You take pride in your vehicle, and so you are willing to spend extra on professional auto detailing to keep your car looking great. Maybe you don’t always have time to clean it, but when you do you spend the extra money on auto detailing. You are right to want results that last as long as possible. But is there anything you can do to keep your car’s detailing job lasting longer?
Things not to do:
- Automatic/Touchless Car Washes
Although it may be convenient to drive through the car wash when you fill your car’s tank, you’re damaging your car’s exterior paint and risking damage to the body. The swirling motion of the cloths during the wash will damage your paint over time. Touchless washes are known to use harsh chemicals that will strip the wax or sealant on your car.
- Avoid Cotton Towels and Terry Cloths
Don’t use cotton towels or terry cloths for the exterior surface of your car. They scratch and leave small marks.
- Do not use cleaning products not specifically designed for auto detailing. Although soap is just soap is true in a lot of situations, it’s just not true for cleaning your car. Using any old soap or detergent not specifically designed for auto detailing will strip away wax or sealants from your last auto detailing service.
- Avoid Hand Car Washes (That are not detail shops)
Someone washing your car by hand should be ‘quality’ and ‘careful’ service. Because of the low prices of hand car washes and the amount of traffic they have they often ignore best practices. Often they reuse the same rags on multiple vehicles, some may even reuse dirty water. You spent a lot of money getting professional auto detailing which should last up to 12 months. Now that expensive detailing will last only a month or two. If you want your car hand washed, take it back to the professional detail shop where they use clean water and the right microfiber cloths and drying techniques. If you want to hand wash your car with your own hands, ask the detailer how to do it right.
- Do not allow your mechanic or dealership to wash your cash
It’s very nice to get an extra service for free when getting work done on your car, but keep in mind that because “car washing” is not something they do full time they are often not setup to do it correctly. At least not to the high standards that your auto detail shop did. This leaves you at risk of having your exterior wax & sealants stripped prematurely before you’re due for another detail. Again, your expensive professional detailing job will go from lasting 12 months to a couple months in an instant.
Things to do:
- Wash your car yourself
Yes, YOU have the ability to correctly clean your car yourself (ask your detailer how) without damaging the exterior paint treatment YOU just paid for. You can do a quick rinseless wash using microfiber towels.
- Call your professional detailer for help selecting the right products
Call your detailer if you need help selecting the right products to wash your car. They’ll be happy to help if you’re unable to make it into the shop.
- Only use the highest quality microfiber towels
Dollar stores, convenience stores and even some gas stations sell “microfiber towels” for next to nothing. It’s always best to research the brand you’re buying, like auto detailing shops, not all microfiber products are made the same. Ask your detailer which microfiber towels are best.