Topic: Does brushing the snow off your car scratch the paint?

[Sporty Fusion 2010]

Anyone know?

[wing]

You betcha it does

[tpl]

Yes.  Scratches the clearcoat probably no worse than going through a carwash( the touch kind) just after someone with a really muddy car.

[Sporty Fusion 2010]

Ok, so how do I remove the now then?

I usually wait until a little warmer, say -10 to -15 C, then go to a car wash and hose it off with hot water. Then I wipe down the inside doors and truck so they will not freeeze shut@!

[EV Dan]

Why brush?

[UmroAyyar]

I wouldn't drive around with snow on the car. Snow on the hood will start blowing towards the windshield. Snow on the roof will start sliding down the back window. Both cases poor visibility.

Get one of those soft bristle brushes, its not that bad. It doesn't scratch the 'paint'.

[vdk]

Ok, so how do I remove the now then?

I usually wait until ti get a little awrmer, say -10 to -15 C, then go to a car wash and hose it off with hot water. Then I wipe down the inside doors and truck so they will not fereeze shut@!

And it doesn't freeze the door shut? Or crack the windshield?

[Sporty Fusion 2010]

   Your example is am extreme case. There is no snow on the hood. it melted off. There is a small layer on the roof and some on the trunk. I do not use the back window for visibility, its tinted so its pretty much useless. I use the  side mirrors and the bliss system.

[Sporty Fusion 2010]

Ok, so how do I remove the now then?

I usually wait until ti get a little awrmer, say -10 to -15 C, then go to a car wash and hose it off with hot water. Then I wipe down the inside doors and truck so they will not fereeze shut@!

And it doesn't freeze the door shut? Or crack the windshield?

 I CAN CRACK MY WINDSHIELD?  OK,  WHY WAS I NOT TOLD THIS??   IS THERE SOME PLACE I CAN GO ONLINE THAT WILL TELL ME EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS TYPE OF STUFF??

THE DOORS DO NOT FREEZE, I WIPE DOWN THE INSIDES AND THE TRUNK.

[vdk]

Ok, so how do I remove the now then?

I usually wait until ti get a little awrmer, say -10 to -15 C, then go to a car wash and hose it off with hot water. Then I wipe down the inside doors and truck so they will not fereeze shut@!

And it doesn't freeze the door shut? Or crack the windshield?

 I CAN CRACK MY WINDSHIELD?  OK,  WHY WAS I NOT TOLD THIS??   IS THERE SOME PLACE I CAN GO ONLINE THAT WILL TELL ME EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS TYPE OF STUFF??

THE DOORS DO NOT FREEZE, I WIPE DOWN THE INSIDES AND THE TRUNK.

It's called physics. Or better yet: grab a glass, put it in the freezer for an hour, take it out and then pour hot water over it.

[UmroAyyar]

  Your example is am extreme case. There is no snow on the hood. it melted off. There is a small layer on the roof and some on the trunk. I do not use the back window for visibility, its tinted so its pretty much useless. I use the  side mirrors and the bliss system.

Ok, so its a thin layer, that you don't want to brush off. You can wash it off if you like as you said.

Back window is tinted on my car too at 15%. Its still very good for visibility (unless its one of those moon less, cloud, incessantly raining dark nights), did you get limo tint on it?

[ovr50]

If you use the softest bristle brush you can get, it shouldn't scratch the clearcoat much, if at all.

I would rather have a few faint scratches in the clearcoat, but be able to see where I am going, and to see which idiot has not brushed off the snow and may run into me because he/she/it can't see...

[rrocket]

Ok..here are my ideas.  Take 'em or leave em!!


1) I've used my California Water Blade.  Works great..no scratching.
2) If I use a "regular" bristle brush, I wrap a microfiber towel around it
3) Try a Snobrums  It's has a styrofoam like head.  http://snobrumusa.com/

[No H2O]

Anyone know?

No more than washing it.

Its a daily driver if you drive it in the winter. Why worry about it?

[Sporty Fusion 2010]

  Your example is am extreme case. There is no snow on the hood. it melted off. There is a small layer on the roof and some on the trunk. I do not use the back window for visibility, its tinted so its pretty much useless. I use the  side mirrors and the bliss system.

Ok, so its a thin layer, that you don't want to brush off. You can wash it off if you like as you said.

Back window is tinted on my car too at 15%. Its still very good for visibility (unless its one of those moon less, cloud, incessantly raining dark nights), did you get limo tint on it?

Thats the thing, I  did not tint it. The dealer did it. I purchased the car and it already had tint!  I think it was the new car salesman sitting around one day, bored, so they decided to sent the car off for tinted  windows for fun!

[sparky]

Maybe brushing causes tiny scratches. I've never noticed, but I'm not a concourse d'elegance kind of guy. I do know that NOT brushing off snow can be a lot worse. I wasn't using my second car much a couple of winters ago, and let the snow pile up on the roof and hood. A thaw came, the heavy mass of icy snow on the hood let go, slid off and gouged the paint all the way down to bare metal.

[carsncars]

I just gently (like without pushing down--just the weight of the brush itself) brush snow off the car's body. No need to get every flake, just the bulk of it so that it doesn't impede your vision/blow off and impede visibility for other drivers. Driving your car with snow piled up, you risk letting the snow slide into your vision, and risk the snow blowing off into other cars. Like someone said, it's a daily driver. I wouldn't scrape icy layers off like I do for the glass parts, though.

[Juke1]

Ok..here are my ideas.  Take 'em or leave em!!


1) I've used my California Water Blade.  Works great..no scratching.
2) If I use a "regular" bristle brush, I wrap a microfiber towel around it
3) Try a Snobrums  It's has a styrofoam like head.  http://snobrumusa.com/

We use the Snowbroom!!  They are excellent.  Nissan dealers carry them.

[ktm525]

Anyone know?

No more than washing it.

Its a daily driver if you drive it in the winter. Why worry about it?

x2. Compared to the salt/sand/gravel/huge rocks flying around here the least of my worries are scratches from a snowbrush.