Give yourself time
Getting out earlier than the time you want to set off on a journey means you can scrape the vehicle clear of snow and ice, along all windscreens, both wing mirrors and along the roof, so that if you brake during your journey you won’t get snow falling onto the windscreen (it can leave a glaze on the windscreen even when using the wipers to clear it away, and this can obscure your view of your surroundings and the road ahead).
Find a cheap but high-quality ice and snow scraper for your vehicle in Autoparts’ products section.
Apply gradual heat
Don’t give your vehicle a hot-water shock: heat up your car gradually if it’s spent a cold night exposed to the elements by using its air-conditioning system, and any self-heat functions on your front and rear windscreens, to help clear away morning frost or snow from the glass and ice trapped between wipers and windscreen. Of course, getting to work with your trusty scraper and spraying de-icer will quicken the task.
Do not pour boiling water from the kettle directly onto freezing-cold windscreen glass, as you could easily crack it, stopping your journey in its tracks. What’s more, once the water cools, it will simply ice over again in the frozen outside air.
To help thaw out your car, use a de-icer that’s right at home in a frosty reception.
Keep your windscreen clear
Go to bed with a clear head knowing you’ve protected your vehicle from snow and ice, with a Bluecol magnetic frost protector from Autoparts. This insulating cover will keep your windscreen free from a freeze and mean you save time when you start up your vehicle in the morning.
Use a Bluecol magnetic frost protector to keep the cold off your windscreen.
Shampoo salt away
Go to any marina and even after the calmest day at sea you’re likely to find someone hosing down their boat, whether it’s a small craft or a hulking yacht. This is because where’s there’s salt on metal, corrosion quickly follows. This is bad news for the underside of your car, which will be exposed to higher levels of salt and grit while on the road, causing the metal to corrode.
Salt corrodes visible areas of a car or van, too, including paintwork, so say ‘sayonara’ to salt in winter by washing away it away using clean water and a high-quality car shampoo.
Apply wax
Protect your precious four wheels with a layer of professional auto wax to keep the worst of winter snow and ice off the vehicle’s body work. Be sure to do this before the onset of winter, and having cleaned the vehicle just before the wax is lathered around it, to avoid applying the wax on top of a settled layer of salt or grit, which would simply preserve the corrosion of paintwork that you’re trying to avoid.
This wax layer should last you through the winter, and can be applied again in a few months’ time to continue to protect your vehicle against all elements, not only snow and ice.
Find a car wax that gives brilliant shine, every time, in Autoparts’ superb product range.
