Tips On How To Properly Clean Your Car

When it comes to cleaning a car, there are certain tips that we can follow in order to do it properly. How often do we need to clean the car? Some of us clean them once a month. Other people wash them only when the car is dirty enough. Most car owners clean their vehicles on weekends. That is the only time available for us to clean the car because most of us do not work on weekends. Saturday and Sunday is usually spent with the family. Most of us do home chores like cleaning the house and cleaning the car.

It is a must for us to check the vehicle if they are clean or not. Do not wait until we see layers of crud before we decide to clean the car. Dirt materials like bird droppings and dead flies or bugs can strip the protective wax off the vehicle. If we let them as it is and do not clean them immediately, it may cause certain damage on the car's paint. In that case, we might be spending more money instead of just cleaning them. Bird droppings have a certain acid that may ruin the car's paint in time. If that happens, we need to sand and repaint the car again.

As we clean the car, it is notable not to use dishwashing agents, detergents, or even hand soap on the surface or car's paint. Those substances were specifically designed for their own purpose. Hand soaps are for the hands, and detergents are for clothes alone. They will just rinse off the protective wax of the car. In cleaning or washing the car, we need to use a car- wash product that are often sold at car accessory centers. There are so many car-wash products that are mild enough not to remove the wax from the car.

We should also be reminded not to wash the car if it is still hot because it will easily dry up the soap and water. By doing so, we will only have a hard time in washing the car over and over again. We should also use a sponge that is soft enough in order to avoid any scratch on the car's paint. Use also a soft terry towel in drying up the car. So we are already done cleaning the outer part of the car. It is time for us to clean also the interior part. Check on the compartment and cabinet to see if there is any garbage in them. Remove everything that is unnecessary. As much as possible put a small thrash can inside the car. We should also purchase a cheap mat and put it on top of the carpet in order to avoid unwanted dirt going directly on the carpet. Car stains like ketchup, coffee and other liquid spills can be easily cleaned using a damp cloth.

Any damage on the car can be easily fixed when we bring them to a car repair shop that we can trust. There are also instances where car stains cannot be easily removed and needs a professional help. If we need a little help about windshield protection or rock chip repair, we can ask a professional's help.

Lori Buenavista has been in the field of windshield protection for a long time and maintains a website about Rupert windshield replacement where you can get answers to the rest of your questions.

View the original article here

Importance of a Clean Vehicle and Easy Steps to Take

Cleanliness is important when it comes to such things as personal hygiene, the home and the office. It is certainly important when it comes to vehicles as well. Many people are meticulous when it comes to keeping their car cleaned inside and out. Unfortunately, there are a good number of people who do not see the merit and do not take the time to properly clean the car. There are a number of reasons why it is important and a few simple steps that can be taken to ensure the vehicle is looking good and running well.

How the car is maintained actually says a lot about the owner as well. If the car is clean and there is no garbage inside, the driver most likely is someone that has the car regularly serviced and routinely checks things such as the oil level and tire pressures. They are the ones that will have a vehicle that runs and performs well for years to come. On the other hand, the person with the messy car that has trash inside is the one who is not properly caring for the vehicle. Maintenance is not up to date in most instances and the vehicle will generally last as long as it should.

Cleaning a vehicle does not need to be a labor intensive project that lasts for hours. By doing a few simple things, this process can be relatively painless and take the owner no time at all. The first thing would be to keep the garbage and clutter out of the car. If it builds up, going through the massive pile of garbage and belongings can be time consuming. Garbage should be taken out of the car as soon as possible. This will help to keep the car free from odors, mildew and mold. When belongings are not needed, they do not need to be in the car.

Wiping down the dash and other areas of the car should be done weekly to get rid of any accumulated dust. This can also be done to the inside of the windows. Many people forget to do the inside of the windows, but this is an important step and will actually improve visibility if it hasn't been done in a while.

The washing of the outside of the vehicle is usually the step that people do not enjoy. For those who do not want to do it by hand, going to an automatic carwash is a good alternative. To save expenses, there are often coupon books or frequent guest promotions.

When it comes to driving conditions, there can be a lot of things that end up on the car that are not that beneficial. Examples would be driving in muddy or dusty conditions. Things such as road grime, salt and dirt can get into areas such as the radiator, brake pads, into the engine itself and in the cabin. Regularly washing the underside of the car can get rid of accumulated dirt. This is usually best done with a pressure washer or by using a car wash that has a setting for engine cleaning.

In the car, it is a good idea to keep a few items that will be useful in cleaning in between the regular washing and detail work. A container of car wipes or baby wipes can be useful in wiping down the console and getting any spills or stains before they have time to set in. Also, a handful of paper towels and a cotton towel are handy when the unexpected coffee cup gets dropped on the floor mat.

With a few simple steps, it is easy to keep your car clean. This will ensure that it is in better condition and will hopefully provide many years of trusted service.

Keeping your car clean is important in so many ways. The best alternative to washing your own vehicle in the Nashville area is to use this automatic car wash in Murfreesboro. Watch for frequent promotions and savings for Super Speed Wash, a Murfreesboro carwash.

View the original article here

Clean Yourself Up!

No I'm not casting aspersions against your personal hygiene, I mean your car.

It's easy, will take a few hours, add hundreds to the value of your car and most importantly will sell it to the first caller, giving you time to get on with your life.

I am in the motor trade a long time. I have trained eyes I can see through dirt to spot a good car ahead of something that's just been tarted up.

So why after all these years am I still drawn to shiny things? There are evolutionary reasons why as humans we judge books by their cover and are massively swayed by first impressions. This is a discussion for another type of website, but it's a basic fact. Now I won't be fooled by a shiny thing, If I examine a car at close quarters and get that irresistible aroma of fresh paint and see the dashboard has had a nice coat of some Brylcream like substance I will soon realise it. But the facts are I have arrived at an auction/sales yard and walked past five good but dirty cars and made a beeline for the shiny thing.

So why do some people put their cars up for sale and expect to sell them, when the car is dirty and smelly?

The worst offence is attempting to present your car for part exchange at a garage or car supermarket when it is dirty. A lot of people are under the impression that garages will offer "book value" for your car no matter how you show it. While it is true that garages work off book valuations there is a big difference between "Top book and Bottom book". Your job is to sell your car to the salesperson or dealer, as something that they want and are willing to give the premium for. To do this you need to be enthusiastic about your car and present it at its best. A car with dirty ashtrays, fast food boxes strewn over the back seats, Puke encrusted baby seats, A boot inexplicably full to the brim with house or work debris, centre console/ full of CD cases and papers etc you are just begging to be insulted. And you will be having that "I thought it was worth more than that" conversation with yourself later

A quick word about car salespeople. They can be sold as well, Ultimately a good salesperson is proactive in trying to do deals, this is how they earn money and if you have managed to convince them that your car is a nice one, they are more inclined to try and convince the sales manager to allow them to give the extra ?400 for your car to do the deal. So shiny thing good...remember!

I'm going to give you some valeting/car detailing tips. I'm doing this because I like to keep my own cars clean and over the years I have built up a full assortment of every possible car cleaning product or tool in my garage.

If you don't have any such products and are not inclined to purchase them, or you can think of a thousand other things you would rather do than clean your car in your spare time that's fair enough. I know where you are coming from, you don't need to read on any further but take this advice with you as the bare minimum you should do.

Situation A: Your car is a shed, and its value is more like hundreds than thousands. You can run it through a car wash for ?3 and then blow another quid on a quick vacuum. If you have any energy left after that just run a damp (not wet) cloth over the dash and any interior plastics you can. If you are feeling a bit more adventurous a baby wipe works wonders on scruffy plastic. Realistically the value of a very cheap car is more influenced by how much tax and mot it has left on it, but it could still be the difference between being offered ?200 for scrap or ?500. Either way you will see a return on your ?4 investment!

Situation B: Your car is worth a few quid, possibly under 6 year old. Then get a bin bag and take your clutter out of the car and book it in for a professional valet. A Proper full valet will cost you ?50 to ?75 depending on where you are. The mobile valet guys work hard for their money, but if you can you are better off dropping your car off somewhere with premises. They generally get better results.

A ?75 quid valet on a car you are getting rid of? Bit of a waste of money! Just to illuminate my earlier point here's today's trade book values on two example cars:

-2005(55) Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec Climate 5dr 60K. Clean Book Value ?3600. Below average Book Value ?2600.
-2008(08) Volvo XC90 D5 Se Geartronic 5dr 25K. Clean book Value ?19,900. Below Average Book Value ?17,500.

That's trade value. Not the difference between retail and trade, But trade price high and low. Does That ?75 quid still look expensive?

There are better informed sites out there to give you info on car detailing, you should go and Google them...but not until you have read my very brief opinion.

Washing. If you are thinking of investing ?100 on a power washer from B+Q or Halfords etc, don't bother. A garden hose is every bit as effective. The only time a Pressure washer is of any use is when you spend above ?800 quid on a proper hot water boiler washer. With this you can do your car, roof tiles, your boat, Quads, even the gazebo in your Japanese gardens! In the real world a hose is fine. Make sure you get under the sills and wheel arches. If you can't be bothered to do this go to a drive through wash, they are only a fiver (a few young lads near me now do it for ?3!) and invest the extra pound or two to get your car dried as this is as beneficial as the wash.

Waxing. I was brought up old school with a tin of Turtle wax. Good product, but labour intensive. For the last twenty years I have only used Autoglym products. They don't give me backhanders to plug them, they don't need to everybody knows they are industry standard.

If your car really is a filthy beast covered in Tar etc then just get it Valeted as it's not worth investing in all the pre-cleaning products etc you will need to polish a turd. If your car is normal then Autoglyms Super Resin Polish will have it like new. Do one side at a time (apply and remove wax) and give it some strong wrist/fingernail action on scratches/pollen or tar. It has cutting properties and will take off a lot of noticeable marks. When removing polish always use two cloths, A first shine to take off 90% of the residue and a final shine to give the car a final run over. I do this last thing and find those microfiber cloths you can buy in the pound shops ideal.

Hoover the interior and wipe off all door edges with a damp cloth, remember one of the most impressionable moments is when a potential buyer opens the driver's door. If it's covered in dirty grease and old muck stains it's not good. A good wipe of the dash/plastics and door cards with a damp cloth is always going to make a big improvement. If the plastics are piggy then baby wipes are a great tool. Go over a scruffy car two or three times with baby wipes and it will remove some stains you thought were never going away.

Once an interior is clean that is good enough. A quick spray of neutradol is good or any other home product you have (usually best to spray under seats). A bad mistake is to use some cheap silicon wipe that makes your dashboard and steering wheel all greasy. Just clean is fine. It won't add much value but if you do want me to recommend a product, then again Autoglyms Vinyl and rubber care, will give your interior a nice no greasy shine and also smells good.

Washing and waxing your wheels should be good enough. If they are alloys and badly pitted with brake dust you can use an alloy wheel detergent. You want to spray the wheel then attack with your old toothbrush, then hose off within a minute. So one wheel at a time, and as I say only use on really dirty rims.

Clean Windows make a big difference, make sure you do inside and out. Don't use household products, again Autoglym have some products and FastGlass is the easiest to use. If you don't have anything else use a damp chamois(leather). You can lightly wax the outside of your windows but Never your Windscreen. Do this and you will go blind the second it rains.

Don't use tyre paint if such a thing still exists? Most tyre shines are fine, again Autoglym Instant tyre dressing gives tyres that shiny new look with just a spray.

If you ever consider buying a buffer to polish your cars professionally don't. A cheap one under ?50 will have no power and will be more hassle than it's worth. A pro buffer will burn the paint off your baby in less than 5 seconds, and powder coat all your edges in white waxy residue. Strictly for pro use.

If you have scratches on your car that look like they were applied with a screwdriver there's not much you can do with them. But you would be surprised how many scuffs and light scratches will polish out. Super resin polish will take out the light ones, for something heavier I have professional abrasives from 3M and Farecla. You can have a rummage under the kitchen sink and look for something with light abrasive qualities (no not a Brillo pad!) I have used brasso and found a wood polish that does the job. If you're stuck even toothpaste can take the bad look off a scuff( and leaves your car feeling minty fresh!!)

Thinking of taking care of some touch ins? Be very careful, make sure you are touching in actual scratches and stone chips. I have seen cars with touched in Birdlime and tar. Be very selective in touching in, If your car has three or four bad stone chips, on the leading edge of your bonnet that are an eyesore then touching in is good. If your car is pebble dashed with chips don't even start. A car that's had the dot printer treatment looks rubbish and it will take you all day.

Okay I think I will leave it there. I will possibly come back with some more tips for the car fetishists, who like to take the wheels off to clean the insides but that's another chapter.

Okay get Scrubbing!

copyright 2011 http://www.motordealing.com

http://www.motordealing.com/ - the inside knowledge on the car trade

View the original article here

Clean Your Used Interior Auto Parts With Homemade Cleaning Agents

A clean car interior looks great, and it does not matter if you have installed some used interior auto parts in your car, the mere fact that you try to maintain them clean and polished is what matters most.

It usually can take about an hour to clean the car interior. Be careful with water though when cleaning inside the car; if water gets into some of the electrical wiring, it could cause some problems.

It is also not good if water gets inside your car seats or under the carpet; it can leave stains, moldy smell and may cause corrosion. Make sure you have a clean drying cloth handy while using water in cleaning your car interior.

There are many commercially available cleaning agents that you can buy and most of them are really useful but can be quite expensive too. You can clean your car without cleaning out your wallet by using some homemade car cleaning recipes.

For the fabric seat and door upholstery stains, mix white vinegar with baking soda well until they form a paste.

Apply the paste into the stain with a scrub brush or a toothbrush, and then allow the application to dry. Use the vacuum to remove the dried vinegar/soda paste and the stain will be gone too. There are some stubborn stains that may need to be treated more than once.

Cleaning the windows is easy with the use of white vinegar; just put some in a spray bottle, spray full strength onto the windows, leave for few minutes, and then wipe dry with newspaper and your windows will have a professionally-done cleaning look.

White vinegar is indeed a great cleaning agent, mix it well with equals part of water, pour the mixture into a spray bottle, then use the solution on any plastic, wood, vinyl or leather surfaces in your car interior that need to be cleaned. Allow the solution to settle down, and then wipe dry with a clean cloth. If you are apprehensive about using such solution, you can always test it on a small area before using on the entire interior.

A clan interior is good, but a polished one is much better. Dashboards are great looking when they are shining with health. Polish your dashboard and other interior parts by combining olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl or a spray bottle. Use a clean rag to wipe a small amount of the solution into the places that need to be polished. Finish off by wiping the entire surface with a different cleaning cloth.

View the original article here