It is an art to wash your car in the most efficient and gentle way, so here are a few tips for cleaning and washing your car.
A freshly washed car is of course a beautiful sight, but the car wash has more than a purely aesthetic purpose. If you do not keep your car clean, collections of gravel, salt and other dirt can work their way into the paint, which can lead to rust formation and later large bills.
Basically, it should be sufficient to wash your car once a month, although some car enthusiasts prefer to do it more often. However, if the car is washed too frequently, it can lead to unnecessary wear of the paint and also be harmful to the environment.
A walk past the Bilvaskcan makes your car look cleaner, but your vehicle is rarely cleaned in depth. If you want a serious cleaning of the car, you must put on the work gloves yourself. The same principle applies in relation to varnish sealing and wax. You can pay for this in the car wash, but it will rarely get enough into the corners of the car where it is really needed. A thorough varnish seal should be performed at least once a year.
Many people recommend that you choose the cheapest possible wash if you plan to use a laundry room. In addition, FDM also advises car owners to skip the underbody wash, as this is rarely sufficiently efficient at a car wash, and can therefore be performed by you.
Cleaning of rims
If it is the big trip, then you can start cleaning your rims. First rinse your rims, if necessary with high pressure cleaner. Then apply the rim cleaner on both sides of the rim and let it sit for approx. 2 minutes (it is important that the product does not have time to dry). Then rinse the rim border and wash the rims thoroughly. If you are not happy with the result, you can give them one more round.
When your rims are sufficiently clean, you can give them a round of rim sealer, which in addition to acting as a kind of paint sealer also reduces the amount of dirt that sticks to the rims. If it is a slightly more superficial cleaning, you can give them a coat of acid-free rim cleaner with a brush.
Prewash and wash
When the car itself is to be washed, you must start with a pre-wash. Here you can initially rinse the car with a focus on hard-to-reach places such as cracks, moldings and the like. Subsequently, pre-wash is applied, which must be left on for 5-10 minutes before rinsing off. It is important to get well into cracks and cavities, so that you get rid of as much dirt as possible, and start the dissolution of the more stubborn dirt that is firmly stuck around the car.
Many people prefer to connect a foam lance to their high-pressure cleaner and then apply the foam to the prewash. The foam lance also allows you to fine-tune the thickness of the foam and the spray angle. When the foam is rinsed away, the largest amounts of dirt will also disappear. This is a great advantage over the further washing, as the risk is now much less of scratching the car.
Once the prewash is complete, you can begin the finer wash with auto shampoo. There are many different types of car shampoo that have different features. You can, for example, buy shampoo which, in addition to a cleansing effect, also gives the car a thin layer of wax. In addition, there are shampoos that contain substances that make it unnecessary to wipe the car after washing, and finally, there is of course the completely normal shampoo, which contributes to the basic cleaning. Whatever type of shampoo you choose, it is important to remember to buy a product that is intended for car washing, rather than using a random cleanser you have lying around at home, as this can cause damage to the car paint.
While your shampoo is working, you may be able to apply other products that will also work for a few minutes, such as insect remover or the like.
Finally, it is essential to have a washing glove or a microfiber towel. It is recommended to wash the car with long regular strokes to avoid scratching the vehicle. If you use a sponge, it is important to be aware that small pieces of gravel have not stuck, so you are potentially scratching the car. It is also not advisable to buy too cheap brushes, as these can also cause scratches on the paint. Last but not least, it is always good to wash the car from top to bottom so that you avoid having to clean the same places repeatedly.