9 Common Mistakes When Cleaning Your Car
9 Common Mistakes When Cleaning Your Car
1.) Taking your car to the car wash. These car washes are guaranteed to scratch your finish. Even if the car wash says it has soft bristles and soft cloths, dirt get trapped in the cloth and ends up getting scratched against your paint. Carwashes are aggressive, even the touches type, where powerful jets of water slam your paint’s surface to remove the dirt. The water pressure can be too high, and even if the water pressure isn’t too high, the water will push dirt against the paint, thereby scratching it. Don’t get us wrong, car washes are good for cars where you don’t care about the little scratches on the paint.
2.) People clean their car in the direct sunlight, and when its really hot. Try and wait till the sun is about setting and then you can get a really good shine on the car so you can see where all the dirt is. The reason why you shouldn’t clean your car in the sun is because the car’s surface will be so hot, that the water your cleaning with will evaporate and leave water marks on your paint. Another problem is that the chemical and cleaners you use are not made to be put on hot surfaces.
3.) Using kitchen soap or degreaser to clean your car. These products are bad for your paint and will strip your protective wax coating. So all that hard work waxing goes to waste. These products are not always pH-balanced so you can be damaging your clear coat. You do not want to use a degreaser. You want to use an automative soap which is specifically made to clean your car’s paint so it doesn’t strip the coat on your car.
4.) People don’t use lubrication when they’re cleaning their car. You could use some type of spray wax if your car finish is completely dry. For example, if you have some bird poop on your car, never just wipe this off with a towel. Always spray some lubricant and it will come right off.
5.) You never want to use a paper towel, old t-shirt, sponge, or bathroom towels on your paint. The only thing that should touch your paint is a microfiber towel.
6.) Not cleaning from the top of the car to the bottom of the car. The bottom is always dirtier than the top. You don’t want to add that dirt to the top off your car if you start otherwise.
7.) Using only one bucket. You should only have one bucket for soapy water and the other as a rinsing bucket. Put the dirty towel in the rinsing bucket, then dunk into soapy water.
8.) People drop their towel on the ground and use it on their car.
9.) You never want to put any chemicals on your steering wheel, gas pedals, or shifter. All these things require a good grip. Adding Armor-All or leather/vinyl cleaner is not recommended. If you will do this, apply on a towel first.
