WASHING YOUR CAR BY HAND? 11 TIPS!

Taking your car through a car wash is nice, easy, and quick, but of course, this isn't the best method to get and keep your beloved car clean. For the best results, you should hand-wash your car, but what's the best way to do that?

Careful and efficient

Not everyone has the time and patience to meticulously clean their car. However, anyone can wash a car, and it doesn't have to take much time. When you hand-wash your car, you can reach every part of it, it provides a better result than a car wash, and it's also cheaper. But what is an effective way to wash your car that doesn't take all day? We've put together some helpful tips for you.

Don't let your car get too dirty

Make sure your car doesn't get too dirty and hand-wash it regularly. Keeping a clean car clean takes much less time than when you haven't washed your car for weeks. Nowadays, there are many self-service car wash bays in the Netherlands where you can bring your own supplies and only use the high-pressure cleaner.

Park your car in the shade

Before you start washing, it's important to let your car cool down. A warm car causes many products to work less effectively and/or dry too quickly. This leads to a less-than-optimal final result or even a poor result with spots and streaks. Therefore, make sure you park your car in the shade while washing to minimize the risk of dried water mixed with soap and/or dirt.

Rinse with plenty of water

Use a garden hose or pressure washer to thoroughly rinse your car with water. This will remove a large part of the dirt and the top layer of sand and dust. If you don't rinse the car with water first, you'll rub the sand over the paint with your wash mitt, which can cause scratches.

Use snow foam

To truly prevent swirls and wash scratches, you should clean the car with snow foam before washing. The cleaning foam is designed to loosen road grime from your car's bodywork before you begin the wash. Once most of the dirt has been removed, you can safely wash your car with a good shampoo. Snow foam often works in combination with a foam cannon / foam lance and is also a lot of fun to use!

Use an insect remover

The problem of insect residue on the front of the car is particularly prevalent in summer and can cause quite a bit of trouble. Besides the unsightly appearance of many dead insects on your car, it can also be very dangerous. On your car's windshield, this can quickly create a hazy film that significantly impairs visibility. In combination with bright sunlight, this can lead to dangerous situations.

Dead insects such as flies, mosquitoes, bees, and wasps have a high acid content. The combination with wind and sunlight causes the paint to conform around the residue as it cools, creating minuscule imperfections. Once the residue has baked in, it's almost impossible to remove with just a sponge and water. Even a regular car shampoo won't be enough to remove the residue and can also lead to annoying swirls. An insect remover ensures that the proteins in insects are effectively dissolved, loosening the residue from the paint. You can then easily and safely rinse it off with water.

Use a fallout remover

A what? Never heard of fallout? Almost every car suffers from it, and it's not always immediately visible. Fallout consists of iron particles worn away that are carried by the wind and then land elsewhere on your car. It will adhere to the paintwork, initiate a rusting process, and thus cause significant damage. If you don't remove these iron particles in time and before washing your car, they can rub against the paint during washing and cause small scratches. These will increase until the paint is visibly damaged and needs professional treatment. Use a fallout remover to safely loosen the iron particles. Afterward, you can easily and safely rinse it off with water. As fallout removers often turn distinctively red/purple during this process, you know it's working effectively.

Moreover, such a product is ideal for cleaning your rims. You'll also find a lot of fallout on your rims; the most stubborn grime on your car's rims comes from iron particles released from brake discs and pads. With a fallout remover, these particles easily come loose, and it also removes other dirt and contamination from the rims. Killing two birds with one stone!

The 2-bucket method

Make sure you have two buckets, each with a so-called grit guard; a grate at the bottom of the bucket where dirt will collect, thus preventing it from getting onto your wash mitt. You should always wash a car using the 2-bucket method, where one bucket serves as a rinse bucket and the other as a wash bucket. You use the wash bucket for car shampoo, the clean suds. You use the rinse bucket to rinse out the wash mitt.

First, wash the roof, hood, then the doors, front and rear bumpers, and finish with the lower parts of your car, such as the sills and wheel arches. By working from top to bottom, you tackle the dirtiest part of the car last. If you start from the bottom, you'll carry all the sand and other dirt upwards. Rinse the wash mitt regularly in the rinse bucket and get fresh suds from the wash bucket.

Note! Many people tend to pour the water from the bucket(s) over the car. Absolutely do not do this. Spray or rinse your car thoroughly from top to bottom with plenty of water.

Use a drying towel

After washing, your car is finally clean again, but if you're not careful, you'll find limescale residues from dried water everywhere. It's therefore important that you dry your car thoroughly. No, 'driving dry' is absolutely not a good idea. Often, your car will quickly get very dirty again this way. Using a chamois is also not recommended; you certainly won't reach all the spots. Use a drying towel; it absorbs a lot of water and you can easily glide it over the contours of your car. Wherever the drying towel glides, water is absorbed. You won't get a car dry more easily.

Use a wax

Now your car has been washed optimally, and of course, you want to enjoy the results for as long as possible. For this, you can use a hard wax, but this requires considerable attention and time. A simpler option is to apply a spray wax. Such a product can be used on paint, plastic, metal, chrome, rubber, and glass and provides an exceptionally deep and even shine. It makes the paint smooth and gives a brilliant result. Moreover, it applies a protective, dirt- and water-repellent layer. When it rains, you'll also see the water beautifully rolling off.

Don't forget the interior

It often happens that a car looks beautiful on the outside, but the inside is like a pigsty. Make sure to clean the interior and then freshen it up with a water-based refresher. It will make your car smell fresh, look fresh, and actually be fresh. The windows of your car also deserve attention; besides fingerprints, you often find grime and other dirt there. With a good glass cleaner and the right cloth, you'll ensure crystal clear windows with a streak-free result.

As a finishing touch, you can use a car perfume. Extra tip: don't use modules for the ventilation grille, these are often too strong and overpowering. Use a spray where you can determine the dosage yourself. Often, these types of car perfumes also last much longer. In short, good value for money!

Don't forget to enjoy it

Washing your car is an enjoyable task, certainly not an annoying one. When you're done, you'll enjoy the result even more and be proud of your car again. I bet you won't let your car get that dirty again? Moreover, you'll reach every part of your car, and this way, you'll immediately see if anything is damaged. See it as a check to see if your car is still in perfect order.

This way, you'll have hand-washed your car in no time, enjoy the result even more, and save a lot of money. In short; will you still go to the scratch-street now?

All discussed products are, of course, available on Rushofficial.nl.

Do you want to know when hand washing is better than a car wash? In our guide, we extensively compare both methods. You can find it here: washing your car yourself or the car wash.