Showroom Shine Tips For Vehicle Care

Winter weather can take its toll on automotive paint, often leaving a car's finish looking dull and damaged. The arrival of spring, however, is the perfect opportunity to wipe away road salt damage and other contaminants, bringing automotive finishes back to showroom shine condition.

How often should you wash your car?

According to the International Carwash Association, how often you should wash your vehicle depends on where you live. Below is information for our area, taken from their "Car Wash Wizard."

STATE OF WISCONSIN

Wisconsin offers a moderate degree of corrosiveness for vehicles due to the effects of road salt and acid rain.

Annual snowfall averages 30 to 60 inches - and where there's snow, there's road salt. Road de-icing materials can cause great damage to vehicles, and are estimated to cause billions of dollars in damage each year to American automobiles.

Additionally, environmental groups such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the auto industry alike concede that acid rain, a serious problem in urban and industrial areas within the United States, also causes damage to automotive coatings. When the moisture evaporates, the acid remains - often forming a blemish that looks like a splattered raindrop. Acid rain eats through a car's finish, permanently etching it. Annual precipitation in Wisconsin averages about 30 inches, so it's important to wash a car soon after a rainfall. Once damage is done, the only solution is to repaint. Effects are most noticeable on vehicles with dark or metallic finishes.

If you park your car outside, drive long distances, or live in a heavily wooded area, you should also wash your car more frequently to avoid other damaging elements such as dirt, tree sap and even bird droppings (which you may be surprised to learn is very acidic and if not removed, will permanently stain your car's finish).

Car Wash Wizard Prescription:

Wisconsin car owners wishing to preserve their auto investment should wash their car at least two to three times a month to protect against long-term damage from salt, acid rain and other harmful elements. If you see or feel salt building up on your car, wash it within a few days to avoid the beginnings of corrosion. A professional detail job at least once a year - preferably twice - will keep the carpets and upholstery looking like new. Research shows that resale or trade-in values for cars can be significantly increased (by more than $1,500) if the exterior and interior of an automobile were well cared for.

Car Care Tips: Separating Fact from Fiction Eliminates Misconceptions and Mistakes

Unfortunately there are many myths when it comes to car care products and activities. Below are twelve common practices that can cause all of your hard work trying to maintain your car's appearance a waste of time.
1. Dishwashing detergent is safe to use as car wash.

Absolutely not! Detergents are formulated to strip everything off of the surface, leaving it squeaky clean. A squeaky paint finish tells you that it has no protection. With repeated use, dishwashing detergents remove everything from your paint finish including waxes, silicones and polymers. Once this is accomplished, they then proceed to remove the life giving oils in your paint finish, actually accelerating the oxidation process. For best results, use a pH balanced car wash product with conditioners specifically formulated to enhance the appearance and protection of automotive paint finishes.

2. Washing and cleaning are the same.

While they sound similar, they are vastly different procedures. A car wash removes loose contaminants from your finish like dust, road grime, and fresh bird droppings. A clear coat-safe paint cleaner removes stubborn, bonded contaminants, stains, blemishes and oxidation. A clay bar is the perfect choice for removing bonded contaminants like overspray and tree sap mist that won't flush off with washing.

3. If a car looks shiny, the cleaning process can be skipped.

Not until you complete a thorough physical and visual evaluation of your paint finish. Rub the face of your hand over the paint after it has been completely washed and dried. The surface should be as smooth as glass. If it isn't, you will feel bonded contaminants that can be easily removed with a clay bar…allowing easier application and wipe off of polishes and waxes with dazzling results. To detect below-surface defects like blemishes and fine scratches, examine the finish from different angles and light sources.

4. Clay bars should only be used by professionals.

If you have ever played with Silly Putty, you can use clay. Mold a non-abrasive, synthetic clay bar into a pancake-looking wafer. Working on a washed and dried car, simply rub the clay bar back and forth over the surfaces using a mist and wipe detailer for lubrication. The bar will grab and gently remove all bonded contaminants, leaving the surface as smooth as glass.

5. Waxing can remove swirl marks.

Unfortunately, applying car wax over swirl marks does not remove them. The only way to remove a scratch from a paint finish is to reduce the thickness of the paint finish down to the bottom of the scratch. Micro-fine, hairline scratches can often be removed by hand using a non-abrasive paint cleaner. Moderate scratches may require an electric dual action polisher, and deeper swirl marks caused by the improper use of rotary buffers and rubbing compounds may well require professional color sanding and buffing.

6. There is no difference between polishing and waxing.

While some modern-day marketers have caused confusion by naively misusing the terms, the definitions are clear. As in polishing a diamond, the sole purpose of polishing is to create brilliant high gloss. For car show enthusiasts who are obsessed with having perfectly clear reflections, a pure polish is the perfect choice. Waxing a car falls under the larger heading of protecting the paint finish from the elements by coating it with waxes, polymers, resins and silicones.

7. Machine polishers damage the paint finish.

Even novices can quickly master the use of a dual action polisher or orbital buffer without any risk of burning the paint finish. These buffers oscillate back and forth while spinning and will yield a more even application of cleaners, polishes and waxes, provide deeper cleaning and safely remove swirls. Rotary buffers, which operate at much higher RPM's, are best left to trained professionals.

8. Diapers, t-shirts and flannel make good cleaning cloths.

To avoid scratching your paint finish, you need to avoid using these types of cloths for polishing. The problem is that when small particulates are trapped between a smooth cloth and the smoothness of the paint, they are forced into and skid across the finish, causing the very scratches that you are working so hard to avoid. Always use 100% cotton, terrycloth toweling or premium microfiber towelingto eliminate this problem and to reduce the time and effort required for wipe off.

9. Wax protection can be guaranteed to last up to 5 years.

There is no integrity in guaranteeing the protective qualities of any car wax product for a specific period of time on all cars. Every car and every car owner is different, along with the environments in which they live, whether or not the car is garaged or whether it is washed with dishwashing detergent.

10. Paste wax offers greater protection than liquid wax. Originally, paste waxes lasted longer, and liquid waxes were easier to use. While this is still a commonly held belief, there are now car waxes on the market that are available in both liquid and paste forms with equal ease of use and performance qualities.

11. Lighting a hood on fire, without damaging the paint finish, proves the protective qualities of a car wax.

While the theatrical ploy has sold millions of cans of car wax over the years, it is a misrepresentation of the fact that heat rises. Regardless of whether or not the paint finish is protected with a coat of some magic formulation, it is unaffected by flaming alcohol. When you place your hand directly on where the flame has been, the moment the flame goes out, you discover that the surface is barely warm. It is simply a demonstration of physics.

12. Once a car is waxed, regularly protecting the paint finish becomes unnecessary.

Unfortunately, the best protection for your car's finish is regular attention. Whenever your car is outside, regardless of whether it is parked or being driven, it is in a hostile environment. To begin with, everything that flies, from a gnat to a 747, expels contaminants that are determined to bond to and then etch into your car's finish. Then there is acid rain and industrial fallout, not to mention UV rays, which are the No. 1 cause of paint degradation. The more your car is exposed to the elements, and the harsher the environment is where you live, the more attention your paint finish will require. Generally speaking, the best long-term protection for your paint finish is to continually remove contaminants with a mist and wipe detailer before they have time to bond to your paint finish. By doing so, you will greatly extend the protective qualities of your car wax.