De-icer

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De-icer

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Feb 26, 2016
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So a friend and colleague told me to do that using deicer from an aerosol is not good for your cars bodywork, it is better use trigger spray deicer? Surely there is no fact in this
 
So a friend and colleague told me to do that using deicer from an aerosol is not good for your cars bodywork, it is better use trigger spray deicer? Surely there is no fact in this
I was under the assumption that any kind of de icer would be bad for bodywork if for example a lot of it dripped onto the paint and was never wiped off.
 
De-icer used to rot the screen seals years ago. I've never possessed any myself, so no idea what's in it now, if different to back in the dark ages. Warm water works well.

De-icer fights itself a bit. It melts the ice, but as it then evaporates, it takes heat from the water and screen to evaporate. (Bit of O-level physics. To change its state from liquid to gas, it needs heat energy, which it takes form the melted ice and screen.) If you are slow wiping the melted ice off, it'll re-freeze due to this and form a thinner film of ice, even more difficult to scrape off.

Last year, a neighbour put a blanket over his screen late in the evening. Problem was , the screen was already damp, so the blanket froze to the screen, leaving fluff stuck in the ice when peeled off. Took longer to clear then. Back in the sixties it was common for people to cover the engine with a blanket overnight. I remember one trip when we got about half a mile from home and mum was dragging a burning blanket out from under the bonnet, having forgotten to remove it. Fun days!
 
Aye Bill! all our yesterdays right enough. I remember working in the oil yards at this time of year nightshift Getting back to the carpark (very large) finding my vehicle along with others like blocks of ice. Clearing the windscreen was easy enough but the locks on my banger at the time was frozen solid, yep you've guessed it....out with the willy & pee over the lock, you could see the steam all over the carpark...:D

Most of us had the banger for work, the little lady had the family car.
 
yes this, all i've used for years, don't just get rid of ice but warms screen just enough to stop re-freeze and demist the inside too.

Aye, a simple solution to a simple question. Watch this space though;) I've an inkling that this thread will have much more posts...:D
 
Mrs Jock uses deicer liberally! Can't say I've noticed any paintwork degredation. Mind you, we get plenty of rain to keep things washed down! Until very recently we had not changed our cars for about 15 years. Both I myself and Mrs Jock ran around in Felicity, our '92 plate Panda Parade which we bought nearly new, and our '99 SEAT Cordoba Estate which was our "good" car also bought nearly new. You could always rely on Felicity - doors would always unlock and engine would always start. "Toany", the SEAT was very difficult to get into on very cold days. Not only would the locks themselves freeze but the actual mechanism inside the door too! Playing a hair dryer on the lock would not always guarantee entry! I actually never tried Peeing on the lock! Would the salts have been beneficial in the long I wonder? The smell might put off the thieves too! Being a diesel also ment that Mrs Jock would be out of our estate and half way to the shops before the heater plugs were warmed up enough to start Toany's engine! Strangely perhaps? the tailgate lock never froze? So if all else failed you could always climb in over the seats! Not sure if I'm up for that any more though.
 
Tepid water...(y)

Cold water from the tap is almost as good and reduces the risk of thermal shock cracking the windscreen. If it refreezes pour on another jug-full and the screen will soon be warm enough to stay clear until the wipers have dried it.

But when the temperatures are like last winter (the sea at Teign Estuary froze), even a slight mist of moisture will flash freeze. All you can do is run the car engine and use the screen demister or buy a car with heated windscreen.
 
Cold water from the tap is almost as good and reduces the risk of thermal shock cracking the windscreen. If it refreezes pour on another jug-full and the screen will soon be warm enough to stay clear until the wipers have dried it.

But when the temperatures are like last winter (the sea at Teign Estuary froze), even a slight mist of moisture will flash freeze. All you can do is run the car engine and use the screen demister or buy a car with heated windscreen.

Your over complicating a simple solution fella..;)
 
Another nonsense post from the OP to start and keep a conversation going that is largely completely pointless?

Any concerns over Deicer, don't use it, I've not used it for years, but then again it contains many of the same ingredients as screen wash..... perhaps we shouldn't wash the screen either.
 
..... perhaps we shouldn't wash the screen either.

An ex-brother in law had company cars, and never lifted the bonnet. Six-monthly servicing then, so that's when the screenwash was topped up. Once empty, it stayed empty.

I remember one occasion, at about 80mph on the M1, summer after a long dry spell, so lots of dead bugs over the screen. It started to rain, so the wipers were turned on, and we travelled several miles at 80mph effectively blind until the poor wiper blades scrubbed their way through the goo.
 
I remember one occasion, at about 80mph on the M1, summer after a long dry spell, so lots of dead bugs over the screen. It started to rain, so the wipers were turned on, and we travelled several miles at 80mph effectively blind until the poor wiper blades scrubbed their way through the goo.
Motorist who drove despite having dirty windscreen sentenced for causing death by careless driving
https://www.huntspost.co.uk/news/suspended-sentence-for-somersham-s-hayley-sterna-1-5674543
 
An ex-brother in law had company cars, and never lifted the bonnet. Six-monthly servicing then, so that's when the screenwash was topped up. Once empty, it stayed empty.

I remember one occasion, at about 80mph on the M1, summer after a long dry spell, so lots of dead bugs over the screen. It started to rain, so the wipers were turned on, and we travelled several miles at 80mph effectively blind until the poor wiper blades scrubbed their way through the goo.

I had something similar happen in heavy frost. The no-freeze screenwash was not frozen - until it hit the windscreen at 70mph and the wipers spread the resultant slush right across!!! Oh FFF!

I have no idea how I managed to get safely to the hard shoulder. After my heart rate recovered, I finished the journey with a stop every few miles to clean the screen with de-icer.
 
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