[FordFocus897]

One day in future, I may be living in a state that suffers from snow, which in turn means salt will be placed on the road. This means that my highly detailed car will be absolutely destroyed! I can't bear the thought of swirl marks, rust, and other horrendous things that come from the devil becoming a part of my car. That is why I have thought of a solution for my deep trouble! I'm thinking of a full wrap on the paint. If I were to fully wrap the paint, would it be protected from the elements? Would the snow and salt damage my wrap and not my paint? If I put that car through a full winter (no garage) with a wrap, would my paint be fully preserved? Thank you for your patronage in reading this full paragraph. I hope you can provide some more information in this subject of great importance

 

[tpiechow]

I lived in Michigan for a couple of years and they salt like their lives depend on it.

First, I'm sorry that you have to deal with the salt. In my mind it is the dumbest thing on the planet and it causes me to question my faith in human intelligence. A little over dramatic, but it pisses me off.

Second, the worst part about that salt is that it affects you damn near all year. If in late spring/early summer, the rains collect salt from cracks, pot hills, curb, etc and puts it out there to be ran over and collect on the under side of the car.

Third, when it comes to salt, its not the painted surface you have worry about. Salt gets behind the sheet metal of the car and rusts out, causing paint to bubble until eventually the pain gives way and there is a hole in the panel A vinyl wrap with not help. Also, the salt attacks the underside of the car, engine, transmission, exhaust, suspension, etc, first.

Even if you were to wash your car 1, 2 or 3 times a week, you are just slowing down the inevitable. Your best bet is to get a winter beater and store your ST as best you can. Most of the people I know from MI that have sport/fun cars only drive them 4-5 months out of the year to avoid salt.

 

[Brownie289]

Agree with our friend from MI, it's not the paint that's the issue, it's the corrosion of every thing else. I have lived in a salt state forever CT, now we use some enviro chemical that is way worse than salt IMO. MI uses salt at a varsety level but atleast MI has carwashes everywhere.
The winter chemical bath destroys metal, period. The best you can do is to slow it down. I usually car wash once a week, to get the underside clean not the paint.

 

[FordFocus897]

That's crazy stuff. I may just sell the ST before i move and buy a car that stinks

 

[UnfocusedST]

Winter beater. Cheap car to drive during the winter. Potentially with AWD. I have a 06 Ford Escape XLT. I also drive it when it rains.

Sent from another garage.

 

[FordFocus897]

Winter beater. Cheap car to drive during the winter. Potentially with AWD. I have a 06 Ford Escape XLT. I also drive it when it rains.


Sent from another garage.

Great idea!

 

[UnfocusedST]

Sent from another garage.

 

[FordFocus897]

Sent from another garage.

Glad to see the ST is not the one taking a beating!

 

[Cowlynz]

it would take 10 years before any rust began showing through the paint.

 

[EVH]

Winter Beater all the way!! 1995 Subaru Legacy Wagon with almost 247,000 miles. I paid $1300 for it a year and a half ago, so money well-spent. It replaced a 2001 Subaru Forester with 264,000 miles on it that finally rusted to the point that it would no longer pass inspection.
Plus, it doubles as my "truck" the rest of the year for dump runs, etc.

 

[Duchess]

I don't know which snow country you're moving to, but a place like MI is generally worse than a coastal spot for corrosion due to the more liberal use of salt. My area in MA is mostly sand, though they're changing to some kind of brine solution, so who knows what's coming. Some brands of car are worse than others for rust protection (Mazda, Nissan, Hyundai/KIA come readily to mind), but my last Focus looked good, having nothing but light surface rust on the undercarriage after 5 years and 200k miles of me not taking care of it whereas the Mazda3 it replaced was looking ten years old instead of 5 with rust bubbling up (and a general feeling of being worn out by 160k). Covering the paint will help, but as the damage is primarily sand blasting on the nose, it's probably not worth the money to wrap for what you save in paint damage. It's the underside and the inner wheel arches that are the main problems. If you really want to take care of it, use the self-serve wash stations and spend plenty of time thoroughly blasting out the wheel wells and undercarriage. Every spring, hit everything underneath with rubberized undercoat (you'll need probably 2 cans the first time, then it's just touching up every year after). As far as the roads go, the salt/sand beats them up, too, so lowering a car and stiffening the suspension is for people who like replacing wheels and doing alignments (so I hear). There's also an element of mechanical sympathy in knowing which holes to hit and how to hit them to minimize stress on the car (I find that slowing down is rarely necessary). As a note, I have never had so much as a blow out from potholes in about 3/4 million miles of driving lower end cars and I don't drive like grandma (even with all the highway miles I do, excessive lateral wear generally makes me happy to get anything over half the stated tread life from tires).

 

[tpiechow]

it would take 10 years before any rust began showing through the paint.

I agree that it would take a long time for rust to show through the paint on some vehicles.

I had a 2009 Chevy Silverado because I am dumb that I owned in Montana before moving to MI in May of 2014. There was zero issues with the paint but after about a month of being in MI the paint on the lower bed started flaking off and had rust showing.

Granted this is probably an extreme case, but it sucked none the less.

 

[Speedy12139]

it would take 10 years before any rust began showing through the paint.

I would really like to know where the hell you came up with that number :doh:

I've personally seen countless car's/trucks begin to rust out in as little as 2 years from when they were new :shocked: To car's that were winter driven every year for 10+ years that still look great. Any car's going to rust... You can prevent it, sure. Everybody goes about it in different ways... From, More regular washing in the winter, to installing electronic rust control modulus, to having them undercoated... Let's not get into a discussion if any of those methods really work or not, but you CAN have them done, if you see fit.

I would however highly suggest, if it bothers you that much, to drive your new* car in the winter, to buy some cheap beater. Nothing real expensive. No more than say $2500. Something that you just wouldn't give 2 sh*ts about. There is LOTS of very good cheap car's out there, that can be had to daily in the wintertime... Keep your options open, as you might even be able to pick up a sweet little awd something for a steal of a deal.

 

[Cowlynz]

I would really like to know where the hell you came up with that number :doh:

I've personally seen countless car's/trucks begin to rust out in as little as 2 years from when they were new :shocked: To car's that were winter driven every year for 10+ years that still look great. Any car's going to rust... You can prevent it, sure. Everybody goes about it in different ways... From, More regular washing in the winter, to installing electronic rust control modulus, to having them undercoated... Let's not get into a discussion if any of those methods really work or not, but you CAN have them done, if you see fit.

I would however highly suggest, if it bothers you that much, to drive your new* car in the winter, to buy some cheap beater. Nothing real expensive. No more than say $2500. Something that you just wouldn't give 2 sh*ts about. There is LOTS of very good cheap car's out there, that can be had to daily in the wintertime... Keep your options open, as you might even be able to pick up a sweet little awd something for a steal of a deal.

Calm down sonny. Put your textbooks down and welcome to real life.
This is a Ford. Ford has better steel and undercoating than your run of the mill import.
Have a nice day.

 

[Speedy12139]

Calm down sonny. Put your textbooks down and welcome to real life.
This is a Ford. Ford has better steel and undercoating than your run of the mill import.
Have a nice day.

Wait, whats this?!?!? Someone claiming Ford uses quality materials?!?!?!?!

Bahahahahahah, I'm just bustin balls here man, but for real, I really do hope these car's hold up to the test of time!

 

[RR13ST3]

Just get a beater, I mean an ST w snow tires

 

[Recycler]

Sign on with a reputable car wash that has a monthly unlimited wash subscription, helps a lot. Winter pretreat every fall and stay on top of damaged surfaces (inspect wheel wells, underbody, etc). Or hire a rustproofing service (do your background research in this case).

Have lived in the salt belt my whole life and none of my cars have ever rusted inside or out (except my first car, a Mustang LX). If you don't stay proactive, your car will rust out in 5+ years pending how bad the winters are. I learned this with my first car the hard way.

My biggest problem on the st has been paint chips on the hood. It's like Ford's paint is some kind of reactive armor plating that explodes with every pea gravel impact point....so frustrating.

 

[FordFocus897]

So I've decided it isn't practical for me to get a winter beater. I can't be paying car insurance on two cars and the fact of the matter is I want the ST to come with me to New York. I would enjoy the roads in the summer, I just need a way to protect my car though the winter. Let me explain to you my situation. I am a detailing enthusiast. My car doesn't have any swirl marks, and I can show you how many scratches I have on one hand. My paint is in pretty good shape. My main concern with the paint is chips, rust, scratches, and swirl marks. Would a wrap or a plastidip help to minimize or eliminate chips, rust, scratches, and swirl marks on the paint alone? As far as the underbody and the wheel wells, what if I went to a car wash with an underbody wash and I did the wheel wells? I would be willing to do this weekly. Picture the scene. Im in upstate New York during the thick of winter. It's snowing, and the roads are full of salt. I don't have a garage space and my car is exposed to the elements. Does the ST stand a chance?

 

[Unfitproduct]

That's crazy stuff. I may just sell the ST before i move and buy a car that stinks

Buy a Honda, take off the logo and throw the ST logo over the place where the old one was at. Boom, instant strange sounding ST:saint:

 

[Unfitproduct]

Just get a beater, I mean an ST w snow tires

View attachment 193257

You're ST has frozen slobber stuck to it.