Best way to remove road salt - no pressure washer

[texaxile]

Yes, I'm a pauper with no access to a pressure washer, even my "best mate" neighbour does not have one,. I have a hose with a "squirt" attachment.

I am not on about my classic actually, but my daily Subaru Impreza which is now 18 years old , plus I'd get a more sensible answer here than from "GG". I always sluice the wheelarches which have been Bilt Hambered DYNAX'd twice already, paying attention to the upper strut mount areas etc etc, but my main concern is the underbody itself.

Basically, any suggestions on how to remove seasonal road salt from a daily "semi classic" once it's (road salting) is all done and dusted?.

Current options:

Slip "Polish Bob" a tenner at the local car wash to give it some good news with his lance on the underside at ground level.

or

Get it up on axle stands, pull the undertrays off and give it some good loving and saturation with the limp dick garden hose.

or

Leave it be.

Virtual single malt to the to all who answer.

[Divieto di Sosta]

If you really value your car ,do both the Polish Bob and the remove undertrays thing ,if you have enough time .

[adf27]

If you have ramps, could take it to your local petrol station jet wash, drive it onto ramps and jet wash it yourself.

Or if you're really bored and the petrol station is quiet, put it on axle stands in the jet wash and take the under trays off. Probably get a few funny looks/angry people waiting though

[texaxile]

Thanks for the replies, might actually look into hiring a jet wash machine for a weekend.Trouble is they need a feed of pressurised water I think.

It is a pain though, as the car will need to be on stands which, in itself is a trial to do, but I could also do all of them in one hit.

Time to think.

[Justatwist]

How precious are you about using an automatic car wash? There are a couple near me which offer an under chassis wash depending on the program you buy.

[texaxile]

Justatwist said:

How precious are you about using an automatic car wash? There are a couple near me which offer an under chassis wash depending on the program you buy.

Good idea mate, but I've never understood how good they actually are and if they can remove all the crud. Although to be honest I could do with the under chassis only, and not the rest o the scratchy bodywork stuff that comes with the option!.

[plenty]

Unless you are heavily lowered it's easy enough to use the lances at petrol-station jetwashes to reach the undercarriage.

[Jaz2000]

£80 buys you a cheap pressure washer which will also improve the washing under the wheelarches.
Look at it as an investment, lets face it how much welding could you get for £80 if it rots.

Why not see if your neighbour wants to go halfs.

[steveo3002]

petrol station jet washer or if you give two hoots about keeping the car nice treat yourself to a jet washer , could find a used one for not too much

[Rockets7]

Garden sprinkler under car for an hour or so.

[paddy1970]

Unfortunately salt find ways to go where you cannot get to it with a jet wash. The worst you can do is actually wash your car with warm water and then it will definitely go where you dont want to.

The best way is to apply ACF50 to the underside before the winter season. Failing that, try to wash the best you can and apply ACF50 generously once it is dry (be careful not to apply to the brake discs)

[lowdrag]

Every year, even though I basically hate the things, I take my car to the car wash in the spring. And I mean one with all the bells and whistles, including underbody jets. I keep my daily cars for a minimum of ten years, and this has protected them with no rust evident at all. This car was 13 years old and over 200,000 miles when this photo was taken and sold on to a friend. No rust to be seen, and we now have had the current one for ten years and 120,000 miles with the same results. And I never wax them either, just a shampoo from time to time.

Edited by lowdrag on Saturday 5th February 08:18