People tend to spend a lot of time and money on car cleaning materials and sending their cars off to the car wash. This can put a lot of people off, which is understandable, but don’t let your car suffer because of this. There are many ways of cleaning your vehicle properly without having to spend a fortune.
Knowing how to clean your car the right way is a great tool to acquire and can help you to maintain that new car look. For some people washing their cars seems to be a daunting task, while others enjoy cleaning theirs, but at the end of the day it’s a task that needs to be done.
Just like humans and animals, cars also get dirty, especially in the hard-to-reach spots, so don’t wait until there is a thick layer of dirt before you take action. Substances like bee and bird droppings and dead bugs that get smeared all over your windscreen all contain harmful acids which can damage your car’s paint over time.
For the outer body of your car, try and refrain from using household cleaning detergents, like sunlight liquid and hand soaps as these products are not designed for your car’s body and can actually damage your car’s protective layer. Instead, rather buy a legitimate car wash formula which is designed for your vehicle, mix it with warm water and use a soft sponge or an old rag to apply.
Your car wash soap can last you a relatively long time if used sparingly. For example: when mixing in the car shampoo, fill only the bottle cap with the formula, you won’t be needing much more than that. Throwing in loosely with the hand can lead to unnecessary wasting.
Before you get all soapy, it’s important that you rinse your car off properly first, to get rid of all the loose mud and solids that might be on your vehicle. Mud and small stones tend to accumulate over time and stiffen, and if you don’t rinse, you stand a good chance of scratching your paint while you are washing.
There are lots of shortcuts and everyday household products that you can use to clean your car, but if you care about the paint and the body of your car, then we don’t recommend you cheat the system. You will hear a lot of stories on the internet about people using hair conditioner to make their car shine, which it probably does, but in the long run it definitely won’t be shining. If you use your products sparingly then there is no reason you have to resort to alternatives.
Once you have rinsed and you are ready to wash, start with one section of the car, and only once finished, proceed to move to the next section. Before starting a new section always rinse down the part that you just washed, this technique will help you cover the whole car properly and also prevent the water droplets from drying on the paint. Once you have completed the body don’t forget about the wheels. The wheels are usually the dirtiest, so try and clean the wheels last so that you don’t have to use any of that dirty soap water on your car.
Once you have completely covered your vehicle, be sure to give it another rinse down, to get all the soapy water off, and then proceed to drying it off. If possible use a chamois when drying your vehicle, otherwise a regular cloth will do the trick. Don’t let your car air-dry, this will just leave you with watermarks. For the windows, its best to use crumpled up newspaper, or alternatively a soft cloth.
This process doesn’t have to take you longer than an hour, and when you stand back and look at the end result you won’t regret a single minute you spent washing it.
If you’re looking to buy a used vehicle, then visit www.AutoMart.co.za for good deals on cars and bikes in your area.