How to Wash a Car Properly: 5 Mistakes That Damage Paint
Most scratches on paint don't come from the road, they come from washing. Here are five mistakes that force you to polish the car afterwards.
On a dark car it’s easy to see: in the sun the paint is covered in fine circles, as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper. It’s not the road or the age of the car, it’s the wrong way of washing. If you know how to wash a car properly, you can avoid these circles. Here are five mistakes that cause them.
Mistake 1. One sponge and one bucket
The sponge goes into the bucket, over the body, back into the bucket. Sand from the car stays in the water and then gets back onto the paint. Every stroke of the sponge leaves a scratch.
The right way: two buckets. One with shampoo, the other with clean water to rinse the mitt before each pass. Instead of a sponge, use a microfiber mitt: the sand sinks deep into the pile instead of rubbing against the paint.
Mistake 2. Rubbing dry dirt
Starting to wash the car with a sponge without rinsing off the dust and sand first. Or wiping a dusty body with a cloth “to freshen it up.” Any hard particle under the cloth acts as an abrasive.
The right way: first rinse off the main dirt with water or touchless foam. Only then touch the body.
Mistake 3. Dish soap and household cleaners
It seems logical: dish soap cleans grease well. But it also strips wax and protective coatings, and dries out rubber and plastic.
Touchless washes have the opposite problem: strong alkaline chemicals. Once a month is no disaster, but every week it quickly eats away ceramic coating.
The right way: car shampoo with a neutral pH.
Mistake 4. Washing in the sun
In summer in Tbilisi the body heats up so much that water and shampoo dry within a minute. You’re left with spots, limescale streaks and shampoo residue, which then has to be polished out.
The right way: wash in the shade, in the morning or the evening. If that’s not possible, wash the car section by section and rinse immediately.
Mistake 5. Drying with an old towel or chamois
The same towel is used on the car for years, and in between it lies in the trunk collecting dust. Or the water is pushed off with a rubber squeegee. Both scratch the paint.
The right way: clean, soft microfiber, used only for the body. Pat the surface rather than rubbing it. It’s better to blow water out of gaps and mirrors, otherwise it will run down later in streaks.
Bonus: brush car washes
This isn’t a mistake in home washing as such, but it needs to be mentioned. Automatic wash brushes wash hundreds of cars one after another and pick up sand from each. After polishing or ceramic coating, it’s best not to drive through them at all.
How to wash your car yourself
- Park in the shade or wait until evening.
- Start with the wheels: they have the heaviest dirt, and you don’t want to drag it across the body.
- Rinse off dust and sand with water or touchless foam.
- Wash from top to bottom with a microfiber mitt, using the two-bucket method. Sills and the lower parts of the doors go last.
- Rinse off the shampoo immediately, without letting it dry.
- Pat the body dry with clean microfiber, and blow water out of gaps and mirrors.
After polishing and ceramic coating, the rules are the same, but there are a couple of nuances. They’re covered in the article on car care after detailing.
What to do if the scratches are already there
Small circles and the “spider web” from washes are removed by restoration polishing. It removes a thin layer of paint along with the defects, and the body becomes mirror-like again. 99% of such scratches come out.
And if you’d rather not wash the car yourself, there’s the detailing wash: from 80 ₾ and without brushes. Prices for all services are in the calculator.
