The Importance of Maintenance
Today we are going to discuss how to maintain your car the right way. Washing your car the right way will keep your car and its paint in the best condition. Most of the wear and tear of the paintwork is caused by improper washing and drying techniques – the major reason of instilling Swirl Marks and light scratches!
Things you’ll need:
- Foam Cannon (optional but highly recommended)
- High Pressure Washer (optional but highly recommended.
- 2 Buckets
- pH Neutral Car Wash Shampoo and Snow Foam Shampoo
- Grit Guards (optional but highly recommend)
- Wash Mitt
- Microfiber Drying Towels (Waffle Weave preferred but not completely necessary)
- Drying Aids (Spray Wax or Quick Detailer)
Things to throw away because they are extremely harmful
- Sponges
- Chamois “Shammy”
Why throw away sponges and chamois you might ask? Sponges do clean very thoroughly, but what most people don’t realize is that is very coarse and flat. Which means not only does it trap dirt in between the sponge and your paintwork, the coarseness will cause light marring and swirl marks. Chamois does dry the car extremely well but it ‘grabs’ on the paintwork. If there is any dust or dirt trapped it between these surfaces swirl marks can be caused! These effects will be amplified on cars with softer paintwork like Subaru’s for instance.
Step 1: Preparation
- Dilute Snow Foam with water, it is usually 1:10. Sometimes some products will have different dilution so check first before you mix it up.
- Fill up 2 Buckets with water and put 2-3 caps of shampoo in one of the buckets.
Step 2: Pre-Wash
- Apply Snow Foam with the foam cannon and apply a nice and thick layer over the entire car. Let it sit for about 3 to 5 minutes. In the meantime, you can take your detailing brushes and thoroughly brush the grilles and crevices as well as cleaning the wheels thoroughly.
Step 3: Rinse
- High Pressure Rinse the whole car
Step 4: Wash
- Take your wash mitt dip it into the shampoo mixed bucket. Wash one panel at a time. Start from the roof and work your way down. After each panel rinse the wash mitt in the plain water bucket and repeat the process above on the whole vehicle.
Step 5: Rinse Again
- High Pressure Rinse the whole car once more
Step 6: Drying your car
- Use your microfiber drying towel to dry over your car. Carry 2 to 3 Towels with you because usually a towel will get too wet after about 1/3 of the car. Or if you have a big enough towel you can ring the towel out as you go to restore drying ability.
Step 7: Final Touch
Use a high quality spray wax or quick detailer to spray and wipe over the whole car panel by panel.
We hope this article helped you to get a better understanding about how to wash your car the right way. If you have any questions feel free to Contact Us!