Car Detailing Tips - The 10 Best Ways To Maintain Your Car
You don’t take any chances when it comes to your automobile. You’re a stickler about scheduling regular maintenance and getting it checked up by a professional as soon as something seems off.
For those of us who put off five million brake repairs each year like the rest of the country. There is no escaping the fact that automobiles are routinely ignored.
Whether it’s an oil change, a 21-point inspection, or a thorough cleaning of the interior and outside of your vehicle, professional auto care is the finest thing you can do for your vehicle. Even if you don’t want to, you can still show your pet affection.
If you decide to repair your automobile independently or in the interim between professional treatments, here are a 10 car detailing tips to keep it looking new without damaging the paint or delicate inside surfaces.
1. Carefully Hand Wash Your Vehicle
The best way to clean your automobile is to wash it by hand with care. The majority of drivers, however, do not do this task appropriately. It may seem like an easy task to wash your automobile, but it may do significant damage to the paint if done incorrectly.
Since cars should be washed at least once a week, many people choose a soft-cloth automatic car wash, utilizing fresh, recycled water and soft foam brushes to remove dirt and impurities.
2. Start At The Top and Work Your Way Down
3. Deal With The Tar
Some pollutants on your automobile may be too stubborn to remove with soap. Professional vehicle wash services are beneficial since various chemicals are required to remove different pollutants. Some of the water-soluble ones can be removed using car wash soap.
Some jobs call for a wax and grease remover, a petroleum-based cleaning. A good illustration of this is road tar. You’ll need a tar remover instead of soap to get the gunk off.
4. Lubricate The Locks & Hinges
Drivers often overlook hood latches until their hood doesn’t open. Ensure to lubricate and clean the latch regularly using 3 in 1 oil or another type of protectant. The trunk latch is in the same category as the door latch. Spraying or dripping lubricant on your door hinges and swinging the door open and shut to work it in is an easy way to keep them in good working order.
Your hood hinge pivot locations aren’t always visible. An occasional misting with white lithium oil can help keep them from freezing up in the future, provided you can reach them.
5. Repaint The Paint Chips
Having a white speck appear on your black hood is a frustrating experience. It’s inexcusable to see so many of them. Any color car may get paint chips, of course. There are small craters where the topcoat has chipped off, which exposes the undercoats underneath.
It’s fortunate that automakers utilize highly long-lasting primers that typically stay put. Still, if you want to keep your panels from rusting and looking bad, you’ll need to “touch up” the chips.
6. Use Wax Or Sealer To Prevent Water Penetration
When it comes to washing and waxing an automobile in the 1950s, you could do considerably less harm than you can now.
Washing the car incorrectly may badly destroy the high-tech clear coat paint, but waxing it incorrectly can also cause damage. If you don’t want to wax your automobile, don’t worry; you should. However, bear in mind these points:
Begin with a squeaky-clean vehicle. A coating of dust (ground up rocks) will get into the clear coat when you apply wax, causing microscopic scratches that degrade the paint and wear down the gloss.
7. Take Care Of Carpets And Upholstery
Experts disagree on where to begin when it comes to the interior. As with the outside, many recommend starting at the very top. Others recommend removing the heavier dirt and debris from the carpet before treating the more delicate skins on the dashboard and electronic displays.
Cleaning the carpet and upholstered furniture will need to be done at some point so we suggest starting from that area since it probably needs the most work.
8. Purchase A Brush Set
Similarly, a competent detailer understands that, just as there are a variety of chemicals to cure the various impurities on a car, there is a tool for every task. Several different brushes are an essential part of a detailer’s equipment, just as they should be in your garage for automobile maintenance. Using two brushes, you may clean the aluminum wheels’ holes, as well as the wheel wells, the engine compartment, and possibly the tire rubber, on the outside of your automobile.
For cleaning the carpet, you’ll need a scrub brush inside. When cleaning door handles and dashboard screens, you’ll also need a toothbrush. Small 1″ paintbrushes are useful for cleaning vents. Better results can be achieved by using a pressurized air can or a vacuum cleaner simultaneously.
9. Take Care Of The Glass Like A Professional
Finally, the glass is the final item on the list of things to clean in your automobile. When done incorrectly, this is one of the most commonly noticeable areas for improper cleaning. Despite how simple it may appear, getting the work done correctly is challenging.
For starters, apply a glass cleaner designed for automobiles. Ammonia, a common ingredient in household glass cleaners, may leave streaks and fog on windows. Glass tinting can be ruined as a result.
Instead of using sponges or cotton towels, go for a microfiber towel to protect your car’s surfaces. Newspapers have been a popular choice for decades. Paper with too much ink might create stains on light-colored furniture, so be careful.
10. Don't Clean In Extreme Heat or Direct Sunlight
Parts of the automobile dry faster than usual when it’s warm; thus, working faster is a need. However, the potency of the chemicals in the items you’re applying will be affected by intense heat.
So try your best to avoid doing any work on your car if the temperature is too hot outside or if the sun is directly beaming down on your car. You may do unexpected damage to your car, leaving you needing to spend more to get your car taken care of properly.
Our Recommendation
We hope these car detailing tips provided you some value when it comes to detailing your car. As a car owner, only you know what is best for your car. If you can afford to get a car detailing, we highly recommend you do. It will make your car look amazing inside and out. Not only that, your car’s surface will continue to be protected from UV rays, dirt and debris over the next few months. If you’re on a budget or just need a quick clean then a car wash is the obvious choice. Just be aware that scratches can potentially occur even with an automatic car wash. At PAD we offer top of the line car detailing service. If you’re interested in getting your car detailed you can view our services HERE. Check out our other blog articles to get updates and learn more about car detailing.