Car Insurance

Washing Your Car Regularly.. Why?

Aside from the obvious of having a car that looks great, car
washing can protect the cars finish. Bird droppings and bug
splatter can get to be real relentless at different times. Also
air bourne contaminant( some we can’t even see), all wage a
consistent and prolonged attack on your cars finish.

Bug splatter for instance, have acids and particles in them that
can eat away at the clear coat of your car, making it susceptible
to rust. The metallic particles that come off the rotor as well as
brake dust with its adhesive properties from the factory, and
tar, all do damage to your cars paint.

So how can we stop the culprits right in there track, by washing
our vehicles regularly!

How and Where To Start

I don’t know if you knew this or not, but most of the swirl marks
we see on our car is from washing the car. I know you have seen
one of those dark colored cars that look real good at a 30000 ft
view. However when you get up close it is riddled with swirl
marks. They kinda look like cookies.

Why this knowledge is important is that it helps us all to
realize, that even though washing a car seems so simple, What is
often overlooked is that there is a right and a wrong way to do
it. That is the first place to start is with this understanding.

I like to start out by finding products that will not scratch the
paint. I use a chenille wash mitt, or a microfiber one. They both
do a great job at pulling the dirt away from the paint and
holding it in there fibers so that it does not scratch the paint.

Please don’t use dish washing liquid to wash your car with, why?
Dish detergent has properties in it that strip the paint of the
oils it needs to keep from drying out. So use a good car wash
shampoo to wash the car with. I use Meguiars Soft Gel, its ph
balanced with no detergents, and has lubricants in it that bring
out the gloss in the paint finish.

Washing the Car

Because I do not want those swirl marks on my car, or any car I
work on. I use more than one bucket to do my car washing. I
recommend to do it that way if you can, cause after you make a
pass with the wash mitt its gona be dirty. Instead of constantly
washing with the water hose, just dip it in the bucket of fresh
water to remove the dirt then back in the soapy water.

With that said, as always I like to wet down the car real good
with water to remove what I can before I start car washing and
you should too, it gets of some the dirt that I would otherwise
have to. (I know call me lazy) Also before you suds away, this is
a good time to remove any bugs and tar using a bug and tar
remover. Gold Class Bug and Tar Remover is the way to go here.

Then begin by cleaning and doing the Wheels and Tires. I have
written an article on that for you, so if you want to start with
the article before moving on.

Using a soapy sponge, and with the car wet down apply the bug and
tar remover going over the car until you get all those unsightly
trouble spots. After you are finished, rinse area with water.

Starting at the Top of the vehicle go ahead start to wash the
car, taking a moment between passes to rinse the car off, as you
work your way down from the top to the moldings.

Remember clean the wash mitt often in order to keep as much dirt
as possible, from being introduced back on to the paint. While
car washing be sure to get the door jams, the area outlining the
trunk and up under the hood in that hood pocket outlining the
engine.

Its important to wash the car completely from top down, as the
bottom is alway the dirtiest, as well as under the hood area so
do those last. Preferably with a different Wash mitt either way
remember not to introduce a dirty wash mitt back on to the paint.

Drying The Car

I like to use a Dual Pile Microfiber towel to dry the car with.
Starting with the windows first, go ahead and dry the car off.
Then after you get the windows. Start drying from top down like
you washed the car. Do the door jams, and Trunk lid, and under
the hood, after you have dried all the other panels of the car
like we talked about.

That way we continually eliminate the chance for scratches and
swirl marks while you are car washing. If washing the car in the
sunlight try not to let the water dry on you, or it will leave
water spots. So do the car washing out of direct sunlight if at
all possible.

You know how it feels to buy a new car. The fresh smell of
leather as you ease yourself into the plush leather seats. The
whole car is gleaming. As you drive it out your driveway, you
steal a glance at the reflection of your beautiful ride.

Fast forward 12 months. How does your “new” car look now? If you
take a picture of your car now and compare it to when you first
bought it, would you notice any difference? How is it that some
cars continue to look “brand new” even though they are already 3
years old while others just look tired, dull and “old” just 12
months out of the showroom?

It is possible to keep your car gleaming new. You just need to
know how to care for it.

1) Wash Your Car Weekly

Dust and dirt will accumulate as your drive your car. Even if you
just leave it in your garage, the paintwork will accumulate dust.
It is especially important to wash your car if your car was
exposed to rain. The water droplets that accumulate on your
paintwork will leave tough watermark stains if you let them dry
under the sun. The sun “bakes” in the watermark stains and you’ll
find it especially tough to remove them later on. Your best bet
is to give your car a quick wash and wipe dry if you’ve driven in
the rain.

When washing your car, use a quality car shampoo like Meguiar’s
NXT Generation Car Wash
(http://www.fdcars.com/newsletter/n2-2.htm). You’ll find it much
easier to wash and dry your car if you use a soft terry cloth or
a cloth diaper. I always keep a dozen cloth diapers ready in my
house even though I don’t have kids . They’re cheap, absorbent
and soft so that it does not scratch your paintwork. If you want
to be flashy, you can get something like the Ultimate Wipe cloth,
once again from Meguiar’s
(http://www.fdcars.com/newsletter/n2-1.htm).

Hose your car down to remove any excess dirt and grime. Then use
your cloth to apply the car shampoo. Once you’ve covered the
whole car, hose off the shampoo, using a clean cloth to wipe away
any remaining shampoo residue. It is critical that you wipe your
car dry. If you leave the car to dry naturally, all your hard
work thus far will go to waste.

Make sure you clean your rims. Brake dust will accumulate there,
making your car look dirty even if the paintwork is spotless. You
will also want to vacuum the interior of your car every few weeks
to keep it clean.

2) Wax Your Car Once a Month

To keep your paintwork gleaming, you need to wax it. Of course,
you could send it to an auto detailer for this. However, if you
have an hour to spare during your weekend, it is really not that
difficult to wax your car.

Before waxing, make sure you wash and wipe dry your car. Park
your car in a cool and shady spot. It is best not to wax your car
directly under the sun. Use a good car wax like Meguiar’s NXT
Generation Tech Wax (http://www.fdcars.com/newsletter/n2-3.htm).
Apply the wax in a circular motion using the included sponge.
Work on your car section by section. Remember which section you
worked on first. Once you’ve finished applying the entire car,
it’s time to remove the excess wax.

Use a soft terry cloth or cloth diaper to wipe of the excess wax.
Start by wiping the panel that you first applied the wax and work
on from there. It is best to use different sides of the cloth as
wipe off the wax since it will accumulate on your cloth. You can
either use a new piece of cloth as each is clogged with wax or
alternatively shake off the wax from your cloth.

Lean close to your car and check whether there is any residue
left. Clean any remaining residue.

Wash your cleaning cloth with a liquid softener (just like you
wash your clothes). This will make sure there isn’t any dirt or
grime stuck to the cloth for your next waxing session.

3) Apply Tyre Wax For That Slick Black Look

To complete the wet & shiny look, apply tyre wax after every
wash/wax. Look for ones that come with a trigger spray so that
you can apply it easily. Something like Meguiar’s Hot Shine High
Gloss Tyre Spray (http://www.fdcars.com/newsletter/n2-4.htm)
would work beautifully. This takes less than 3 minutes to do but
it makes a big difference.

4) Keep That New Leather Smell

If your car has leather seats, it is important to clean and
condition it at least once every 2 months. Use a leather
cleaner/conditioner like Meguiar’s Medallion Premium Leather Care
(http://www.fdcars.com/newsletter/n2-5.htm). Apply using a clean
terry cloth or cloth diaper. Wipe off any excess conditioner with
a clean cloth. Doing this once every month of two keeps your
leather supple and smelling like new.

While cleaning and conditioning your leather, you will want to
work on the vinyl surfaces of your car as well. Your dashboard,
door inserts and central console is normally made of vinyl. So,
use something like Meguiar’s Vinyl & Leather Cleaner/Conditioner
(http://www.fdcars.com/newsletter/n2-6.htm) for this. This works
much like the leather cleaner but is specially suited for vinyl
surfaces.

5) Stand Back & Admire Your “Brand New” Car

Follow the routine above and you guarantee yourself a car that
looks, feels and smells like new even 3 years down the road. Your
friends and family will be impressed. When it’s time to sell your
car, you’ll likely fetch much higher prices. First impressions
count when selling your car. And a car with gleaming new
paintwork and a spotless interior makes a VERY strong first
impression!

P.S. The writer is not affiliated with Meguiar’s in any way,
except as a very satisfied customer.

Just washing your car won’t get the super shine and smoothness
that is needed to preserve your paint. A smart auto enthusiast
knows there are many steps involved when cleaning your
automotive. In this article I am going to give a summary of the
right steps when detailing your car.

#1 Pre-Wash
The first thing I do when I am cleaning my car is pre wash the
car. The pre washes purpose is to get everything off the paint to
prepare it for the clay bar. When you are washing the car it’s
also a good idea to get under the hood and degrease the engine if
needed. Once you are finished washing it spray the soap off and
don’t dry it.

#2 Clay Bar
Smart auto enthusiasts clay bar. Next while the cars is still wet
get a detailing clay bar and rub it back in forth not circles
just doing sections of the car at a time. If needed use a spray
bottle with a tiny bit of soap for lubrication. The clay bar will
remove many imperfections, rail dust, and stuck on dirt leaving
your paint very smooth.

#3 Final Wash
This is your final wash, make sure to spray the side view mirrors
and get the door jams. After you are done washing dry it off
immediately and open all doors, trunk, and hood and dry off all
the door jams. If you forget to get the door jams water is liable
to leak out later and ruin your perfect finish with water spots.

#4 Preparation for Wax
When the car is completely dry I like to go over the car top to
bottom with a very strong tar remover. I try and make sure there
is no bits of tar, paint, bugs or dirt that was missed earlier.
The reason for this is because if you are using a motorized
buffer it’s really easy to get something caught in the pad that
could easily make a devastating scratch that would ruin the
finish of the car.

#5 Waxing
I don’t want to plug a certain kind of wax but there are many
good ones out there. Personally I use just Mothers, I find for
the price it’s hard to beat. Application of the wax can be done
by hand or buffing machine. Buffing machines have the ability to
remove scratches and bring up a higher shine than hand waxing but
it takes more of a skill level for the average auto enthusiast.

#6 Clean up
After waxing it’s very important to remove ALL of the wax on the
auto. If you forget to remove wax it will harden and look
terrible. I like to take a very clean towel and go over the whole
car, making sure to open all the doors to get the jams. Get all
the areas where the wax likes to hide. After I’m done I like to
go over it one more time with a liquid quick wax in a spray
bottle to give it one last coat and making sure to get all the
remaining wax removed.

Window Tinting BMPs – Best Management Practices and Procedures. Every auto detailer who lives in works south of the Mason Dixon line or in a large metro area has asked themselves; should I offer window tinting to my customers? Every wholesale auto detailer in such states in areas has probably been asked by their customers, namely new car dealerships and small used car dealerships, do you know anybody who does window tinting? That simple question spins around your mind like a thought you can control, hey, maybe I should you window tinting, what can I charge, how do you do it? Is it difficult?

Many auto detailer’s and professional car care specialists or even those that call themselves mobile car washers and detailer’s have considered such a tact. Some have found that they did not have proper training, that was not as easy as it looked in that they had made a grave mistake. While others seem to have a knack for tinting windows tinting windows is as much an art as a science you have to mistake and a careful I and patience, just the thing for a detailer, well at least a professional one, someone who is into the details. Here are some tips and ideas that may help you decide if you want to go get some professional training, and start offering such services. There are some relatively basic steps that does the profession must follow. It is not easy, but in theory it is simple. First you must prepare the surface of the window, the window must be perfectly clean with not even the finest speck of dust. It saves a lot of time if you have proper tools for window tinting, for instance some hard-cards, a heat gun and some in razor blades.

It is also nice to have a tiny squeegee. You’ll see seasoned professionals who also carry around paper towels and dishes soap. You also need to look out for the things like automotive caulking compounds and weather stripping sticking out, these can make for it to install, any need to take care these things upfront. Also, make sure there are no cellular phone or satellite radio antenna components on the inside the window. If there are you’re going to the work around us any need to put extra liquid around us area so you can move the tent around to get in the right spot before you start cutting up the shape of the razor blade.

We have often seen old antenna mounts or leftover glue on the windows that we didn’t see due to the lighting or shading when we first started, and there you are with a soapy film mass with one hand it is a razor blade to scrape of the other hand, all the while knowing that you don’t do everything right, he could easily fold over the window tent and have to start completely over any just by yourself extra material. This is why you should pay extra attention to every square into the surface of the interior of the window before attempting this procedure. Once this is completed while the window film is still dry, you need to cut the film to the basic shape of the window. The easiest way to do this is to lay on the outside of the window and cut into the basic shape in a nylon paper, but leave yourself a little extra room. Then take the nylon paper and slightly moisten the window to the desired amount and lay the paper against the inside of the window and then smooth out the paper working from the center outward in all directions. As you get towards the edges make a few cuts along the edge. Cut the paper to the exact shape and then lay it on top of the film w/liner.

Trace around the outside of the paper on top after you tape down four edges and are sure it is perfectly flat. If you have and areas where you have to go around like the mirrors you have already cut the opening in the paper and will trace that opening on to the film and peel sheet. Once you have the perfect shape you are ready to go and install the tint. Now place this on the window in the right place after you have put some soapy water on the inside of the window, pull back the first 1/3 of the peel sheet and spray the window tint showing with adhesive window solution. It best if you never touch the window film itself during this process. Makes sure the edges are lined up on all sides. Slowly peel and spray adhesive and work any air bubbles out you want to leave about one-eight inch from the top of the window and work downwards. By using the squeegee you need to slowly work downward all the to the bottom and out to the sides, it is okay to let the solution move down with your squeegee, it is better to use a little extra solution than not enough. Once everything is correct use the plastic hard tool too bring down the solution and any soapy water and then pat and buff the moisture left.

To keep the plastic tool from ripping often it is advised to use a paper towel wrapped around it. This is what we have seen most operators do who are seasoned and experienced. One recent problem we have seen in the last few years is those windows with safety glass, which have a dot pattern on the edges. This makes things a little tougher.

You want to use more adhesive on the edges otherwise it will try to peel up. So use more solution as you are working outward and try to work upward on the initial point of contact, some of this extra solution will roll down, but that is okay you need a tight seam at the top. Another issue is to advise your clients of the law in your state if one exists for window tinting.

Many states outlaw black out tinting commonly referred to a Limo tinting, some allow SUVs to have tint like this but not cars, some states SUVs can have it in the back, but not in the front. There are so many laws you need to know what your state says and also and if you live near a border to another state, well? Best to know those laws too. In some stats the operator is responsible, other states the vehicle owner and in some states the installer also. Great more laws, yep. Get use to it you are in an over regulated industry.

At some time or other everyone experiences a permanent stain on
their car upholstery, or worse yet a rip or tear that exposes the
foam beneath and risks destroying your entire seat. However,
there is no need to despair because there are multiple options
for choosing replacement auto upholstery in order to ensure that
it matches your current auto upholstery as closely as possible.

Suggestion #1 Color

One of the main considerations when choosing replacement auto
upholstery is to match the color. This is very important
especially if you want the repair not to be very noticeable. If
you are shopping in person for replacement auto upholstery then
you need to take a small piece of your current upholstery in
order to match the colors as closely as possible. If you are
shopping online then you should know the year, model, and make of
your vehicle in order to find upholsteries that match that
particular vehicle.

Suggestion #2 Texture

While color is important, texture is as well. You don’t want to
buy replacement upholstery that has a completely different
texture or grain than what you currently have. When you are
shopping then you can easily compare your sample with different
upholsteries to find the perfect match.

Suggestion #3 Price

One other consideration should be price. You don’t want to spend
too much money on repairing your upholstery. Of course, it will
cost you to buy the materials and have your upholstery repaired,
but do not get taken advantage of. Frequently, vendors of these
products really overprice their inventory and you get stuck
paying way too much money simply because you want to repair your
vehicle.

Following these suggestions will help you find the best
replacement auto upholstery and ensure that you spend as little
money as possible for a great match. Remember; don’t buy any
upholstery from a picture in your mind’s eye. Always carry a
small sample in order to ensure the best match possible.