Improve your car with these 12 cleaning tips
Cleaning, valeting or detailing. Whatever you call it, here's 12 ways to improve your skills. Terribly illustrated by a (sort of) ex-professional...
Those who know me on DriveTribe know what I do for work, but what I haven't told many people is that I have previously worked for roughly 2 years in the motor trade as a car cleaner/ 'valeter'. I'm not going to beat around the bush. I wasn't the best at it in terms of doing it for a job (hence why I left the motor trade) but I did pick up a thing or two that has drastically changed my outlook on how I look after my motors.
So in this period of staying at home, what better a way to spend your time than looking after your pride and joy. To help, here are 12 ways you can up your cleaning game if you don't care about it. These also can be adapted for motorcycles and other vehicles if needs be!
Let's start with the exterior
Don't touch the paint whilst pre-washing.
I'm going to start off with the basics. Most people who don't usually delve into the world of cleaning will happily drizzle the car with water, then a once over with a sponge and car shampoo and then rinse off again. The problem with this is that without the right precautionary pre-wash measures, you will slowly ruin your paintwork from tiny scratches. These eventually will end up in huge swirls and its why I try to avoid car washes when possible. If you do go to a manual car wash, remember to pressure wash the brushes before using them as it can help remove dirt trapped in them from other vehicles.
Blast of as much muck and road debris as possible when pre-washing, then spray on a pre-wash snowfoam or TFR (Traffic Film Remover). Let it soak in for just a few minutes and then rinse off thoroughly, especially with the TFR (as TFR is usually quite harsh on paint in comparison to snowfoam). This could just be the only thing you have to do when washing if you're not bothered about making it pretty. It'll clean up your car well enough for it to look fine and if you're quick about it, it could take just 10-15 minutes. When you do come to wash your car in the main wash stage, use a lambswool or micro-fibre wash mitt. This will help catch the minimal remaining dirt and stop your car from getting scratches.
Don't use dish soap for gods sake...
Obvious one here (hopefully). I'm not going to go massively into detail with this one but it's quite obvious. Fairy Liquid and other dish soaps are designed for the KITCHEN! Car shampoos on the other hand are designed especially for your car. You don't even have to buy the most expensive one in the shop. Just some cheap one from Halfords, Tesco or Walmart will do if you're not looking to spend tonnes.
Think of it like if you were to use Castrol GTX oil in place of vegetable oil for cooking. Similar but both are meant for completely different purposes. Just please don't use dish soap as it is considered an abrasive soap. This means it is tough on rubber parts, it will also break down a cars wax coating and most of all it, will speed up oxidisation and dull your paintwork.
Wash your car in the shade
All the time I'll see people pull into a converted petrol station where you can get your car washed for the price of a meal deal or two at the supermarket. Usually they will have done an okay but quick job, by the end of which there is still soap and water left on the car. This is in turn baked on to your paintwork, leaving tiny marks that can be a pain to get off. The same applies when cleaning at home. If possible try to clean your car on an overcast day or if it is nice and sunny, clean it in the shade. If you do have to clean in the sunlight, do sections at a time. Pre-washing, washing and drying as you go and then a final dry off after you have done the whole car. This will reduce the possibility of getting marks on the paintwork and glass.
Speaking of drying, that brings me nicely on to my next point.
Invest into a nice micro-fibre drying towel
If you're in a rush or just can't be arsed, you probably just won't bother drying your car but that would then cause the marks I mentioned in the last point. The next step up is a chamois leather. This has been the most common way of drying your car for many years and is still quite popular at places like car washes. But I am going to advise you away from this as it can cause, yes you guessed it, scratches. Instead you should buy a micro-fibre drying towel. Micro-fibre is softer on paintwork and has thick fibres which decrease the risk of scratches from dirt that get trapped in them.
If you're fussed about wheels, buy a decent bottle of alloy wheel cleaner
This one isn't thought about as much but as you go along in your car every day, your wheels get covered in all sorts from brake dust to fallout and tar from the road. Best way to start combating this is to get a bottle of alloy wheel cleaner. Best to find one that you feel is right from other peoples reviews as some can be very acidic and harsh to your rims. Nobody wants acidic oxidised rims now do they?...
Best to spray liberally in all crevasses (move the car forward or backward a little if needs be) and then leave for roughly 5 minutes or however long the instructions state. Then rinse off with a pressure washer. Make sure to do your wheels at the same time or before your pre-wash and to dry them as thoroughly as the rest of the car when finished.
While we're talking about wheels...
Wash the pits and bits (arches and underside)
God these drawings are horrendous
Get low and personal with your favourite road companion. No I don't mean your partner, I mean the car. Get the pressure washer deep into the wheel arches to remove compacted dirt and debris. You could also use a brush to help. The same applies to underneath the car with parts such as the sills. This is especially important if you have side-skirts as dirt gets trapped in the spaces between causing rust to form quicker, so blast along the crease where the two meet and watch all the crap pour out. Bear in mind with this point and any time that your using a pressure washer to not get too close to your paintwork as I can't stress this enough but it will go through paint. So be careful!
Fall out with the fallout. Get some tar and fallout remover
Fallout? What the hell is that? Fallout along with tar, are the little black spots and other visible blemishes that stick to your paintwork after being flung up from your tyres. You'll want to get rid of these as they affect your cars appearance but also the quality of the paint over time. It also prepares the surface for wax/ polish. Tar and fallout remover is something that you can pick up from your local automotive hardware shop and usually isn't too expensive. It also is a good effective way of removing bird droppings and similar marks.
You must remember to rinse off/ quickly wash your car after using tar and fallout remover as it is quite strong and isn't good for your paintwork.
Try to wax/ polish your car at least once a year
After all this hard work on washing and decontaminating your car, you should wax it to protect your hard work! In my personal opinion, the best wax (and to be honest the best cleaning products overall) is from Autosmart International. Best thing to do is get some wax and apply panel by panel to avoid it drying to the paint. This is something that you will really want to avoid as dried wax is near impossible to buff out.
Now for the interior
Vacuum your carpets and seats as if your life depended on it!
This is something that I learn't very quickly when I started in the trade. I didn't see the point in it but it is honestly well worth it. When vacuuming your vehicle, push as hard as you can. A lot of muck and s**t gets stomped and trodden into the carpet and spilt on the seats. Usually pressing a bit harder with the thin nozzle can remove most of it. The only times that this method may not work too well is when sand or glitter is in the fabric. Another thing is dog (terriers are the worst) / pet hairs . I have vowed to myself that I will never have any animals in my car thanks to many hours working away on a stupid second hand Nissan Qashqai or something else that's not really worth it, picking dog hairs out one by one with a pair of tweezers. You can get tools for getting hairs out though from just a few of your hard earned pennies.
If you have staining or hard to get out muck in your carpets or seats, you will need whats known as a 'wet and dry vacuum' also known as an extractor. These vacuums are usually large (although Karcher do some small ones) and they allow you to spray a detergent on to fabrics and then vacuum it up after it has been agitated. I would advise you leaving this to a professional though as you can get detergent stuck in your seat foam if you overdo it, which will cause your seat to go mouldy.
It is very satisfying to watch though, so here is a video showing the process:
Another cheap and quick way (for very small areas) would be to use an older unwanted vacuum and spray some all purpose cleaner or detergent on the area to then vacuum it up with the old vacuum, just in case if it breaks/ blows up from water damage. It is risky so do this one at you're own risk. Probably best to leave it to a professional.
Trouble cleaning plastics? Get some APC (All Purpose Cleaner)
Most people use something like 'Dash Shine' or 'Dash Dandy to brighten/ clean plastics in their car. As much as it gives your interior a nice lemon fresh smell, it does make your plastics look very greasy. This is actually a problem mainly on the dashboard as the product can lift in the heat and stick to your windscreen. So if you have ever gotten a greasy windscreen, this is probably why.
What your best off doing is buying tub of APC to put in a spray bottle. This wonder liquid is usually diluted in 1-10 parts APC to water and is usually quite gentle on plastics or even in a stronger dilution, your engine bay! I have found that it gets most stains and dirt off really easily by spraying on the affected area. APC in my opinion gives plastics an as new look, unlike the awful dressings available. APC can dry on plastics though so it is best to use it panel by panel and possibly wipe over with a damp rinse cloth before drying to avoid marks.
Be thorough!
This point I can't express enough. When you've cleaned your car and have set off for another journey, sometimes it can seem as it's still not clean. This is because you haven't been thorough enough with the vacuum/ APC. Best thing to do is get hold of some detailing brushes or soft bristle paint brushes. Then use the brushes to either agitate the APC or before vacuuming, use a dry brush to dislodge crumbs/ dust and other pieces of debris on to the carpet or hold up the vacuum near to where the brush is and brush the debris straight into the nozzle.
This method is fantastic for cleaning places such as radios, air vents, badges and switches.
Finally, get some quality equipment
This might be a good pressure washer or some quality cleaning products but the right kit means a job will be well done if you're up to it. You don't have to have all of it right away, you could just build it over time. Cleaning products can sometimes cost a fair bit, especially when you buy large tubs of the stuff. But even if you buy small amounts in a Halfords or similar shops, you can still find good quality products for decent prices.
To put it in perspective, I bought all the following equipment for roughly £60 the last time I valeted my car and it will roughly last for 2-3 cars worth:
Carnauba wax, fallout remover, all purpose cleaner, tyre gel and applicator. Micro-fibre drying towel, wheel brush and some wheel cleaner.
It's all in the detail (wheels and windows)
There's a reason why it is called detailing. Spend time making your car what you want it to look like. Love and care for it because at the end of the day you're the one that's going to be driving it. Two final items that I want to add is for your wheels and windows. Making your windows and wheels gleam more than the bodywork can actually sometimes stand out better than actually polishing the car. What you will need is window polish and a silicone tyre dressing. You will thank me when you use window polish for the first time as the difference from most peoples car windows before and after using polish is outstanding and it's a damn sight better than vinegar based window cleaner.
Finally a nice dressing for your tyres and exterior plastics is a great way to set off your motor vehicle after finishing. Autosmart's High Style is a great one to get. I would recommend pouring some into a small pot and using a clean but thick paint brush to apply to the wheels. It is also great for tarting up the engine plastics when applied via a spray bottle!
So there you go, some of my tips to improve your car cleaning game, even if you're absolutely terrible at it. Some of these you might not use whatsoever if your the sort of person who just washes their car once a year. Some of them might end up being really useful for if you want to expand into doing a bit of detailing whilst stuck inside or when you have some spare time.
Did you enjoy this article? Would you like to see some more valeting/ car cleaning tips? How good are you at car cleaning/ detailing?
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Comments (7)
I wash my car more than acceptable in polite society. I've been known to wash it after just 50 miles driving. I live off-road do no one sees what an anally retentive maniac I am. I go on emergency runs to Halfords because I'm down to my last 25 liters of snow foam! (Boy is that paying off now) I have so much cleaning product and so many brushes and towels I had to but storage drawers to but it all in. My wife once used a yellow micro fiber towel on a steering wheel! I told her that's what the dark grey ones were for! The look on her face was priceless. What about the red ones she said those are for the the front grill I told her! As I said anally retentive 😁).
Now we are in lockdown and I'm trying to be a good boy and not drive (so many empty roads.... Must resist.... Arrrgghhhh 😁) I've started Project Wax and detail. The car is in the garage and I'm doing a little everyday, I spent an hour on one panel yesterday. By the time she emerges from her quarantine water and dirt wont even touch the car, she'll be like a ready brek kid with force field around her.
Stay safe everyone.
One tip I’d add is to use two buckets when washing your car; a “clean” one for warm water with car cleaning detergent, the other one a “dirty” one, full of just water. Whenever you’ve washed a panel/section with your sponge/mitt, rinse it thoroughly in the water bucket before dipping it in the detergent bucket and starting on the next section. This will massively reduce the amount of grit in your “clean” bucket and help avoid scratches. If you can, also use a “grit guard” (Google it) in your bucket.
I have a white Jack Russell terrier and can confirm that getting his hairs out of the carpet is near impossible, the amount of hairs still in the car could make a new dog
Yea good article. More please.
I used to spend a day cleaning my car every other Saturday taking the wheels off etc (I worked at a car dealers and had access to the general valeting bay (not the actual valeters goodies). I remember being that thorough I accidentally put the front passenger seat through the windscreen when I jacked it forward (it was a 3dr) to get right under the seat. I used to do all that right up until some c**t on Xmas morning keyed my car from front to back on both sides. After that I kept it up but slowly lost the will to live with it from looking at the scratches all the time