What Does Your Car’s Exterior Say About You?

Provided By: CarInsurance.com 
Last updated 8:44 AM Oct-27-2008

The exterior of your vehicle is really the first impression people get of both you and your vehicle. Imagine you just drove up for an important meeting or job interview. As you get out of your car you notice everyone is staring at you and your vehicle. Is it a good stare or a bad one? What does your car’s exterior say about you?

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You always want to make a good impression. You might be a snappy dresser and great at making introductions and small talk but what if a person sees your vehicle instead of you first, what impression are they going to get? You want to send a vibe to those that see you park your car that you are an organized, well put together person. The best way to do this is to present a vehicle that is well maintained and shines from the sunroof to the mud-flaps.

Maintaining the exterior does not have to take long, perhaps an hour or two during the weekend normally. You just have to know what to do and have the right materials to get it done. To keep you car in pristine shape you first need the proper car washing equipment.

To properly wash your car yourself you will need to have a hose, car wash, cleaning mitts, chamois, wheel cleaner spray and tire brush. Pull your car out of the garage and wet it down. Try to keep it out of the sun or it will “sun dry” while you are washing it which will leave spots. Now fill up a bucket with a bit of car wash concentrate (easily found at an auto parts store) and then a lot of water. Whatever you do, do not use dish washing detergent it could harm your clear coat or paint.

Preferably you will have lamb skin wash mitts to dip in the water and wash/scrub the car with. These are softer and less likely to damage the paint. Make sure to scrub off any bugs or bird droppings before they can hurt your paint. If you have parked under the tree you might have to get a special wash to get the sap off. You do not want anything on the car that could eat way the paint or make the paint fade.

As you finish with washing a portion of the car, spray it off with the hose to get the soap off. Continue re-wetting the car to keep the part you are washing wet as well as the rest of the car drying with water spots. Remember to wash the windshield, roof, mirrors and front lights. If the bottom portion of the car is dirty with grease do not use your mitt. The grease or oil will stick to it and you will spread it to the rest of the car. Instead get a soft rag and use the water and cleaner mixture to wipe off the grease.

Once the car is washed you can move onto the tires and rims. Depending on the type of rim you have on the car it can be easy or hard to clean. The more intricate the design the more difficult it usually is to wash. Use a tire brush if you must to clean all the crevices of the rim. You then can use a tire protector to spray on the tires and give them a glossy shine.

Now it is time to dry the vehicle. Use the chamois and wipe the car down. Wring out the chamois as needed. Now that the car is washed and dry take a critical eye to it. See if there are any scratches or areas that need to be touched up. If so you should be able to match paint at a dealership or auto supply store. The touch up paint can then be put on the flaw.

You have now finished with the washing of your car. Sure, sure you could instead take your car to a car wash but if you do that you need to make certain it is a hand wash and not a machine wash establishment. If your car is not washed by a human it is likely to get scratched up. Human are more precise with their cleaning and try to keep debris such as dirt out of the cleaning mitts so that the paint job does not get scratched up. Also if you take it to a car wash you do not get the satisfaction of having a job well done yourself.

If you want to make your car’s exterior look even better you can give it an occasional wax job. This will help protect the paint job even more from such potential harmful items as sun or UV damage and other pollutants. But for now you have a shiny washed car that you should be proud to drive and park in any parking lot, no matter if you are going to an important meeting or joining friends at the mall.

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