faucets but I wanted something different and solid. To that end I didn't bring a cartridge with me or even check for a washer repair kit (Home Depot doesn't seem to carry just washers anymore). I showed her the new faucets at Home Depot.
My wife isn't really 'cheap' but anything more expensive than free upsets her. On the other hand, she has good (expensive?) taste and the only faucets she liked were waterfall style. I pointed out that they were hard to care for because a puddle of water always remains in the open tray of the waterfall when you shut them off. I also pointed out that only the ugliest (sorry, least attractive) of the waterfall faucets was less than $250 and we needed two.
My friend Google found a waterfall faucet at Amazon that was 'different' and didn't have an open tray. What it did have was an LED light in the waterfall that changed color with the temperature of the water, from blue (cold) to green (warm) and red (hot). I was having visions of battery replacement issues and wasn't crazy about the feature when I read that the light was powered by a turbine in the pipe. OK, that's cool and I show it to my wife. She loves it and that's when I noticed the price... $46 (now it's $45.99 -- RATS). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0107P115A/?tag=atomicindus08-20
For $46 I expect another plastic faucet but it says it's brass. Hell, even if it's plastic it will do until a better one goes on sale. At that price I ordered three along with two new pop-up drains (the waterfall faucet doesn't have a drain stopper rod setup).
The old faucet came out with very little drama but because of its design, you have to remove the flat nut on top and drop the valve out the bottom (same as the new faucet).
The faucet came with everything needed for the installation except the supply lines and some plumbers putty. It even came with a roll of Teflon tape that wasn't needed with the style fittings used. A little cleaning of the porcelain and the first piece was ready to go in.
The faucets are indeed all brass and quite heavy. The knobs have a button that screws in the side and when unscrewed, exposes the setscrew that holds the knob tight on the faucet shaft.
With the usual "be patient" voice encouraging me, I managed to get the faucets screwed into the escutcheons on top of the sink (plumbers putty helps a little as well). Tightened the ring nuts from under the sink (more "be patient") and connected the faucets to the spigot through a Tee. Two supply lines and the new drain and it was done.... sort of.
I never do a victory dance after completing a project like this and I only did one faucet. Turned on the water, filled the sink and found no leaks. Tested the LED color change and it worked perfectly. I'm happy and my wife's happy but I am going to wait until after Christmas to do the second faucet.
Put the towels back under the sink and cleaned up for the day. The towels weren't wet until the second day. Took everything back out and checked again for leaks. The Tee was leaking but only when both faucets were wide open. Removed the Tee and noticed a hex opening inside -- found the right allen key in the collection and unscrewed the swivel. The o-ring is cut through! I may have done that but I think the swivel was not tightened carefully at the factory -- it came apart way too easy.
My packrat (hoarder?) mentality meant there were three possibilities. I could 1) open the third box and get the o-ring from the spare faucet, 2) go to a store and find the right o-ring or 3) check the Harbor Freight o-ring box for the right o-ring. Strike out! Wait, don't I have a collection of o-rings from the PT Cruiser A/C repair project? Yeah, right here in the tiny garage parts bin -- one of those green ones...
The second faucet went in today without any issues -- so far.
Andy, my '68 GTO rusted out around the backlite about the same time the rocker panels rusted out. My theory is that wet steel rusts. Add a little acid and it probably rusts a little faster. I was really frustrated that my neighbors, who never washed their cars and never had the oil changed didn't seem to suffer any more failures than my cars suffered. Their cars were probably too dirty to see the rust and maybe they never mentioned the engine replacements but it sure made me feel like I wasn't winning any battles.
Your comment about hard water may be on point. When we bought the GTO new in 1968 our development relied on community wells. The water required a softener but ours wasn't very reliable. I knew it wasn't working when we boiled water and white crystals fell out of solution and fell to the bottom of the pot. I was probably spraying the undercarriage with nice hot super-saturated rusting chemicals. Then again, I was too cheap to buy the "rust-proofing" from the dealer and settled for the "undercoating," which was probably just used motor oil thrown at the car.
Grumblebum
Well-known member
Must be the day for it Bob. I have just sat down after replacing the spindles in our bathroom vanity taps.
oldironfarmer
Well-known member
Sorry my post was unclear, by "hard" water, I meant the frozen type. Which I think is less corrosive than the liquid type. There I go trying to be serious.
slimpickins
Well-known member
Sorry my post was unclear, by "hard" water, I meant the frozen type. Which I think is less corrosive than the liquid type. There I go trying to be serious.
If I might venture a response on the hard water and salt issue ...
Road salt will convert "hard water" to liquid water down to about -5 to -10 degrees C or a little lower depending on the amount of salt used. The lower the temp, then the hard water will be slush, not water.
(FYI Quick conversion for C to F is multiply by 5/9 and add 32 and F to C is multiply by 9/5 and subtract 32)
Road crews (here in Saskatchewan) use a mixture of salt and sand and the ratio is varied depending on the temp. When it is very cold (-30C) they use less salt and more sand as the salt will not have much effect at those temps.
The salt, sand, snow and ice mixtures that you find on roads mix together into a consistency almost like a cookie batter that is wet-ish or dry-ish depending on the temp. All of these mixtures love to stick to the underbodies and in the wheel wells of cars. Then when it warms up, the salt does it's work and starts eating through the metal, anywhere it can get a pinhole. In Ontario, they use way more salt than out here in Sask. and many people, myself included will not buy a used vehicle from Ontario. (lovingly nicknamed "Rust Bunnies")
So washing a car when it is cold is a challenge. Obviously this cannot be done outside and there are many indoor car wash bays in the area. When the temp is above -10C, I don't even bother washing the car as it will be covered in wet, salty mud spray within a couple of blocks. When the weather is turning colder -10 to -15C and will be going to -20 or colder for a few days, then it is an ideal time to wash the car as the road salt, sand, snow and ice mixture doesn't create the wet spray that coats vehicles with mud.
Perhaps I will post some pics showing the effects over the next few days. we've been at -20ish and we're going to have a few days at -3 to -5. Here comes the road slop!
Also when washing your car in freezing weather, it is imperative to dry the door and trunk gaskets and put some rubber lubricant on them as they will freeze shut and the gaskets can tear if you force them open.
An odd thing here that I don't think you see in the southern states and warmer climes is that the automatic drive-thru car washes here (the good ones) (which I generally hate) have an underbody spray that tries to deal with the road grime on the bottom of the car.
Hope this answers your questions Andy!
Sorry for the hijack Bob!
Cheers
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Jeepster04
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2013
- Messages
- 3,113
Its such fun reading this thread. My brother enjoys foaming his vehicles but I tend to see it as an extra step.
Err, this is the snow foam.
Its bound to reduce swirls but I dont like having to get the pressure washer out everytime.
For winter washing I will spray the Jeep off outside. Either at the car wash or the in my driveway if the car wash is frozen up.
Ive got a product from meguiars called rinseless wash. I use the two bucket method in the garage. Works great.
Err, this is the snow foam.
Its bound to reduce swirls but I dont like having to get the pressure washer out everytime.
For winter washing I will spray the Jeep off outside. Either at the car wash or the in my driveway if the car wash is frozen up.
Ive got a product from meguiars called rinseless wash. I use the two bucket method in the garage. Works great.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Bob: here's to another good year above dirt in 2017. we survived 2016 or we will in a few hours.
your attitude, your wisdom, your stories, your sense of humor and your willingness to share is AWESOME.
GJ is a much better place having you sir so hope you stick around here for many many years to come.
cheers
your attitude, your wisdom, your stories, your sense of humor and your willingness to share is AWESOME.
GJ is a much better place having you sir so hope you stick around here for many many years to come.
cheers
oldironfarmer
Well-known member
Slimpickins: Great discourse, thanks!
Sweet '17 everyone!
Sweet '17 everyone!
GB, I don't know why but when someone shows a repair, it seems to be catching at my place. I need to spend more time with people who ignore problems. I now have a large collection of 'just in case' tools I never thought I needed and have been replacing things I thought were OK. It keeps me from drinking.
Lyndon
Well-known member
"it keeps me from drinking". . . . So that's what I need? ? ? ?
Lyndon
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Andy, be careful trying to be serious. You do better as a jester or a Shirley, as in Surely you jest. I apologize for missing the hard water comment and I should have caught it -- we have hard water coming out of the freezer door every day.Sorry my post was unclear, by "hard" water, I meant the frozen type. Which I think is less corrosive than the liquid type. There I go trying to be serious.
Slimpickins, I welcome your hijack and raise you one. I really don't miss living in Corrosion Country. The salt was bad but the sand was almost worse. Long after the snow was gone, there was still sand on the roads and the finer grains stuck to the car and made it filthy every time it rained until about Labor Day. The snow, salt and sand soon followed.
I had forgotten about the doors and trunk being frozen shut after washing the car in the winter. It scared me the first time it happened -- I thought the door latch was broken.
Jeepster04, that's a picture that makes me shiver. I remember going out to the parking lot in the blizzard of '96 (do tell Gramps!)and having to clear the snow off with my sleeve (I think someone stole the scraper out of the Hertz rental I was driving).Its such fun reading this thread. My brother enjoys foaming his vehicles but I tend to see it as an extra step.
Err, this is the snow foam.
Its bound to reduce swirls but I dont like having to get the pressure washer out everytime.
For winter washing I will spray the Jeep off outside. Either at the car wash or the in my driveway if the car wash is frozen up.
Ive got a product from meguiars called rinseless wash. I use the two bucket method in the garage. Works great.
I am actually keeping the foam gun that hooks up to the garden hose because I know I won't feel like getting out the pressure washer either. I'm not even sure how effective the gun or cannon are because I haven't managed to get the cars really dirty yet.
We live in a pretty fru-fru place so we don't have any self-serve car washes so I either wash the cars at home or take them to a drive-thru. Aside from my cheap streak (caused by the local car washes' inability to get a car clean with the basic $12.95 wash), my '87 Corvette and PT Cruiser are lowered and have aftermarket body parts that don't clear the tracks. I was actually pleased when I was turned away by the attendant who knew right away my car wouldn't make it through unscathed.