Valeting Tips – Part 1

Welcome to the first of four informative and practical articles about preparing your car for full concourse display; or if you simply want your car to look great on the driveway!

My background in car care starts with a sponge and bucket on my Dad's old Fords and then liberal use of Fairy Liquid on my first RS Escort and Capri. Both cars looked kind of shiny but little did I know at the time...

A sponge makes a useful scouring pad...

Firstly, sponges are made of bubbles, being cut at the surface and containing perfect hidey-holes for grit and insect shell cases, which when scratched over your paintwork makes a lovely scouring pad. I've seen numerous smart BMW's where loving regular washing has applied parallel lines all over the car. So, save your sponge for the wheels and underside, and use anything with a deep pile – wash cloth, synthetic, wool or microfiber wash mitt. The pile traps dirt, and you can't drop mitts. Simple – reduce swirls for considerably less than the price of a good bar snack.

...and save the Fairy Liquid for your plates!

Don't use Fairy dishwashing liquid – its salt content is not good for cars and it's designed to cut through grease, not road grime. Any pH neutral shampoo is fine, ones with Carnauba Wax are recommended. Use two buckets, one with soapy water, the other with clean rinsing water for your chosen weapon – this omits the need for a trendy and expensive grit guard.

A Word on Jet-washes

Hopefully no readers of this are ever going to use an automated car wash on their car or other cars, and will avoid garage jet washes too, but many folks have home power washers. A recent DEKRA report showed that using them too close to tyres can cause premature aging and damage to sidewalls, and the same applies to bodywork. Use a jet-wash from about 18" (45cm) away to loosen dirt and take care under wheel arches as body sealants can become loosened.

When drying use a drying blade, special absorbent towel or chamois leather. Most chamois are actually made from sheepskins, although originally they were made from deerskins, which are tougher and don't dry like cardboard so can be used from dry.

Please call 0845 0 944 942 for a FREE no-obligation consultion or click here to email Karlsson Collins Mobile Car Valeting.