Car washing is an essential periodic activity involving vehicles. It is more like an investment since a wash can greatly impact the longevity of the vehicle. With proper techniques and regular maintenance, you can achieve professional results without having to leave the house. Gather washing tools: a hose, a bucket, a microfiber cloth, and shampoo for the car. Pay attention to rinsing your bucket as you wash because splashes hitting the paint of the vehicle could be a concern.
Pre-Rinse
Once the car has been pre-rinsed and snow foam or other detailing products applied, it’s time to wash the car. It is advisable to start washing from the top and work your way downward to avoid soap from the upper parts contaminating lower areas that have been cleaned. Hoses that have a nozzle are known to provide pressure and spray patterns that may help to eliminate watermarks. It might also be helpful to add wax after washing your vehicle as it may help keep the dirt, bird poop, and other harmful paint elements that attack the vehicle as you drive on the roads. In addition, wax will make future washes easier by being able to get rid of watermarks and swirl marks that come as a result of washing the vehicle. Your car will have to be washed less frequently when you maintain it, which makes your life easier. Keeping a trash bag in the trunk makes it simpler to throw away rubbish. The cup holder liners serve the dual purpose of keeping the cups from getting dirty as well as sticky. Surfaces such as your car’s dashboard, the steering wheel and the cup holders should also be wiped clean and vacuumed to remove dirt from the seats, doormats and hard to reach places such as under carpets. Doing this helps ensure that the dirt is not allowed to build up.
Washing
Washing your own car is a skill that many people find useful and entertaining. There is nothing more enjoyable than a freshly cleaned car, and steering the vehicle with great pride. However, note that doing it without proper knowledge can lead to damaging your car for good. Follow these helpful tips to help you care for your car at home, and achieve the look and feel of a professional spotless car. In preparation to your self-service car wash, the first thing you should do is giving the car a rinse. This step serves to clean the vehicle by getting rid of dirt and filth that could make washing extremely difficult. Using this time also allows to check for and labeling signs of damage, wear-and-tear and whether or not all personal belongings in the vehicle have been safely stowed in their designated storage spaces. In terms of washing a vehicle, working in a shaded location is best to eliminate water marks from heating rays. Success also depends on the right tools and materials such as a hose with a nozzle to control the flow and pressure of the water; 2 five-gallon buckets; car shampoo; microfiber wash mitt; soft bristle wheel well or hard-to-reach areas scrub brush; chamois or microfiber cloth used for drying and cleaning as well as working small sections starting from the top down; starting your vehicle.
Rinsing
As mentioned above, everyone has their own methods of washing a car and in turn it becomes very subjective to a individual’s perspective. Some people think that South American clay polish is the best option, while some prefer horse hair brushes. Nevertheless, it doesn't matter how you prefer to wash your car, always rinse your vehicle off before anything else. This would prevent some of the dirt from mixing in with soapy water as well as minimizing the unwanted swirl marks. When cleaning places that are hard to reach, such as wheel wells and behind tires, rinsing is necessary, and separating clean water and soapy water buckets will simplify this step. If only one bucket is used, dirt that scratches paint as it washes off may be left behind due to poor rinsing; every few minutes, when dirt accumulates once more, flick your sponge back into the clean water. Once you are done rinsing, use Rain-X bug and tar remover on all of the areas where bugs and tar accumulate the most: front bumper, fender flares, rocker panels, and the area behind your tires. Let the gel soak for five minutes, then begin scrubbing it with your sponge that has been previously wrung out and soaked in a soapy water bucket. When you have finished scrubbing, rinse the vehicle again, then dry it with a microfiber towel or chamois leather towel. Drying the car with these towels helps protect the paint from the sun’s UV rays, while also preventing water marks and streaks from forming on the car.
Drying
Car washing can be a tedious task, but with the right organization and methods, you can achieve professional results right from the comfort of your home. If you plan on doing it yourself, or plan on using a professional service, these suggestions will give everyone a perfect shine no matter what. Begin with a microfiber cloth with no dirt on it, then move onto a high quality drying towel, for instance, a chamois or any towel designated for drying. Moreover, never work under the sun since it speeds up the evaporation rate which in turn results in your car having water spots, as well as avoiding the use of old T-shirts and cloth diapers which could scratch paint; hoping to dry in sections in order to minimize the amount of contamination reintroductions. Last but not least, instead of wiping, use blotting movements which yield the best results because wiping will most likely cause scratches to the surface. An effective soap mixture contains around four to five buckets of water per car wash soap, or mild dish soap, for the car to be washed using a mitt in a clean fresh bucket that rinses away all the particles that bring scratches to your car’s paint surface. Similarly, start to rinse the wheels and use a brush when needed; having foam on your car before sponge washing or mitt will make the grime and dirt much easier to remove.
