10 Car Washing Dos and Don'ts

Image via Complex Original

Do

Wear comfortable clothes that don't have metal zippers or snaps on them while you wash your ride. You don't want to scratch your paint when you're leaning up the side to reach the roof -- especially if your ride is a big truck.

Don't

Forget to take your jewelry off before you start washing. If you wear rings, watches, necklaces, a belt, or anything else that could potentially scratch the paint -- leave it inside. There's time enough for style when your ride is clean.

Do

Use diluted baby shampoo to get bird shit off your paint as soon as possible, even if you don't have time to wash your car right away. It's gentle enough for babies, and it breaks that nasty stuff up quickly so you can wipe it away. It's also specially effective if you have birds in your area that have been eating alarmingly bright berries.

Don't

Let the baby shampoo stay on the car too long -- especially in the sun. We're not sure this is a possibility, but we don't want you run the risk of having areas of faded paint on your ride.

Do

Read the directions on the car care products you use. Some might have special tips about how to achieve the best results with that company's products. Others might have a specific time that they want you to wait before rinsing -- or buffing, in the case of leather creams and car waxes.

Don't

Just use any old cleaner on your precious car's paint (or on the seats). Baby shampoo is safe enough for babies, but other cleaners might not be. This is one area where Lysol can't help, and dishwashing liquid is terrible for car paint. Use some actual car cleaning products for a good result.

Do

Start any wheel cleaner you're using working before you start washing the rest of the car. Why? So it has a chance to work. Apply it according to directions, mist (don't spray hard) lightly to get it going, then let it sit while you work on your car from the top down. Brake dust and wheel crud is usually tougher to get off than what's on your car's paint, so it takes a little more time.

Don't

Completely clean the wheels before you wash the rest of your car. If you do that, you'll be fighting gravity -- and gravity always wins. When you wash the rest of your car, all that dirt and grime you rinse off will end up right back on your clean rims.

Do

Use the right amount of water. Too little and your soap can't work like it should. Too much and you'll wash all the soap away before it can loosen and break up all the dirt on your car. Get a sprayer head on your hose that has multiple settings like mist, spray, and flat. Then you can fine-tune how the water gets to your car. It does actually make a difference.

Don't

Just spray water at your car at full blast and hope that knocks all the dirt off. It will help, but you still need soap.

Do

Let your towels do the hard work when you're drying your car. Towels are made to absorb liquid -- not rub and scrub. Just lay a clean, dry towel flat and pat it straight down onto the car, then pull it away. Repeat until the car is dry; you'll probably need several towels to do this properly. This video from Fifth Gear will show you what we mean. (Skip ahead to the 3:00 mark for the towel part, or watch the whole thing for some valuable car washing tips from a professional detailer.)

Don't

Rub your towels so hard on the paint. You'll get streaks. And then you'll cry in secret, so no one knows your shame -- except people who look closely at your car.

Do

Think about buying one of those electric car dryers if you have bad luck with (or little patience for) towel drying. It's basically like a big hair dryer for your car. One nice bonus is you can blow water out of all those little crevices in your car -- like the ones around your side mirrors, trunk, or hatch. You can't do that with a towel.

Don't

Just drive off after you've washed your car without drying it. You'll get spots. If you're willing to go to all the work of washing your car by hand, dry it off so it looks nice. That'd be like getting the sweetest pair of kicks ever, and then wearing them to go off-road BMXing in the mud.

Do

Open your car's doors, hood, and trunk/hatch when you're drying your car. Wipe (or blow dry) all around the edges of these parts. Water gets trapped in these areas, and will run out while you're driving and leave streaks on your paint as it dries. If your grille has slats, wipe each individual slat down as well. Basic rule of thumb: anywhere that water can go, water will go. It's your job to track it down and get rid of it so it doesn't ruin your hard work.

Don't

Forget to stick a towel in your door pocket. That way, if you've forgotten any water traps, you can quickly wipe up the water before it has a chance to leave streaks on your paint. When you roll down your windows for the first time after washing, you'll probably release some hidden water from inside the door that will run down the sides of your car.

Do

Take the time to detail your interior. Nothing looks worse than a car that's clean on the outside, but looks like a McHurricane hit it on the inside. Toss out those fast food wrappers, vacuum the carpets, use some leather or cloth cleaner on the seats.

Don't

Forget to dust the dashboard and instrument clusters. That dust may not be very obvious when your whole car is dirty, but it will stick out like a sore thumb if you clean everything else and forget about that.

Do

Take the floor mats out and vacuum underneath them. You wouldn't believe the crud that gets trapped under there, even if you don't think those mats ever move while you're driving. You may even need to get out a toothbrush and some carpet cleaner and scrub, especially if you're cleaning up after an NYC winter. Salt melts snow and ice, but it also leaves nasty stains on your carpet that you'll want to get out.

Don't

Neglect the trunk liner, if your car has one. Stuff gets trapped under there too -- usually debris from whatever you've been hauling in that trunk. You probably won't need to scrub here (unless you spilled something), but a quick vacuuming will help.