tipking About
HomeCar Tips › Car Cleaning Tips

Car Cleaning Tips

Washing without swirling the paint, and the products that strip protection.

The rule that covers most of them

Rinse before you touch it, use two buckets, and never wash a car in direct sunlight or with a household sponge.

Nearly all the fine scratches on a car's paint, the swirl marks you see in low sun, are put there during washing rather than by anything on the road. The method matters far more than the products, and the method is mostly about not dragging grit across the paint.

What it covers

WashingPaintGlassInteriorWheels

Every tip in cleaning

7001
How to wash a car without scratching the paint

Rinse the whole car first, then use two buckets, one with shampoo and one with plain water to rinse the mitt in between panels. Work top down and never in direct sun.

WashingTwo buckets
7002
How to get rid of swirl marks and light scratches

A polish with a mild abrasive removes them by taking off a very thin layer of clear coat. If your fingernail catches in a scratch, it is too deep for polish.

Paint
7003
How to clean car windows without smears

Two cloths, one damp with glass cleaner and one dry, and wipe the inside horizontally and the outside vertically so you can tell which side a smear is on.

Glass
7004
How to get a smell out of a car

Find and remove the source, then deal with the air conditioning, which is where stubborn musty smells usually live. Air fresheners hide the problem rather than fixing it.

Interior
7005
How to clean alloy wheels without damaging them

A dedicated non-acidic wheel cleaner, a soft brush, and do them when the wheels are cool. Acidic cleaners strip the lacquer and the damage does not show for months.

Wheels

Household chemicals can be dangerous in combination. Never mix them, keep the room ventilated, and test anything on a hidden patch first. Full disclaimer.