When you go to a car show or a new car dealers showroom do you notice how shiny and brilliant the cars look?  They almost look like they’re wet.  We all like the way new cars look when they first leave the new car showroom, but did you know it is actually pretty easy to keep it looking that way for many years to come?  All it takes is a few steps, a few little known secrets and a little effort and your car will keep looking as new as it did the first day it left the car dealer’s showroom.

First you need to wash the car at least once a month (or more depending on if you leave it outside or in a garage).  This will remove dirt, bugs, bird droppings, etc… before they become permanently stuck or embedded on your car which can damage your car’s paint.  The proper way to wash your car is to wet it down real good first with a hose or special sprayer made for car washing.  Don’t just get it wet, try and get the dirt, dust, etc… off the car and spray it side to side going down each panel. 

By properly wetting down your car prior to washing it you remove dust and debris and most of the surface dirt that can actually scratch your car and make swirl marks in your paint if you don’t do this first step.  Next use specific automotive car wash soaps or solutions, not dish washing liquid or other cleaners and degreasers as they will be too harsh and remove all protective coats like wax and polish (and some can even dry out and age your paint).

Rather than using one of those hand held scrubbers with a built in soap dispenser it is better to fill a bucket with the correct amount of car wash soap or liquid and use a brush or sponge specifically made for car washing.  Clean and rinse the bucket out first – this may sound stupid, but a little bit of dirt in your wash bucket can do a lot of scratching (this is also why you hose off the car first, to get rid of any extra dirt and debris).       

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Some areas of your car like the front bumper and grill will definitely benefit and be easier to clean with a pretreatment (just a few sprays or squirts of bug remover which is available at your local automotive store or Walmart).  Usually a few sprays or squirts (depending on the type of container) is all that is needed and then the bugs, grease, tar, and stuck on dirt will come off that much easier.

It is best to wash your car one section at a time and then rinse.  This keeps the suds and car wash soap from drying and further reduces the chances of any dirt scratching the paint.  If the area or section you are washing starts to dry too quickly then just wet it with the hoe or sprayer.  After the car is done you move to the wheels and tires (never do them first), by waiting until after you have washed the car you won’t chance larger debris and grit from your wheels scratching your car’s paint. 

It is best, though to use the hose on the wheels and tires when you first wet down the car to help loosen and get rid of dirt and such.  There are specific wheel cleaners that promise no touching and each one claims to be better than the others.  This is expensive nonsense.  Just use car wash soap and clean them with a sponge.  Be sure to use a cheap throw away sponge as that is what you should do with it when you are done with it. 

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With some wheels with numerous small spokes and hard to get to nooks and crannies you may need a special detailing brush.  Rather than spending a lot on an expensive detailing brush just use an old toothbrush.  It will work just as well.  Shop towels also work great for getting in the tough areas and they won’t fall apart like a paper towel.  Wipe dry with a terry cloth towel or microfibre towel.  To protect your wheels and make them easier to keep clean you can apply chrome or wheel polish particular to the type of wheel.  Obviously don’t use these polishes on anything plastic like wheel covers as they will remove the finish.  When done use a tire protectant spray like Armorall to make the tires look new, be sure not to get this on your wheels as it will tarnish their shine.

Next wax the paint.  Actually, the secret here is to first polish and then wax the paint (most detailers will hate me for telling this industry secret).  This is how the professional detailers get that amazing wet look or new car shine you see at auto shows and in new car showrooms.  The secret here is to apply two coats of car polish with either silicone or Teflon and then follow up with two to three coats of wax.  The polish will give it superior protection and the additional coats of wax will give it that deep, wet, new car shine look everyone wants.

You don’t need to buy any super expensive waxes here.  According to Consumer reports the high priced waxes are just a waste of money as the cheaper waxes like Turtle wax are just as good both in shine and durability.  Then just buff dry and you are done.  If your headlights are yellow and cloudy there is a specific, patented headlight restoration kit that is made specifically for cleaning and restoring ugly, faded and cloudy and it can be purchased at buy headlight cleaner and buy headlight restoration from MDWholesale.com.  That’s proper DIY exterior car detailing in a nut shell for maximum shine and protection. 

        
Article provided courtesy of MDWholesale.com headlight cleaner, headlight restoration and headlight polish.

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