Washing Your Car

*EASY*

Wash your car whenever it is dirty. Run it through a brushless automatic car wash for convenience or, preferably, wash it by hand according to the following procedure:

  1. Park the vehicle in a shaded location outside with the engine OFF, the parking brake engaged, and the transmission in PARK (for automatic) or REVERSE (for manual). If the car has been exposed to the sun recently, allow the paint surface to cool.
  2. Wet the entire surface with plain cold water starting from the top and working down to the hood, trunk and sides. Try to rinse off all dirt with only low water pressure from the garden hose; avoid scrubbing it.
  3. Soften bird droppings, bug marks, road tar, tree sap or any other deposit with vegetable cooking oil before wiping it off with a cloth or sponge. Do not scratch off these deposits when they are hard or the paint will be damaged. Remove bird droppings and tree sap immediately because the paint could be chemically damaged. Stubborn dirt can also be softened with soda water.
  4. Prepare a mild solution of cool water and dishwashing detergent. Add 3 teaspoons of vegetable cooking oil to the bucket of detergent water. This will lubricate the paint to prevent dust and dirt from scratching it. Gently rub a sponge, cleaning hand mitt or soft towel with the detergent solution onto the paint surface, once again starting from the top of the car and working downward. Use a back and forth motion rather than a circular motion.
  5. Frequently rinse dirt from the sponge, mitt or towel and rinse suds from the paint surface. Dirt particles that accumulate in the sponge or mitt will scratch the paint. Do not allow the soapy solution to evaporate on the paint surface before being rinsed off or it will leave a residue.
  6. Dry the paint with a soft, lint-free cotton (terry) cloth, soft bath towel with deep nap, or chamois. Synthetic fiber cloth may scratch your paint and not absorb excess water. Old T-shirts may not trap all dirt and scratch the surface too. The fabric used should hold any dirt in suspension and not rub it into the paint. Dry the top first, hood and trunk next, and sides last. Rotate the cloth. The bottom of the doors and wheel well areas should be done very last since they are usually the dirtiest.

TOP SYSTEMS
BACK BODY PAINT
PREVIOUS PROPER CARE
NEXT CLEANING YOUR PAINT