Car Care & Wax

The elements can be brutal to your car’s finish. Sun, rain, salt from winter roads, sap from trees, and countless other things can quickly turn a good-looking car into a faded, oxidized mess. And that’s not even thinking about what bright sunlight and high temperatures can do to an interior and dashboard. Your car’s a big investment – and you need to know how to keep it looking good for years to come. Here are some car care and car cleaning tips that you might want to keep in mind, for the good of your car (and resale value):

• Park in the shade when possible. It makes a much more comfortable car in the summer, of course, and it keeps the sun from damaging your paint. But the flip side of that is…
• Don’t park under a tree. Not day-in and day-out, at least. If you’ve ever tried to scrub dried sap and the acidic deposits from leaves off a car, you know how much trouble this can be. If you have to leave a car under a tree as long-term storage, it might be a good idea to invest in an all-weather car cover to protect your finish.
• Wash your car, even in the middle of winter. It’s tempting to just let it go, when everyone else’s car is filthy too and you know it’s just going to get dirty again. But the longer you let your car go between washings, the more chance road salt and abrasive grime has to eat away at your car’s finish. While you’re at the car wash, don’t forget to blast under the car and inside the wheel wells with the pressure hose – two places where rust loves to get a foothold. And if you get a chance, dry the car with a chamois to keep water spots from forming.
• Keep the interior clean. That doesn’t just mean throwing out fast-food trash, and it’s more than just a matter of not being a slob. Dirt particles are abrasive, and will wear through carpeting and other surfaces quicker than you think; also, spilled liquids (coffee, soda) can be corrosive and do more damage than just a stain. Let your floor mats catch the dirt and grime (consider going over to rubber floor mats in the winter), then take them out and blast them with the car wash’s high-pressure hose when they get nasty. A full auto detailing once or twice a year is good, but there’s plenty you can do on your own, too.
• Don’t forget the seats. Putting a couple of coats of Scotchgard on fabric upholstery is a great idea, and even though leather upholstery is designed to wear forever, it still needs cleaning and treatment from time to time as well. Consider putting a towel under a child seat, too – babies are messy, and the debris a baby or toddler leaves in his wake can easily stain upholstery if it sits too long! Again, you don’t have to be as thorough as a complete interior detailing, but you’ll definitely feel better about a clean interior than a sloppy one.
• Wax your car! A coat of wax every couple of months is a good idea, and while you’re at it, polishing your headlight lenses with rubbing compound can keep them from getting cloudy. Remember to apply an extra coat of wax on the hood and front end – the areas where wax tends to take a beating. Consider putting a urethane coat on these areas…there are films available that serve as a clear coat protection, but can be easily peeled off again. A coat or two of haze free glass cleaner can also help keep your windshield and glass clean, make your windshield wipers’ job easier, and improve visibility in bad weather – consider adding some P21S windshield washer booster to keep reapplying a thin coat whenever you hit your washer/wiper.

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