The ABCs of How to Wash Your Car

Want to help improve your car's paint life and trade-in value, too? Keep it clean through regular maintenance but exercise caution. There are a lot of rights—and wrongs—when it comes to protecting the finish on your vehicle.

So says Mike Pennington, Director of Training at Meguiar"s, Inc. Pennington has worked in the car care industry for more than two decades and also acts as a consultant to auto and paint manufacturers. Meguair's started in 1901 by producing furniture—the same year speedometers appeared in cars and the cost of a First Class stamp was two cents.

"Frequent car care is easy car care," Pennington said. "If you don"t get that stuff off your vehicle, it could bond and in some cases scratch or etch the surface."

Car care ABC'xs

"Stuff" includes environmental contaminants such as industrial fallout, bird droppings, insects, brake dust, tar, tree sap mist and fog with airborne pollutants. They adhere to your vehicle's surface and potentially erode the paint.

Simply wiping it off incorrectly can scratch the surface. And neglect leads to oxidation, dulling and rough surfaces. Frequent car care and wax protection helps prevent contaminants from bonding to paint.

"Choosing the right products is almost like being a doctor. You need to prescribe the right "medicine," Pennington said.

His guidelines include:

• Evaluate the surface. Are there rough spots? Tree sap? Caked on dirt? Oxidation?

• Choose the right products. Are you trying to restore shine? Creating high gloss polish? Or simply maintaining a clean-looking car?

• Use the right techniques. What type of toweling and accessories are you using, and, what are the proper steps for protecting your car?

Getting started

You may be damaging your vehicle's paint without even knowing it. For instance, drying your car with cheap towels, t-shirts and diaper cloths can scratch car surfaces. Dirt gets trapped on their smooth surfaces and acts like sand paper.

Good tools can help maintain the shine and avoid scratching. Here are some products suggested by experts:

• Sheepskin or microfiber wash mitts. They pull dirt away from the surface and into tightly woven filaments.

• Good car wash. It loosens contaminants and helps avoid scratching. Warning: Avoid dish soap because degreasing agents can remove wax, damage paint finish and degrade rubber.

• Quality wax to place a thin film between the environment and the clear coat (carnauba formulas and the latest in synthetic polymer technology are common).

• Cleaners that act on below-surface defects; clay bars that remove above-surface contaminants.

• A chamois, quality terry cloth towel, or even a micro fiber drying cloth with a thick nap for drying.

• Tire cleaner and a stiff brush to improve tire appearance.

• A safe wheel cleaner to remove corrosive brake dust and road grime.