4 Tips for Exterior Car Detailing
When was the last time your car had a solid exterior clean job? Not only is a dirty car unpleasant to look at, but contaminants can ruin its paint and clear coat. Not to mention how dangerous it is to drive around with a dirty windshield ruining your visibility.
If your car is overdue for a thorough cleaning, it’s time to make it happen. You don’t need to call a detailing company to get the job done. Save some money by reading our tips for exterior car detailing below.
1. Get the Right Products
Having the right car cleaning products in your arsenal is key. With the right tools, you can get the job done fast and efficiently.
At a bare minimum, you’ll need cleaning brushes, chemicals, buckets, and microfiber towels. We recommend splurging on high-quality products to ensure the exterior of your car won’t incur any damage.
Microfiber towels are soft without any rough edges so they won’t scratch your car. Brushes should be soft for that same reason. Check out these detailing brushes for high-quality interior and exterior car cleaning brushes.
The cleaning chemicals you use should be made for use on cars. Invest in car wash soap, wheel sealant, automobile glass cleaner, and degreasers to start off. You can then add on polish, glaze, and sealants down the road.
2. Start at the Top
We always recommend working your way down as your clean your car. This will prevent any contaminants from the dirtier lower portion to spread to the upper region of your vehicle. Let gravity work with you.
Rinse and wash from the top down working in smaller areas. Don’t try to do the entire vehicle at once as the soap will dry too fast, leaving you with streaks.
The only exception to this rule is to wash your wheels before anything else. Your wheels will be dirtier than any other part of your car so start with them.
3. Use Several Buckets
You should use at least two buckets when you’re washing your car by hand. One bucket should have your cleaning solution in it and the other should be plain water for rinsing. We recommend going a step further by having one bucket for each type of cleaning chemical.
Dip your cloth into the cleaning chemical and then wash one small area of your car. Instead of re-dipping it back into the chemical to re-wet it, dip it into the clean ‘rinse’ bucket. This will leave any potential contaminants in the rinsing bucket instead of adding them to your wash water.
4. Spot Clean Often
Once your car exterior is clean, keep up with it. You should still wash your vehicle on a regular basis, but do spot-cleaning between full washes, too.
If you notice dead bugs or bird droppings starting to pile up onto your car, it’s time for a spot clean. Regular mini spot-cleanings will make your bigger cleans easier and faster.
Exterior Car Detailing Made Easy
Exterior car detailing doesn’t have to be a difficult all-day job. With our helpful tips above, you can have the job done fast without too much effort.
Keep browsing our site for more helpful cleaning tips for car and home owners.
