How do I wash my car?
Paintwork: A few simple tips to ensure a perfectly clean car.
What you will need:
Before you wash your car
Before washing your vehicle select a suitable time of day and location where the vehicle is not in direct sunlight and will not get too hot. This will cause the water to dry on the paintwork leaving water marks and streaks.
IMPORTANT! - Selecting the correct product to wash your vehicle with is very important. Do not use household detergents or washing up liquid as most of these products will contain salt which can be harmful to vehicle paintwork. Select a good quality wash or wash and wax available from good car accessory stores.
Rinse before you wash your car
The first step when washing any car is to rinse the vehicle well with cold water through a hose preferably with a spray nozzle attached. This will remove the majority of loose dirt and grime that is sitting on the surface of the paintwork, windows, trim etc. Hose from top to bottom starting with the roof and working your way down.
Washing your car
Add the correct amount of car wash/car shampoo (do not overdose this will leave streaks and marks) to a bucket of tap water. Using a sponge or wash mitt begin to wash the vehicle from top to bottom, starting with the roof and working your way down. It is important to make sure you wash the paint work in the insides of the doors and boot and dirt often gathers here. Rinse the vehicle as you go section by section never allowing the vehicle to become dry. When you've finished rinse the whole vehicle again from top to bottom ensuring that there are no soap suds or dirty streaks left on the paintwork.
After you've washed and rinsed your car
The next step is to dry the vehicle using a genuine chamois leather, synthetic chamois cloth, micro fibre cloth or drying towel. All these products are designed specifically for use on vehicle bodywork and household cloths and towels are not suitable. You can also give yourself a good head start by removing most of the excess water from the vehicle bodywork using a flexible rubber blade. Autoglym produce one called the aqua flexy blade which works very well. Using any of the products listed above dry your vehicle in the same order as you washed it, starting with the roof and working your way down. This process should stop watermarks and streaks appearing on the surface of your car's paintwork. You will probably have to go over the whole vehicle two or three times to remove all the water. Again it is important that you pay particular attention to certain areas like under door handles, between body panels around door mirrors and inside boot and door shuts where water will be held.
Conclusion
Following these steps will give your vehicle a good clean finish. The more often you repeat this process the easier and more effective it will become. For many people this finish is good enough, but for the perfectionist it is now time to move onto the next stages of achieving a showroom look!
