Before, no one thought about how to properly wash a car. The algorithm was simple, and most importantly, the only one. You take a bucket, a rag, collect water and go. Washing in this way was much harder, however, motorists had no choice, and no one suspected that such a service as car washing would ever appear.
Owners now have four main options for how to bring appearance car in the desired state:
- order a wash at a car wash;
- wash in the same place, but by yourself;
- arrange a house wash using household special equipment designed for this;
- classics of the genre - a bucket, a rag, water.
In fairness, it should be noted that now even the classic way of washing a car can be improved somewhat by applying special washing shampoos and more aesthetic washcloths and brushes instead of rags. Plus means for finishing glass cleaning and polishes for the body, which are equally applicable for any method of washing the car. Each of the above methods of ridding the car of the ubiquitous dirt has a right to exist.
The methods differ in the costs that the motorist must incur, the investment of his own labor and personal time, but in the end they lead to the same result - the car is clean, which is undoubtedly pleasing.
How often should you wash your car
Among motorists there is an opinion that frequent washing contributes to the speedy abrasion of the paint, so you should not abuse this event. Although there is something to argue. LKP (lacquer coating) on modern cars is quite durable, therefore, if washed correctly, it is not easy to damage the surface of the body in any way. In addition, small stones and bituminous fragments, when driving on our roads, “kill” the body surface to a much greater extent. Besides, car paint loses color, mainly from prolonged exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation. Washing off the paint with water is quite problematic, even if you try.
The frequency of car wash depends on many factors that vary depending on the season, frequency of use and personal preferences of the owner. In any case, it can be unequivocally stated that if once again wash the car properly, it will not make it worse for him. The main thing found out - you can wash. Now let's look at the options.
Car washing at car washes
In specialized services, you can use two main types of services:
- the owner is provided with a room, equipment (mini-wash) and consumable(water), which he uses on his own for a moderate fee;
- a range of services is provided, which includes a car wash and something else (optional). Representatives of the staff wash here. The motorist is required to give dirty car, wait a bit, then pick up a clean one. That is, they will do everything for you, but you will have to fork out a little.
Self-service car wash We wash ourselves at the car wash
Such services are quite common. Designed for owners who like to keep the car clean, but do not have the proper conditions or equipment. The saturation of the services provided here is limited. A place for washing, equipment and access to water is provided. How to wash and with what is the problem of the client. Therefore, if there is a desire to use such a service, it would be right to prepare not only money for settlement, but also:
- car shampoo;
- a set of washcloths and clean rags;
- overalls;
- latex gloves.
- body polish and glass finishing products - optional.
How do you wash your car here? As well as a mini-sink in the conditions of a native garage, namely:
- Moisten the body with plenty of water with the addition of shampoo (not under pressure), wait about 5 minutes. The dirt will get wet, including the dried one.
- Rinse off dirt with a jet of water from a mini-washer. The jet should be directed at an angle to the surface. So the paintwork is less injured and dirt flies off faster and more efficiently.
- After the first wash, you should correctly evaluate the results. If there are dirt left somewhere and they are not removed with a jet, you need to apply it again here. detergent and wait. Then rinse again under pressure. In some cases, it is necessary to use a washcloth and an appropriate agent if stains of bitumen, tar or other oil products are found on the machine.
- When the cleaning is completed, excess water is removed with a special flexible scraper, after which the body is dried with soft natural fabric rags.
- It is optional to use polish for the body surface, but it would be correct to bring the glass to perfect transparency with a special aerosol and a clean rag.
Washed at the car wash
A whole range of services will be offered here. In addition to washing the car from the outside, here you can usually order interior cleaning, tire blackening, engine washing and whole line additional activities. Car wash is usually provided in two ways. Contactless assumes that they will wash the body special machines using pressurized water jets. If the contact method is ordered, the car will be washed by hand by one of the staff members.
The owner of the car will need to decide on the list and nature of the services. At the end of the work, it remains to check how everything is done correctly. Such a service is very pleasant, useful, but not cheap enough. Therefore, each individual determines the expediency and frequency of using such services independently.
Self-washing with a mini-washer
The process of washing with household equipment is identical to that described above. However, you will have to spend money on the purchase of a mini-sink. It is also necessary that the garage be adapted for water car procedures, or you will have to look for a shaded place, since it is not recommended to wash the car in direct sunlight.
Minisink for home Classic way
Many still successfully use the good old by contact. The method is more laborious and takes more time, but it requires a minimum of inventory. To wash properly, here you need to observe something:
- you can’t try to immediately wash off the pollution, first it will be right to let them get wet;
- the car is washed from above, wheels, sills, fenders and the bottom, - in last turn;
- you can’t use the same sponges for a long time - solid particles accumulate in them, which can scratch the paintwork;
- the car shampoo used must be designed for washing by hand.
Regardless of how you clean your car of inevitable dirt, on your own or at a car wash, it is important to do it right. Only in this case, washing the car will benefit her and the joy of the owner.
My car is correct
The question of whether to wash the car or not is rhetorical. The car needs periodic washing, first of all, in order to preserve its presentation. But which washing method is best for the car, and how often it needs to be done depending on the season, will be discussed in this article.
Car wash method No. 1: manually
A lazy car enthusiast, as a rule, uses paid car washes. The car owner who truly cares about his "iron horse" and takes the time to bring it to a proper appearance prefers to wash the car himself. There are two ways to clean a car from dirt: manual washing and washing with special technical means. Let's dwell on each of them in detail.
Hand washing is the easiest way to clean your car of dirt. To do this, the motorist will need the following equipment: a bucket, a suede cloth, a microfiber cloth, a telescopic brush with a foam roller and a water squeegee, a porous sponge, a brush for cleaning rims, detergent (car shampoo) and a large number of water. Ideally, this should be an artificial or natural reservoir (with the condition that dirty water will not drain into it). Or, if the situation permits, tap water. Shampoo for such a wash is selected depending on the hardness of the water used and the degree of contamination of the car. The procedure for washing a car by hand is quite simple.
Step one: roll the car from top to bottom big amount water. We pour most of the water on the body, the wheels are usually the most polluted places. Glasses require less moisture. Thus, we knock off the first layer of dirt from the surface of the body - various organic particles and silicates.
step two: we “soap” the car with car shampoo - it is needed to remove the second layer, consisting of soot, tar and a mixture exhaust gases with dust. To do this, use a porous sponge, wetting it abundantly in water diluted with shampoo. The water in the bucket must be warm so that the detergent dissolves normally and a washable composition is formed.
Step Three: let the shampoo work on the dirt (time varies depending on the degree of soiling of the surfaces). At this time, you can use a brush to remove dirt deposits from the rims.
Step Four: Rinse off the previously applied shampoo with plenty of water. Having doused the car with water from a bucket, using a brush with a foam roller and a water drive, we clean the soapy places. Moreover, the drive is used to remove excess moisture from the glass.
Step five: we remove the remnants of water and detergent from the car body, windows, rims, internal surfaces (thresholds, doorways) using special suede or microfiber cloths. We make sure that there are no streaks on the body, glasses. If they are, you will have to repeat the rinsing procedure again. After all, divorces indicate that there are detergent residues on the car that can react with the paintwork and cause corrosion over time (especially if there are already damages on the body - chips).
Step Six: carefully dry the car, if necessary, polishing its body to a shine with the help of special napkins.
Car wash method No. 2: using technology
Hand washing is the so-called easy option for cleaning a car from dirt. Practice shows that in this way dirt can only be partially removed from the surface of the machine. Washing is more efficient with the help of special technical means - compact car washes that supply detergent and water under high pressure.
It is in this way that you can clean not only the first two layers of dirt, which were discussed in the section on manual washing, but also two more - a layer of oxides and synthetic resins, which, while driving, are deeply “rubbed” into the paintwork. They are removed with special detergents, which are supplied under high pressure. In addition, we will need a mini-wash with various nozzles, water (the amount depends on the dimensions of the car and the degree of its contamination), squeezing, napkins.
Step one: we knock down dirt with a jet of water from a car wash sprayer. If during manual washing we poured water from top to bottom, then when washing with the help of special equipment, the dirt is knocked down in different directions.
step two: under low pressure, apply a weak foam concentrate to the surface of the body. It is needed in order to effectively wash off the first two layers of dirt.
Step Three: rinse the surface of the machine with plenty of water.
Step Four: under high pressure, we apply the main detergent, moreover, we do this from the bottom up. Leave the applied product for 3-5 minutes. At this time, you can wash the contaminated surfaces of the rims, bottom, elements.
Step five: rinse the surface of the car with plenty of water, remove its residues with the help of a drive and special napkins. We wipe the car dry, not ignoring the internal surfaces (thresholds, doorways).
1. You can’t wash a car until its body has cooled down. When water comes into contact with a hot body, a chemical reaction may occur, which will subsequently lead to corrosion processes.
3. Wash the car with special detergents no more than 1-2 times a month - they contain substances that adversely affect the paintwork.
4. Avoid getting water into the interior of the car, on the engine, wiring, lock holes.
5. When washing the car in winter time it is desirable to carry out this procedure indoors.
Relaxation. Each person under this word understands his type of rest. For some, there is no greater happiness than opening an album with collectible stamps and looking at the collected treasures in love for hours. For others, real relaxation begins in nature, when hot fat falls from juicy pieces of shish kebab onto smoldering coals. Well, we, motorists, do not need much. For great happiness it will come down to spend a couple of hours with our favorite iron horses. Today we will discuss not the topic of how to properly bathe these very red iron horses.
General cleaning of the car should be carried out at least several times a year, we have talked about this more than once on the pages of our Internet publication. The standard time for cleansing baths is autumn, spring. Spring washing is extremely important, because it is during it that you wash off all the reagent and dirt that has accumulated over the winter from the car.
You can come to the car wash, give the car away and after drinking a cup of coffee, happy to leave in a shiny car. But there is another option, much more interesting, to conduct water procedures yourself. Here's how to do it.
A few key points to keep in mind before starting water treatments:
1. Do not put the car in direct sunlight. Due to the heating under the sun, the water will quickly evaporate, leaving water spots on the body surfaces.
2. Remove all rings, rings from your fingers, remove bracelets and watches while washing. Check the clothing, it should not have zippers and protruding metal buttons. Since you will be in very close contact with the body of your car, you can scratch the paintwork.
3. Do not drop a washcloth, microfiber or rags on dirty surfaces. If sponges / washcloths, etc. dropped to the ground, rinse it very thoroughly with water or replace it. The sand accumulated on it (including very fine sand) can lead to the fact that the paintwork surface will be scratched.
4. Top down, always! Apply and rinse from top to bottom, so you will really brush off the dirt, not smear it.
5. Every business should have its own tools. Do not use one towel or sponge for the entire car. For rims your own towel, for the body your own sponge. And nothing else. Even towels for applying car chemicals need to be separated, one for wax, another for polish.
Let's start washing the car.
Let's start washing: Rinsing. To begin with, pour plenty of water over the car before lathering it. In this way, you will soak all the dirt adhering to the machine and wash off some of the sand and dust that will interfere with the washing process.
Do not use household cleaners such as soap, because they are not always safe for cars and may strip paint or damage clear paintwork. Get a special automotive chemicals. Do water solution according to instructions.
The bucket in which the solution will be made must be perfectly clean. To apply soap to the surface of the car, use special car sponges or towels. They retain moisture better, foam better and are easier to rinse.
Or scrape dirt from top to bottom.
For discs, use a special and rough sponge to properly clean the discs from dust flying off the pads.
As a general rule, wash the wheels and the bottom of the car last, as they are the dirtiest.
Rinse the foam from the car.
Wipe dry: Get rid of excess water. So that there are no ugly spots of divorce on the surface. A rubber glass scraper works well for this.
Or an old unnecessary janitor. You can use microfiber fabric, it perfectly absorbs water without letting it out. Do not use terry or regular towels, otherwise you will be guaranteed stains.
Claybar (clay for cleaning paintwork): A newfangled means of removing small (abrasive) particles from the surface of the body. Claybar is used to remove brake dust, ordinary fine dust or the smallest metal particles from the paintwork.
How to use Claybar Clay. Knead the bar until it becomes elastic (you can put it in warm water). Start processing with horizontal surfaces, then move on to the vertical parts of the machine. The kit comes with an auxiliary tool, the so-called deteyling, this is a lubricant that must first be applied to the surface to be treated, after which start wiping it with a clay bar.
If the surface of the claybar is dirty, knead it to get a clean working surface, continue to work, while remembering to generously apply lubricant to the bodywork. After the whole car has been processed, you will feel the difference literally to the touch and to the eye.
In the stores of our country, such chemistry is not common, but you can still order it, for example, through the same aliexpress. The issue price is in the region of 500-800 rubles. Judging by the reviews, the thing is effective.
Scratch Removal: The work is carried out in sections. I usually divide the car into five main parts: hood and front, left and right sides, rear end and roof. Use a moderate amount of polish, so you avoid streaks and excess product on the car body.
Wax procedures: Let's move on to wax. The wax is very reliable protection for paintwork from almost all types of pollution, including bird droppings and even reagents, and salt. Apply wax evenly on all painted surfaces of the car, wait for the film to dry.
An important point here is the application of the composition in a thin and uniform layer over the entire surface of the car. Let it dry for 10-15 minutes. Ready! You can wash the cloudy film that appears with a clean cloth. After 20 minutes, it will start to shine better than new!
Advice. For hard-to-reach places, use cotton swabs.
Tire blackening: Some people like it, but personally I'm not happy with this procedure. It, in my opinion, is useless, for the reason that the rubber will quickly become dirty on the first day. But if you want to reach the end, this will be a great final point in your work.
How to wash a car at home - this question is rarely asked in our country, and not because most car enthusiasts prefer specialized car washes for this, it’s just that many have been able to wash the cars of their parents, brothers, sisters or their own since childhood. And for those who have only recently become the owner of a car, we offer small educational program how to wash a car at home without washing high pressure. For best results, wash your car in a shady area or on a cloudy day to avoid fading your car's paintwork too soon.
To wash your car you will need:
- Special car shampoo
- Bucket
- Sponge with large pores
- Glass cleaner
- Wet wipes for cleaning plastic car parts
- An ideally absorbent rag (it is better if this is a rag specially purchased for the car)
- Hose with water (preferably).
1. Collect all detergents and arrange them nearby in close proximity so that you know where everything is and do not waste time looking for the right product.
2. Park your car in a shady place and let the paint cool if possible.
3. Remove all mats from the car - we will also wash them with the car.
4. Pour the car well from the hose with water, reaching the maximum water pressure with your finger. If there is no hose with running water nearby, then pour a full bucket of water, and then, wetting the sponge into it, simply squeeze the water out of it onto the surface of the body, only lightly touching it to the surface of the car so as not to scratch the paint with dirt particles on its surface.
5. Pour the shampoo into a bucket (do not forget to read the recommended concentration on the packaging of the car shampoo), then pour the same water into it so that foam forms on top. Use a shampoo designed for car washing only. Other detergents can ruin the paintwork of the car ahead of time, and products with abrasives ( washing powder, for example) and completely noticeably scratch the body.
6. Soak a sponge in a mixture of water and shampoo and start washing the car. Always start washing the car from the roof, successively going down. Be sure to rinse the sponge with a hose or other method before placing it back into the soapy water.
7. Open all the doors and gently wash the edges of the doors and doorways with a sponge soaked in car shampoo, without getting on the plastic parts and upholstery of the car interior.
8. After the entire car has been soaped, rinse it from top to bottom with a hose or bucket (without using a sponge). After that, rinse the edges of doors and doorways with a sponge dipped in clean water.
9. Rinse the wheels of the car well so that all car shampoo is removed.
10. Dry the car with a prepared rag, wringing it out as often as possible so that there are no streaks left on the body. Again, don't forget the edges of doors and doorways.
11. Proceed to washing the rugs: they should also first be poured with water to wash off the main layer of dirt and dust, then wash them with a sponge with car shampoo and wash off the foam. It is not necessary to wipe the rugs dry.
12. Spray glass cleaner on all car windows and mirrors, then wipe them dry with a soft, dry cloth in a rotating motion, checking that there are no streaks left on them.
13. Take out wet wipes one at a time and wipe everything until they are dirty plastic elements inside your vehicle. You can use any wooden thin stick to access the hard-to-reach places plastic panels(just put a napkin on its end and wipe the recesses). Large areas are best wiped with rotational movements.
How to wash the car yourself using selected detergents, following the optimal order and without harming the car. Detailed useful advice useful for both private owners and professional cleaners.
In this information material, we:
- we will answer the question “what is needed for car washing”;
- here is a list of how to wash a car at home;
- open practically important secrets selection of inventory and features of its use;
- we will show what detergents for a car are and their specialization;
- we will reveal the detailed scope of work when washing a car;
- we will give some recommendations on how often to wash the car;
- share the technological nuances in the performance of work.
The answer to the question “What is needed for car washing” is individual, it is decided based on the conditions and capabilities of the owner.
The easiest solution: wash the car in suitable place using a bucket, water and a sponge.
What you need to wash a car in the maximum "configuration":
- suitable place and sufficient time;
- water;
- bucket;
- high-pressure apparatus (if possible, but not at all necessary);
- coarse sponge;
- brush with soft bristles for the body;
- a microfiber cloth, artificial or natural suede, or a special towel for wiping the body;
- wipes for highly specialized applications - for glass, exterior plastic, rubber and chrome parts, for instrument panels, for seat upholstery and interior upholstery;
- narrow brush or brush for cleaning rims;
- brush for cleaning tires and rubber (polyurethane) interior and trunk mats (for example, a simple shoe brush);
- detergent for external washing;
- glass cleaner;
- specialized cleaners and polishes;
- silicone grease for door seals and locks;
- waterproof shoes and work clothes (at least pants).
Above is a complete set of how to wash a car at home, from which everyone can make a kit for themselves.
Consider the main specific requirements for the above in order to form your set in the best way.
A place for washing a car with your own hands must meet the following basic criteria:
- legality;
- lack of direct sunlight (an exception may be early morning and late evening);
- lack of wind carrying dust and quickly drying the surface during car washing;
- sufficient area - at least 0.7 meters of free passage around the entire perimeter of the car when washing by hand or 1.5 meters when washing with a high-pressure cleaner.
We wash the car with water, which should not contain solid impurities of dirt and sand. With natural drying of moisture after washing, they will partially remain on the surface in the form of visible mud stains or cloudy deposits, and when manually wiped, they will lead to scratches. At the same time, the paintwork of the body will lose its attractive gloss and color saturation.
Sponge or brush after removing abundant dirt from the car should not be immediately dipped into a bucket. It is better to draw water from the bucket with the palm of your hand, splash it on the contaminated side of the sponge and squeeze it onto the floor, and only after that dip the sponge into the bucket to completely rinse and collect water in order to continue washing the car. This will significantly reduce the contamination of the water used, reduce the risk of unintentional scratching.
To maintain the minimum allowable concentration of contaminants in the water used, we recommend using a bucket of medium or large capacity. The water in the small bucket will need to be changed very often.
In the course of washing, the water in the bucket decreases, dirt from rinsing the sponge or brush settles in the lower part. In order to minimize their capture with a sponge and re-transfer to the car with negative consequences, one should not strongly disturb the water by raising the turbidity from below, do not lower the sponge to the bottom when rinsing and collecting water. At the same time, the water in the bucket should be replaced as it is actually contaminated, without using at least the last quarter of its original volume. Pour unused residues with dirt sediment into the drain, and rinse the bucket well before collecting clean water.
The final rinse must be done clean water in which the sponge, brushes, napkins were not dipped.
A special coarse sponge for car washing is preferable. Fine-grained pores are very quickly clogged with abundant dirt and the sponge turns into an abrasive tool. For a similar reason, it is categorically impossible to use ordinary fabrics and rags - there is nowhere for dirt and sand to “hide” at all, they cause scratches with each pass.
A sponge for washing a car is preferably large, approximately 25x15x5 cm. This one absorbs a lot of water, and an abundance of water in the contact zone is one of the indispensable conditions for minimal abrasive damage to the paintwork when washing the car with your own hands.
Instead of a sponge, or better in combination with it, for washing the body and glass, you can use a special brush with soft bristles and tips crushed to the edge to eliminate paintwork damage.
The rims often have small, narrowly spaced spokes, and the design is replete with straight and sharp corners and pollution is very persistent. This requires the use of special brushes for cleaning them, which differ from those used for washing the body - they are more compact, and the bristles are shorter and stiffer. If you cannot immediately find a suitable specialized option in retail outlets, then temporarily you can use an old toothbrush or a small flat paint brush to clean the rims.
For cleaning dirt and washing tires and rubber mats interior and trunk, you can use a regular shoe brush. Comfortable grip for force application, optimum surface area and hard dense bristles help to quickly remove dirt even from the fine sidewall pattern of the tires and from the numerous right angles in the pattern front side interior and trunk mats.
Brushes and brushes with plastic handles are preferable to those with wooden ones.
A special detergent from the range of car chemicals will be very useful for removing stubborn road dirt when washing the car with your own hands. Rubber dust, dust from the friction composition of the brake pads, soot and residues engine oil in the exhaust, especially from freight transport, create a resistant film on the surface of the car, which cannot be fully washed off with water and a sponge.
Car shampoos are on sale in the assortment of almost every car shop, as well as in specialized stores. washing equipment. They can be both in the form of ready-made formulations and in the form of concentrates, which must be diluted with water according to the manufacturer's instructions. Less common are products in the form of a powder, which must be diluted with water on its own.
Some auto chemical manufacturers offer special versions products for commercial transport– car shampoo for washing trucks, buses, tractors and special equipment. They are available in large sizes and are designed to handle heavy, stubborn dirt.
Car shampoos are used effectively primarily against basic pollution, however, for example, with bituminous spots they will definitely not cope, as well as with a persistent coating on the chrome exterior trim. Most often, they do not fully cope with the dust from the brake pads on the rims.
For surfaces made of special materials and specific stubborn dirt, specialized products are available:
- glass cleaner;
- cleaner of external plastic parts - bumpers, moldings, etc.;
- rubber parts cleaner;
- tire ink;
- insect trace cleaner;
- bituminous stain cleaner;
- car rim cleaner;
- polish for chrome parts;
- cleaner for the front panel of the cabin;
- skin cleaner;
- seat upholstery cleaner.
The use of silicone lubricant is very useful. It will protect against drying out and cracking in cold and hot weather, giving elasticity and a neat appearance to rubber parts - door seals, luggage and engine compartments, wiper rubber bands, etc. Processing seals and lock mechanisms with it prevents freezing after washing at low temperatures. The use of silicone grease with each wash is not required: as a rule, it is enough to do this a couple of times a year, before the onset of cold weather and in the spring.
How to wash your car yourself
My car in compliance with a simple procedure:
- pour water over the car, starting from the top, wetting the entire surface and especially the places of heavy pollution;
- kick the dirt in wheel arches and under the bottom with a jet of water from a high-pressure apparatus;
- remove sand and coarse dirt from the surface with a water jet from a high-pressure apparatus or with your own hands, using a brush for paintwork with soft bristles with a light touch and abundant manual watering of the contact zone;
- apply car shampoo using a foam generator for a high-pressure washer, or using a sponge with your own hands;
- pause until the car shampoo foam is washed off the body according to the instructions for this particular detergent;
- wash off foam and dirt with water;
- go around the perimeter of the entire car and, using special chemicals, carefully remove persistent pollution- bituminous splashes, traces of insects, resin from poplar buds, bird droppings, etc.;
- with a small brush, walk with a detergent composition along the cells of the decorative radiator grille, the grille of the lower air intake in the bumper, along the nameplates on the body and other bottlenecks with residues of pollution;
- clear wheel disks using special auto chemicals and a narrow brush or brush;
- if possible, drive about half a turn of the wheel in order to better see and remove dirt from the surfaces of the disk that were not visible to the eye from above;
- clean with a separate brush (for example, a shoe brush) the sidewalls of tires, rubber mudguards of wheels, rubber (polyurethane) floor mats and trunk;
- place mats for drying or airing;
- open the doors and manually wash the doorways, the door seal and the surfaces of the door adjacent to the seal with inside, paying special attention to the bottom;
- open the trunk lid, wash the opening, the seal and the surfaces of the lid adjacent to the seal from the inside;
- close all doors, windows and trunk lid,
- completely douse the car with water from a bucket or hose;
- starting from the roof, moving from top to bottom, with light movements without pressure with your own hands, wash the car from the outside with a coarse-grained sponge using water from a bucket (preferably with a detergent composition);
- rinse the sponge after each approach in several movements, periodically change the water in the bucket according to the actual pollution;
- make a final rinse with clean water;
- wipe the body with a special car towel or napkins made of artificial or natural suede;
- on flat surfaces (such as a hood, trunk lid, roof), perform the final pass by pulling a damp cloth spread over the entire size through two adjacent corners - this method will remove large drops, and the residual thinnest layer of moisture will quickly evaporate, leaving not the slightest streaks;
- wipe the glass using a glass cleaner and a separate cloth;
- polish chrome parts;
- process plastic parts of the exterior finish (unpainted bumpers, moldings, etc.);
- open the doors and let the car dry, taking care of the interior and trunk;
- vacuum the interior, if possible;
- clean and wipe the glass from the inside, from the car;
- clean the interior upholstery and interior panels from dirt and luggage compartment(including the spare wheel compartment), polish the upholstery and panels according to the instructions of the auto chemical manufacturer;
- blow air through the mechanisms of door locks, hood and trunk lid using a standard pump from the car or a compressor;
- after sufficient ventilation, place the interior and trunk mats in their places;
- remove car chemicals, brushes, napkins and work clothes;
- Carefully inspect the washing area around the car for forgotten items.
The described scope of work when washing a car can vary in numerous configurations, depending on the needs and possibilities.
To minimize the risk of harm paintwork when using a high-pressure apparatus (HPA), I wash the car in compliance with a number of rules and precautions:
- it is recommended to supply water at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the surface to be cleaned, and keep the nozzle at a distance of 0.5 meters, unless otherwise indicated in the instruction manual for the used model of the washer;
- do not expose the hands and other parts of the body to the jet, even if they are protected by clothing, to avoid cuts in the skin and muscle tissue, damage to clothes and shoes;
- do not direct a jet of water from the AED to the floor at close range, so as not to damage it;
- it is necessary to exclude water from entering electrical communications in the washing area.
How often to wash the car
The frequency of car washing is a personal matter of the owner. In this matter, it is necessary to focus on the actual condition of the car: dirty means my car. A car can please with its neat appearance, and not pollution.
If the car is not very dirty, but it is already noticeable and does not triple, then it is more reasonable to perform an external wash according to a simplified and quick scheme. It's fast, simple and very inexpensive. Combination of full thorough washing and frequent simplified water procedures allows you to almost constantly maintain the appearance of the car in a well-groomed form, without spending a lot of time and money.
In answering the question "how often to wash the car" are important and external factors. You can refrain from washing if at the most soon Dirty wet weather is forecast. At the same time, during the period of mass use of aggressive road chemicals, frequent washing will help reduce their harmful effects on the paintwork and parts and assemblies under the bottom due to periodic complete removal during washing. During such a period, it is also better to wash the car, even if it is “almost clean”, but there will be a long downtime - a dry clean car will definitely be more intact than one subjected to dry electrochemical corrosion.
Local paint contamination such as poplar bud resin and bird droppings should be removed quickly and very carefully.
Conclusion
Do-it-yourself car washing at home is not a difficult task. Maintaining a well-groomed appearance of the car and order in the cabin can be done with very simple means. And the use of a full set of selected tools will allow you to get an exemplary state.
We will probably talk about engine washing in a separate information material.
We outlined the features of glass cleaning and car washing in frosty winter in separate articles, which we recommend reading in the “Useful” section of the website
We wash the car correctly, adhering to our recommendations, and the result will always please you.
