Every car owner’s dream is to see their vehicle shine and glow for as long as possible. If you’re already a car owner, you probably remember that amazing feeling you had when you first bought your vehicle and drove it down the lane. No matter if your first trip together was towards your home, your workplace, or on a cross-country trip, these memories keep shining bright for years to come. For most of us, buying a new car brings a whole new level of satisfaction, so knowing how to wash it is surely a top priority for you!
When Cars Start To Lose Novelty
A car doesn’t stay new forever. With time, its paint fades, and the glorious shine it once had gets a bit of lackluster. To slow down this process, there are a few methods that have proven to be effective. Some are simple and require just a few resources, while others are complex and require a considerable amount of time and money invested in materials.
In the end, amongst all these methods, nothing beats washing your car frequently. Washing is the bread and butter of car care, and it’s at the very core of any other procedure you could employ to keep your car looking good for a long time
Wondering Why We Emphasize The Importance Of Washing Your Car?
Because a dirty car is not only uncouth, but will also be at risk from debris settling on the paint and wreaking havoc on the surface.
Regardless of what kind of car wash technique you choose, the benefits are similar not only when it comes to cleaning, but also for creating the perfect canvas for more advanced car care techniques, such as polishing, waxing or ceramic coating.
Having said this, there are two main ways to wash your car: professional and DIY washing.
Learning how to hand wash a car will save you the money you would otherwise spend on a professional service, and can even protect your car’s paint in the long run.
How?
Well, it’s well known by now that automatic car washes use harsh chemicals and brushes that create thousands of micro-scratches on the car’s surface.
When properly done, a good old fashioned hand wash can save your car’s paint years of life, and steer it clear from scratches, sun spots, water spots and so on.
This article is meant to shed a clearer light on the entire subject of washing a car by hand. We’ll take you through all the benefits of cleaning your car by yourself, and we’ll offer you our best advice and top tipson how to hand wash a car the right way.
Why Do You Need To Wash Your Car Thoroughly?
If you’re not particularly attached to your car, you might not pay so much attention to washing it. You might assess its condition from time to time, check for any major stains or spots, and decide to only wash it when it gets really dirty.
Why would you wash it often anyway? If it’s not dirty and it looks okay, nothing bad can happen, right?
This kind of perspective is very damaging for the well-being and longevity of your car, and in time, it will lower its value and final selling price.
Everything that touches the surface of your car, if left unaddressed, has the potential of damaging the paint coat and that’s why washing your car regularly is more than necessary, and highly recommended.
Before we proceed with showing you how to hand wash a car by yourself, let’s look at all the reasons behind the paint coat’s deterioration and how regular washing can help.
Dust, Dirt, And Debris
There are all sorts of contaminants that can attack your car’s paint and most of them will make their presence felt over time. Paint deterioration doesn’t happen overnight, so it’s important that you pay attention to all the factors that contribute to it, day after day.
The most common contaminant for any car out there, regardless if you’re driving it in the countryside or in cities with flawless infrastructure is, you guessed it, dust.
Dust and dirt are everywhere around us, lifting from the ground up when cars pass by. Learning how to hand wash a car offers you the freedom to not depend on professional car washes anymore, and gives you the right technique to prevent dust from settling on your car and taking away its shine.
Dirt, dust and debris are all made of tiny molecules that create a very rough composition. When left for too long, they will settle on your car in thicker and thicker layers, and stay there until you wash it.
If you decide to simply leave these common contaminants on the surface of your car for too long, their grainy composition will take its toll on the paint, creating micro-scratches.
Abrasive Cleaning Compounds
While it’s difficult to believe that not all car care products out there are good for, well, car care, you better believe that some of them are in fact harmful due to their abrasive compounds.
Since you don’t always know what kind of washing products your car will be cleaned with in professional car washes, it’s always best to buy your own, check the ingredients, and make sure you’re only choosing the best for your car.
In other words, it’s always worth knowing how to hand wash a car especially when you don’t truly control the professional process.
Other Types Of Contaminants
Don’t forget about tree sap and bugs that get stuck to the surface of your car, destroying its paint finish. Bird droppings are also quite common occurrences, and are acidic enough to eat away at the first level of paint within 24 hours.
These are all potentially sticky and dangerous substances that once hardened, are even more difficult to remove, and which can even go off with a layer of paint – a pretty steep price to pay.
To avoid most problems, once you know how to hand wash a car by yourself you can always stop by your home and give your car a good cleaning whenever it’s ridden with contaminants.
What Can You Do To Better Protect Your Car?
Oftentimes, it’s not enough to simply wash your car. You should also protect it from future contaminants. And these will come either way, whether you expect it or not. Thankfully, the automotive industry abounds in car care techniques and products that can help you protect your beloved vehicle.
Let’s see which are some of the most common car owners use:
Car Polishing
After removing loose dirt, polishing comes next. It will help you remove any remaining contaminants, and give your car that beautiful shine. You can either do it by yourself or request the service of a professional detailer.
Car Waxing
Waxing is the next step after polishing, and it acts as a protective layer that comes on top of the paint coat itself. The wax you choose to use can be either natural or synthetic. We personally recommend carnauba wax, which is natural and thus friendlier with your car’s paint coat.
Ultimately, it’s up to you if you want to get buffers and do your own waxing or if you want professionals to take care of it. Obviously, at a higher cost.
Ceramic Coating
If you really care about your car, ceramic coating is the way to go. By applying ceramic coating you will not only give your car a gorgeous showroom shine, but will also offer it a long-lasting protection that beats everything else among the car care solutions available right now. And since this is a pretty expensive option when done by professional car detailers, you can take care of the process yourself by using Nexgen Ceramic Spray. This ceramic coating spray is a cut above the rest thanks to its high silicon dioxide content, which is four times larger than what other similar products on the market have in their composition.
What Are The Benefits Of Hand Washing Your Car?
The truth is that today, car owners are spoiled with choices when it comes to car washing and detailing. They can either hand wash their car at home, and pamper it with a good wax or ceramic spray, or take it to the body shop, where professional car detailers can take care of all its needs.
However, when you take your vehicle to a professional, you should expect to pay a certain amount of money. But if you want to learn how to hand wash a car and are ready to dedicate at least an hour of your time looking after your four-wheeled beauty, you’ll find that the costs to do it yourself are absolutely minimal. Apart from this, when you hand wash your car, you can pay as much attention to the cleaning process as you feel like.
What Is The Best Way To Wash a Car By Hand?
Washing your car by hand is possibly one of the easiest things you can do for the benefit of your car. Thankfully it’s not rocket science and anyone can learn how to hand wash a car in just a few easy steps.
What we will describe below is a traditional technique that many of you might have seen your fathers or grandfathers doing, but perhaps never paid enough attention to all the tiny details that make the process.
What Can I Use To Wash My Car At Home?
First of all, before you start any work, you’ll need to gather all your necessary materials, What you’ll need are:
- Two buckets – The age-old two buckets technique has been used for quite some time now. It’s simple and effective, and can be used even by those that are just learning how to hand wash a car.
One bucket should be filled with soapy water while the other with clean water that you can use to rinse your wash mitt or towel with. However, the second bucket should have
- A hose – A water hose is a must and it should have a nozzle for optimum efficiency.
- A wheel cleaner – The situation is a bit different for wheels than it is for the car paint itself, as the wheels and tires represent the area that attracts and deposits the most dirt and debris of the entire car.
- Foam gun or hand frother – These will help you loosen up any settled debris on your car, and clear the path for the actual wash process itself.
- A microfiber wash mitt – A microfiber wash mitt is also very important if you want to clean your car the right way, without leaving any micro-scratches behind. Although many people go for a mitt or sponge, microfiber is best as it is really soft, and that’s exactly what your car needs.
- Spray detailers – Spray detailers can be used by those of you who don’t have access to, or can’t use a hose. These types of sprays work by themselves and only require a couple of microfiber towels for the initial application and for the final wiping off.
- Pressure washer – Although not absolutely necessary, a pressure washer would be ideal for the last step of the washing process.
As you can see, these materials are next to nothing, both in terms of accessibility, and costs. So make sure you have them all within reach and ready to be used and get started.
What Is The Fastest Way To Wash a Car At Home?
If you are still following the process of how to hand wash a car, know that the steps described below have worked for decades, and are everything you need to know to clean your vehicle properly.
Start With The Wheels
When you wash your car it’s always wise to start with the wheels first. A wheel cleaner will do the job just fine, but we also recommend that you use a wheel brush. It would be ideal if the wheel brush had a removable microfiber sleeve that you can ultimately wash and reuse whenever you need.
When washing the wheels, make sure you clean the dirt, the brake dust, and the debris after each wheel. For this, use the dirty water bucket first, and then use the soapy water to wet the wheel brush. Thoroughly rinse each wheel after finishing. After you’re done, throw away the water from both buckets and refill them for washing the body of the car.
Pre-Foam Your Car
This step is crucial if you want to get truly great results. Since any and all dirt will leave scratches and marks when it’s moved around on the surface of your car, it’s important that you pre-foam the entire car to remove any loose or hardened dirt.
If you want to get this right, you’ll need to foam the exterior of the car either by using a hand frother or a foam gun – a nice little secret tip if you want to learn how to hand wash your car the right way.
This will allow for any dirt to loosen and slide right off. In case you have no access to running water the hoseless wash solution together with the hand frothers should work just fine – when you’re done, simply wipe off everything with a clean microfiber towel.
Wash
This is the step that does it all – the washing part. Once your car is all wet and the large debris has been removed completely from the surface of your car, it’s time to wash your vehicle. However, a bonus tip for those of you wanting to ace the ins and outs of how to hand wash a car is to avoid direct sunlight at all costs. This is because the sun will quickly dry up the water and soap and leave sun spots behind.
Use a microfiber wash mitt and water from the soap water bucket to wash your car. Go in a side-to-side direction, rather than acting in circular motions. Start from the roof of the car, then proceed with the windshield, the windows, the hood, and then continue your way down.
For maximum efficiency, you should proceed from one panel to another and consider moving quickly before the water with soap dries. Dip the microfiber wash mitt in the rinsing water bucket whenever you feel it’s gotten too dirty and then proceed by dunking the mitt into the soapy water bucket again. Once you’ve done this, proceed to washing the next panels.
Rinse The Car
Once the entire car has been washed, including the wheels, you can use the hose or pressure washer on the entire surface. Start your way from top to bottom, and make sure you rinse well everywhere.
Dry Your Car
More experienced car owners probably know by now that drying a vehicle is just as important as the washing part itself. Leaving it up to chance definitely yields up-to-chance results, and should be avoided. A leaf blower is ideal as it will dry every single droplet of water right off. In case you don’t have one, you can simply use microfiber towels, especially for the visible parts of your car, the ones that are easy to reach.
How about the hidden ones, from which water can drip down and etch the paint? Well, for the hidden nooks and crannies it’s best if you used a hand-held blower, the kind you would use for drying a pet. That will dry out even the tiniest parts of your car.
Add a Protective Finish
Once you’re done with washing, it would be a shame if you left your car unprotected. It’s already squeaky clean, so why not add a layer of protection against future contaminants? After all, it pays off to perfect your car detailing skills when learning how to hand wash a car.
An ammonia-free glass cleaner will protect the windshield and glasses. When it comes to looking after the paint, any of the solutions we’ve recommended above are great, whether it’s waxing or ceramic coating.
Conclusion
Keeping your car clean is not only necessary, but also a lot easier than most car owners would think. And while taking it to the automatic or professional car wash would certainly have its benefits too, it most often results in money that’s spent unnecessarily and abrasive compounds ruining the finish of your car.
Learning how to hand wash a car will turn things around from now on for you, as a car owner. All you need to do is gather all the tools in one handy place, and start washing your car by following the steps described above in this article. By the end, you’ll have yourself a car that’s ready to take on the roads again, turning heads and making you proud.
If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’ll be here, ready to give you a helping hand if you want to learn more about how to hand wash and detail your car!
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