need to wax my car in the middle of minnesota winter.. advice?

[gtfourdreams]

my dad and I just purchased an early 1986 Toyota Supra this weekend that is in pretty good condition. we had to drive it about 4 hrs in the snow, through farmland (with sand and salt here and there) to get it home, so I want to give it a quick wash and wax job before it gets put away for the winter. what is recommended in relation to ambient and surface temperatures?

i have a 3 stall, un heated, fairly large attached garage. i was thinking about pre-heating the room to about 60 degrees and then giving myself some time to work on the car slowly.

1. i would hand wash the car inside the garage, then squeegee the water out and let the car dry. maybe put a fan in the garage to help dry the floors.
2. wipe the car down and wait until the car was completely dry
3. maybe clay bar it, depending on the condition of the paint
4. use the 3-step Deep Crystal system
5. finish with nxt gen tech wax

what do you guys think? any advice? is there a good way to warm up the garage?

[Murr1525]

Re: need to wax my car in the middle of minnesota winter.. advice?

Well, as long as the products spread easily on the surface, you should be fine. When it is too cold, I get a bit of drying/gumming up it seems.

I think you'll be fine, esp if you can get the house air moving into the garage as well.

1. Wash/dry Good quality towels, etc of course. Definately two buckets, hopefully Grit Guards.

2. I'd clay, since you arent rushing.

3. Clean - DC1 is good

2. Polish - DC2 would be fine.

3. Wax - I'd just go with two thin coats of Nxt 2.0.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: need to wax my car in the middle of minnesota winter.. advice?

my dad and I just purchased an early 1986 Toyota Supra this weekend that is in pretty good condition.

what is recommended in relation to ambient and surface temperatures?

Cool car, very hot for it's day and it's still going to be a fun car to fix up and drive.





As for temperatures, try to get the garage warmed up if you can, invest is some kind of portable heater, wash and dry the car a day or two ahead of time then pull it into the garage, forewarn everyone that you're closing the garage door to heat it up so other family members won't be opening the door and allowing all the warm air to rush out and be replaced with cold air.

Pretty sure this car is going to have a single stage paint. Have you checked? What color is it?

Rub a white cloth with some kind of paint cleaner or cleaner/wax on a panel and then turn the cloth over and see if you're pulling pigment?

What's the condition of the paint right now? Is it intact?

Do the test and let us know and we'll go from there. If the car has been parked outside and the paint neglected then definitely you'll want to clay it.

How about a picture?

[RaskyR1]

Re: need to wax my car in the middle of minnesota winter.. advice?

I would say if you have a car wash close to your home, wash and dry it there. When you get home go over the car with a detail spray to remove any dust/dirt that may have accumulated on the drive home.

My old man picked up a nice heater at Menards for around $180 I think. It's a radiant heater that cranks out 30,000BTU's and it runs of propane, no electric needed he said.

If you can't get something set up, shoot me a PM. I'm out in Shakopee and we could probably work something out where you can use my shop.

[akimel]

Re: need to wax my car in the middle of minnesota winter.. advice?

This may be a foolish question, but if the car is going to remain garaged for the rest of the winter, wouldn't it be best simply to wash and dry it and to save all the time-consuming work--claying, polishing, waxing--until it warms up. Why spend all the energy, and money, to heat up the garage? A foolish question, I know (and none of my darn business anyway), but I thought I'd ask it anyway. Of course, if it's one of those personal things where one simply cannot wait a second longer in order to start the detailing process ... well, that I understand completely!

Cheers,
Al

[RaskyR1]

Re: need to wax my car in the middle of minnesota winter.. advice?

LOL....I missed the part about storing it for the winter!

Anyway, here is a similar heater to what my father bought at Menards. It's pretty much the same except his is propane. Both do not require venting, which is nice. He has a 60lb tank in the garage he hooks it up to.

Think he said he paid $130 for the heater and then added a fan to it.

http://products.desatech.com/product_info.php?products_id=693

Rasky

[jfelbab]

Re: need to wax my car in the middle of minnesota winter.. advice?

I'd also wait for warmer weather. I'd run the car through a touchless wash and then I'd QD it. I'd put down a couple layers of visqueen on the garage floor and park the car on it. I'd put a battery minder on the battery and a cover over the car and get prepared for a spring detail. Not having a coat of wax on it won't matter if you keep it in the garage and keep it covered.

[gtfourdreams]

Re: need to wax my car in the middle of minnesota winter.. advice?

thanks for the replies guys. first, here's a couple picture of the car (that the seller took)



keep in mind the guy just washed it, it is still wet and it is pretty late in the day. the paint is somewhat dull and some places it is oxidizing. I believe it is the original single stage paint, as most red toyota sports cars are but i am not sure yet.

the car has been in storage most of the time from what I am told. but it wasn't his favorite car, so I am sure it didn't get all the attention.

I drove it back through salt and a snow storm. So it was washed and stored in the garage the next day. The paint is starting to oxidize a little bit, so I just want to clean it up and put a couple coats of wax on it. I will NOT be driving it in winter, but I plan to take it out this weekend to my buddy's shop and have him replace all the fluids and get a full inspection. So that's why I want to make sure the paint is protected before I take it out. plus, im sure my dad will be showing it off to his friends so they may take it around the block once or twice.

anyhow, thanks for the tips. i think i will take Murr1525's advice and claybar it, then do DC1, DC2 and two times nxt2.0. the garage has been fairly warm, it feels like a comfy 45 degrees in there today so i may just warm it up quickly and work on it.

jfelbab: nice MR2, i have one just like it. 93 super red, na with 82k miles on it

[gtfourdreams]

Re: need to wax my car in the middle of minnesota winter.. advice?

thanks for the replies guys. first, here's a couple picture of the car (that the seller took). BTW, the front bumper and side skirts are broken because his dog chased a squirrel underneath the car and was determined to get to it. or at least that's his story.




keep in mind the guy just washed it, it is still wet and it is pretty late in the day. the paint is somewhat dull and some places it is oxidizing. I believe it is the original single stage paint, as most red toyota sports cars are but i am not sure yet.

the car has been in storage most of the time from what I am told. but it wasn't his favorite car, so I am sure it didn't get all the attention.

I drove it back through salt and a snow storm. So it was washed and stored in the garage the next day. The paint is starting to oxidize a little bit, so I just want to clean it up and put a couple coats of wax on it. I will NOT be driving it in winter, but I plan to take it out this weekend to my buddy's shop and have him replace all the fluids and get a full inspection. So that's why I want to make sure the paint is protected before I take it out. plus, im sure my dad will be showing it off to his friends so they may take it around the block once or twice.

anyhow, thanks for the tips. i think i will take Murr1525's advice and claybar it, then do DC1, DC2 and two times nxt2.0. the garage has been fairly warm, it feels like a comfy 45 degrees in there today so i may just warm it up quickly and work on it.

jfelbab: nice MR2, i have one just like it. 93 super red, na with 82k miles on it