Video: How to Remove Snow and Ice From Your Car

CARS.COM — You wouldn’t shave your face with a sling blade or take off your makeup with sandpaper. So what in the winter wonderland would possess you to remove snow from your car with a shovel?

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We’ve seen paint jobs that run up to $15,000 on exotic sports cars — but even if you’ve long since soured on your Wagon Queen Family Truckster’s metallic pea paint, no car is going to improve its appearance with dents, dings or telltale brushstrokes permanently etched into its profile.

Here are some tips to help you avoid shaming your car with a snow-clearing scarlet letter:

• First, get the right tool for the job. Shovels, household brooms and stiff-bristled brushes will damage your paint. Instead, order a good foam brush with a nonabrasive, freeze-resistant polyethylene head covering a recessed hard-plastic scraper, along with a telescoping handle.
• Use the brush to pull, not push, the snow off your car.
• No foam brush handy? Take a hands-on approach. Pull on some leather gloves and push the snow off manually. Your reach will be more limited, but at least you won’t damage your paint.
• For a frosted-over windshield and windows, consider using a brass-blade scraper. It’s a treacherous-looking tool, but your car’s glass is plenty hard to withstand the scraping unscathed.
• Resist the urge to remove every last bit of snow. Instead, let your car warm up so the heat from your defroster and engine take care of the nooks and crannies.

Whichever approach you take, be sure to remove large piles of snow from your car instead of letting the wind do your dirty work for you at the peril of those behind you.

We know you’re special, Snowflake — but that’s just cold!