Top 20 Car Detailing Secrets
Many PitStopArabia customers complain that they feel disappointed after cleaning their vehicle. Why? They did not get the results they were hoping for – the car still looks a bit dirty, and they do not see any shine. They argue that they use the same tools, ingredients, and methods as a professional detailer.
Moreover, it remains that way for a more extended period. Do you ever wish to attain that level of shine and tidiness when you wash it yourself? If yes, we recommend reading this article with full attention. There are certain things you must do to achieve that level of perfection. This article will talk about these 20 car detailing secrets and how you can make your car gloss after a wash, polish, or wax just like a professional detailer.
HOW TO DETAIL YOUR CAR LIKE A PRO
1. SHAMPOO FORTNIGHTLY
To keep the dust and other unwanted impurities settling on your car's paint, you must shampoo your car every 14 days. It will also help to prevent rusting of the car's body. There is a perception that washing a car regularly will eliminate the protective coating of the paint. However, it doesn't if you use the right ingredients.
If you use detergent liquids, then, in that case, your paint will get damaged. Not applying wax from time to time after washing will also damage the paint. To ease your difficulty and energy, there are products available in the market that contain both shampoo and wax (two in one) to protect your paint job after washing. If you want a car wash service at home anywhere in Dubai, reach out to PitStopArabia.
2. USE A MICROFIBER CLOTH
If you are one of those people who allow the air to dry your car after a wash, then stop this practice immediately. Water will dry on the car's paint and form watermarks. These are very hard to remove as well. This also paves the way for rust. The best way to dry your car is to use a very soft microfiber cloth that does not damage or scratch your car's paint job. It soaks the water perfectly without leaving any drop of water on your car’s body.
3. CLEAN SPONGE REGULARLY
When you wash your vehicle with a sponge or a cloth, make sure that you clean it regularly during the car wash. This will prevent swirl marks from developing on your car's paint. It is recommended that you rinse the sponge in a separate bucket or under a tap. During washing, particles of dust on the sponge can harm the car's paint. So, it is essential to rinse the sponge during the washing session to remove dust from the sponge.
4. USE CLAY BAR
Clay bars are a great way to eliminate dirt and other impurities that are settled on your car’s paint. It eliminates impure substances, but it also gives your car a long-lasting perfect shine without causing any damage to your paint.
5. USE A PLASTIC BAG TO CHECK THE BODY
Before applying polish or wax on your car, check your car’s body one last time for abrasion and dirt. Ensure there is no dirt or any other impurity on your car's paint. But it can be a bit challenging as you have to do it with your fingers. In doing so, it leaves fingerprint marks everywhere on the car’s body. One great way of doing it is to place your hand in a plastic bag and gently rub it over the car's surface to feel any dirt or bumps along the way without transferring fingerprint marks on your car's paint.
6. DON’T USE POLISH/WAX ON TRIM
Never try to clean the trim of your car with polish or wax. It will make things worse by staining the trim of your vehicle, making it look ugly and out of color. There are dedicated products to clean and restore the black plastic trims, and they require great care compared to other parts of the body. There are products to restore your trim's black color and protect them from dirt. So, before applying polish or wax on your body, treat your trim first. Check out our article on “How to Wax your Car” for further information.
7. USE COMPOUND TO REMOVE SCRATCHES
If you want to remove minor scratches from the paint, use a compound. A polish or a wax cannot remove scratches off your car's paint; it can only add shine to it. PitStopArabia recommends avoiding compounds after polishing your vehicle. Always do it before polishing it, and then apply polish after compounding it. The reason is that the compound removes a layer of bad paint, leaving behind dull paint. It needs to be polished afterward to restore the shine.
8. CHECK TEMPERATURE
Temperature is an essential factor to consider before you decide to wash your car. Do not wash the car in direct sunlight, especially during summers. The reason is that the shampoo and water will dry off very quickly and eventually leave water stain marks all over your car. Don't let the heat dry off the water, and spray your vehicle with water regularly during a wash to keep it wet. Similarly, do not wash your car in extremely cold weather as the water might freeze on your car and make things difficult.
9. USE TWO BUCKETS
Use a separate bucket for shampoo water and another one for washing water. Don’t dip the washing water in the same bucket. Use a grit guard in the washing water bucket to trap the dirt from polluting the water while you dip the sponge or cloth.
10. CLEAN AIR VENTS
Have you used a variety of air fresheners to maintain a good scent inside your car cabin and failed? No matter how much money you spend on air freshener products, your car develops an unpleasant smell inside the cabin within no time. This might be due to dirty air vents. Use compressed air to clean the air vents as they may have accumulated dirt, dust, and moisture over the years. When turned on, it throws foul air inside the cabin. Compressed air will clear your air vents, stopping the circulation of foul air inside the cabin.
11. USE POLISH TO REMOVE SWIRL MARKS
Swirl marks can make your car look ugly. They are formed when you use an untidy cloth to clean the car or use an incorrect type of sponge or cloth. They basically scratch that form on the vehicle’s body. If you wish to remove these scratches, you can do it by polishing your vehicle. It is essential to understand that waxing your car won't remove them.
12. CLEAN WINDOWS IN OPPOSITE DIRECTION
One of the most annoying things you encounter while cleaning your car is window cleaning. Sometimes a streak may form on the glass on either side of the window. In order to make things easy, try to dry the inner and outer parts of the window in opposite directions. By doing so, you will quickly identify if the streak is on the inner side of the mirror or the outer side by observing its direction. You can save your time and not cause any unnecessary streaks by wrongly assuming on which side it is.
Summers can be extremely hot in the UAE. We recommend that you opt for window tints to beat the summer heat. Check out our window tinting services on the UAE page for more information on window tints. There is nothing to worry about as the law allows motorists to tint their windows up to 50%. Visit this page for further clarity.
13. USE A BUFFER TO ONLY APPLY WAX
No doubt that a power buffer has the capacity to give a professional outcome, but one must know how to use it. People also remove the wax by using a buffer most of the time. This is an absolutely wrong technique resulting in swirl marks and an irregular final finish. You should only use a power buffer to apply wax and remove it with a soft cloth.
14. USE SYNTHETIC WAX
Synthetic wax does not give a shiny result as that of carnauba wax. However, it lasts longer than carnauba wax. The reason is that synthetic wax bonds chemically with the automobile's paint, making it an excellent option for those who don't wax their car often.
15. DRY TOP PART OF WINDOWS
One way to remove the risk of streaks is by rolling down the windows to clean the upper part of the window, which is usually neglected. Water stain marks can settle down on the top part of the window, making it very hard to remove over time. Moreover, the water keeps dripping down from the upper part of the windows, ruining your whole window and causing streaks. By rolling the windows down a little bit, you can clean the windows entirely from dust and not allow water to settle down on the top of the window.
16. USE A DUAL ACTION POLISHER
One of the most important aspects of professional detailing is to polish your vehicle. So it is wise to buy a dual action polisher to get the perfect result and shine. A dual-action polisher is the best machinery to perform the task of car polish. It can safely eliminate a layer of old wax and is a great choice for taking care of abrasion. This machinery will give a smooth, long-lasting shine to our car.
17. THROW OPEN WATER FIRST
Before using a sponge or a cloth to clean the car, always throw open water on it first. The reason is that there are many contaminations on your car's body, so washing it with water is a good idea. If you clean it with a cloth or a sponge instantly, you will rub it into the paint, which may result in scratches. So, use open water to remove dirt, dust, and other impurities as much as possible.
18. USE MICROFIBER CLOTH TO REMOVE WAX/POLISH
When you apply a coat of wax or polish on your car with a pad, the next question is, how should you remove it? The answer to this question is by using a microfiber cloth. Even professional detailers use a microfiber cloth to remove wax or polish haze off the body by rubbing it backward and forward. Don't forget to switch the sides of the microfiber cloth to give an excellent shiny finish.
19. BEGIN FROM TOP
Always start off washing your car from the room and then making your way downwards to other parts of the body. The reason behind doing so is that the upper part of the body is way cleaner and free from contaminants. On the other hand, the lower end of the body is very close to the road. Hence the lower body contains lots of dirt and contamination. You don't want to bring those contaminants by starting off from the lower part and going upwards.
20. USE THE RIGHT SOAP
Any wrong product used on a car can have dire consequences. So, make sure you use the right product. Without knowing the consequences, many people use washing detergent or dishwasher liquid to shampoo the car instead of using a car wash soap. These detergents and dishwashing liquids can damage the paint by removing a coat of oil from it. Hence reducing the life of the car's paint. Always use car soap to wash your car.
Wrap Up
It concludes our article on the top 20 car detailing secrets. After reading this article, you might be thinking that automobile maintenance can be exhaustive. Well, it certainly can be, especially if you are short on time due to work or other commitments. If you are having a hard time maintaining your vehicle, you can avail PitStopArabia’s car spa services. We offer basic, detailed, and comprehensive packages. If you do not care for your vehicle, it will decrease its resale value and lead to numerous other problems.