If you like to spoil your car, and you have your car paint in excellent condition, here are a few tips on how you can sustain a high-gloss shine that can dazzle anyone looking at the car.
Use proper car shampoo to wash the car thoroughly
Choose hand washing is essential. You could also choose professional car wash that uses proper towels and manual work. Automatic car washes – whether with brushes or not – makes your car susceptible to other people’s dirt and grime under the wax layer.
Go for the best quality wax
Waxing in automatic car washers is just as good as rinsing with water. Water might bead on your windshield for a day or so, but there is no real protection for the paint. You need a good wax in liquid or paste form, which contains as much carnauba wax as possible. Paste gives you greater shine, while liquid wax lasts longer.
Only the right tools for the job
Use soft, clean 100 percent cotton clothes and sponges for applying and removing car wax. Natural sponges are not as good because thet contain dust, grit and grime that will dull your finished product. Unless you have the experience to use mechanical buffers, stick with doing things the old fashioned way.
Create the shine you wish for
Wax protects your car’s appearance, but it does not create the look. After your car is clean and completely dry, use a polish to get the shine you desire. Use a medium-grit polish for any scratches you can feel. For deeper scratches, you may need to use rubbing material. Otherwise, use a fine grit polish.
Don’t forget your trim
Before applying wax to your car’s body, take a few moments to wipe down any unpainted bits of trim with a quality protestant. Do this before you wax to remove any wax that gets on chrome trim. Spray the material directly to your sponge, wipe on and use a clean, white cloth to wipe it off again.
Don’t use too much wax. The reason is that it’s much harder to get a thick layer of wax off your car. The role of wax is to seal out any water or dirt only.
Section by section
It’s much harder to remove wax that has started to dry. Working in small sections allows you to rub your thin layer of wax off before that starts to happen.
Don’t work under the sun
Applying and removing wax is a time-sensitive activity. Some brands are meant to be left on for a few minutes before cleaning away, but most waxes need to be removed as soon as they’re applied.
Use straight lines
Many people use a swirling motion, but that can be leave streaks that may appear in your finished product. Using straight lines will make any marks harder to detect.
Repeat once every two months
When using a liquid wax, you should repeat the process every four to six weeks. However, you can alternate paste and liquid applications to keep from having to do things so often. Using a car-specific soap during washing can also help preserve your wax job.
