Salt-X

[spect2k]

I went to my local carwash yesterday because my car was absolutely covered in salt. For an extra $5, they were offering "Salt-X". I've never heard of this before. Anyone have any idea how it works and if it is effective. I haven't seen much info about it out there.

[msb175]

hmm, that's new. did you get it?

[spect2k]

I did get it. I notice nothing different about the car or the finish (had it waxed of course). Granted, all of the salt is gone, but I can't say that it did any better job than a regular car wash would have done when it comes to removing salt...

[polatinte]

Looks like a ripoff to me. From what I've read, it isn't even that good for marine products. I definitely wouldn't spend $5 to get it on my car.

[spect2k]

I had a coupon that made it free (originally $5). Any idea as to what it actually does?

[OCDetails]

It actually isn't a bad thing. I'm not sure how concentrated it would be at an automatic car wash, but if you get it in the spray bottles then it works really well. Salt doesn't come off your car easily unless you scrub it. Salt build up like this on the outside usually implies there is equally built up salt in places you can't reach.

 

So the purpose of SaltX is to get in the seams and places that you aren't scrubbing. I think we have all seen how ineffective a power washer is at getting the salt off your car. Unless you are confident that the last person using the brush didn't use it on a greasy oil truck or something, then we typically drive out with a much less dirty car, but still dirty. So SaltX attacks the salt and releases it from the paint. It is actually a pretty useful product as long as you are using it at the right concentration. I'm fairly sure an automatic car wash isn't using enough of it to be super effective, but it should do a good enough job to get more of the salt off than what you would get off otherwise.

 

Anyway, look it up. I'm fairly sure they have a website. It is a common product if you live in any coastal area where salt spray is a problem on windows and bushes and all that. I'm actually surprised it hasn't gotten more mainstream yet.

[AkumaMax]

It's just a gimmick. There is only one thing that keeps a car from corroding and I can't think of the name but it keeps the car from rusting. You pay alot but only need it recoated about every 3-4yrs.

[E-Tank]

http://picture-book.com/files/userimages/1038u/salt.jpg

[OCDetails]

That is an awesome picture!! I'm totally going to use that! Where did you find that at?

[E-Tank]

Google image search, "car salt monster."

[DrSpeed]

It actually isn't a bad thing. I'm not sure how concentrated it would be at an automatic car wash, but if you get it in the spray bottles then it works really well. Salt doesn't come off your car easily unless you scrub it. Salt build up like this on the outside usually implies there is equally built up salt in places you can't reach.

 

So the purpose of SaltX is to get in the seams and places that you aren't scrubbing. I think we have all seen how ineffective a power washer is at getting the salt off your car. Unless you are confident that the last person using the brush didn't use it on a greasy oil truck or something, then we typically drive out with a much less dirty car, but still dirty. So SaltX attacks the salt and releases it from the paint. It is actually a pretty useful product as long as you are using it at the right concentration. I'm fairly sure an automatic car wash isn't using enough of it to be super effective, but it should do a good enough job to get more of the salt off than what you would get off otherwise.

 

Let's think about this for a second.

 

Road Salt, either Na-Cl (also table salt), Mg-Cl, Ca-Cl, is water soluable...the single bond breaks, creating Na+ and Cl- (ions). These ions, which are polar, mixes with the water (also polar), lowering the freezing point (also raising the boiling point). That's what *melts* the ice.

 

Now, this stuff claims to remove or neutralize the ions that are *stuck* to your car? How does water not do the same thing? You don't need to *scrub* salt off your car. The scrubbing is to remove the dirt from the road, mixed in with the salt.

 

Pressure washing won't remove the fine particles of road dirt on the paint surface, hence you need a sponge/brush during the car wash.

 

So, tell me how this Salt-X helps remove salt off your car again?

[E-Tank]

It works like this.

 

http://www.magicnorm.com/wand.gif

[bluesuby]

Considering that car washes used recycled water, that in itself is probably loaded with salt. Unless you visit them in June.

[E-Tank]

Considering that car washes used recycled water, that in itself is probably loaded with salt. Unless you visit them in June.

 

 

[HDTurbo]

let's think about this for a second.

 

Road salt, either na-cl (also table salt), mg-cl, ca-cl, is water soluable...the single bond breaks, creating na+ and cl- (ions). These ions, which are polar, mixes with the water (also polar), lowering the freezing point (also raising the boiling point). That's what *melts* the ice.

 

Now, this stuff claims to remove or neutralize the ions that are *stuck* to your car? How does water not do the same thing? You don't need to *scrub* salt off your car. The scrubbing is to remove the dirt from the road, mixed in with the salt.

 

Pressure washing won't remove the fine particles of road dirt on the paint surface, hence you need a sponge/brush during the car wash.

 

So, tell me how this salt-x helps remove salt off your car again?

+1

[Brady]

Let's think about this for a second.

 

Road Salt, either Na-Cl (also table salt), Mg-Cl, Ca-Cl, is water soluable...the single bond breaks, creating Na+ and Cl- (ions). These ions, which are polar, mixes with the water (also polar), lowering the freezing point (also raising the boiling point). That's what *melts* the ice.

 

Now, this stuff claims to remove or neutralize the ions that are *stuck* to your car? How does water not do the same thing? You don't need to *scrub* salt off your car. The scrubbing is to remove the dirt from the road, mixed in with the salt.

 

Pressure washing won't remove the fine particles of road dirt on the paint surface, hence you need a sponge/brush during the car wash.

 

So, tell me how this Salt-X helps remove salt off your car again?

 

Umm ... who's to say that whatever Salt-X is doesn't increase the solubility of NaCl or MgCl2 over water?

 

Looking at the MSDS sheet for Salt-X doesn't tell you much, but it does have a significantly higher boiling point than water, so we know it isn't just treated water. That's about all we know. I'm not going to say that Salt-X definitely works, but without knowing what it is, I can't say it doesn't.

[pillboy]

The solubility of NaCl in water is 35.6 grams in 100 ml of water at 0 degrees C. I can't see how improving on this would make much difference in how much salt will wash off your car with a given volume of water as a car wash is using many gallons of water when washing your car. Unless your whole car was made out of solid salt.

[Brady]

except that your car is being doused in water, not immersed. And even if it WERE immersed, salt doesn't instantly dissolve in the water, so a liquid or solution that was more effective at dissolving the water COULD at least have some impact on areas of the vehicle that have higher concentrations of salt build-up. Like I said, I'm not going to say that it definitely works, and at that, I'm skeptical, but I also am not going to say that it doesn't.

[DrSpeed]

except that your car is being doused in water, not immersed. And even if it WERE immersed, salt doesn't instantly dissolve in the water, so a liquid or solution that was more effective at dissolving the water COULD at least have some impact on areas of the vehicle that have higher concentrations of salt build-up. Like I said, I'm not going to say that it definitely works, and at that, I'm skeptical, but I also am not going to say that it doesn't.

 

So you're saying that by adding more chemicals into the water, it will help dissolve the salt on the car? How do you increase solubility of salt in water besides increasing the water temperature?

 

Adding other chemicals will saturate the water, reducing the water's ability to "hold" more salt, thus reducing water's ability to dissolve the sale on your Legacy.

[naimouasta]

when i know my car is clean, no dirt, and just salt, everything washes off very very easily with just the pressure washer, way easier than dirt and rain. i usually spray my car down when its dirty/snowy/salty out before i come home since its only 1/4 mile away, and its spot free. rally armors protect from splashes/dirt/salt/snow on the way home. not perfect but good maintenance to just keep cleannnner. so i think water works just fine.

[Brady]

So you're saying that by adding more chemicals into the water, it will help dissolve the salt on the car? How do you increase solubility of salt in water besides increasing the water temperature?

 

Adding other chemicals will saturate the water, reducing the water's ability to "hold" more salt, thus reducing water's ability to dissolve the sale on your Legacy.

 

No, I'm saying that we don't know that Salt-X is even water. Whatever Salt-X is has a boiling point of 232 degrees. Maybe it's water with something added, or maybe it's a different liquid altogether.

[DrSpeed]

No, I'm saying that we don't know that Salt-X is even water. Whatever Salt-X is has a boiling point of 232 degrees. Maybe it's water with something added, or maybe it's a different liquid altogether.

 

http://www.saltx.com/saltx_info_howwork.htm

 

They say:

 

Mix 2 ounces of SALT-X per gallon of water.

 

I would say a majority of the solution is water.

 

The only way to remove salt from water is to have it precipitate out...you can use alcohol or acetone.

 

Alcohol's -OH group will bond with the Na+, ie isopropyl is (CH3)2CHOH.

 

So, almost any organic solvent will work.

 

But I imagine most, if not all, is bad for the vehicle finish. So...pick your poison.