How frequently should you detail your car?
Most cars will only need to get a full detail performed one or two times per year depending on what your local climate is as well as your parking situation is. Speaking of parking, if you lock your keys inside of your car, call a professional automotive locksmith Houston TX to ensure that your car is not damaged. However, although you only need a full detail a few times per year you still should wash your car about once a month and wax one per season in order to keep it looking clean and keep it protected. After you have all of the supplies you need, wait until there is a clear day, look for a place to put your car in the shade, and get to work.
1. Eliminate debris, dirt, and dust from the interior of your car
Source: Pexels
What you need to have: microfiber cloth, scrub brush, foaming carpet cleaner, and vacuum. First of all, take a microfiber cloth and use it to wipe away dust and particles from the center console, seats, and dashboard. If you are a perfectionist or would like to be thorough, and use an air-spray can and Q-tips that can reach into all of the nooks and crannies. Use the crevice tool on your vacuum to extra debris, dirt, and dust from your floor and carpets. Then wash your carpets. Take them out of the car and then use foaming carpet cleaner on them. Use a scrub brush over the carpets with a back-and-forth motion. Once you are satisfied that your carpets are clean, and then use a microfiber cloth to twist into your carpets.
2. Clean the insides of the car windows
What you need to have: plush microfiber cloth, glass-specific microfiber cloth, and glass cleaner. Many people fail to pay the proper attention to their windows and windshields, but that may result in a hard-to-remove and nasty chemical film. Fortunately, it is easy to remove it. Here is what you need to do. Spray several squirts of glass cleaner onto a glass-specific microfiber cloth, and then rub the inside of the windows and windshield using straight-line strokes (not circles). You might need to do that a couple of times in order to get it completely clean (make sure you are using a clean area on the cloth). After the windows are clean, a plush microfiber cloth can be used to get rid of any streaks that are remaining. If there are any remaining surface imperfections and scratches, the glass might need to be polished.
3. Restore vinyl and leather
What you need to have: microfiber cloth, all-purpose scrubbing pad, small soft brush, and all-purpose cleaner (designed to use on cars). Optional: protectant or surface moisturizer, spray bottle, cleaning solution. If you are using an all-purpose cleaner concentrate, start by mixing together water and concentrate according to the directions on the package, and put into the spray bottle. (If the cleaning solution is in a spray bottle already then skip this step.)
4. Clean your wheels
What you need to have: a bucket, microfiber cloth, wheel brush, wheel cleaner. It can be difficult and frustrating to clean wheel, but using the right techniques and tools, it isn’t so bad. There are various kinds of wheel cleaner that are available, however, acid-free water-based solutions are the best. Avoid using toxic wheel cleaners since they may damage your wheels and are also harmful to the environment. A majority of directions call for you to apply the wheel cleaner, then wait for 3 to 5 minutes, and brush to loosen grit, and then brush to loosen grit, then rinse with water. If the wheels are dirty still, you can do additional cleaning and brushing using the same exact method. A designated bucket can always be used for rinsing your wheel brush. Also, don’t allow the cleaner to dry on your wheels. Then give the wheels a last rinse with water, and use a microfiber to dry them. Tip: If you have any stubborn brake grime or use, leftover or used paint clay can work really well like magic for removing residual contaminants. Just be sure to apply a lubricant such as a spray wax to its surface and beforehand use clay.
5. Wash and dry your car’s exterior
Source: Pixabay
What you need to have: plush microfiber cloth, spray nozzle, lambswool mitt, car soap, 2 buckets. Out of all the steps involved in the detailing process, the ones that people are familiar with the most are washing and drying. However, those are the areas where mistakes are commonly made. Those mistakes often appear to be harmless – using a shower or beach towel for drying, using dish soap rather than car soap, failing to scrub the dirt out from the mitt in between the body panels – however, they can damage the paint on your car and leave unwanted scratches or swirls behind. How do you properly wash your car? Before you begin, be sure you use a soap product that has been specifically designed for use on car paint – regular dish soap is too abrasive and most likely will do more harm than it does good. Locate a shady area and check to make sure that the paint on the surface is not too warm. A hot or warm temperature can speed the water evaporation process up, which leaves unwanted contaminants behind. Start by mixing water and car soap together in one of your two wash buckets. The right ratio will usually be listed on the bottle. Add just water to your other bucket. Use a hose to rinse off your car, then take the lamb’s wool mitt and drench it into the bucket with soapy water and star to wash your car. Use straight-line strokes in order to remove the contaminants from the surface. After one panel is finished, use your hose to spray the surface. Before going to the next section, clean your mitt in the bucket with just water. Use your hand to loosen and get rid of dirt particles.
6. Use paint clay to remove residual contaminants
What you need to have: microfiber cloth, spray wax, paint clay. The car detailing community is in agreement – over the years one of the most critical detailing technology advancements has been the clay bar. Paint claying started in Japan during the 1980s, and gradually made its way over the U.S. and then never left. That is due to the fact that it actually works – it very effective when it comes to removing residual surface contaminants following a wash. That results in a smoother and cleaner surface, which can increase the effectiveness of wax and polish. There are 2 rules to claying and they are essential: apply spray wax generously and relied on friction rather than the pressure at all times. After you have washed your car and completely dried it, tear a small hunk of clay off and flatten it into patty form. Directly squirt spray wax onto one section (one quarter up to half of a car panel) and add clay to the paint. Use straight-line strokes for moving the clay over the surface. Keep doing that until the surface is smooth (no snagging as you move the clay).
I really like your tip to wipe down your mirrors with straight line wipes instead of circles to avoid any streaks. My son recently bought a new car, and he has a lot of hard water on his car from the sprinklers outside. I will be sure to tell him that if he wipes down his windows, he should wipe the hard water stains with straight lines.