Guide to DIY Car Cleaning

Keeping your car clean pays: not only the car looks beautiful as ever, it also increases the external life of the car by years, the value of which you will realise, when you sell it.
Frequently washing and waxing your vehicle is the best way to maintain the exterior paint finish of the car for years to come — but only when you do the job of cleaning it yourself. Yes, you heard it right: Yourself. If you thought hiring someone to wash your car every morning would keep matters perfectly in order, well think again.
Instead of doing any good, that cleaner is actually deteriorating your car’s finish drastically, by first washing it with cheap detergent; dish washing liquid in most instances, and second using a dirty coarse cloth to wipe the water off afterwards. The soiled cloth not just wipes the water off, but also gifts your car enough swirls and scratches with enough dirt trapped in the rug, having been used on N number of cars since early morning.
And don’t even rely on those automatic washing centres: those heavy rubber flaps doing a swish job on your car’s armour also does much damage to the car paint creating visible swirl patterns, pretty permanent in nature, and taking of the sheen very fast.
The reality is that there are only two ways to effectively clean your car. Either have it washed manually under your supervision, ensuring only good quality products are used, or, (and this is the better one, giving you supreme satisfaction) do it yourself.
Ask any real car lover, and they would tell you how they spend a few hours every weekend with their car — cleaning and polishing it. And it is not at all that difficult as you think. You could even opt to carry the washing/cleaning process in steps, dividing the various procedures week-wise. Some could even be employed monthly or annually.

Three simple car wash rules:
1. Use only good quality products like Meguiar’s, Mothers, or even the cheaper but still good ones like Formula 1 and Turtle. They’re ideal for removing dirt above and below the surface, eliminating swirls and other imperfections and leaving a high-gloss shine. Using cheap unbranded products could severely damage the paint of your car (as most wash stations do).
2. Before starting any cleaning process, always ensure your car is parked in a cool, shady place. Sun rays are a killer for both the car and your skin. For best results, the car’s surface should be no more than warm to the touch.
3. Have a good stock of microfibre towels at hand for washing and drying the car, and for applying and removing car wax and related car-care products. A microfibre towel is gentler to a car’s finish than a cotton towel or chamois, which could mar the finish, creating slight scratches or ruts that accumulate over time.
To keep the car’s paint shining like new, follow the following four-step process:
Washing
The most critical of the four steps, it involves removing loose contaminants — the real culprit, gradually accumulating on the surface of the finish, creating a gritty residue that causes scratches.
Wash the car thoroughly, using the car-wash, working from the top down and utilising a lamb’s wool or microfibre washing mitt. Re-dip the mitt in the bucket after each panel of the car is washed. That cleans the mitt and ensures that you’re again working with fresh suds. Dry the car thoroughly with a soft, absorbent waffle-weave microfibre towel. Experts recommend weekly washing.
Cleaning
Next, inspect the paint, searching for above-the-surface bonded contaminants such as a thin film of tree sap, bird droppings or pollen and below-the-surface defects such as swirls, or oxidation caused by the sun’s ultraviolet radiation.
Use a clay bar designed for car care (such as Meguiar’s Smooth Surface Clay Kit or Mothers California Gold Clay Bar Kit) to shear off and remove the contaminants if any present. Rub it over the affected area, kneading and turning it to expose a clean area when necessary.
For below-the-surface defects, you can use a cleaner with mild abrasives (such as Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound or Mothers California Gold Pure Polish). Use a microfibre cloth or foam applicator pad to apply it, using small circular, overlapping strokes. Never apply hard pressure.
Cleaning a section of the vehicle at a time, remove the cleaner with a microfibre towel that you’ve folded into fourths. Use one side to break up and wipe away the hazy product, then flip the towel over to a clean side to remove any additional residue. Your paint should now feel smooth and should be free of swirls and defects.
If upon the initial inspection you do not find any defects — either above or below the surface – you can skip the cleaning step altogether and go straight to polishing and waxing.
Polishing
Polishes and glazes add lustre but do not protect the finish, so using them is entirely optional, especially since clear-coat finishes are highly resistant to oxidation. Even years-old cars generally retain their shine to the day.
Nevertheless, the polish can restore the natural oils your paint once had, making the car’s surface even more reflective and shiny. Using a polish or glaze once a year may be helpful. Apply the polish using small circular, overlapping strokes with a microfiber cloth or foam applicator pad on one section of the car at a time, removing the polish with a microfiber towel after the product becomes hazy. Don’t allow the polish to dry completely. Trying to remove dry polish will almost certainly result in scratches to the finish.
Waxing
For protection, you need to apply a car wax, and experts recommend it at least once every three months. There are varieties of wax that could be used much more frequently, some even every few days.
The newest synthetic polymer-based waxes (such as Meguiar’s Ultimate Wax, Mothers California Gold Synthetic Wax and Turtle Wax ICE Premium Care Liquid Wax) generally provide longer-lasting protection and are easier to use in the sun than older-style carnauba-based waxes. Normally, the newer liquid or paste waxes provide the longest-lasting protection — usually three or four months if the car is kept in a garage and not exposed to a harsh environment.
Spray waxes (such as Meguiar’s Ultimate Quik Wax, Mothers California Gold Spray Wax and Turtle Wax ICE Premium Care Spray Wax) are designed for quick application but generally don’t offer the same long-lasting protection as the liquids or pastes, and better be used as booster between the quarterly applications of the liquid or paste waxes.
Caution for Matte Finishes
Except for washing with a car wash product, nothing should be done to or applied to a car covered in a matte paint with flat finish. The matte finish also can be cleaned in a brushless automated car wash as long as the machine does not apply any shine agents.
And as with glossy finish, it is important to clean bird droppings, tree sap and other surface contaminants from a matte paint finish immediately.