Twelve Car Cleaning Myths

I reject it all! Car cleaning myth #1: You need to wash your car.

Subaru's "Wash Me" commercial fits my thoughts on washing exactly. I let the rain wash my car, I have better things to do.

I give my vehicles a throughly detailed wash once a year. (That comes out to once every 30K miles for my VW) In addition to my once a year washing, the vehicle gets rinsed at a coin operated car wash after each snow to rinse the salt off the undercarriage. 6 years and 180K miles later the paint still looks great and the chassis is rust free.

(My 1991 Cavalier went 10 years on Michigan roads and still looked great right until an oil change place only added 2 quarts of oil instead of 5.)

 

I don't disagree with any of it, and I doubt the pros that hang out on the forums at say, detailcity.org would have a problem with anything he wrote either.

I haven't tried any of them, but Meguiar's has released a few new polishes (for professionals) that have been really well received.

 

Just consider the source.

Meguiar wants to sell his products, he makes some good points but remember that neither he or detail city are independent experts.

 

detailcity.com is an online vendor of products from several manufacturers

detailcity.org is the forum site sponsored by detailcity.com. detailcity.com does not exert any editorial control over forum postings that comply with their rules (the typical forum rules, no rules against posting a favorable review of a product they don't sell).

Most of the forum contributors are not associated with any vendor.

 

My statement stands, I was not knocking your post, I just mentioned 2 retailors who have a vested interest in their products. No mention of a forum.

 

What part(s) do you take issue with? It all seemed horribly fundamental, no-brainer material to me.

 

I have no problem with anything he said.

 

detailcity.org, which is what I referenced in my first post, IS THE FORUM, NOT THE "RETAILOR" [sic].

 

I didn't see where they said don't wash your car. They said don't use dishwashing soap. I agree. It's too Strong. I like to use a mild car wash soap or even just plain water to "wash" my car(s). First car was a "49 Pontiac, Straight 8, Torpedo back, black. 4 black cars after that. You learn what works with black. You wash with water, or mild soap, to get the loose dirt off using a hose with the end cut off, no metal tip to scratch the finish, and very gently with a clean turkisk towel using plenty of water flow to wash the dirt off without scratching the finish. Then you work on the tar and road film with appropiate cleaners. Then the chrome, oops no chrome any more. Also, if using soap or detergent of any kind, always, always wash from top to bottom making you use plenty of water to fully rinse any soap off as you go. Any streams of soapy streams/streaks of water left to dry on the finish can cause permanent streaks on your finish. By the by, washing, polishing and waxing needs to be done in the shade. Once you're completely sure it's "clean" you can start the polishing phase, you don't want to be rubbing dirt around on your polishing cloth. Use clean recommended cloths making sure that you change to a cleah one if you suspect that you may have gotten any dirt on it. This can easily happen around wheel wells, grills, etc. Do a small area at a time and use circular motions to keep from putting permanent streaking in your finish. After polishing is complete do a light washing, no soap, with plenty of water flow, to remove any leftover polish. You don't want the film removed by the polish embedded in the wax or continuing to polish, as you buff the wax. When the car is clean, to your satisfaction, you can apply the wax. Again, a small area at a time, circular motions and definately in the shade. Now you can feel a little, mark I said a little, more comfortable buffing the wax to that perfect shine. But be careful, especially with an electric buffer. You can go through that wax, clear coat and paint in a heartbeat, right down to the primer if you don't pay attention to what you're doing. It may not happen at one polishing. Like tires, no one event, other than a burn-out, usually shows a difference. But then, one day you look down and there's these little wires sticking out of the tread. Just kidding. I'm sure you've seen cars on the road with that two-tone look. I'll leave the wheels, rims and interior to you. I will mention the windows since mistakes can muck up your cars finish. Be very careful what you use on your windows. Some window cleaning products can ruin your finish if they get on it. They can definitly cut through the wax an start in on the clear coat. Repeated usage can leave permanent marks. I even had the finish on the hood a car damaged by window washer fluid. Did not notice the permanent damage to the finish until the next time I polished it. It had eaten down into the paint layer. All the previous was in the shade. Windows, I suggest that you do in the sun on a sunny day. You way even need to change the posintion of the car as you move around the windows. You pick your favorite, non striking, product. White vinegar works good for me. Paper towels work for me. Newspaper leave less lint but the newer ink they use tends to bleed. Doing it in the sun, on a sunny day, is the best way to see/catch/get all those smudges, smears, glaze, haze, etc. that you see at night in the oncoming headlights. Well, for those that made it this far and didn't those interest long ago, it's my venting for the touted cleaners/polishers/waxes all-in-1 that makes my blood run cold. I feel sorry for those people that I see driving those two-tone cars that got duped by advertising. No, actually I feel sorry for the cars.