5 Tips For Getting Your Car To Sparkle
Spring is here! This is the perfect time to give your car a thorough cleaning after a long winter of salt and sand. While many will head to the automated car wash, cleaning your car by hand is the better option. This will allow you to be more thorough, maintain your finishes, and give you a chance to focus on the interior.
But before you grab the bucket of water and start wiping down your car, consider these 5 important tips.
1. Clean Your Car The Right Way
Cleaning your car can seem straightforward. Wash, rinse, and repeat if necessary. But if you want to maintain your car’s finish and keep it looking cleaner for longer, there’s more to it.
Grab The Right Supplies
Start by prepping your supplies. First, you’ll want to grab soap specifically made for cars. While some people will recommend that you use dish soap, this isn’t a good idea. Dish soap is great for cutting through grease on dirty dishes. But, when it comes to your car, dish soap is a poor choice. It can strip wax coatings and remove important oils that protect the life of your paint.
Next, you’ll want to grab two buckets. The first will have soapy water in it. The second will have rinse water for washing dirt off your cleaning cloth. This is to avoid scratching your paint with the dirt you just removed from your car.
When it comes to your cleaning cloth, you have a few different options. You may want to use microfiber rags, chamois (shammy), a car wash mitt or a sponge. Any of these will do - just make sure they are clean and don’t have any dirt or grit on them.
You’ll also want to have different clothes and brushes for different parts of your car. For example, you wouldn’t want to use the rag that wipes out your muddy wheel wells for the paint finish. Similarly, you’ll want to have a new rag for each type of cleaner to avoid mixing chemicals or ruining finishes. If a cloth hits the ground, toss it to the side and grab a fresh one.
Wash It Right
Once you have all your tools, you’re ready to clean.
First, you want to rinse down the outside of your car to remove any loose dirt, salt and grime. If you go straight to washing, this debris can scratch your car. Once you’ve rinsed off your car, you’re ready to start washing.
Start from the top and work down. That way you won’t rinse dirty water over spots you've already cleaned. Work in sections, starting with the roof. Rinse each section off so that the soap doesn’t sit on your car. Finish at the back of your car, which is almost always the dirtiest.
Make one long swipe with your cleaning cloth, then flip and do another swipe. Rinse the rag, soap it up and then go again. This will seem tedious, especially if there’s still soap on the cloth. But, again, this will remove dirt that could scratch your car. (We know we’ve said this a lot but it’s the number one mistake people make and can ruin your paint job.)
Once you’ve washed every section thoroughly, rinse the whole car off. To avoid water spots, dry your car with a fresh microfiber cloth or shammy. Instead of wiping down the car, drape the cloth over the car and then pull it away with little pressure.
2. Touch Up Paint
This is the perfect time to touch up small paint chips … after your car is freshly cleaned and dry.
Check with your local service shop or parts store to get a colour touch up pen close to your vehicle's colour. It’s hard to get a PERFECT match, unless your car is black. But it’s better to have the colour be slightly off then to leave the chip open to the elements.
If you have a bigger chip or want a more seamless match, hire a professional to do the touch ups.
If you’re going to use a touch up pen, there are some tips to improve your outcome. First off, don’t use the applicator that comes with the pen. Instead, go to a local art store and buy a pointed artist’s paint brush. This will help you be more precise.
When you apply the paint, try to keep the paint within the boundaries. This will make the touch up less noticeable. Apply another coat, if necessary, once it dries.
For the most protection, add a clear coat after the last paint coat dries. Many touch up pens will come with clear coat as well.
3. Remember To Wax
Now that your car is clean and the touch ups have dried, it’s time to wax. The reason you touch up before waxing is to ensure the paint stays in place.
When waxing, find a shady spot or wax inside your garage. If you wax in the sun, the wax will dry quickly and be hard to remove.
Follow the instructions on your car wax when you apply it. Don’t let the wax go into crevices, cracks, or jambs as it will be very hard to clean out. You also don’t want to get wax on matte plastic parts. Not only is it also hard to remove, it could damage the plastic.
When you’re ready to remove the wax, use a microfiber cloth. Some people recommend that you use long strokes that flow with the lines of the car. Others suggest you remove it with circular motions. You can choose the look and motion that works best for you.
As your cloth gets loaded with wax, grab a new one. This will help make the whole process easier.
4. Clean The Interior
Now your car’s exterior is done except for the windows. Those are the last thing you’ll clean – and you’ll find out why in tip 5. That means it’s time to move to the interior.
There are two major groups of people when it comes to how you should clean your car. One group says clean from the top down so that any falling dirt doesn’t land somewhere that’s already clean. The other says to work from dirtiest to least dirty.
For the best results, consider targeting the dirtiest areas, like the carpets, to loosen and clean most of the dirt up. You can use a brush to loosen really stuck on dirt and salt. Then do a thorough clean of the whole interior from the top down.
Whatever way you choose, here are some interior car cleaning tips to help make the job easier.
- Start by taking out all the garbage. Be thorough and check under and between your seats.
- When you wipe down the dash, spray your cleaner on a rag and not directly on the dash. This will make sure your finish is more consistent.
- When you clean your steering wheel avoid cleaners that make it greasy and hard to grip.
- Use detailing or paint brushes to brush dirt from cracks and crevices.
- Use foam paint brushes to dust and clean out vents.
- To get dirt that’s stuck in cracks, wrap a cloth around a plastic scraper without sharp corners, then spray cleaner on the cloth. Move the fabric covered scrapper gently across trim lines.
- For bigger crevices, like the inside of your cup holders, use q-tips dipped in cleaning solution
- For hard to reach areas, like between the seats, use a paint stir stick wrapped in a cloth and sprayed with cleaner.
- Treat leather with conditioner to keep it soft and prevent cracks and splits.
- Remove hair from seats by brushing down the seats with a silicone or rubber dipped glove. The hair will stick to the glove as you go.
- Use a shop vacuum to suck up dirt as you dislodge it.
If you have any stains, you can clean them with upholstery and carpet shampoo. Spray a bit of shampoo on the spot and then moisten with water. This will avoid putting too much shampoo on the spot, which can be hard to clean up. Work the shampoo in with a scrub brush on the carpets or a microfiber cloth on your seats. Dab with a damp cloth to soak up the shampoo and remove the stain. Let the spot air dry.
5. Wash The Windows
The last step when cleaning your car should be the windows. That way, if cleaning supplies or wax get on the window, you won’t have to reclean them.
Use an automotive cleaner so you don’t damage your tint. It will also do a better job at preventing fog on your windows.
Use a microfiber cloth to clean the windows. As with the interior, spray the window cleaner on the cloth. This will prevent overspray from hitting the newly cleaned interior and exterior.
To be sure you get the whole window, remember to roll it down slightly so you can get the grimy top edge.
Now is also a good time to install new wiper blades to make sure you're ready for spring showers.
Cleaning your car doesn’t need to be hard. But you do need to give yourself enough time to do it right. That way you can help protect the finishes and keep your car looking good for longer.