7 Tips for Washing Your Car
Written by Autoglym: 04-May-2010
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1. Ditch household cleaners – they're designed for very different purposes and can smear, strip polish/wax and damage a car's exterior. Only use dedicated automotive products which are designed for the specific task at hand.
2. Cool shade is better – if you wash your vehicle in the open, hot sun, the cleaning products will dry quickly, making them harder to remove and will likely cause streaking.
3. Rinse first and make it warm – before you wash, rinse the entire vehicle to remove grit, mud and dust. This does 2 things: firstly it makes cleaning easier; secondly it helps to prevent scratching. The water you use with your detergent should be warm to make washing easier.
4. Use a wheel cleaner – Wheel cleaners are designed to strip away brake dust far more efficiently than normal detergents alone. They'll save you a lot of time and are not very expensive. Make sure the wheel is cool; rinse quickly – don’t let the product dry.
5. Up, down, down, up. (This is about efficient use of time.) When washing your car, work one panel at a time and wash from bottom to top and then back down again. By working in this manner you will make sure you don’t miss sections that you have to go back and re-clean. If you work from top-to-bottom, the soapy water will drain down the panel making it harder for you to see where you've cleaned.
6. Clean your chamois! Clean your chamois regularly with detergent to remove any dirt and grime. If you're using a dirty chamois, you'll be left with unsightly streaks because you're essentially putting dirt back on your car. Most people don’t think of doing this but it makes an enormous difference.
After every 3rd or 4th wash, fill your bucket with warm water, add some detergent, give the chamois a good clean, rinse and allow to dry. This should take you about 2 minutes but will make cleaning quicker and easier.
7. Wax your ride – A well-polished and waxed vehicle is significantly easier to clean because the process of polishing and waxing leaves a clean smooth surface with a protective barrier that repels dirt, water and harmful contaminates (not to mention it makes your car look great). A good wax will give you 4 - 6 months protection before needing to reapply. The act of polishing using Autoglym's Super Resin Polish takes between 10 - 20 minutes, depending on how fast you work, the size of the vehicle and its condition. Autoglym's Extra Gloss Protection wax takes about 10 minutes to apply, 15 to 30 minutes drying time and 10 min to remove. It's very easy (unlike the old days).