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I do my best to keep the snow from accumulating on my Custom Cruiser, but at 19 feet long and six feet wide her mostly horizontal sheet metal collects more flakes than my driveway.

Yesterday saw an inch or so fall, and as I'm babying her for health (hers) reasons I left it there. Today the sun comes out and, to my surprise (and worry), the snow's gone but there are two-inch-thick icicles welding the gap from the leading edge of the front doors/front fenders to the ground.

[Similar, but smaller, ones appeared in various other places, too.]

My problem/question is this: last time this happened I didn't even see the icicles (they were much smaller, though), until I pulled the driver's door open to a *GRONK* sound and sat down in the seat to a symphony of crunching, snapping sounds.

I've cataloged all of her "rough" spots in my album, and I sure don't want to create any more. But how do I best deal with ice like this INSIDE her body/door jambs/etc.? I can't use hot water to melt it as, duh, IT will just freeze there too.

I really don't want to just break it off, however, as I don't know what it might take with it. Then again, having it jam up INTO her when I add my weight by sitting down sucks, too.

I'm working on getting a car cover to protect her spiff-o condition, but that doesn't help me now. So if I can't AVOID ice being there in the first place, how can I best handle it WHEN it's there?

[Especially if it REALLY snows, something it hasn't done yet here...]

Drew

yzzerdd

You could use the de-icer in a can to clear up the door seals. But lately I've been contemplating another fix. Alot of the car manuals for cars I've had indicate to lubricate the door weatherstripping with a light silicone spray. Spray on a rag, sparingly. Anyhow, in theory, I wonder if the silicone spray could help prevent ice buildup, or otherwise prevent it from sticking to the door(or to the weatherstripping).

--Jack

Rocket Richard

Well do you need to open the doors soon? Can you wait until warmer weather comes around? How about another sunny day?

Just brainstorming... but how about you cover the door with tarp, leaving some air space in there, and put a little heater inside for a few hours. I've seen guys do this in construction, say when they need to keep concrete or something warm.

I think the silicone spray is good just to prevent large amounts of water from accumulating and freezing. Plus it makes it harder for the frozen ice to stick to the rubber and cause damage when you open the door. I wouldn't rely on it, but it would make me feel better than if I hadn't put that stuff on.