Car Detailing Tips: How to Wash Your Car Like a Pro

For most people, taking a drive on the highway is an exciting way to spend a weekend. However, when it comes to the ultimate driving experience, nothing compares to being behind the wheel of a luxury vehicle. Such cars are designed not just for functionality, but for beauty, performance, speed, and comfort.

For many car owners, their car is an extension of their bodies, and this remains true even for high-end car owners. However, what’s different, though, is the level of care and maintenance each car needs. As majestic as high-end cars are, they require a little bit more attention to ensure all the appealing qualities are preserved.

This is why cleaning and detailing the interior of your vehicle is essential, and you can do it yourself as everything you need is readily available. If you want to keep your vehicle looking like it has come straight from the dealer, read on for the best cleaning and detailing tips.

What Do You Need?

As with most car maintenance jobs, the quality of the outcome depends on the equipment and materials you use. A vacuum cleaner, a variety of cleaning products as well as rags, brushes, sponges, and towels are all you need.

For the vacuum cleaner, it is best to use one that comes with hand-held attachments and an extension hose. This will help you clean hard-to-reach spots and carpets. If you have a steam cleaning machine, bring it too, as it can be helpful.

You will need a wide variety of cleaning agents to ensure your car’s interior sparkles. Before you pick any, take a look at the different surfaces inside your car. This is because only specific types of cleaning products should be used on surfaces such as plastic, vinyl, carpets, or upholstery.

Before you begin the actual cleaning, you will need to remove dust on all the surfaces and vents as well as hard to reach areas. For this, you will require an assortment of brushes varying in size, length, and stiffness of bristles.

For an exquisite detailing job, the finish involves a lot of wiping and polishing. To achieve this, you will require different types of rags and towels. These range from rough towels for scrubbing hard surfaces and soft ones for surfaces that can be easily scratched. Microfiber cloths can also come in handy when you want to make smooth surfaces shine.

Before using any cleaning agent on your vehicle, make sure it is suitable for that surface. To be sure, begin by testing it on a small unnoticeable area.

Carpets and Floor Mats

It is always best to begin cleaning the interior of your vehicle with the dirtiest part, and ordinarily, this will be the carpets and floor mats. Start by removing all the trash in the car. This is anything that should not be in the car, such as wrappers, papers, and coins. Adjust the seats forward and backward to make sure you leave nothing.

Floor Mats

Take out all the floor mats from the car and remove the dirt by giving each a strong shake. Depending on the type of mat, you may also need a stiff brush to remove dirt that is firmly stuck between the grooves. Once all the grime is loose, use your vacuum cleaner to remove it.

To finish off the job, clean the mats with high-pressure water by using your garden hose. Make sure that any cleaning product you use on your mat will not make it slippery, as this could be dangerous while driving.

Carpets

The first step for cleaning the carpet is vacuuming. It is necessary to use different nozzles and brush attachments so that you can reach all the crevices. When you clean the carpet, make sure the product used is suitable and has a refreshing smell. Also, avoid using too much water as this can result in the growth of mold and mildew.

Seats

As with the carpets, begin by vacuuming the seats to remove dirt and dust. As there are different materials used to make seats, choose the appropriate cleaning product before you start cleaning.

Leather

Leather seats require regular cleaning as dirt can become lodged in the material, causing discoloration. When cleaning leather seats, you should spray the cleaning agent and clean it with a towel then dry it off with a microfiber cloth. Do not forget to apply a leather conditioner after an hour or two to keep your seats in mint condition.

Cloth

With cloth, a multi-purpose upholstery cleaner will suffice if you are doing general cleaner. However, if there is a stubborn stain or odor you need to deal with, you may require a special cleaning agent. Avoid wetting the seats as excess moisture will leave the seats with a musty odor.

Vinyl

Cleaning vinyl is easy and straightforward. With a suitable cleaning product, all you have to do is spray, wipe, dry, then wait an hour for the seats to be ready for use.

Windows and Mirrors

For glass surfaces, all you need is a glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth. Spray the cleaner on the cloth and get to action. With windows, be sure which method of tinting was used. If the tint was applied to the window, some cleaning agents could damage it.

Dashboard and Console

Since the front panel of your vehicle is the most visible while inside, it sets the tone for how well maintained the vehicle is. As such, you should leave it sparkling, something that’s easier said than done. Begin by vacuuming the dashboard, and then use the appropriate cleaning agents depending on the material.

The console, area with the buttons and controls, can be very challenging to clean. However, you can make a makeshift cleaning tool to make your work easier by wrapping a piece of cloth on a flat-head screwdriver.

How Often Should You Clean and Detail the Interior of Your car?

Car detailing is essential to ensure your vehicle remains in pristine condition. Usually, detailing should be done every six to eight months, depending on how much you drive. Though it is possible to do a decent detailing job on your own, it’s best to let a professional do it for you.

American Wrap Company offers a wide range of automotive maintenance services such as ceramic coating, paint protection, window film installation, and detailing. Reach out to us today to have your car detailed to perfection.

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Tyler O'Hara

Owner/Founder at American Wrap Company

Ever since I was a young boy in elementary school I have dreamt of working on cars. My mom still has a folder of sketches that were takin away from me because I was drawing cars during class. I have always had a deep passion for cars, trucks, motorcycles and any thing fast! When I’m not working I love to escape from the city with my dogs and go camping, fishing, surfing, dirt biking and anything else outdoors and away from the city! I was born and raised in Thousand Oaks California and have lived in Ventura County most of my life. I was raised by a middle class blue collar family and was taught to have strong values. I have a very high level of respect, honesty, integrity, kindness to all people and compassion.