For many car enthusiasts, the act of washing your car is a great source of enjoyment. It’s a quality time we get to spend with our four-wheeled (or more) companions while briefly emptying our minds of the preoccupations of everyday life. The habit of regularly washing your car is beneficial for your machine too as it makes your care routine more frequent and helps you detect potential problems early on.
However, there are bits we do here and there in the washing process that end up harming the vehicle in the long run. These are often faulty traditional techniques that we’ve learned as kids and never thought about it ever since. Here are some of those mistakes and how you can avoid them.
Using Household Cleaning Agents
One of the most common mistakes among car owners is using household detergents like dishwashing soap to clean the car. While you can definitely use soaps and shampoos to clean certain parts of your car, they are not designed for automotive paint, and using them regularly can erode your car’s paint over time. Dedicated car care products provide enough lubrication that makes it possible to remove the dirt and grit without damaging the clear coat which is a transparent coatingLinks to an external site. applied atop your car’s paint to protect it against damage.
Using Regular Sponges
Regular sponges don’t absorb the dirt. They are made of abrasive materials to rub and scrub the dirt, specks of food, and congealed oil from the dishes. Wiping these sponges on your car causes the dirt and tiny rocks to get dragged around and be rubbed against the surface and leave scratch marks on the paintwork. In fact, most swirl marks and light scratches evident on the cars are the results of using sponges, brushes, and cotton towels which are not any better either.
Your car’s paint requires something much smoother and gentler. As a litmus test, drag what you’re going to use to wash your car, over your arm to see if you feel some abrasiveness. The best tools for the job are microfiber cloths and car wash mitts. They lift the dirt from the surface and keep them in their fibers until releasing them in a clean bucket of water. Using a grit guard in the bucket is also recommended as it keeps the debris from getting reabsorbed in the fiber.
Hand Washing with a Touchless Car Wash Soap
Touchless car wash detergents are not designed with friction in mind. They lack the lubricating additives that protect the paintwork against scratches and erosion. These types of products should only be washed off using high-pressure water sprays. This is usually done only at professional venues, for example power washing Cincinnati OhioLinks to an external site.. Also, touchless detergents usually contain chemicals that are harmful when exposed to the skin. Try using soaps designed for manual washing instead. They are easier on the skin and are gentle on your car’s paint coat.
Scrubbing in Circular Motions
When manually washing your car, do it in long straight wipes as rubbing the hood and other body panels in circles leaves gentle but noticeable swirl marks that over time, cause your car’s finish to look dull. These swirls are generally harder to remove using polishing compounds. Using straight strokes in one direction keeps the scratches to a minimum. Also, make sure that you rinse the mitt regularly to wash off the dirt and grit stuck in its pores. Generally, use two separate buckets for washing your car. One is the rinse bucket and should only contain clear water and the other is the lather bucket which contains car soap solution. This reduces the chances of reintroducing grit from the bucket to the surface of your car.
Washing the Car in Direct Sunlight
Washing your car when the body panels are too hot makes the car care products dry sooner than they should, leaving marks and blemishes that are difficult to remove, especially once they have taken hold. But other than leaving marks, some chemical compounds in these products are not meant to be used on hot surfaces, and doing so may damage the paintwork of your car. When your car has been under the sunLinks to an external site. for a while, especially on hot summers days, move it to the shade first and let it cool down for a bit before applying anything to it.
Washing the Car from the Bottom to the Top
Since the bottom of the car is closer to the road, it’s always the dirtiest part and has mud, dirt, and tiny particles stuck on it. When we start the cleaning process from the bottom, we increase the chances of the dirt getting on the towel or mitt and rubbing them against the car’s paint, scratching it all over. Instead, start from the roof and work your way down, cleaning the lowest parts last.
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