Car Cleaning Care Tips

It is a lot more complicated than putting some soap in a bucket and starting to scrub.   Washing you car takes time, energy, and patience.  Read through some of these car washing tips that way you get the best for your car. 

We who love our cars like to keep ‘em clean, but you wouldn’t wash your dishes with Murphy’s Oil soap or do your laundry with dishwashing liquid, would you?  Neither would I. Washing your car yourself carries its own set of unique instructions. Here are a few tips to keep your ride clean and its coat shiny.
 
Use a proper car cleaner to wash your car
Dishwashing liquids and detergents will indeed clean dirt off your car, but they also take wax, silicone and polymers off the finish, leaving your paint job vulnerable. If you’re loathe to purchase available commercial soap products just for your car – and if you’re ecology-minded, this makes even more sense – use castile soap, which works just as well and carries no ground-poisoning agents.
 
Just because your car looks shiny doesn’t mean it isn’t dirty.
Some people like to do a quickie job on their car’s finish, spraying with a bottle of water and wiping with a rag or paper towel as they walk around it. But at the very least, your car should be rinsed first as fine particles invisible to the naked eye will cling to your car after even a short ride, and scratch your finish if you merely spray and wipe.  (See below for products meant specifically for spraying and wiping post-wax.) 
 
Don’t use t-shirts, diapers or flannel to clean or dry with
100% cotton towels are your best bet to keep from accidentally scratching your paint.  For drying, I’ve used the same Vroom absorbent drying towel for nine years. Don’t use paper towels, either – not only are they harsh on a car’s finish, but by the time you get through three rolls, you could buy the abovementioned Vroom towels and never touch your car’s exterior with a paper towel again. 
 
Don’t relax post-wax
It’s a common myth that waxing your car eliminates the necessity of washing it, but contaminants and road debris still need to be removed. Rinse the car and use a “mist and wipe” product like Ultimate Quik Detailer to keep on top of dust, dirt, bird droppings, sap and other unwanted and unwelcome clingers-on. Also, be skeptical of waxes claiming any specified length of time the product will last.  How often you drive your car, where it’s parked during days and nights and what the weather and road conditions in your area are all affect how long a wax will stay fresh.
 
Wash your car in the early morning or late afternoon
Heat makes removing soap or wax a long and difficult job – it bakes right on. Wash your ride when it’s the coolest time of day, and preferably in shade.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/car-cleaning-care-tips-article-1.1086217#ixzz1wMOw7hGU

12 Car Wash Myths

Keeping your car clean is a very important step to getting the most value out of your automobile.  Many people are not washing their car the proper way.  This could cause your car's exterior to become damaged, which could also end up lowering it's value.  Here are some common myths about car washing and maintenance.

Take a short drive just about anywhere and glance at the car or truck next to you. Chances are you'll get a feel for what the owner of that vehicle sees as "clean" -- underscoring the obvious difference in standards that exist among owners.

In short, when it comes to auto hygiene, clean may be in the eye of the one with the bucket.
Barry Meguiar, who heads the business of the same name, is one who's out to set the record straight, in the process dispelling what his third generation family company says is the "dirty dozen" car care myths.

Myth 1: Dishwashing detergent is safe to use as a car wash.

First among them is the idea that plain, ordinary dishwashing detergent is just fine and dandy for car wash purposes.
Even in the face of other opinion that suggests "go ahead, not a problem" when it comes to squeezing a little into a bucket of hot water and tackling the SUV or four-door sedan, Meguiar nixes the idea altogether.

"Any dishwashing detergent is meant to remove everything from the surface," he says. "That will include stripping the polymers of the paint surface and the last thing you want the paint finish to be is squeaky clean."

Meguiar likens the effect of dishwashing detergent to what it does to someone's hands. "Too much detergent will dry the skin. On the surface of a car, the same thing occurs; dishwashing detergent actually accelerates the oxidation process when you use it on a regular basis."

Myth 2: Washing and cleaning are the same.

A car wash removes loose contaminants; cleaning removes stubborn stains, blemishes and bonded contaminants, explains Meguiar. Bonded contaminants? Think tree sap and, almost as bad, an aerosol spray of tire rubber that no one can escape.

"When you're driving behind someone, the rubber from the tires is landing somewhere -- and that's on your vehicle."

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

In this case, seeing is quite definitely not something you want to believe. "Your eyes can't tell you what's going on in the paint finish," says Meguiar, who suggests rubbing the face of your hand over the surface of the vehicle after a car wash.

"It should feel like glass if it's right. Most of the time it's going to feel more like sandpaper. You can feel the contaminants." Products like a clay bar can easily remove bonded contaminants, something that's essential before the application of a polish or wax.

Myth 4: Clay bars should only be used by professionals.

Remember how easy it was to use Silly Putty? Using a clay bar is just as easy, the bar (which comes in a kit) is able to grab and gently remove all bonded contaminants (like the tree sap and road rubber).

Myth 5: Waxing can remove swirl marks.

Barry Meguiar says swirl marks, which are nothing more than scratches in the surface of a vehicle, can only be removed by getting to the bottom of it -- literally.

Today's modern paint finish actually magnifies the scratches, making swirl marks one of the more troubling aspects of maintaining a vehicle's finish. "We get more calls about swirl marks than anything else," says Meguiar.

Getting rid of them will depend on how deep the scratch is, with micro-fine, hairline scratches taken care of with a non-abrasive paint cleaner; moderate ones may require something a little more serious; even deeper swirl marks (caused by improper use of rotary buffers and rubbing compounds) may need professional color sanding and buffing.

Myth 6: There is no difference between polishing and waxing.

Understanding what polishing and waxing are designed to do is key. Polishing creates a brilliant high gloss surface; waxing protects the vehicle's finish by coating it with waxes polymers, resins and silicones. Which means waxing won't make a dull surface shiny.

Myth 7: Machine polishers damage the paint finish.

Speed is the key; a dual action polisher or orbital buffer shouldn't be a problem for even the most inexperienced. Not so with rotary buffers, which operate at much higher RPMs and are best left to the pros.

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

A smooth surface is exactly what you don't want to see in a cloth, the reason being those fine particulates that you're trying to capture.

While the cloth diaper or t-shirt may be clean, it's actually scratching the surface; a terrycloth premium microfiber towel is what's recommended, the deep pile surface creating a buffer zone that will pick up the bad stuff, not grind it into the paint finish.

Myth 9: Wax protection can be guaranteed to last up to one year.

A claim may help sell a product, but Barry Meguiar says there are enough variables in place that make any such guarantees suspect.

A better strategy might be to consider those differences -- weather, use of road salt, whether your vehicle is parked outside or garaged -- and maintain accordingly. Meguiar's is taking that idea one step further with a personalized service that gives owners options based on their expectations.

Myth 10: Paste wax offers greater protection than liquid wax.

While Barry Meguiar admits this once was true, times have changed. "In the old days, there was a great reliance on carnauba wax, which was the hardest natural wax available.

Fifty years later we have synthetic waxes, polymers and resins that have far more resilience than carnauba and enhance the gloss. Interestingly, carnauba (which people still want to see in a product) actually grays the surface of a vehicle."

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

It may be a nice science trick, but that's about it. Even if the paint surface has little or no protection, setting fire to a pool of alcohol will produce nothing more than a barely warm surface when the flame goes out--which it will do in just a few seconds.

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

Remember that tree sap and tire rubber? It's never-ending, which means so is the need to remove it (and everything else the world might throw at the surface of your vehicle).
The best strategy: remove the contaminants with a mist and wipe product before they have time to bond to the vehicle's paint.


For more information go to:  CNN

Planning to resell? Keeping it clean is crucial

A clean, well maintained car isn't just nice to have...it's a must have if you ever plan to sell.

Your car has many enemies, some visible, some not so much. Emissions from industrial plants are released into the environment, where they are transformed into nitric or sulfuric acid. When deposited onto your car, in either a wet or a dry state, these contaminants can eat paint and, in extreme cases, metal.

Temperature accelerates the problem. Acid from bugs, bird droppings, tree sap and even leaves becomes more active when heated. Metal retains heat when sitting out in the sun, which in turn increases the chances that these irritants will cause permanent stains when left on your car.

And even though water is the best way to remove these contaminants, it can also trap them on metal surfaces if not removed itself, allowing oxidation to occur, which ultimately causes rust and corrosion. Sea or road salt exacerbates the problem by causing a chemical reaction that can accelerate pitting and rusting.

But all of these issues pale in comparison to time. The longer an offensive substance is left on your vehicle, the greater the probability and extent of damage.

So what, you say? A few war wounds on the surface on your car are endearing, right? Wrong! What it means to potential buyers — either through the resale market or a trade — in with a dealer — is that you didn't maintain the vehicle properly. This neglect can bring resale or trade-in values crashing to the ground, all because you failed to wash your car regularly.

The reality is that people often value material things based on the way they look. According to the folks at Kelley Blue Book, aesthetics is one of the top considerations when a person buys a car. And since more people are testing the pre-owned or used market these days, it is important to keep your car looking its best so it's worth more when you are ready to upgrade to a new car. A vehicle that has a pitted or stained finish or splotches of rust is a turnoff, and thus is worth less than a car that looks pristine, regardless of how you maintained the vehicle mechanically — sad, but true.

So, what do I do?

Mike Pennington, director of training for Meguiar's, a leading producer of car-care products, says you should wash your car once a week. "Your car is constantly bombarded with contaminants such as tree sap mist and bird droppings," Pennington says. "If the contaminants are not removed quickly, they can bond to the paint and even etch the paint." Read more.

Washing your car weekly can take a long time, especially if you're going for a resale level of cleanliness. Fortunately, we offer a variety of wash options at many different price points. Take a look!  http://mrmagiccarwash.com/servicesbyhand.php 

Get Your Car Ready for Summer

Summer is just about here, and with it road trip season. Make sure to get your car ready with these useful tips from About.com and stop by to get a car wash so your car looks at least as nice as it runs!

Radiator Flush: The coolant in your radiator doesn't last forever. Over time it can break down and start to corrode the inside of your radiator. This can lead to cooling problems and radiator repair. A radiator flush once a year is cheap insurance against radiator repairs.

Replace Your Air Filter: You should replace your air filter twice a year, so now's a good time to get that 5-minute job out of the way.

Tire Checks: Summer traveling could mean driving in the rain. The tread on your tires must be adequate for rainy weather or you could end up in a ditch, or worse. Checking the tread depth on your tires take one minute. While you're at it, you should check your tire pressure, too.

Replace Your Windshield Wipers: Winter weather can be brutal to your windshield wipers, making them almost useless if you get caught in a summer rain shower. Replace them at the beginning of the summer and you won't have to worry.

Inspect Your Brakes: It's a good idea to inspect your brakes twice a year just to be sure everything is up t snuff. Car safety should always be a top priority. Go ahead and check your brake fluid while you're at it.

Check Your Battery: Corrosion is very likely to build up during winter weather driving. Check your battery posts and cables to ensure you'll have no starting problems.

Check Your Headlights: Sometimes you don't notice that you have a bulb out. Now's a good time to take a look to see if you need to replace a headlight bulb. Not only is it unsafe to drive with one headlight, you can get a ticket!

Check out the full article and be sure to stop by for a wash and/or wax.

Pittsburgh Marathon

If you're going into or out of the city on Sunday, you may want to check your route carefully. The Pittsburgh Marathon will be taking over a lot of the streets throughout the city, so be sure to check out the helpful guide from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on which street closures are happening Sunday: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/getting-to-marathon-may-be-almost-as-tough-as-running-it-634334/


And good luck runners!