- Of all the cleaning that can be done to your car,
washing is by far the most popular
because it's the part you see,
instant gratification, and a growing number
of people describe it as therapeutic or relaxing,
me being one of those believers.
So for step four in our series of 10
we'll be exploring the step-by-step process
for properly washing your wheels
and paint in sequential order.
Coming up today on Auto Blog Details.
(mellow rock music)
Before rinsing your paint or wheels,
first fill your three buckets:
the wash bucket with car soap,
the wheel bucket with wheel soap,
and the rinse bucket with only water.
If you were to rinse the car first
and then get your supplies and fill your buckets,
the water that's on the paint may
have time to dry and cause water spots
as you're getting prepared for the wash.
Be sure to add a grit guard in a washboard
to each bucket to keep the dirt from sloshing around
and traveling back up into the wash mitt
as you're dunking, which will increase the chances
of love marks or scratches during your next swipe.
As you prepare your wheel bucket,
it should contain four to five tools
that are never used on the paint:
first is a cheap wash mitt that can be thrown away
after dozens of wheel washes.
These mitts were originally paint-washing mitts,
but as they become excessively dirty
and too dangerous for the paint,
they get demoted down to wheel-cleaning duty.
One of the golden rules of washing your car is
never clean your wheels and your paint
with the same mitt at the same time.
Next is the wheel wooly.
They come in different shapes and bristles
but are primarily designed to clean
the backside of the rim, and they come
in smaller sizes for tight spots on the caliper.
A lug nut brush is perfect for cleaning
around the air valve, the lug nuts,
and where the rim meets the rubber.
Likewise, be sure to use specific wheel soap
in this bucket with these tools.
Now that your buckets are full and ready to go,
always start with the wheels first,
and specifically one wheel at a time.
Do your best to avoid over-spraying water on the paint
as you pre-rinse the wheel to prevent
potential water spotting as we mentioned earlier.
Now with the rim wet, add wheel cleaner
evenly across the face of the wheel
and immediately begin with the wheel woolie
from top to bottom on the inside of the rim.
Once the back of the wheel is clean,
then use your lug nut brush to agitate the brake dust
from the tight areas on the front of the rim.
The next step in this process is to use
the wheel wash mitt to clean the front of the wheel face.
Be sure to re-dunk your mitt in the wheel bucket
only as it becomes dirty.
Afterwards, brush the rubber if necessary
and then scrub the wheel wells
with a long-handled wheel woolie if you have access.
Finally, with everything clean and soapy,
rinse the wheel and the wheel well, then repeat the process
from start to finish on the next wheel.
Now with all four wheels clean, rinsed, but not dried,
it's now time to pre-rinse the paint from top to bottom.
Keep in mind it's best to do this
out of direct sunlight to avoid premature evaporation;
morning or later afternoon is usually ideal.
With much of the heavy dirt washed away
with our pre-rinse, use a soapy wash mitt
from top to bottom in straight lines.
Be sure to dunk your wash mitt into the rinse bucket
every few swipes or if you encounter
heavy dirt in a particular area of the car.
However, having two mitts in your wash bucket
can be extra helpful: one for the top half of the car
and another for the bottom half,
which tends to be extra filthy.
On really dirty cars or soft black paint
using a foam cannon attached to your hose
is another great method for pre-soaping your paint
prior to washing with a mitt to help minimize scratching.
During the wash it could be helpful
to have a soft long-haired brush
to agitate the emblems, to release trapped dirt
that is not removed from a simple wash.
Window frames, door locks, gas doors, and door jambs
are great places to use this brush during the wash,
but remember to be gentle to avoid scratching.
Finally, rinse the paint from top to bottom,
preferably out of direct sunlight.
In our next episode we'll be discussing
what to do with your rinsed or wet car
as there are many unique time-saving tips
that take advantage of lubricated paint.
To see episode four visit autoblog.com/details.
I'm Larry Kosilla from AMMOnyc.com,
we'll see you in the next video.
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