I was wondering if anyone had any good advice on the steps that should be taken to prepare your car's paint for the winter weather and nasty salt that comes along with it. I feel as though I have a pretty solid idea but I am not sure if more steps would be required so I will post what I had in mind.

Steps that I had in mind.

- Degrease/Wash
- Clay
- Wash again to remove anything left over
- Polish
- Sealer or Wax?

That's what I thought would be ideal but I am not too sure if I should or should not be doing one or more of those steps listed. BTW I have tried searching but the sites that I have found do not seem to be too informative, any ideas, suggestions, help would be greatly appreciated.

 

You can wash/degrease and clay the paint. and then put a good coat or two of sealant on it. I wouldn't use a Carnuba based wax because of the durability and how long it wouldn't last.

quality polymer sealants will last 5-6 months versus carnumba wax will only last 5-8 weeks. I would say Black Fire Wet Diamond. one 16 oz bottle would last you a LONG LONG time. and the durability and feel of BFWD is amazing.

BlackFire Wet Diamond

And to seal and protect your wheels, you can use some PB wheel sealant.

PB's wheels sealant


That should get you through a good winter.

 

Thanks Eric so no need to polish correct?

 

Nope, the correction doesn't add protection it just enhances gloss. the key part in protecting for the winter is the clay bar step. If you didn't clay bar it, your just applying sealant on top of all the contaminants, which prevents the sealant from adhering at it fullest potential.

So no need to correct the paint if you are just looking for protection.