Tips on washing/cleaning/waxing & maintaning the Car

Hi
I understand from your post like we can wash car only three days once and daily we can wipe it with wet cloth and then wipe it with dry cloth.

I have some more questions for you, What is difference between applying a wax and applying car shampoo?

As my car would be standing in open area most of time which suggested for me wax or car shampoo.

I use car only three days once, can we use the car cover provided by the maruti, is it good?

Naveen its always better to cover your car whether its shining bright or with some dust on...

Protects the paint from unwanted debris and sun...

Its always easier to claen a covered car with a dry cloth than the one without a cover...

I use the MGA cover ...its good and to some extent water proof ...I change it every 6-8 months...LOL

Even something heavy rubs your car,it manages to protect the body paint...

Waxing once in a month is a good idea...Frequent waxing causes dust and grime to stick to the paint and dry mopping the car for cleaning causes more scratches with the dust sticking to the cloth and paint surface...

Its better to use Formula cream after you clean your car...it removes lot of stains etc from the surface of the paint...I find it more useful since i have a Pearl white SX4

Hi Dr.Abyshines

What is Formula cream? Do we need to use three weeks once or weekly?. What is the procedure.

Aby

Frequent Waxing does not allow dust to stick on the surface.  In fact it is very easy to dust your car when it has good coat of wax on it. Because the surface is higly smooth with wax, dust & smoke particles slipp off as you drive.  the stubborn ones could be very easily dusted off with a Soft Duster (the one used at home for dusting electronic/home appliances).

But how frequent should be the car waxed? You can test it yourself by pouring water on top of the Bonnet/Top (roof).  water should form as uniform beads.  If water forms into small pools, then its time to wax. Waxing frequency depends on exposure of the car to the elements.  Try to park your car in shade, even if you have to walk a lil bit on a sunny day.

Naveen

Dust car daily with a soft duster. If you see any bird-dropping/tree sap on the surface of the car, immedialty wash it off and wipe dry.  Dont  scrape it off with dry or wet cloth.  Wash car in shade, once in a week with plain water. And with Amway car shampoo once in a fortnight. Wax after testing whether the car needs waxing (as mentioned above).

  Waxing should be done in shade after - removal of road tar spots with diesel - thorough washing with Amway car shampoo (do not use hair shampoo) and plain water  - Thorough drying with soft cloth- polishing, to remove minor scratches/road film/old wax coat (if polishing is done - wax after a day or two so that poilsh gets set thoroughly. remember to wash car before waxing).   You can use paste/liquid wax for ease of use. Read instruction given with/printed in the wax container and do accordingly.  After waxing, do not wash car for 3 to 4 days.  Polishing and then waxing gives you a highly glossy car showroom finish. 

 Remember that polishing removes a very very thin layer of the clear coat therefore frequent polishing in a long run is not advisable.  Use polish to remove minor scratches as and when they occur and wax the area suitably.  3M car polish is good.

Good luck!!

went through lot of discussions that has already been done on this thread.

Pankaj,once in 10 days i use a cloth dipped in diesel to wipe off the car surface[once i have washed with plain water]

And immediately followed by a thorugh shampoo wash and waxing/polish.

Is it advisable?

Because i find diesel more helpful in getting rid of tough satins,without much rubbing which i feel what pleases me,because i feel too scared[overprotective] to rub the car with a moist cloth which to me feels more or less like a Sand paper with lot of grime on it.

1.Is it the right practice?

2.Once in two months after cleaning the car i use 3m rubbing compound to polish the entire car[by my hands] to get rid of the yellowness[only appreciable by someone like me] which is followed by a wash and polish session.

3.Only weakest and dumb looking part are the tyres,which always look dirty no matter what we i use to clean them.[We have silicon compound-liquid in our factory ,used to give shining to the rubber[Automobile] products we manufacture from our factory,although it gives a shining but attracts tremendous amount of dust,so i avoid it.

Is there any cheaper yet satisfactory way to clean the tyres,although JK vectra rubber suc@s big time.

My personal views/experience...

Your car being white in colour, may require extra care / wash etc.  Diesel wash is otherwise/normally not required if a good shampoo is used (once in 3-4 weeks).

Cleaning the surface with moist cotton/smooth cloth should be done after dusting the car well with a dry cloth (separate).  Care should be taken that the moist cloth is squeezed clean (fresh water) & used without applying pressure/weight.  It will not damage the surface (my experience).  This I do once in 2-3 days. Dry-dusting I do daily.

Waxing/polishing one can go for once in 3/4 months.  A dry surface is better, and remains cleaner.

It's very difficult to maintain the tyres clean (true). I clean/brush it once a week with water/soap, dust (dry) it daily & clean the side walls with moist cloth once in 2-3 days (along with surface of the car).

In any case - cleaning habits/procedures may differ a little - but it is very important to clean/maintain the car daily/regularly - it will seldom look dirty.

Is it advisable to wash on weekly basis,i watched out for rust today while washing.

And yes i did manage to find few rust points,inside the Bonnet,near the hinges!

Can it be avoided in any case,i feel at the expense of rust here and there,Car apint is more important aspect considering the car is built to withstand water[rain,puddles etc]

Didnt like seeing rust coming up so soon[although one year is quite long]

can Anti rust removal solvent [used by body shop guys to get rid of rust on nuts and locks]

be a weapon of choice in such cases?

Will it harm the paint?

I will surely upload the pics soon for others to take care of those spots where rust can easily develop without notice unless you hunt them down.

Use of water should be minimised to once a week, and be used minimal possible.  Use moist cloth, as discussed before.  It will keep the car clean & help avoid rusting problem (my car hasn't had any until now).

Anti-rust removal will help but avoid its regular use.

Ok boss.

No wonder my dad hates me doing that.[regular water wash.]

Dear Pankaj,

Really informative thread. Keeping car clean and neat not so easy!