It’s spring in Salt Lake City but my car still looks like winter. What do I do?
This is a question we are asked a lot and for Utah it is even harder to get your car back into shape for the summer. As you know we still use that great ice melter, salt, instead of sand to clear the roads.
That salt gets into every nook and cranny. So let’s give your car the shine it deserves.
The first step is a complete wash. We don’t mean just the outside, but the underside. That salt must come off or rust and corrosion will take over. If you don’t have the ability to get under your car, hit one of the self serve car washes and grab that wand. Set it to jet and get up under the wheel wells. Yes, you will get wet. If you don’t have a self serve car wash then go through the drive up car washes. Make sure they have an undercarriage wash, which is very important.
Now take on the top of the car. Let’s get that car washed completely. Do not use dish soap! Find a good car wash soap instead. Wash it and wash it good. Then dry it with a chamois or soft terry towels.
Now step back and look at your car. Is it a little dull? Maybe it is looking like the walking dead? If it’s lightly dull, then you need to use a light polishing compound. You can do this by hand or machine. We have done both and gotten great results both ways. We prefer to do it by hand. Again, use a terry cloth towel or applicator pad. Get a fine polishing compound. There are many out there, including Meguiars, Mother’s, 3M and Presta to name a few. But make sure it doesn’t have silicone in it.
However, do not do this in the sun or while the paint is hot from the sun. Instead, do this in the shade or in your garage.
Apply the paste to the applicator pad or the terry cloth. Work with gentle pressure and make long swirling passes over the whole car. Once you come around to the side you started on, grab a new terry cloth or applicator pad and do the same thing again without the paste. Take it all off. What you’ve just done is taken off the dull oxidized paint and grim and grit. The car should look bright and alive. If you notice any areas that still look a little dull, go back over those areas once again.
Now let’s protect that paint. Again Meguiars, Mother’s, Presta, and 3M make great products and you will want to use a fantastic wax. A good carnauba wax is preferred. But there are others that use different ingredients which are good, but again, please stay away from anything containing silicon.
As you did with the light polish, put the wax on with a new terry cloth or applicator pad using circle motions again over the whole car. Once you get to where you started, swap out for a new terry cloth or applicator pad and take it off. Step back and look at that shine. WOW!
Now you say, “Hey what about me, the guy with the car from the walking dead?”
If your paint looks old, dead, lackluster and has no shine at all, then this is for you. Grab a heavy duty rubbing compound because, yes, we can save that paint. This can be done by hand but it it will be difficult and your arm will look like Popeye’s arm when done. You might want to use a machine. For heavy duty rubbing we prefer to use a machine, but we know many of you don’t have a machine or access to one. Let’s go with the hand method.
Do not place the paste directly one the car. Instead, put it on a terry cloth or applicator pad. Use circular motions to apply the paste to the car. Do not do up or down or back and forth. Circles, circles, circles. Recall that great saying “Wax on. Wax off”. Follow the same method as above. Work all the way around the car until you arrive where you began. Exchange out your terry cloth or applicator pad for a clean one and take that dry crusty paste off. Don’t be shocked if your cloth or pad has changed to the color of your car. You are removing that dead layer of oxidized paint.
With that done, relax a moment. Your arm is throbbing right?
OK, moment over. Get your polishing compound and start at one end of the car and work all the way around like before. Once that’s done, swap out for a fresh cloth or pad and remove the compound.
You should now have a nice gloss and shine. Thank the gods, it’s not dead. Now it’s wax time. Same rules as above. One end to the other. Then remove.
Once this is all done that car should look just as good as it did the day you bought it. If not, then we would suggest it might be time for a paint job.
Good luck and see you at the park, sunning.
