Car care part 1: What belongs to the external vehicle cleaning?

The car is exposed to dust, dirt, dirt and more every day, even if it does not drive much, but parks in a parking lot or on the road. Birds pollute the vehicle, other drivers cause scratches or weather influences leave their traces. Only in the garage is the vehicle largely protected from external influences. To ensure that the vehicle remains intact for longer and does not lose its value, it is worth spending some time on car care on a regular basis. In the following we will go into more detail about which points belong to external vehicle cleaning and what has to be taken into account.

Which areas should be taken into account for outdoor car care?

The vehicle cleaning is not limited exclusively to the paint care. The external car care also includes the following areas with:

Window cleaning & wiper blades
Tyres / Rims
Headlights
Plastic / Chrome elements
Rubber seals

Completely dirty SUV parked on the side of the road

The car wash always makes the beginning. This should always be done promptly if the car is dirty, as dirt and dirt can attack the paintwork. With a car wash you get rid of coarse dirt and impurities. There are three ways to clean your car:

Vehicle to be seen from the front in the carwash with the brushes on top and on the sides

Drive into the car wash
Drive into the SB-washbox
Hand wash

Many people wash their cars in the car washes. It's comfortable, the car is dry again immediately and it's not a big effort of its own. In addition, the costs are kept within reasonable limits. However one should pay attention here to the equipment the car wash has. Most of the brushes are quite coarse in their condition and therefore scratch the car paint again and again. Even matt paints become shinier with every car wash in the car wash. However, there are also car washes that work with cleaning carpets or microfibre brushes. These are much gentler on the paintwork. However, a car wash consumes around 600 litres of water, which is many times higher than washing the vehicle manually. Modern plants, however, have treatment plants with which the majority of the water can be reused. Offered sealings and waxes are usually less good than if you do it by hand.

As an alternative to the car wash there are the self-service washing boxes. Here high-pressure cleaners and Autoshampoo for car care are available to clean the vehicle from dirt. These boxes also have collecting containers for the dirty water, so that no oil residues or the like can get into the groundwater. However, even here the brushes often cause scratches to the paintwork. Some motorists therefore rely on pure hand washing. On the one hand this is much more time-consuming and on the other hand not all areas of the car can be easily reached by hand. The advantages of a high pressure cleaner are clear. Nevertheless, the best result can be achieved with hand washing. When washing by hand, it is very important to ensure that it only takes place on a floor with collecting containers so that the environment does not suffer. Those who do not wash their cars on specially designed surfaces and are not caught can expect heavy fines. It is important to wipe the car dry after washing it by hand or cleaning it in the self-service washing box before applying the seal. Optionally, you can also have your car washed by an appropriate car cleaning company.

A special feature is the car wash in winter. Many avoid gladly a car care at the season, since they fear that water remainders freeze and so possibly doors do not open no more. For this reason it is important to pay attention to the fact that the vehicle is thoroughly dried after the autowash. The easiest way to do this is in the car wash or in the warm garage. You should not do without a vehicle cleaning in winter, because the road salt attacks the paint more strongly. In addition, it is advisable to refresh the seal of the paint directly before the winter, so that the road salt has less chances to damage the paint. The time at which the car is washed is also relevant. It is best to do this on a day with plus temperatures and preferably in the morning or in the morning. Then the rest of the water can dry out well during the day, even in places where you can't reach it with a cloth. Also remove the road salt residues from the subsoil again and again and seal accordingly.

Good windscreen cleaning and blind headlights in the context of a car care let shine again

Once the car has been cleaned of coarse dirt and is dry again, it is time for the finishing touches. On the one hand, the windows are stuck. If insect remains can still be found here, there are corresponding insect dissolvers which, among other things, remove them from the windscreen. All windows should then be cleaned with an appropriate glass cleaner so that they are streak-free everywhere. Striae and streaks restrict visibility and can cause the driver to see nothing for a short time when exposed to backlighting. Clean windows reduce the risk of accidents.

With rear windows, make sure that the heating elements are not damaged and that the side mirrors are not forgotten. A little tip: open the side windows slightly when cleaning so that the cleaning reaches all the way to the top. Meanwhile there are also seals for the windows. The nano effect is applied and causes new dirt and dirt to roll off the panes. When cleaning windscreens, also clean the rubber lips on the windscreens at the same time and of course do not forget the windscreen wipers.

If the windows are clean without streaks, the headlamps are now being cleaned during car maintenance. Over time, these become duller and duller and therefore no longer provide enough light when it counts. The reason for this is that nowadays they are mainly made of plastic and their surface is roughened by dirt. This is where household remedies like toothpaste or a mixture of vinegar and baking powder can help. If necessary, clean dull headlights again and then treat them with the agents, then rinse and finish. The effort is worth it in any case.

Before starting with paint care, all other materials such as chrome and aluminium parts and faded plastic parts should be treated with the appropriate care products and refreshed. Rubber seals should also be taken into account when caring for them, otherwise they could become brittle. Rims and tyres can also be treated regularly as part of vehicle cleaning.

What belongs to a paint care during vehicle cleaning?

Sealing of the car with car polish, car wax or nano sealing

Finally, it goes to the paint care. Paint can scratch or fade in the sun as mentioned above. Road salt and the like can also attack the paint. It is therefore worthwhile to carry out surface and paint care at regular intervals. Especially before the start of the winter season, it is advisable to apply a sealant which can protect the paint even better.

Before sealing the paint, however, it should first be checked for scratches. These should be removed first. The easiest way to remove scratches is to use a touch-up pencil. This is available in the respective car colour and can even be used for deeper scratches. Even smaller rust spots must first be cleaned and treated with rust converters before the actual paint care can continue.

If the car is now cleaned, dry and repaired in all appropriate places, the sealing can take place. You can use car wax or car polish if the paint has already faded. Car polishing can restore the car to its original shine. An even more effective method is nano sealing for car care. This allows dirt and water to simply roll off and lasts for several months. Whether car wax, car polish and nano sealing are necessary or possible depends on the type of paint. For example, matt paint does not require polishing. Modern lacquers already have their own sealing ex works, here must only be reworked, if it should shine like in the brochure. Older vehicles should be regularly treated with paint.

What care products are available for exterior vehicle cleaning?

The car consists, as mentioned, of many different components and materials. From paint to plastic and metal parts to rubber, everything can be found. Each material has different care requirements and therefore needs its own care products. So there are the following types of care products for external car care:

To the car care and cleaning product range

Buckets with various care products, cloths and gloves for car care

When it comes to car care, it is worth relying on products from brand-name manufacturers, as this achieves the best results that will last even the longest time. We will be happy to help you select the right products for vehicle cleaning . In addition, it makes sense to consider a few more tips:

Do not park under trees
Avoid direct sunlight, for example by covering the car with a full garage
Dodge dust tracks

So the car will be able to keep its look and value longer. We wish you a lot of fun with it and always a good and free ride.