These Are Your Car Cleaning Tips And Tricks

With summer kicking into gear, it’s prime car cleaning season. Whether you want to get your ride ready for a roadtrip or you’re just wanting to keep it nice and shiny because that’s how you like your cars, we could all be cleaning our cars even better.

Last week we asked readers to share their car cleaning tips and tricks with the rest of us. These are their answers.

2 / 12

2019 Highlander + 1991 Range Rover. Once a year clay bar and decontaminant. Avalon King ceramic coating on everything including glass, lights, trim, etc. Ceramic boost every six months and light clay bar. Every two months high pressure wash including undersides. Two bucket hand wash every two weeks with PH balanced soap. Interior clean once a month.

Submitted by: sfrobert

3 / 12

I honestly have no idea how this works or how my dad found it out, but I live in an area that has very hard water and is pretty terrible about leaving water spots on the car after rinsing with the hose. Apparently if you fill up a watering can with water (even if the water comes straight from the hose into the can before use) and use that watering can to rinse the car, it cuts down on the water spots. It may not get rid of all of them, but it’s a very noticeable difference (like around 90% or more), especially on the windows.

Submitted by: SlickS30r

4 / 12

You can save a boatload of time and money by not washing your car at all. (some years I give it a quick wipe down during the first and last rain of the season, but during the summer, it collects all the dirt.)

I just clean the windshield every time I fill up my tank, put on fresh wipers at least twice a year, and keep a spare gallon jug of wiper fluid in the garage for top-offs.

I keep my interiors spotless, because that’s the part of the car I actually see when I drive, and I make sure my engine/suspension/tires are all in perfect shape... Im meticulous about mechanical stuff, but not the exterior visual of the car.... my cars are all old enough where the paint just doesnt matter anymore.

Submitted by: redneckrob and his flock of Volvos

5 / 12

303 Protectant. That’s the tip. I use it on every surface that isn’t painted inside and out.

I have spent way too much money on detailing supplies over the years, and have tried tons of products by tons of brands. I also am addicted to Obsessed Garage. And yet 303 protectant is the only product I absolutely swear by.

Submitted by: Reasonablepushrod

6 / 12

Hot take, just go to an automatic car wash. I’ve hand-washed each of my cars maybe 3-4 times, other than that it’s always an automatic wash, most of the time with brushes.

The risk of scratches is way overblown, and with all the time saved you can spend extra time on polishing by hand if you really care about every single swirl mark.

But here’s the thing, no matter how perfectly you clean your car, unless you pay thousands for a professional ceramic job, if you actually drive your car it will be clean just about long enough to take a “bathtime” picture.

Unless you’re going to a car show with a classic, it’s a waste of time to keep your car absolutely spotless and put all this work into making it look perfectly clean. It’ll get rained on, it’ll get some dirt thrown up from the road, you’ll run into bugs. Just drive the car and take it through the wash every week or two, and if you want to make it better do some touch up when you get home.

Submitted by: savethemanualsbmw335ix

7 / 12

Tip 1) NEVER use an automated carwash if you really care about the paint on your car (or actually getting the exterior 100% clean).

Tip 1+) Use a pressure washer. You can even find new electric ones in the $50 range. About 2000 max psi is about right. Make sure it comes with at least a 15-degree spray tip. What’s great about these miracle machines? They do a great job removing dust and dirt during the pre-wash, excel at cleaning wheels, wheel wells and underbody (at least where you can reach, for the really, er, anal types, you can buy attachments for doing the whole underbody), get all the soap off and, ready? use hardly any water! They are extremely efficient in that respect.

Caveat: do NOT use a pressure washer on the engine compartment.

Submitted by: NotLewisHamilton

8 / 12

If you have kids with fingers that are both sticky with myriad unidentified residue and magnetism to car windows, splurge on a good window cleaning solution. My recommendation is Stoner Invisible Glass. I rarely gush about products, but it’s claim of being streak-free and safe for window tint is no joke and will leave your windows looking like they are open. As a bonus, it’s not even all that expensive and can be found nearly anywhere.

Submitted by: paradsecar

9 / 12

Just get a fucking shop vac and don’t use the handhelds stick vacs for the interior...

I picked the small 6 gallon shop vac one up for cleaning out cars and also cleaning out my pellet smoker... It was on sale for $43 after tax... Works way better than any hand held.

Submitted by: killerhurtalot4

10 / 12

Never buy a black car. While they are absolutely beautiful when detailed properly, no other color is as hard to clean and easy to damage. Black is not a color, it is a commitment.

Submitted by: runflat

11 / 12

I keep it simple: soft round or rectangle microfiber mop with a long handle so you don’t have to bend over and also easily wash the roof and a good nylon brush for the rims and tires. Big bucket of warm dish soap and water. If the water gets too dirty, change it.

Cloth towel dry immediate after washing, with the windows first to prevent spotting. Vacuum interior then damp cloth towel wipe.

A little tire-black spritz and wipe. Done. Beer-thirty.

Once a year wax and compound if necessary. Even the cheapest orbital buffer works great. Get 3 foam pads. One for compound, one for wax and one for buffing. Easily cleaned in kitchen sink with soap and water.

But when the weather sucks, hello drive thru car wash, one tier above basic package. Undercarriage wash twice a year. I still hand dry some parts because the blowers aren’t perfect.

Keep it simple but do it regularly. I’ve kept 20 year old nothing-special cars looking good for 10 year just doing these basics.

Submitted by: ArtistAtLarge

12 / 12