{"id":462878,"date":"2010-03-23T15:30:40","date_gmt":"2010-03-23T19:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ridelust.com\/?p=41257"},"modified":"2010-03-23T15:30:40","modified_gmt":"2010-03-23T19:30:40","slug":"car-care-101-how-to-wash-a-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/462878","title":{"rendered":"Car Care 101: How To Wash A Car"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Are you REALLY going to let that belt buckle near your paint?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If you love your ride, chances are you wouldn\u2019t consider taking it to a drive through car wash. The brushless ones never seem to get your car clean, and the ones that use brushes (even the new soft foam brushes) can scratch paint if they’re not kept clean. Your ride may not be a Ferrari 250 GTO, but you still want to keep it looking nice; now that Spring is here, it\u2019s time to spend a Saturday morning bonding with your car. Here\u2019s how to properly wash it, from the roof to the wheels.<\/p>\n

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Step 1: Find a shady spot to work<\/h3>\n
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Better. She’s washing in the shade and wearing only soft fabric. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sun is the enemy of car washing, as it causes water spotting, soap film and streaking. Find a spot that has some shade, or wash the car in the early morning or late afternoon. Always wash your car before it\u2019s been driven for any distance. Cold water on hot brake rotors, hot wheels and hot body panels is not a good thing.<\/p>\n

Step 2: Use the right stuff<\/h3>\n
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Meguiar’s Gold Class is good stuff<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Always start with a soap meant specifically for washing cars. I don\u2019t care what brand of car wash soap you use, since they\u2019re all good enough to get the job done. Never use dish soap or laundry soap, as neither was designed to wash cars and both can strip the wax from a car\u2019s finish.<\/p>\n

Start with a clean bucket (better if you dedicate one just to washing cars), add the recommended amount of car wash liquid and spray in the water to create a decent bucket of suds. Now grab your wash mitt.<\/p>\n

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My preference? Sheepskin, but I’m old school.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I prefer sheepskin mitts for car washing, but a microfiber mitt will work just as well. Here\u2019s the key thing: it has to be absolutely clean, since any embedded grit will scratch your paint. If you dropped the mitt on the ground, you\u2019re not going to shake or rinse out all the grit; it needs to go through the washing machine before you use it on a car.<\/p>\n

Got your bucket o\u2019suds? Got your clean mitt? Good – drop the mitt in the suds, and let it soak up the soapy liquid. We\u2019ll get back to it in a little bit, but first, we\u2019ve got some wheels to clean.<\/p>\n

Step 3: The wheels<\/h3>\n
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Simple Green is great for cleaning wheels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Brake dust is nasty, corrosive stuff. Leave it on your wheels long enough, and no amount of scrubbing will make them look decent again. You can spend a ton of money on exotic wheel cleaner sprays, most of which are acid based. In other words, if you don\u2019t use them correctly they can etch your wheels, etch your driveway and probably do nasty things to your skin. My preference? Simple Green, which is an all purpose, biodegradable cleaner that works on just about anything. The best part is you can find it anywhere, and it\u2019s a lot cheaper than a specialized wheel cleaner spray.<\/p>\n

First, spray your tires and wheels down with water. Next, spray generous amount of Simple Green on the wheel and tire and let it sit for a minute. Now, get out your tire brush. Of course you have a tire brush, right?<\/p>\n

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For tires, any medium stiff bristle brush will work<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If not, here\u2019s what you need – a broad head scrub brush with medium stiff bristles. Nylon is fine, unless you feel compelled to shell out the big bucks for a natural bristle brush. Remember, this is just for scrubbing tires, so don\u2019t use it on painted surfaces unless you like scratched paint or clearcoat.<\/p>\n

Spray the brush down with water and throw on another squirt of Simple Green. Use a circular motion to scrub the dirt and old tire shine off your tires, but try not to hit the wheels. If the brush is stiff enough to clean your rubber tires, it may be stiff enough to scratch the paint or clearcoat on your wheels (and yes, most alloy wheels are painted these days).<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re done with the tire, you can move on to the wheels. Get your wheel brush out, and spray it down with clean water. You\u2019ve got a dedicated wheel brush, right?<\/p>\n

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Wheel brush; sadly, mine is nowhere near this nice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If you don\u2019t, here\u2019s what you want – a soft bristled brush that\u2019s pointed enough to get into all the nooks and crannies of your wheels. Nylon is fine, but here\u2019s example where saving money may not be a good thing – cheap wheel brushes won\u2019t last more than a year or two, and some stiffen up with use. Buy the best one you can find, but make sure it\u2019s small enough to get behind the brake caliper and into all the detail areas of your wheels.<\/p>\n

Spray your wet wheel brush down with a little Simple Green and get to work. I like to start with the area around the tire valve first and work in a clockwise pattern. Scrub with just enough force to get the brake dust and road grime off your wheels. Flush the tire and wheel with clean water and touch up any areas you missed the first time. Now repeat the process with the other three wheels.<\/p>\n

Step 4: Wash the car, top to bottom<\/h3>\n
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Always remember to turn the water on first<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Take your car wash nozzle and set it to a light stream. Heavy streams (or power washers) may be good for getting mud out of wheel wells, but they can also get by window seals and blast off loose paint or anodizing. Start with the greenhouse (roof, windows, windshield and rear window) and spray the car down from top to bottom. You\u2019re not looking to wash it clean; you\u2019re just trying to get the whole thing wet. <\/p>\n

Done? Grab your wash mitt and start on the greenhouse. Lift the wiper blades up so you can clean underneath them (clean the wiping surface, too). Wash the roof first, then move on to the windshield, widows and rear window. Be as quick as you can while still being thorough; you don\u2019t want the soap to dry on the paint or glass.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019ve finished with the greenhouse, rinse it down (roof first) until all the soap is gone, then make sure the rest of the car is still wet.<\/p>\n

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Bad form; clearly, their mitts aren’t nearly wet enough<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Make sure to dip your mitt in the wash bucket from time to time (and yeah, that\u2019s also a metaphor). Check to see that it\u2019s relatively clean before starting to wash a new section of car.<\/p>\n

Pick another area and get to work. I usually move on to the rear fenders, trunk and bumper and wash it as one section. The idea is to was a small enough area that the soap won\u2019t dry between rinses, but a large enough area that the car wash doesn\u2019t take all day. Rinse, lather, rinse and repeat until the car is done.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re really anal retentive about your car\u2019s finish, you\u2019ll use a separate mitt for the areas around the wheel wells and the rocker panels. These areas build up dirt and grit, so using a second wash mitt helps to prevent scratches on other areas of paint.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re done with washing and rinsing all areas, it\u2019s time to flood the paint with water. First, turn off the water at the faucet. Now remove the nozzle from the hose and turn it on full. Starting with the top of the car, flood the paint with a heavy stream of water and work your way down. Notice how the water beads off and leaves you with less to dry? Go kill the water and grab your drying towels, it\u2019s time for the next step.<\/p>\n

Step 5: Dry your car<\/h3>\n
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Hmm, I wonder what this product does…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Everybody has their own preference for drying cars, but here\u2019s what I do. First, I grab a synthetic chamois (like The Absorber) and dry the roof. Next, I grab a silicone water blade and dry the windows and any other flat surface (vertical first, then horizontal). I finish up by drying rest of the car with a synthetic chamois or cotton towel, depending upon what\u2019s at hand and clean.<\/p>\n

Now\u2019s a good time to touch up any areas you may have missed, since you still have the bucket and mitt handy. Don\u2019t forget the inside of your doors, trunk and hood. Bugs or tar etched into your paint? Get the bug and tar remover out and follow the directions, them wipe down the area you\u2019ve cleaned.<\/p>\n

Bonus points go to those who now clean their windows and treat them with RainX. If you\u2019ve never used it, it\u2019s good stuff.<\/p>\n

So we\u2019re done, right? Not just yet, because it\u2019s time for…<\/p>\n

Step 6: Wheels and tires<\/h3>\n
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Tire care, tire dressing, whatever – just use it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Few things can make a car look rattier than dirty wheels and dull tires; on the flip side, clean wheels and properly treated tires can make a dirty car look good.<\/p>\n

Start with a cotton towel (washed after every use, since it gets filthy) and dry your wheels and tires. Get your tire dressing out (No Touch, Armor All, Poor Boy\u2019s World Tire Dressing, etc.) and spray or brush it on your tires. Not only does this make tires look better, but it seals the rubber and prevents UV damage (which causes sidewall cracking and \u201cdry rot\u201d).<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got alloy wheels or wheel covers, grab a beer because you\u2019re done. If you\u2019ve got painted steelies (like my FJ), grab a can of Lemon Pledge furniture polish. Yes, I\u2019m serious – Lemon Pledge. Spray the wheel lightly with the polish, then use a microfiber towel to work it into the painted surface. The end result is a medium gloss finish that lasts for weeks and smells pretty damn good, too.<\/p>\n

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Natural beauty AND lemony freshness; what’s not to like?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So that\u2019s it. I can wash the Miata in about 45 minutes, the car in about an hour and the truck in about an hour and a half. As an added bonus, you get to make sure everything is OK with your ride, and spend some quality one-on-one time with your four wheeled mistress (or mister – I\u2019m not judging). If you\u2019re a gear head, what\u2019s better than that?<\/p>\n

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Are you REALLY going to let that belt buckle near your paint? If you love your ride, chances are you wouldn\u2019t consider taking it to a drive through car wash. The brushless ones never seem to get your car clean, and the ones that use brushes (even the new soft foam brushes) can scratch paint […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2161,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-462878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462878\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}