Several times a year you need to wash your car with your own hands. Frequent rinsing at touchless car washes with jets of water and foam does not always help remove stains from bitumen, insects, or simply old deposits of road chemicals caked at the bottom of the sills, next to the wheel arches and under the mudguards. You cannot leave them, because they will corrode the paintwork over time. However, a simple stream of water will not remove them. Therefore, you have to arm yourself with a rag, sponge, gloves, a bucket of water and car shampoo. In addition, a thorough wash is necessary in the spring before applying polish or protective wax film, which will come in handy during summer trips. Auto expert and Ruseff auto chemical specialist Andrey Grechannik talks about how to properly wash a car body with your own hands .
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Dangerous abrasive
Do not wash your car in a river with muddy sandy water or old sponges with ingrained dirt. This is an iron rule that cannot be deviated from under any circumstances. The fact is that any dirt and even the finest dust is an abrasive. If you start rubbing the paintwork with dirt or even with a dry, dusty rag, you will get a lot of scratches on the paintwork. This is why the color fades, and in bright sunshine a whitish cobweb is visible on a washed car.
Even if you start polishing the body after a careless wash somewhere in the country or on the shore of a reservoir, sand and dust will fly in instantly. And thorough rubbing with a sponge or rag will be similar in result to treatment with fine sandpaper.
The correct way is to wash the car in a couple of steps with car shampoo.
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What places need to be washed
Washing the car body is carried out taking into account several important points. It is necessary to remove surface dirt from it using a high-pressure apparatus. If this is not done, small sand particles will scratch the surface during mechanical washing. You should wash windows carefully to prevent minor damage.
The best option is to clean the car both top and bottom. The engine, suspension and underbody require flushing. Chemicals on the road can corrode paintwork and metal. Since to fully clean the suspension you will have to remove the wheels, it is better to perform the procedure at a special station. The interior is thoroughly cleaned before washing the exterior elements. Cleaning is carried out regularly and thoroughly.
Shampoo, gloves and glasses
The DIY hand wash kit consists of several accessories. These are rubber gloves, two buckets with a grated platform, new sponges, rags, car shampoo and a garden sprayer. Some drivers, instead of specialized car shampoo, use household products such as soap, hygiene products, bath foam, etc. They can knock down dust, but are not suitable for thorough cleaning.
They do not contain special surfactants designed to clean and protect paintwork. In addition, their foam does not stick to the car and runs off.
Car shampoos are much more effective. In addition to surfactants, there are chemical inclusions that hold the chemical foam in a dense layer on the body for five or more minutes.
The choice of shampoos is large, there are environmentally friendly ones, with active foam, for manual and contactless washing. The main difference between them is the strength of action. Eco-shampoos will not harm the skin, and not a single blade of grass will be harmed at the dacha. Active foam, on the other hand, chemically removes contaminants, so it is more “strong.”
But before washing, you need to carefully read the label and choose a product specifically for hand washing.
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Car interior cleaning (cloth):
The Mitsubishi that arrived had heavy dirt on the fabric door cards. The owner believed that such dirt could not be removed on his own and that he needed to go to dry cleaning.
— Dry cleaners use the same chemicals available at any gas station to ordinary motorists. You can do all this work yourself, saving up to 100 rubles and spending an hour of time,” assures Dmitry.
In case of severe contamination, another step appears - the product must be rubbed in with a sponge or brush.
The dirt is then collected by microfiber. And be sure to wash the microfiber every time in a bucket of clean water in order to transfer the washed dirt from the fabric to a bucket of water.
A clear difference, cleaning took about 10 minutes:
Manual washing technology
The car should not be kept in the sun. It is better to wash it under a canopy or in the shade of a house or trees.
Two caps of concentrate are dissolved in warm water. The solution is then poured into a garden sprayer and the foam is applied to the bodywork. Moreover, a small spray nozzle whips up the foam and turns it into a dense, persistent layer. Next, you can take a sponge and buckets.
When washing, rubber gloves and goggles are required to protect against foam getting into your eyes. You don't need to rub the body with a sponge too much. Light movements help remove old dirt. At the same time, you should not use a sponge to scoop water from the bottom of the bucket, because sand from the body will accumulate there. You can only put it on the platform in the middle of the bucket.
It is better to do foam washing twice, after which you need to carry out several thorough rinses. Microfiber cloths are useful for wiping the body.
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Useful tips
Automakers, as well as companies specializing in providing car wash services, have developed a list of tips that allow you to wash your car quickly and efficiently. So, if a sponge is used for washing, it must be rinsed frequently, since a large amount of water allows abrasive materials to be washed out of it. As a result, the enamel that tears the car body will not be damaged.
Another important tip is to never use improvised products to wash your car. Use only high-quality materials and specialized shampoos. Handy rags, washing powder and dishwashing liquid can damage the paint and also leave difficult-to-remove stains on the enamel.
A car washing brush cannot be used to remove snow from the surface of the glass, as well as the hood or body. It is imperative to use a special brush. It has specially split ends that will allow you to sweep away snow without scratching your car. Glass is cleared of ice and snow using scrapers with rubber or foam padding.
Separately, it is worth noting the need to wash the wheels while washing the car. A lot of dirt accumulates on their inside, which becomes compacted over time and upsets the balance with its weight. In general, the washing procedure must be carried out once a week in order for the car to be perfectly clean.
Polishing and old stains
It's easy to check the cleanliness of the body. If you run your finger over the varnish, you should hear a “squeaking” sound, like running across a clean mirror. Even the windshield wipers will move with a squeak on clean glass. It is difficult to achieve such an effect with a contactless car wash. In general, hand washing should be carried out before each polishing.
After the water has dried, you can begin polishing the body and applying a protective wax coating. You need to do polishing in the garage, but you can also do it outside if there is no strong wind and you are not on a sandy beach.
However, when inspecting the body after washing, you often come across small dots and stains that the car shampoo did not remove. These are traces from buds, insects and resins that often dry out on the roof, from bitumen and much more. You cannot wipe them off with rags because of the risk of damaging the varnish with the resulting abrasive. Here it is better to stock up on a special cleaning spray, which you can buy at an auto chemical store. It does not damage the varnish, and removes dirt much more effectively than shampoo.
Wash correctly
How to properly wash a car at home? Washing can take up to three hours plus drying, depending on how many areas of your car you want to freshen.
It should be noted in advance that some stains cannot be cleaned manually. Don't be upset if you can't get rid of a stubborn stain. Typically, such stains can be removed in a professional car wash, using special products or polishing methods.
- Take out everything that may interfere with your cleaning from the interior. Pull out the rugs. Use a vacuum cleaner or brush to remove all kinds of dirt and dust from inside the car. If you want to tidy up the trunk, you should also empty it in advance.
- Spray the body of your car. This will keep the dirt moist so you can easily remove it without leaving mud marks. Wet the entire body generously, including small external elements, wheels and fender liners.
- Apply the detergent and carefully spread it over the surface of the car with a special sponge. Distribute until the machine foams sufficiently. Leave in the foam for 10 minutes.
- Start washing your car with light, top-to-bottom movements. Do not press on the sponge, as there may be hard particles on it that can scratch the enamel. Wash from roof to bottom. Don't be afraid of water getting under the radiator. Wash the radiator grille and hood. Don't forget about doorways and rims too.
- Perform the pour again. Don't skimp on water. Go over all the areas with the sponge again, moistening it with clean water. For better results, this step must be repeated.
- Take a microfiber cloth and wipe the surface of the car dry. Collect the water and wring out the cloth until the surface is dry enough. Wait 10 minutes and then repeat this step again.
- Wipe glass and mirrors with a clean microfiber cloth and apply a small amount of glass cleaner. Also, do not forget to wipe the top of the glass. Wipe the mirrors and glass with a dry cloth. If the body gets wet at this stage, wipe it dry.
- Having finished the body, you should move on to cleaning the interior. To clean the seats, use a damp sponge and brush, and almost any detergent. If there is a lot of hair present, a rubber brush works well. It picks up hair well and is easy to rinse. Plastic elements can be cleaned using a brush with medium soft bristles. A regular toothbrush can also do the job.
Interesting points
- Wipe the wipers with a small amount of alcohol solution. Now no more divorces.
- You can refresh your headlight glass by polishing it with regular toothpaste. The brightness of the headlights will increase.
- Using special car care products, you can keep your car clean much longer. Now you know how to properly wash a car.
Hand washing a car is a pleasant thing, but it is still necessary to visit a professional car wash. Dirt tends to hold back water. This can cause corrosion and other problems. In addition, although rarely, you need to thoroughly clean your body, interior and elements under the hood. Cheap car washes in Voronezh, prices https://vtk-vrn.ru/set-avtomoechnyih-kompleksov which will not hit your budget - this is a reasonable option. We recommend taking a closer look at these.
