Washing Your Car and Paint Protection: What You Need to Know

Are you a Sunday washer? Or do you try for once a month? We all love a freshly cleaned and polished car, but what is the best way to get that deep shine?

Automatic car wash?

No doubt about it, automatic car washes hold some appeal, where else can you get a wash and wax in under 15 minutes? But there is a trade-off for that convenience.

Traditional automatic car washers use cycles of fast spinning brushes, high pressure water and chamois to remove grit. The danger to your paint job is in the speed and coarseness of the brushing.

What about touchless? While an improvement, these washers still rely on high pressure water and harsh chemicals to dislodge dirt from your car. Touchless washer chemicals can harm paint and trim, and reuse their grey water which collects salts and other issues with recycling.

Tips on car washing to keep the showroom new look

For the best results, clean your vehicle by hand. The following is best practice for hand washing a car. Remember to upgrade your car detergent, this is one situation where you really do get what you pay for.

1. Two buckets; one of fresh water, one of car detergent.

2. Start with a rinse. Let the water soak into dirt for a few minutes.

3. Clean top to bottom. This is essentially cleanest part to dirtiest.

4. When drying, consider an upgrade from your chamois, to a soft, dry microfibre towel.

5. If you feel really committed, you can use an electric air blower to reach lingering water.

6. Add your wax, let it dry, and buff to a high finish.

What NOT to do

Please do not use dishwasher detergent.

Downgrade from a microfibre cloth to a sponge. Sponges retain grit after rinsing. Causing micro swirls or even significant scratching.

Don’t let detergent dry on a panel, rinse in sections.

Don’t wax in the sun, you want to keep the panels cool.

Love the idea of a deep shine with that perfect finish, why not check out the rest of our blog for more tips to keep your vehicle looking brilliant.