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Removing Road Salt

AmericanRebelution

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This topic came up in a thread in another area of the forum, but I wanted to bring in up in the Detailing section. Anyone using any products like Star brite Salt Off to remove road salt? Any other products you have had success with?
 

HAL9001

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Salt dissolves very easily with just plain water, then a surfactant can be used to wash it away. So just use a lot of plain car wash detergent and water. There's no need to use anything fancy or expensive to remove salt. Minerals such as calcium are hard to remove and may require a special product, but not salt.

There's not a lot you can do in the wintertime in the salt belt. Try to keep it clean as best you can and always protect it before the salt season starts with a good polymer wax or ceramic finish for the paint and rustproofing for the chassis. Once Spring arrives, spend some time thoroughly washing and rinsing all the salt off of the paint and undercarriage.
 

Malodave

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That one is for cleaning floors, You need one that points up like this one I purchased ($30) for my Pressure Washer:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QHTCWBB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Malodave


51DOP260bVL._AC_SL1001_.jpg
 

cervelo15

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I'm glad someone started this thread, because I have been struggling with the same thing here in PA. I'm going to come clean and say, I've found reasons NOT to drive my truck in the snow. Wife has a good SUV, so she's been good getting back and forth to work. Plus, I'm working from home until further notice, so I don't drive much anyways.

What i have found is if i get a bit of salt on it, I ran to Lowes to get one of those small pressure sprayers you pump. I fill it with hot water and spend some time spraying the wheel wells, rocker panels, etc. Then maybe on the weekend take it to a high pressure car wash to finish the rest. I was going to experiment with adding a little soap to the water and see what happens.

Side note: I absolutely despise the use of road salt. Being an avid road cyclist, this is killing my chances of riding outside anytime soon
 

securityguy

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I'm glad someone started this thread, because I have been struggling with the same thing here in PA. I'm going to come clean and say, I've found reasons NOT to drive my truck in the snow. Wife has a good SUV, so she's been good getting back and forth to work. Plus, I'm working from home until further notice, so I don't drive much anyways.

What i have found is if i get a bit of salt on it, I ran to Lowes to get one of those small pressure sprayers you pump. I fill it with hot water and spend some time spraying the wheel wells, rocker panels, etc. Then maybe on the weekend take it to a high pressure car wash to finish the rest. I was going to experiment with adding a little soap to the water and see what happens.

Side note: I absolutely despise the use of road salt. Being an avid road cyclist, this is killing my chances of riding outside anytime soon
You need to buy what @Malodave posted above!
 

cervelo15

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You need to buy what @Malodave posted above!
Ha! I've already been checking them out on Amazon. We're getting a peek at warmer weather here in PA today with it going up to mid 50s, so I'm dying for all this to clear up and have a good rain to wash the roads off so i can polish her up and get a good ceramic coating on her.
 

bman77

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This topic came up in a thread in another area of the forum, but I wanted to bring in up in the Detailing section. Anyone using any products like Star brite Salt Off to remove road salt? Any other products you have had success with?
I use Eastwood's Road Salt Neutralizer every spring after our first few rains. I hook it up to the dispenser on my power washer and use the undercarriage washer attachment from Home Depot.
 

Dodgeramfan

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I'm glad someone started this thread, because I have been struggling with the same thing here in PA. I'm going to come clean and say, I've found reasons NOT to drive my truck in the snow. Wife has a good SUV, so she's been good getting back and forth to work. Plus, I'm working from home until further notice, so I don't drive much anyways.
Fellow PA resident and this statement could have come from MY keyboard word-for-word!
 

bill-e

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Maybe a little off topic but I just gave my tires their first touch washing since the fall. I made a mixture of 50/50 white vinegar and water with some Dawn and applied it to the tires with a brush and let it sit for 5 minutes. I rinsed it off with my portable pressure washer.

The rubber came out as good as any store bought product I've tried. Now awaiting the snow to stop falling so I can apply the shine.
 

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