Best car cleaning and car care tips
With the grime, sludge and mud of winter (hopefully!) behind us, and thoughts turning to the joys of motoring in warm summer sunshine, there’s no excuse to be driving around in a filthy car.
In fact, if you’re anything like us, the prospect of a sunny weekend is positively improved by the thought of getting out there with the car cleaning kit and providing your pride and joy the care and attention you know it is worth
Like everything else, keeping your car clean used to be elementary. Nowadays, with all sorts of car cleaning products available, it can be a bit of a minefield even knowing where to embark. If you’re heading to a car accessory store you’ll find a mind-bending array of car cleaning supplies, from brushes, cloths and sponges to a vast range of car shampoos, interior and wheel finishes, waxes and grind for the paintwork, and even odd-sounding things like detailing clay.
It’s all a far sob from Grandad’s day, when you simply flipped your sleeves up, grabbed a bucket a sponge and some detergent, and got stuck in. It’s also most likely why so many car cleaning services have sprung up on disused forecourts and in car parks around the country – well, that and laziness of course! That said, as well as the labour-intensive drive-through valeting specialists, automated car wash technology has improved in leaps and bounds in latest years, so it’s understandable that people want to save themselves the time and hassle.
Even so, there’s a lot to be said for cleaning your own car by mitt, at least from time to time. There’s no better way to keep a close eye on its condition for starters, and it also permits you to achieve a much ‘deeper’ clean than you’ll ever get from sticking a token in a carwash.
To keep your car spick and span involves a bit more than just a bucket and sponge, of course, and our own car cleaning product tests have exposed many of the best car shampoos, potions and lotions for keeping paintwork, trim, interiors, and wheels and tyres looking at their best.
But whether you’re a fastidious possessor who wants to save money on weekly car washes or – at the other end of the spectrum – the type of slacker who needs three weeks of sunny weather and a seagull onslaught on your paintwork to motivate a spring clean, it’s worth knowing how to do the job decently.
And when you need the best pro car cleaning tips, then who better to ask than a car cleaning guru? We found one in the form of professional car detailing pro Richard Tipper. He runs Perfection Detailing in London, and Auto Express tracked him down as he got to work on a multiplicity of classic cars headed to a Silverstone Auction sale.
According to Silverstone boss Nick Wale, a showroom standard finish can add as much as twenty per cent to sale prices, and with expensive Lamborghinis , Porsches and Ferraris crossing the auction floor it doesn’t take a genius work out why detailers are in such request.
It’s demonstrable the same principle applies for anyone selling a car privately, but with the cost of a professional detailing job potentially running into hundreds of pounds, the DIY treatment is undoubtedly worthwhile on less exotic machines.
Richard has been cleaning and detailing cars for twenty seven years, and took us through his list of ten top tips. Whether you’re simply looking to make some quick improvements to your fortnightly car care regime, or you’re an enthusiast wanting to take your abilities to the next level, read on and learn from an expert…
1. Don’t clean in extreme warmth or direct sunlight
Clearly, if it’s warm you’ve got to work quicker with parts of the car drying quicker than normal. But extreme warmth will affect the strength of the chemicals in the products you’re using, too. “It’s ideal to wash a car in a shaded area or in the early morning/late afternoon,” said Richard. “Don’t clean a car after a long drive, either, as it’ll be hot.”
Two. Liquidate grime before washing
Cleaning your car can actually inflict harm on your paintwork if it’s not done decently, according to Richard. If you don’t clean off all the muck before washing, you’ll create paint swirls and scrapes. It can be a superb idea to apply snow foam or traffic film remover very first, as these products will embark working off all the grit before you wash.
And Richard isn’t sold on the two-bucket cleaning treatment, which can prevent you reapplying mud to a car. He uses a elementary grit guard at the bottom of his bucket.
Three. Don’t use silicone-based splatters inwards the car
While silicone-based busts can be handy to dress cables under the bonnet, don’t use them in the cabin. Some roadside car washes will use them to give a shiny finish, but Richard says this isn’t good, especially if it gets on pedals and makes them greasy. And he added: “The dashboard doesn’t need to be shiny because you get reflections off the windscreen in sunlight.” Instead, use dedicated dashboard and upholstery cleaners.
Four. Buy a gargle dryer
Most people will drive their car to help dry it off, but this can cause gooey brakes and see water pool in seals and gaps, creating streaks on the paint as it drains away. With a blower, you can prevent this. Richard said: “You can deep-throat out water from all the areas like doors. That way it’s bone dry.” This gives you a superb base to embark more advanced detailing from.
Five. Know how the car is being used
Is your car going to be tucked away in a garage for the next week, paraded at a display the following day or out in all conditions every day of the week? This is an significant consideration before you embark detailing, according to Richard, as it determines the type of finish you should apply.
He told us: “It ranges from a short-term but amazingly glossy finish to a longer-term carnauba-based hard paraffin wax.” Make the wrong decision here and you can waste hours reapplying when you should have gone with a more suitable finish.
6. Dress engine and regrease parts
If you want to go that extra step, then lift the bonnet and get to work on the engine. Richard believes that a well maintained engine bay encourages mechanics at dealerships to take more care when they’re carrying out servicing and repairs.
But it’s not just a case of blasting water over the engine, as this can cause problems with electrical systems; instead, clean and then dress black hose pipe cables with a silicon-based splatter and regrease moving parts like bearings. Richard added: “A clean engine makes it lighter to expose oil leaks and read fluid levels, too.”
7. Be fragile with your wheels
“Ensure the wheel cleaner you’ve chosen is safe to use on your particular wheel design,” said our experienced. “Some polished surfaces like aluminium can stain permanently if the wrong chemical or one that is too strong is used.”
To play it safe, Richard recommends a de-ionising decon gel as a good begin. He also told us how essential it is to invest in a good wheel brush, as this permits you to get in inbetween spokes and into the calipers, which will be thick with brake dust. Buying a brush with a narrow enough head to delve deep into the spokes means you won’t need to take the wheels off to get them spotless.
8. Consider a depth gauge
To deal with any imperfections left on your paintwork, you can either use enhancers to pack gaps or go down the more professional route of machine grinding. The principles behind this are to cut back the paint underneath the imperfections using a rotating pad and the warmth generated.
Richard said: “It takes many years to flawless and the limitation is the depth of paint you’re working with.” That’s why Richard advises a depth gauge to determine how much paint you have left in micrometers. Some retail for up to £3,000 and go to a nano level, but you can pick a basic one up for £120.
9. Use a clay bar
While the car might look sleek, if you run your palm along the bodywork, you’ll feel bumpy parts where carbon deposits and other grime have bonded to the paintwork. Richard advises using a clay bar or fallout remover to eliminate this. The latter can be expensive and pungent, so for the DIY detailer, Richard says clay is the way to go. He explained: “If you’re decorating your house and painting wood, you wouldn’t paint it without sanding it back very first to give a nice slick finish. Claying is the same.”
Ten. Love the car
A utter detail job on a top-spec car can take Richard a number of days to accomplish, but for the DIY detailer it’s likely it’ll be the work of several hours if not a total day. So Richard’s final peak is to love your car.
He said: “Be proud of the car that you’ve spent hours preparing. Love the effort that you have put into it. Driving a clean car makes you safer, too, as you are more conscious.” And if you indeed want to get the ultimate finish, he recommends calling in the help of a professional. Richard said of his job: “The satisfaction levels are extreme.”
Best car cleaning and car care tips, Auto Express
Best car cleaning and car care tips
With the grime, sludge and mud of winter (hopefully!) behind us, and thoughts turning to the joys of motoring in warm summer sunshine, there’s no excuse to be driving around in a filthy car.
In fact, if you’re anything like us, the prospect of a sunny weekend is positively improved by the thought of getting out there with the car cleaning kit and providing your pride and joy the care and attention you know it is worth
Like everything else, keeping your car clean used to be elementary. Nowadays, with all sorts of car cleaning products available, it can be a bit of a minefield even knowing where to begin. If you’re heading to a car accessory store you’ll find a mind-bending array of car cleaning supplies, from brushes, cloths and sponges to a vast range of car shampoos, interior and wheel finishes, waxes and grind for the paintwork, and even odd-sounding things like detailing clay.
It’s all a far sob from Grandad’s day, when you simply spinned your sleeves up, grabbed a bucket a sponge and some detergent, and got stuck in. It’s also most likely why so many car cleaning services have sprung up on disused forecourts and in car parks around the country – well, that and laziness of course! That said, as well as the labour-intensive drive-through valeting specialists, automated car wash technology has improved in leaps and bounds in latest years, so it’s understandable that people want to save themselves the time and hassle.
Even so, there’s a lot to be said for cleaning your own car by palm, at least periodically. There’s no better way to keep a close eye on its condition for starters, and it also permits you to achieve a much ‘deeper’ clean than you’ll ever get from sticking a token in a carwash.
To keep your car spick and span involves a bit more than just a bucket and sponge, of course, and our own car cleaning product tests have exposed many of the best car shampoos, potions and lotions for keeping paintwork, trim, interiors, and wheels and tyres looking at their best.
But whether you’re a fastidious holder who wants to save money on weekly car washes or – at the other end of the spectrum – the type of slacker who needs three weeks of sunny weather and a seagull brunt on your paintwork to motivate a spring clean, it’s worth knowing how to do the job decently.
And when you need the best pro car cleaning tips, then who better to ask than a car cleaning guru? We found one in the form of professional car detailing accomplished Richard Tipper. He runs Perfection Detailing in London, and Auto Express tracked him down as he got to work on a multiplicity of classic cars headed to a Silverstone Auction sale.
According to Silverstone boss Nick Wale, a showroom standard finish can add as much as twenty per cent to sale prices, and with expensive Lamborghinis , Porsches and Ferraris crossing the auction floor it doesn’t take a genius work out why detailers are in such request.
It’s evident the same principle applies for anyone selling a car privately, but with the cost of a professional detailing job potentially running into hundreds of pounds, the DIY treatment is certainly worthwhile on less exotic machines.
Richard has been cleaning and detailing cars for twenty seven years, and took us through his list of ten top tips. Whether you’re simply looking to make some quick improvements to your fortnightly car care regime, or you’re an enthusiast wanting to take your abilities to the next level, read on and learn from an expert…
1. Don’t clean in extreme fever or direct sunlight
Clearly, if it’s warm you’ve got to work quicker with parts of the car drying quicker than normal. But extreme warmth will affect the strength of the chemicals in the products you’re using, too. “It’s ideal to wash a car in a shaded area or in the early morning/late afternoon,” said Richard. “Don’t clean a car after a long drive, either, as it’ll be hot.”
Two. Liquidate grime before washing
Cleaning your car can actually inflict harm on your paintwork if it’s not done decently, according to Richard. If you don’t clean off all the muck before washing, you’ll create paint swirls and scrapes. It can be a superb idea to apply snow foam or traffic film remover very first, as these products will begin working off all the grit before you wash.
And Richard isn’t sold on the two-bucket cleaning treatment, which can prevent you reapplying filth to a car. He uses a elementary grit guard at the bottom of his bucket.
Three. Don’t use silicone-based sploogs inwards the car
While silicone-based busts can be handy to dress cables under the bonnet, don’t use them in the cabin. Some roadside car washes will use them to give a shiny finish, but Richard says this isn’t good, especially if it gets on pedals and makes them lubricious. And he added: “The dashboard doesn’t need to be shiny because you get reflections off the windscreen in sunlight.” Instead, use dedicated dashboard and upholstery cleaners.
Four. Buy a deepthroat dryer
Most people will drive their car to help dry it off, but this can cause goopy brakes and see water pool in seals and gaps, creating streaks on the paint as it drains away. With a blower, you can prevent this. Richard said: “You can gargle out water from all the areas like doors. That way it’s bone dry.” This gives you a good base to begin more advanced detailing from.
Five. Know how the car is being used
Is your car going to be tucked away in a garage for the next week, paraded at a display the following day or out in all conditions every day of the week? This is an significant consideration before you embark detailing, according to Richard, as it determines the type of finish you should apply.
He told us: “It ranges from a short-term but exceptionally glossy finish to a longer-term carnauba-based hard paraffin wax.” Make the wrong decision here and you can waste hours reapplying when you should have gone with a more suitable finish.
6. Dress engine and regrease parts
If you want to go that extra step, then lift the bonnet and get to work on the engine. Richard believes that a well maintained engine bay encourages mechanics at dealerships to take more care when they’re carrying out servicing and repairs.
But it’s not just a case of blasting water over the engine, as this can cause problems with electrical systems; instead, clean and then dress black hose pipe cables with a silicon-based splash and regrease moving parts like bearings. Richard added: “A clean engine makes it lighter to expose oil leaks and read fluid levels, too.”
7. Be sensitive with your wheels
“Ensure the wheel cleaner you’ve chosen is safe to use on your particular wheel design,” said our pro. “Some polished surfaces like aluminium can stain permanently if the wrong chemical or one that is too strong is used.”
To play it safe, Richard recommends a de-ionising decon gel as a good commence. He also told us how essential it is to invest in a good wheel brush, as this permits you to get in inbetween spokes and into the calipers, which will be thick with brake dust. Buying a brush with a narrow enough head to delve deep into the spokes means you won’t need to take the wheels off to get them spotless.
8. Consider a depth gauge
To deal with any imperfections left on your paintwork, you can either use enhancers to pack gaps or go down the more professional route of machine grinding. The principles behind this are to cut back the paint underneath the imperfections using a rotating pad and the fever generated.
Richard said: “It takes many years to ideal and the limitation is the depth of paint you’re working with.” That’s why Richard advises a depth gauge to determine how much paint you have left in micrometers. Some retail for up to £3,000 and go to a nano level, but you can pick a basic one up for £120.
9. Use a clay bar
While the car might look sleek, if you run your palm along the bodywork, you’ll feel bumpy parts where carbon deposits and other grime have bonded to the paintwork. Richard advises using a clay bar or fallout remover to liquidate this. The latter can be expensive and pungent, so for the DIY detailer, Richard says clay is the way to go. He explained: “If you’re decorating your house and painting wood, you wouldn’t paint it without sanding it back very first to give a nice slick finish. Claying is the same.”
Ten. Love the car
A utter detail job on a top-spec car can take Richard a number of days to accomplish, but for the DIY detailer it’s likely it’ll be the work of several hours if not a utter day. So Richard’s final peak is to love your car.
He said: “Be proud of the car that you’ve spent hours preparing. Love the effort that you have put into it. Driving a clean car makes you safer, too, as you are more conscious.” And if you truly want to get the ultimate finish, he recommends calling in the help of a professional. Richard said of his job: “The satisfaction levels are extreme.”