What’s the best way to wash a car?
WASHING your car is the starting point for getting rid of the winter grime that has built up over the past few months of driving on filthy, sodden roads. I can already hear the derisory cries of ‘How hard can it be?’, and the reality is that it’s not that difficult. But get it wrong and you can cause yourself a lot of problems down the line.
Apart from making sure that the Fairy Liquid stays in the kitchen (it’s designed for plates, not for paint), the biggest pitfall to avoid is marring the clearcoat by leaving barely visible scratches and swirls that will dull the shine. The damage is caused by dragging grit and hard particles stuck to the car across the paint while washing. The key is to remove as much of this as possible before you need to touch the car. And you will need to touch it because safe power washing levels always leave a thin film to remove.
A pressure washer is your friend here, because it will blast the larger, caked-on lumps, leaving a layer to be released by a pre-wash. This can be snow foam, citrus cleaner or traffic film remover, but any of these will help release more debris before being pressure washed off. Use a hose if you don’t have a pressure washer, or plenty of buckets of water on particularly muddy areas.
With as much dirt removed as possible, it’s time to use a mitt to shift the remainder. A mitt is the best option because it holds more water than a sponge and draws in grit away from paintwork. Use a two-bucket system with one containing soap and the other water for rinsing the mitt, or use a single bucket with a mesh at the bottom to prevent grit being picked up. A plain old bucket is fine as long as grit is released and not picked up again.
Work from the top of the car down and thoroughly rinse it before drying. The safest way to dry is to use a blower, because no contact is required. With a microfibre drying towel, lay it spread out over flat panels to soak up water, then pull to one side. When working on lower parts, make sure the cloth doesn’t touch the ground. A smaller cloth can be a useful precaution because it’s easier to control
With the car clean, you can decide the next step, whether it’s further decontamination with a clay bar, paint preparation with a polish or adding a last-step product such as a wax or ceramic coating.