Fall in love with your car again using these 5 steps to detail your car and get it looking beautiful for the summer. 1. Use The Right Products If you want your car to look really good then using the right products and equipment is essential. A lot of the “car care” equipment on sale can do more harm than good as can many traditional methods of car washing. If you’ve been using one of those yellow car sponges, a chamois or even fairy liquid instead of car shampoo, stop now! Invest in a few decent bits of equipment and products and you’ll notice a big difference in the results you get. There are loads of really great products available to buy, which used correctly can deliver fantastic results. www.shopnshine.co.uk is one of my favourite sites for buying stock. They sell a great range of products from all the big names and are super-helpful if you need any help.
2. Wash Your Car Before you do anything to your cars paint, you need to wash it. The better you do this, the easier everything that follows will be. Good preparation is key to great results. My last blog post was titled: how to wash your car like a pro. Give it a read and discover how to carefully and safely wash your car yourself to keep it looking it’s best all year round.
The highlights are: •use snowfoam to pre-wash the car and remove most of the dirt and grit from the paint before you touch it •use a good wheel cleaner to get your wheels sparkling •use the 2 bucket method to wash your car •dry and then protect the paint.
3. Decontaminate Your Cars Paint Every time you’re on the road - or even when it’s parked up, your car gets exposed to many things which bond to your paint. Over time, tree sap, tar spots, brake dust, , squashed bugs, industrial fallout and various other things all conspire to make your car look tired. Left untreated this car lead to permanent damage to your cars paint. Removing these nasties leaves your cars paint not only spotlessly clean, but as smooth as glass. Not sure if you need to do this? Run your hand over your cars paint when it’s clean. If it feels gritty, or anything other than perfectly smooth, it needs decontaminating.
A: Use a tar remover.
This will break down and remove any tar spots which are stuck to the paint.
B: Use an iron fallout remover.
This is an amazing product which you spray onto the paint. It reacts with the embedded iron particles, shrinking them and breaking them down. This reaction is visible because the iron particles turn purple as they break down. C: Use a clay bar.
When used with a lubricating spray the clay bar is gently rubbed back and forth over the paint and lifts off any further particles which are still suck to it. At the end of this process your paint will be free from contamination and as smooth as glass.
4. Polish Your Cars Paint. Polishing your cars paint is essential if you want to get a nice deep gloss finish. Hand polishing can cut through oxidised paint, restoring gloss to the paint and with a little extra pressure can remove some scratches and marks from the paint, leaving it slick and glossy. Machine polishing can deliver incredible results (correcting swirls and moderate scratches and leaving a deep gloss finish which makes your cars paint look better than new) but can cause damage to your paint if used incorrectly. Unless you’ve used a machine polisher before or have a paint depth gauge I would recommend either hand polishing or hiring a professional.
5. Protect Your Cars Paint. Once you’ve taken the time to get your car looking this good, putting a wax or sealant on it will add gloss and seal in that freshly polished paint. They provide a sacrificial protective layer to the paint, which takes the hit rather than your paint, repelling dirt and water while making it easier to clean. There are masses of great waxes and sealants out there, with different characteristics, durability’s and price tags. One of my current favourites is Reload by Carpro, it’s easy to use, gives great gloss and durability and is very reasonably priced.
Now all you have to do is wash it regularly with good quality products and your car will look beautiful for the summer!
Please like my Facebook page: Knight Detailing and share photos of your finished car, I’d love to see!
Dave Knight