Tips on washing/cleaning/waxing & maintaning the Car

Dear all,

I bought carnob washing shampoo & F1 wax i want to know how to apply wax on my car and should i use tyre shinning stuff if yes then of which company.. I am using a sponge to wash my car and my jockey sando to wipe the car.. is it okay or u people have any suggestion please help.

This is how I do it...

I dust the car  daily and wipe it with moist cloth every 2nd/3rd day (after dusting). Preferably, one should have separate pieces of cloth for dusting & wiping (moist). I wash it with water once a week. Once in 3 weeks I wash the car with Amway Car Wash Sampoo.  It removes stains and stickiness from the body and enables easy dusting till next such wash.  Once in 4/5 months I get my car washed thoroughly (inside-out) at the service station.

I have been doing so since I bought my car (June 2006). All this has helped me maintain the colour and its shine very well.  A recent photo of it...

The car has not been cleaned/washed before taking the photo.  It is parked while on a trip.

@Pankaj

Gud yaar  n how to apply the wax n should i use any tyre cleaner i saw company guys use some solution on tyre & tyre rubbre started shinning lke new

I don't do anything except what I have mentioned. In fact, my car is parked on road since evening (after office hours) till next morning (before office hours), and is exposed to dust.

Tyres I clean with shampoo-water each time I wash/clean the car with Shampoo (once in 3 weeks).  It is also cleaned thoroughly during the services undertaken at service station (2-3 times a year), and so are the dash-board & all plastic parts waxed (service station).

I don't apply wax on the body/colour - except a couple of times I got it done initially.

@Pankaj

i can see ur using door gaurds in ur car i heard that u should not use that on ur car as when they pt off they leave a stain on ur paint is it true..

True.  But in that case new ones can be installed.  Until now, I haven't faced any such problem.

@Pankaj

I also want to buy a car vaccum cleaner i went to market n there was a vaccum cleaner which work on 12 V cusrrent of car battery should i go for that or not

Sorry, I've no idea about it.  Hope someone else is able to post some info.

Personally I feel these things are not required, as dust doesn't accumulate much inside - unless your run is more on highway - especially dusty roads.  Normal cleaning is enough followed by weekly washing & 2-3 thorough washings at service stations (in a year).

Wax: Only for painted exterior surfaces. Never use wax in interior plastics or rubber. Before applying wax, just wash the car with car shampoo (I use 3M) and wait for drying. Once dried, just apply wax in small patches with sponge uniformally across all the painted surfaces. Once waxed surface become haze white (5 to 10 minutes), hard wipe with a clean cloth. It will give you very good show room shine. I use 3M wax and Turtle wax once in 2 months. After applying the wax, don't wash the car for 2-3 days except dusting with soft brush. btw, I was not happy with Formula1 wax because, it lasts only for few days. so I switched over to 3M/Turtle. Cost Rs. 250/ and may be last for 1 year.

Tire Foam: I use STP Son of Gun Tire Foam once in 2 months. Just shake well the can and spray the foam on the outside wall of the tryes (not on the central treads) and jsut leave it. After 10-15 minutes, it will give a new look black tyres. Cost Rs. 400/- and last for 5 to 6 times.

Other than this, I use STP Son of Gun Vinyl cleaner/polish for dash board & plastics and 3M Seat Cleaner. Cost around Rs. 250/- each. All this requires some effort (labour) of around 2 hours once in 2 months. I am happy with results.

Let me clarify... the wax being applied on the interiors etc. of my car, as referred earlier, is some special wax/polish for the purpose.  I'm not aware of the brand name, as it is being done by the service station (2-3 times a year after washing).  The results are very good - gives new/good look to the dash-board & all plastic materials.

I will enquire about the brand & details thereof, and post here.