Tips for Washing Your Car
Posted in Motoring Tips
Tips for Washing Your Car
Despite still being a dream to drive, unfortunately once you take your car home from the dealership it most likely won’t stay in that pristine showroom condition forever, shining from boot to hood.
Dirt, rain and other external factors won’t change your admiration for your new purchase, but will make it lose some of its shine! Therefore, to keep your car looking its very best you’ll have to give it some TLC and a good wash.
To help you with this task, we spoke with a few of our head detailers here at Motorama to create a list of our top tips for keeping your car looking its best on the road:
Keep Your Car Cool
In Queensland we are lucky to have sunny days more often than not and washing the car out in the open might make sense to help the car dry after you’re finished washing. It’s important however, to park your car somewhere the body of the car is cool to touch.
If your car’s surface is hot you’ll cause unwanted water spots or streaking which will spoil your overall presentation when you’re finished.
Whilst in the process of washing your car, another great way to avoid those water marks is to also be sure to keep it as wet as possible throughout the whole wash.
Work Top to Bottom
Washing your car in the right order can make a big difference in protecting your paintwork. Wash from the top of your car (starting with the roof) down to the bottom of the car. This means that you’ll be washing the least dirty part first and washing the grittiest part of your car last.
Different parts of your car are affected by the dirt they attract. Your roof might have bird poop from yesterday’s picnic but your bumpers might have mud from the rain earlier in the week. Work top to bottom and you’ll notice the difference in the quality of your efforts.
Use Two Buckets
Using two buckets to wash your car is a simple and effective concept once you think about it. One bucket is used for the bubbles, the second being fresh water. That second bucket with fresh water is for rinsing your wash mitt or sponge.
Rinsing before dipping into the bubbles again, there will be a lower chance of any dirt or grim scratching your paintwork as you progress through the wash process and it will give you fresh suds every time.
Wash Regularly
Washing regularly is key to keeping your car looking great. Your car will get dirty a lot quicker than you will want it to however regular washing makes each wash easier as the dirt will not be able to build up or compromise your paintwork.
Bonus Tip - What Not to Do: Don't Use Dishwashing Liquid!
If you’re completely new to washing your car. We know some of you are! Don’t use your dish washing liquid to wash your car. It has the potential to damage the paint and make it worse than you started with. You should go out and purchase some car washing liquid which is available at any supermarket or auto parts store. Not only will it clean your car, but it will treat your cars paint much nicer than any dish washing liquid.
So there you go! These are our top tips for washing your car yourself and keeping it always looking its absolute best on the roads, so have fun.
