CAR DETAILING TIPS & TRICKS€¦ · Car Detailing Tips & Tricks There are a number of reasons why you would want to detail your vehicle. One of the biggest appeals of detailing your

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CAR DETAILINGTIPS & TRICKS

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Car Detailing Tips & Tricks

There are a number of reasons why you would want to detail your vehicle.

One of the biggest appeals of detailing your own car, or having it detailed by

a professional, is to make it look nicer. Detailing, in the grand scheme of things,

is just a fancy way to say you’re cleaning things up a bit. However, detailing is

much more in-depth than just grabbing a hose, a sponge, or some wax.

Why Detail Your Car? When you detail your vehicle, you’re preserving it in addition to keeping it clean.

For instance, cleaning road salt off can both make it look polished and preserve

the paint. Salt is capable of eating through your paint and causing lasting damage.

After a long winter, this is something you’ll want to pay attention to.


Another big reason people detail their vehicle throughout its lifetime is to improve

its performance. While “detailing” can often imply the focus is on the aesthetics of

the vehicle, it actually has to do with just about every aspect of your vehicle.

Yes, detailing does involve cleaning, vacuuming, and polishing. However, it also

includes fine-tuning your vehicle’s most important parts, like the wheels, tires,

and engine. Removing dust, dirt, and built-up oil from these parts can help

them do their jobs better and more efficiently. It can also improve visibility

since detailing headlights and taillights can drastically improve their brightness.

Besides the benefits of a car looking great, there’s one other major reason why

someone would want to detail their car: Detailing your vehicle can increase its

resale value. If you’re thinking about selling your vehicle, having it detailed can

get you more money when trading it in to a dealer or selling it privately.

Helpful Detailing Tips & Tricks Now that you have a better idea of why many people around the world choose to

detail their vehicles, let’s get down to business and talk more about how you can

detail your vehicle. Detailing your own vehicle may seem daunting, but with the

helpful tips below, you’ll be detailing in no time. Let’s get started by talking about

how to detail the exterior of your vehicle!

Interior Detailing The first thing that comes to mind when you think about detailing your car is the

interior, so that’s where we’ll get started. Before you start the actual detailing, you’ll

want to take all personal items out of the vehicle, including the floor mats. Now

you’re ready to start detailing!


Floors

The floors take on some wear and tear over time. Start by vacuuming all the carpet

in your vehicle to pick up loose debris. Be sure to move the seats forward and back

all the way so you can access all the carpet under the seats. Then, take the carpet

floor mats you removed from your vehicle before you got started and run the

vacuum over those as well.

If need be, use a carpet scrubber and a foam cleanser to remove any stains from

the carpet and carpet floor mats. Be sure to do this intense cleaning after you

vacuum to avoid rubbing dirt or dust further into the carpet as you shampoo it.

If you have rubber floor mats, you can use a hose to rinse them off and a towel

to dry them off. There’s no need to vacuum or shampoo them.

Hard Surfaces

There are a lot of hard surfaces in your vehicle, including the dashboard, armrests,

and doors. To bring the life back into these surfaces that can become dulled by

dust, you’ll need a mild all-purpose cleaner and a rag.

Spray a fair amount of cleaner on the rag and wipe over all the flat surfaces in

your vehicle that are not your seats. Once the cleaner has dried, go back over every

surface with an interior dressing to leave the nice finishing touch that makes these

surfaces like new again. Make sure to let this dressing dry so that it doesn’t smudge.

Nooks & Crannies

Another thing your car is full of is tiny crevices that collect a fair amount of dust and

dirt over time. You won’t be able to reach this dust with a cloth or even a duster. The

best item to use here is compressed air, which will blow all the dust out of the many

nooks and crannies found in your car.


Compressed air canisters made for this purpose can be found in most automotive

supply stores. However, you can also find compressed air canisters in most office

supplies stores as they are also good for removing dust from your

computer keyboard.

Seats

Like the floors of your vehicle, the seats also get plenty of wear. It’s important

to clean the seats occasionally so that stains don’t become permanent. It’s also

important to clean the seats you have the correct way based on the material

they’re upholstered with.

If your seats are cloth, the best way to clean them is by shampooing them with

a wet-vac extraction machine. Shampoo every part of the seat thoroughly and

then use the extraction machine to remove excess shampoo and liquid.

If your seats are leather or vinyl instead of cloth, cleaning your seats will be a little

different. You’ll need to buy cleaner specifically for leather or vinyl upholstery as

well as a leather brush. Once you’ve cleaned all your seats with these two items,

wipe away the cleaner with a cloth.

One additional step you’ll take with leather upholstery is conditioning it after

cleaning. The last thing you want is for your leather seats to dry out and crack.

Wipe leather conditioner over your seats once they’ve been cleaned and dried.


Windows & Mirrors

Believe it or not, the inner side of your windows can get dirty, too. To clean the

inside of your windows and your mirrors, you’ll need a window cleaner liquid and

a lint-free cloth. Using a lint-free cloth ensures that nothing will be left behind

while you’re wiping the windows down.

Spray your lint-free cloth with the window cleaner and wipe every inch. Then, let

your windows and mirrors dry on their own. If you try to dry them with a separate

cloth, you run the risk of leaving streaks.

Exterior Detailing When you have the interior of your vehicle taken care of, it’s time to turn your

attention to the exterior. Most times, you can get away with just a wash-and-rinse

job. However, if you want to truly detail the exterior of your vehicle, you’ll want

to follow the steps below.

Tires & Wheels

Get started with the tires and wheels as these parts of your vehicle are the dirtiest.

Remove visible dirt and substance build-up with a brush and then apply wheel

cleaner to the rims. Let it sit for a minute or two before you start scrubbing so the

dirt can become loosened.


Once you rinse the cleaner residue off, you’ll want to apply wall tire cleaner to the

tires. Rinse this off and apply a coat of tire dressing to give your tires and wheels

a glossy finish.

Body

To wash the body of your vehicle, start by filling up a bucket with water and car

wash soap. Sometimes people use dish soap to wash their vehicle, but car wash

soap is preferable for best results because it doesn’t strip the polymers of the paint

off the surface of your car.

Dip a sponge into the bucket and scrub the body of the vehicle in a circular motion.

Start at the top of the vehicle and work downward. Work as quickly as possible

because you don’t want the soap to dry on your vehicle.

Once you’ve scrubbed every part of the body, it’s time to rinse. A simple hose and

tap water will do for this. Like with the washing, rinse from the top to the bottom.

Then, use a terry cloth rag to dry your vehicle as air-drying can cause soap spots

to form.

If you wish, you can add polish or wax to really make your vehicle look brand new.

You can use both, but you’ll first want to apply and then remove the polish before

adding the wax to the surface.

Windows

The last step you’ll take when detailing your vehicle is to clean the outside of your

windows with glass cleaner. You’ll use the same glass cleaner that you did for the

inside of your windows. Spray the glass cleaner on a lint-free cloth and wipe every

part of the window.


Get Detailing!As you can see, there’s a lot that goes in to detailing your car. However, if you

follow this step-by-step guide, your vehicle will be looking just like it did when you

first drove it off the lot in no time. Be sure that you have all the supplies you need

before getting started. Also, it’s best to detail your vehicle on a cool, cloudy day

rather than a sunny one.

We wish you the best of luck on your car-detailing journey!

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CAR DETAILING TIPS & TRICKS€¦ · Car Detailing Tips & Tricks There are a number of reasons why you would want to detail your vehicle. One of the biggest appeals of detailing your