SPRING CLEANING LIKE A PRO
Helpful tips and advice for your collectibles and classics down to the very last detail
Master detailer Glen Yates remembers the day the light bulb went on for making cars beautiful. He travelled the world as technical sales rep for paper manufacturers and went with a California customer to pick up his new triple-black Corvette at a dealership. They were shocked to see the new car’s finish was covered with swirl marks and scratches.
“How do you like your new car?” the salesman asked the new owner. “If this is my new car, it’s not,” came the reply from the disgruntled buyer.
The sales manager said he would take care of it. When Yates and the car’s new owner picked the car up at a detail shop the next night, it was perfect.
“I had never seen such a mess and everything was fixed,” Yates recalls.
Yates took early retirement and started selling the products the detail shop was using and demonstrating how well they work. He’s been doing this for 10 years and has cleaned and detailed thousands of vehicles ranging from classics to customs to new Bentley and Rolls-Royce luxury cars.
He has dozens of before-andafter photographs. Among them is a 1955 Packard that had sat outside for many years with the original dark blue paint turning dull and milky. The new owner of the car was going to have the car stripped and repainted when Yates came on the scene. The results of a good cleaning and workover with a random orbital buffer using the right polishing products performed a miracle of rejuvenation. The car looks new again.
Here are some tricks of his trade.
Yates uses a seven-step detailing program starting with the right cleaning products. Trade in that brush that can scratch a car’s finish for a soft synthetic mitt or cloth. Use soap with neutral PH. It’s non acidic and non-corrosive. The product description will say PH7 — which is neutral. That way, the soap won’t harm paint and leave water spots.
Use city water if possible rather than well water that could contain tiny particles that will create water spots.
Use a wash bucket with a grit guard. That is a screen near the bottom that allows sand and dirt that can scratch the finish to sink to the bottom. Rinse the vehicle before washing and start soaping it from the top down to the belt line — rinsing regularly to get rid of dirt and grit so it isn’t rubbed into the finish. Wash below the belt line last.
A clay bar provides the magic touch.
When used with detail spray for lubricant and rubbed over the vehicle surface, the clay bar removes dirt, grime, brake dust, oxidized paint, overspray and damage from acid rain.
“The clay bar actually pulls particles out of the paint,” Yates explains. “It works the same on paint, chrome and glass.”
He recommends a random orbital polisher as opposed to a rotary polisher to remove paint defects like scratches, swirl marks and imperfections: “This creates no heat, so it won’t burn through paint while it removes, not leaves, swirl marks.”
Carnauba waxes, derived from the leaves of the Brazilian palm tree Copernica cerifera, are recommended, as they are the hardest natural wax products available. Yates applies this wax by hand with a soft microfibre applicator pad so it gets in every nook and cranny.
For chrome, a non-abrasive chrome polish is recommended so it won’t scratch the soft chrome and aluminum parts.
Do not use strong chemical cleaner for wheels and tires. If it dries on the surface, it can ruin aluminum wheels. Recommended is an abrasive-free anti-oxidant cleaner that removes dirt and oxidization without damaging wheels, but will remove micro scratches and restore a high shine.
No silicone. That applies to the choice for tire dressing where the turning wheels can throw silicone down the side of the vehicle damaging the paint or on upholstery where it can dry out plastic and vinyl causing cracking.
“One third of the vehicle is glass and it shouldn’t be ignored,” notes Yates. “Use a product with no alcohol or ammonia, which leaves streaks.”
The engine compartment should receive attention and be cleaned first, so grease and dirt don’t get on a clean vehicle.
Never use a pressure washer with a high-pressure direct water stream that can damage the many electrical solenoids and plastic connectors in today’s vehicles. For older vehicles, carefully cover carburetors and distributors so no water gets in.
Use a water-soluble degreaser and a soft brush to clean surfaces.
The 1940 Ford sedan street rod, owned by Yates for 18 years, was painted in 1985. It shows off his meticulous detailing and ongoing care. He often uses it as a demonstration vehicle when he holds detailing clinics for car clubs and other groups.
Yates is particularly proud of the apple-green 1932 Packard sedan and 1936 Auburn convertible he detailed before a show in Vancouver last year. They took first and second place in the Concours class.