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Cleaning Under the Car

Messages
45
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12
Location
Madison
#1
There's a possibility that I can make this the last (of 3) winter in the Fiesta so I can dedicate it to the non-salty months.

I'd like to take time this spring / summer and try to get the salt and junk off from underneath the car. Any recommendations? Remove parts, panels? Washing and cleaning tools to help? Maybe rustproof at the same time?
 


Messages
424
Likes
133
Location
Palm City
#2
I just drove my FiST back from NJ to FL and had a ton of salt on the car. Got the car on the lift immediately and scrubbed every underbody / suspension component with Optimum Power Clean diluted 3:1 with water, which worked very well. Any type of degreaser or all purpose cleaner will work, just dilute it accordingly. I removed all the wheels as it was the only way to properly scrub the wheel wells and suspension pieces / brakes etc.

 


Messages
76
Likes
4
Location
atlanta
#3
To easily rinse the underneath, you can also place a lawn sprinkler under your car. Or use a pressure washer to spray off as much as you can.
 


Intuit

3000 Post Club
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3,602
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2,205
Location
South West Ohio
#4
If it's good enough for marine use, ought to be good enough for us... I hope anyway. (they use some pretty nasty stuff on the roads)
https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Away-Pr...UTF8&qid=1490060646&sr=8-1&keywords=salt+away
Salt-Away & Mixer Combo 32oz.

Best time to use is when the car is already wet from the rains. One strategy is to immediately use after every drive. The strategy I prefer is to use, after the salt has been cleared from the roads by the rains, and when the car is already wet from the rains. If this is cleaned off during dry weather, don't let it sit wet. Drive it a fairly long distance to insure a thorough drying of all crevices of the vehicle. Exposing a fresh layer of metal only to have a fresh layer of salt applied on the next drive, doesn't sound like a good idea to me. I like to have a few layers of dirt, soot, rubber, between the road salt and that metal. As much as is reasonable, avoid letting it sit wet, or sit over earthy surfaces that encourage oxidation.
 


Messages
180
Likes
19
Location
LEWISTON
#6
I got mine up on a lift, and removed those silly plastic panels, gave everything a solid degreasing and clean. Let it all air dry than i undercoated the entire under carriage. Makes me feel a bit better with Maine winters.
 


Messages
27
Likes
6
Location
Westchester
#7
I usually jack it up after spraying it down with a hose and get some soap and reach around a few places with a sponge. Then after hit it with the hose again let it dry. Then spray fluid film on a rag and rub a nice coating on. After this first winter things still look in good shape. It's tedious but hopefully it helps some in the long run...
 


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