mrmophandle

So for us Mid-Atlantic folk, it seems winter is winding down. I doubt I'm gonna see any more frozen precipitation, and as such, no more road salt. Now, I've gone ahead and washed my S2k twice already, to clear off the salt and grime from the body. I've already applied two fresh coats of Zaino on it, and it's back to it's summertime shine.

I noticed something while I was washing the car though. No matter how direct the stream of water was, I could not remove the salt from the car's body without some level of aggitation. (duh, right? read on.) Extrapolating this, I realized that any salt buildup/deposits that have accumulated on the undercarriage (not the shiny side), would remain unless I aggitated that as well. Here comes the question:

How does one go about cleaning the under carriage (underside) of the car?

This is not a question of 'should we' clean under there. We're all Wash&Wax Wackos here, so the thought of a dirty spot on the car should be reason enough to ponder this question. Spraying water alone will not dislodge the salt/grime, and something about jacking the car up while the driveway is wet does not sound appealing.

Has anyone attempted this? Perhaps with a push broom inverted and a little bit of soap? Kidnap a small child and Keelhaul em under?

Your methods or thoughts are welcomed.

wanabe

best way is when you do the wheels and wheel wells (off the car)

jack the car up, take off the wheels, detail the wheels and then go for the undercarriage. this is best done on a real lift...
and a leaf blower comes in handy for the initial drying.
the final drying is done after the wheels are back on and you drive it!

the "not so difficult" way of doing this is with one of those long attachments that go on the hose (the one i have is for cleaning house windows) and they have a brush on the end. still easiest if you can at least get the car on jack stands.

E White

After the "salt season" ... I simply put the car on Jack Stands and slide an oscilatting garden sprinkler under the car and let it go for about an hour or so. After it's all thouroghly soaked ... I use a wand with a fine fan spray and hose it off as much as I can. At least you are dissolving any remaining salt film ... I think.

Emil St-Hilaire

Lucky I have a friend who has a lift in his garage.
I get to his place,and borrow his lift,a couple times a year,for undercarriage cleaning;only cost me beer and pizza.
And,I don't drive it in the winter.

mrmophandle

Ok, I gotta know. I'm sure it's posted somewhere in postville, but I can't seem to find it. Emil, why is your car up on what appear to be stacks of drywall squares?

MikeyC

Most people who store their cars for the winter put pieces of carpet, cardboard, or styrofoam under their tires to avoid getting flat spots in the tires.

Emil St-Hilaire

They are two pieces of styrofoam,1" thick.
Tires are pumped up to 50 psi.,and rest on 2" of styrofoam.