|
|
Washing Your Own CarMar 15 '01 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line It's a lot of work, but it's worth it. A car is a big investment and keeping it clean makes it last longer. I don't like to drive, but somehow end up doing it a lot. Less than driving, I hate washing cars. However, I've learned some things over the years. So, for what it's worth, here is: TALIA'S GUIDE TO CAR CLEANING 1) If you don't get it dirty, you don't have to clean it! Car covers are nice. They keep the dirt off. Garages are nice. They keep the birds from using the car for target practice. However, if you actually uncover your car and drive it, you will need to clean it...so...step 2.... 2) In the house, I start cleaning on top - dust then vacuum. When cleaning a car, however, I start at the bottom. First, clean the wheels. Why? Because the cleaning solution you would use on wheels usually works best on a dry surface. First, read the instructions on your cleaner and then spray it onto your wheels. Use a soft brush to help get rid of the road gunk. If you have alloy wheels, check to make sure the cleaner you selected is safe for their protective coating. Do not use steel wool or wire brushes on your wheels. These abrasives can scratch the finish and open the metal up to the possibility of rust. If the cleaner's instructions say to rinse it off, don't forget to do this. 3) Rinse the car down starting from top to bottom. I like using a hose for this, though in times of drought, it is sometimes necessary to just use a wet sponge. When I use a hose (which is my preferred method) I use a nozzle or stick my thumb over the end and get the water going just hard enough to get rid of the bird poop. Don't make the water go too hard or you'll end up sanding the paint on your car with the dirt. Nothing like road gunk to sand off paint! Don't forget to spray up into the wheel wells to dissolve road salts and other yuck that gets up in there. 4) Okay, now you're actually ready to get out the soap and prewash the car. You're likely to still have some tree, bird and bug residue on the car. (Club soda works great for getting rid of bird droppings.) Get rid of the main gunk of bird, bug and tree first by using a soft towel and a mild detergent solution. Next, fill a bucket with detergent and cool water. (Hot water can melt car wax...something I just recently learned!) Don't use more detergent than indicated on the label. If anything, use the solution as directed for bird, bug and tree stuff. When done with that, dilute to about 3/4 strength for the rest of the car. 5) And finally, it's time to wash the car. First, you're going to work from top to bottom so that as the dirt comes off, it doesn't go onto already clean areas. More dirt ends up on the sides of a car than on the horizontal parts (trunk, hood, and roof). To wash your car...yes, you're finally going to wash your car!.... The Horizontal Parts: A) Rinse the section you're going to wash. Get it thoroughly wet down. Dunk a soft towel in the cleaning solution, and wipe gently the trunk, roof and hood. Do not scrub or you will end up using the road dirt to sandpaper your car. B) Dunk the towel back into the cleaning solution and shake out the dirt. C) As you finish washing each section, rinse off the detergent with a gentle stream of water. (Less than for the bug gunk). If you let the detergent dry on the car, you've sort of defeated the purpose in washing it! The Vertical Parts: A) Again, soak down whatever part of the car you're going to be working on. Start with the top of the fenders. B) Use a clean towel. Use several actually. Remember that this is the part of the car that gets dirtiest, and you've just hosed more dirt onto these parts. By using several towels you won't sandpaper your cars finish with dirt. C) Dunk the towel into the cleaning solution. Shake out. Wash the top of the fenders. Change towels. Wash the lower parts. These are the grossest parts of the car so keep those towels clean by dunking and shaking a lot! D) Wipe! Don't scrub! Continue with grills and side panels. E) Rinse! 6) Dry the car in the same order that you washed the car. Blot the water off. Don't wipe it off. Wring out towels and replace as needed. Open the car doors and trunk and dry in the jambs. Use this as a chance to check for leaks in the car's weather stripping. Finally, some additional advice -- I prefer plastic buckets when washing cars. When I stub my toe on the bucket (as I invariably do while washing cars) the plastic doesn't hurt nearly as much. Also, if the bucket gets bumped against the car, you're less likely to scratch your finish with a plastic bucket. The ideal location for car washing is in the shade, on a slight incline. (This way the water runs off.) Park, if possible, on a patch of gravel or grass. Don't park where the water is going to run into the street and into a storm drain. The dirty rinse water contains chemicals from auto emissions and other yucky stuff. Grass or gravel help to slow this stuff down. The yucky stuff is not good for local water supplies or the ecosystem that relies on it. Of course, this only takes care of cleaning the outside of the car. To clean the inside of a car (beyond just dusting the dash, vacuuming the floor and washing the windows), you need to "detail" the car. This requires an entire afternoon. I preferred leaving this job to my Matthew who cared a great deal more about this than I ever did. Since he passed away, I detail the car by taking it to a pro. I can tell you that his detailing kit consisted of a bucket filled with sponges, upholstery cleaners, rubber cement, windex glass cleaner, rubber gloves, an upholstery brush, a toothbrush, Q-tips, an exacto-knife and a can of compressed air. He also used to use my hair dryer, and the wet/dry vacuum out of his garage. I can give you the basics, but you'll probably want more information if you're really going to tackle this one. 1) Vacuum. Take out mats and seat covers and clean out the glove comparment. Now vacuum everything! Seats, then floors. Next do the dash and doors. On hard surfaces like the dash, hold the vacuum above the surface to keep from nicking them. 2) Clean the hard surfaces. Use cleaners designed for whatever you're cleaning...leather conditioner/cleaner for leather, glass cleaner for glass, etc. 3) Don't forget to clean the vents, buttons, cracks and crevices. Use the compressed air to get into all the nooks and crannies. 4) Do the upholstery. Fabric cleaners...carpet cleaners...you decide how dirty your car is and what it needs. If it's really dirty and you decide to shampoo the carpet, use a brush and work in a circular motion. 5) Clean the windows. It will make your car seem brighter. Some people don't like using ammonia based cleaners because they can harm the finishes you've just applied in the car. I find that if you spray windex on a clean cloth outside the car, and then bring it in that is not a problem. I hope this helps. I'm going to lay down now. I'm tired just thinking about this.  |
| Read all comments (5)|Write your own comment |
