Cleanliness check
After an automatic car wash, check the cleanliness of the car. Often, wheel covers, wheel arches and the lower edges of the door channels are not processed satisfactorily by the brushes. Hand work with a sponge and cloth is also required for additional cleaning of door frames and grooves. In winter, when the water containing salt that is sprinkled on the roads is deposited on the paintwork, the inside of the fenders and the lower exterior parts of the body, you should wash your car in a car wash more often. Although after a while the car will be dirty again, still rust will not get any chance to settle in critical places. Do not be too careless even in the case of a galvanized body!
Cleaning in an automatic car wash takes less time and is not much more expensive than doing it yourself. True, in some installations, the rotating brushes do not handle the varnish very carefully, and after washing, in any case, something has to be finished.
Self-service car wash systems have various cleaning devices. Using a special brush, you can thoroughly clean the rims.
Drying the brakes
The brakes should be tested after every car wash. This evaporates moisture that gets between the brake discs and brake pads during cleaning. After driving in the rain or on melted water containing salt for sprinkling roads, dry the brakes before leaving the car in the garage for several days. To dry the brakes, it is enough to slow down slightly several times in the last few hundred meters of the path. Testing the brakes eliminates this phenomenon, when due to moisture or a layer of salt on the brake discs, the brakes begin to operate with some delay.
How to use a high pressure cleaner
The water temperature should not exceed 60°C. Too hot water corrodes rubber and anti-corrosion layer to protect the underbody.
Set the pressure regulator to no more than 30 bar. The distance to the car should be from 60 to 80 centimeters. With a shorter distance and too much pressure, there is a danger to the varnish layer.
When washing the engine, water can damage the electronic components of the engine or enter the engine through the intake tract. As a result, serious malfunctions may occur.
Never clean tires with a high-pressure cleaner, as there is a risk of damage to the tire sidewall! Even with a relatively large distance from the cleaning device to the tire and a short exposure time, damage can occur that cannot be determined at a glance.
The high pressure cleaner must be handled with care. Follow the rules in the self-service car wash!
Washing area and self-service car wash
If you prefer to wash your car yourself, which is what we advise you to do, because if you use the automatic car wash with rotating brushes too often, sanding marks remain on the varnish, you can use the car wash at the gas station for this. Self-service car wash systems are a good alternative. There you will find various aids from a high-pressure cleaner to a vacuum cleaner. However, before starting work, check the condition of the brushes. Maybe your predecessor was just cleaning the bottom of his car and contaminated the brushes with coarse dirt, as a result of which annoying scratches may appear on the varnish. Also, do not wash your car in the sun - this will damage the paintwork, as small drops of water act as lenses and increase the effect of dust particles and lime during drying.
To wash your car yourself, you need the following:
- Lots of water. If the dirt is washed off with a small amount of water, then the small grains of dust and sand that penetrate the sponge act like sandpaper when cleaning the varnish coating and leave microscopic scratches in the form of cobwebs in it.
- Hose, if possible with plastic spray nozzle. If there is no water hose, you will need at least two water buckets.
- A brush with a hose that allows you to wash off dirt with running water. If you use a suede glove and a sponge, then the end of the hose should be held close to the surface to be treated so that a large amount of water gets on it.
- A suede glove or sponge should be submerged in a bucket of water after every second or third stroke, and then wringed out so that dirt does not get stuck in the pores of the sponge or glove pile, which can scratch the varnish.
- Washing brush with long handle, especially suitable for cleaning rims and wheel covers.
- Large porous viscose sponge.
- Sponge for removing the remains of insects.
- Large piece of genuine leather for drying machine.
- Buckets for washing with shampoo (if necessary), as well as in order to wash the skin for wiping glasses.
Exterior care products
Car shampoo. Facilitates the removal of oil residues on the varnish. Wax. It has approximately the same properties as shampoo, in addition, after drying, the wax protects the varnish from external influences and thus prolongs the time until the next polishing.
Means for cleaning rims. Dissolves caked dust that occurs when brake pads wear.
Plastic care product Specially formulated for faded parts. Along with components for the care of polymers, it contains dyes. It is applied to the surface with a clean sponge, then rubbed. After some time, the excess liquid is washed off with a damp cloth.
Well-maintained plastic parts make a good impression. Parking scratches can sometimes be repaired with plastic care products.
Washing of external body parts
1. Close all doors and windows. Moisture on soft upholstery is unpleasant.
2. If necessary, spray the underbody with a steam jet or hose. In winter, the lower parts of the body should be cleaned at every car wash. Once or twice a year, have the machine raised on a platform lift at a workshop or petrol station and check the condition of the underbody protection.
3. Wheel disks have to be cleaned frequently due to the fact that they are filled with dust, which occurs as a result of abrasion of the brake pads. Light metal discs should be cleaned regularly with water and a small amount of detergent. Aluminum rims are very sensitive to strong cleaners. Clean your discs twice a month and they will last longer.
4. Another tip: use a spray wax to seal. Dust and dirt cannot penetrate the wax layer. Be careful not to get wax on brake discs or brake linings.
Pretty good «soak» your car
5. Spray the machine with a hose, the water pressure should be moderate. When working in a self-service car wash with a high-pressure cleaner, select the program «flushing».
6. Using a brush with a hose and a suede glove or sponge, wash the car first from the roof to the bottom edge of the windows. After that, go around the car in a circle.
7. The foam should be rubbed in a circular motion with slight pressure. Let the foam work for some time.
8. Wash off dirty slurry. Select the program in the self-service car wash «flushing».
9. On the last pass, clean the wheels with a brush and hose.
10. At the end of the wash, clean the car with suede immediately. When the water dries, a gray limescale deposit forms on the varnish coating.
11. Before use, dip the suede in water, then wring it out. Spread the suede over the lacquer and, pulling it laterally, pull it towards you.
12. Rinse and wring out the suede before each pass. Hard to reach corners (e.g. on wheel cover) dry with a cotton cloth or old dry suede. Take care of your leather upholstery! Remaining dirt can destroy it.
Take care of good visibility
13. After that, take care of the outside of the windows. The approach here is the same as when cleaning the inside. Check the windshield for stone chips, scratches and cracks.
14. Clean the tongue of the rubber band of the wiper blade with a sponge or dry suede.
15. After washing, check the condition of the lacquer, headlight glass and front bumper for dirt that has not been washed away. Insect remains, bird droppings, pollen and tar spatters have an aggressive effect on the varnish, they must be removed immediately with a special cleaner.
16. Detar remover should not be used on fresh or recently refurbished paintwork, as the solvent it contains can corrode the paint layers.
Headlight cleaning
The headlights need to be cleaned more often than the bodywork. Dirt particles on the glass cause light rays to be deflected and absorbed.
Consequences: Reduced visibility range, severe glare. Already after half an hour of driving on a wet road, the headlights are polluted by more than 60 percent. Because of this, the lighting range is reduced by about 35 meters - a distance that just might not be enough with full braking in an emergency.
Clean headlights are important for good lighting. The headlamp cleaner does not keep the headlight lens perfectly clean. In particular, the remains of insects are best removed with a special tool. Spray the contaminated area (not in the sun), wait a few minutes for the product to work, then rinse it off with water. If there is still something left on the surface, place soaked newsprint on the surface and leave it overnight. The next morning you will see that the remains of insects have stuck to the paper. To clean glass surfaces, you can use a special sponge to remove the remains of insects, such sponges can be purchased at gas stations.
Caring for aluminum wheels
Light metal discs are protected from external influences with a lacquer coating. However, if the rims are scratched by curbstones or the sides of the wheels are exposed to gravel, then even the best varnish does not help. Scratches on discs must be repaired immediately. These scratches provide an ideal reaction surface for aggressive dust that results from abrasion of brake pads. Gray-black abrasion products leave small holes in the metal. Not very big scratches and bare spots can be corrected with a special polish.
The aluminum rims are beautiful and impressive. These wheels are protected by a layer of clear lacquer, in case of damage to this layer, it must be repaired as soon as possible.
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