Archive for September, 2011

The clay bar has become such an important tool for regular car care.
A clay bar is paint cleaner. Its one and only job is to remove bonded contamination on the surface of the paint (or glass). When properly applied, the clay bar itself never touches your paint. It glides over it on a layer of lubrication (detail spray).

• The benefit of using detailing clay versus a traditional car polish or cleaner wax (to clean your car) is that claying is faster and it does not physically wear on the paint finish. Other forms of paint cleaning use chemicals and abrasives that thin your paint or clear coat over time, contributing to premature wear.

• A Clay Bar won’t remove scratches and swirl marks because they are defects in the surface of the paint. To remove these defects you must use an abrasive polish.
• Due to the fact that a clay bar never touches your paint, it cannot remove paint imperfections, like swirl marks or scratches, and it won’t improve the shine. What it will do is remove the grunge so you can see a bright, clear finish.
• The most noticeable side benefit is how slick and smooth your paint feels after claying. You can polish your car for hours and it won’t feel as slick and smooth as it does after just a few minutes with a clay bar.
• The biggest true benefit this has is that it makes waxing easier and more effective. With a super slick finish, wax glides on and buffs off with ease.
• The contamination-free finish allows for a tighter wax job that lasts longer and looks better.

There are two important parts to caring for your leather interior: cleaning and conditioning. Since your leather interior is the most delicate surface of your car, it is necessary to clean and condition regularly in order to preserve it, protect it, and keep it smelling new.

How to clean leather?
Apply the leather cleaner of your choice one section at a time and work the solution into a nice lather. If your leather is heavily soiled, use an upholstery (interior detailing) brush.

How often?
If you have a dark colored leather interior, you can clean 2-3 times a year. Light colored leather will need cleaning more often, even as much as every other month, depending on how easily the dirt is revealed. Every other time you wash your car, use a clean damp towel to wipe down the surface completely.

How to condition leather?
Apply the leather conditioner of your choice on one section at a time using a soft a foam wax applicator. Work the conditioner in thoroughly. Allow the conditioner to sit (soak in) for a few minutes, then buff off the excess with a dry terry cloth towel.

Why is conditioning leather so important?
Leather requires replacement of natural oils or it will dry out and crack. Conditioning helps to restore these natural oils and keeps the leather soft and supple.

How often we should condition leather?
Once every 30-45 days depending on the climate condition in which you live. If you live in a climate that is humid, you won’t have to condition as often as someone who lives in a dryer climate.

Painting a car is better left to the professionals. The professional car painters have all the equipment needed to do a great job at car painting. You need sprayers, masks, and tape among other things to paint a car.

Perfect Whether. Make sure that when you paint the day will be windless and clear of precipitation. Rain can really ruin painting a car so the forecast has to be completely rain free.

Rusting off. Take all the rust off of the car by sanding with a power sander and using sand paper. Use rust converter in a spray or in a paint bush style. The anti rusting portion of painting a car is the hardest and most labors some. It can take several complete days with four people working on it to accomplish.
Covering. After the rust is gone you can start taping the car. You can take off the lights and finders at this point. Masking tape is great for taping the car or you can buy tape that is made specially for painting a car. We use masking tape and we put it on all the parts of the car that we don’t want to be painted. Door handles, and all other parts that you don’t want the paint to touch must be covered. Newspaper works great to cover big parts like windows, and tires, The idea is to completely cover all the parts of the car that should not be painted. You must also be careful that you don’t paint anything that is near the car when you are painting, like other cars.

Painting. You must have the proper kind of paint sprayer to paint a car and use the directions that come with the sprayer. You must use even hand when you paint a car to get the paint on the car evenly. You can apply a clear coat of shiny paint afterwards if you want a shiny car. Painting a car can be a lot of hard work and it can be expensive. It is not for the meek.

Keeping your car shining inside and out with the most effective tools and solutions make the interior perfect.

Vacuuming. Remove the floor mats. Vacuum the seats and the carpet, reach under the seats, around the pedals and the area between front seats and central console. Use a soft brush attachment to vacuum the dashboard, central console and doors.

Cleaning fabric seats and door upholstery. Spray the cleaner on the upholstery. Rub vigorously. Wipe it with a soft cloth. You can also use a regular laundry detergent: Mix a small amount of detergent in warm water and wipe it using a moist cloth.

Cleaning car leather. Spray some leather cleaner agent on the soft clean cotton towel. Wipe the seat gently, reaching into crevices and around the edges.
Cleaning the carpet. Clean the carpet the same way you cleaned the fabric seats and upholstery. The laundry detergent solution will work on the carpet as well.
Cleaning and polishing the dashboard and interior plastic. Clean the dashboard, central console and other plastic parts with a barely moist clean cloth. Use a very small amount of laundry detergent to remove the stains. Dry with a clean soft dry cloth. To make it shiny, use a polish for plastic.
Cleaning the windows. Clean all the windows from outside and inside using a window-cleaning spray and glass-cleaning towel.
Getting rid of musty smell from air conditioner. Try one of the odor treatments that you can buy from local auto parts store. It kills the bacteria and removes the mildew smell. Clean the debris and ask the mechanic to check the air conditioner drain tube.

Use right oil. Opt for motor oil with the words “energy conserving” on the API performance label. This oil contains friction-reducing additives.

Don’t skimp on maintenance. Your car’s performance depends on it. The car’s designed to run a certain way. If you neglect it, it won’t be as efficient.

Fill up with a lower-octane gasoline. Buy the lowest octane of gasoline for your car.

Don’t top off. Stop pumping at the first indication that your tank is full when the automatic nozzle clicks off.
Tighten up the gas cap. An escape in your car’s gas tank causes 147 million gallons of gas to evaporate each year, according to the Car Care Council. So tighten up the gas cap each time you fuel up.

Park in the shade. Park your car in the shade and buy a good windshield shade. If you let your car bake in the sun, a greater amount of evaporative emissions take place.

Pump up tires. Driving on underinflated tires may also reduce the life of your tires by 15 percent or more. Underinflated tires wear down more quickly and they also lower your car’s gas mileage.

Check tire pressure once a month. Buy a digital gauge and keep it in your glove box. Compare the pressure in your tires with the recommended pressure listed in your owner’s manual and on the placard in your car door.
Use garage. Parking the car in garage helps your car stay warm in winter and cool in summer. You won’t have to depend as much on your gas-guzzling air-conditioning or defroster when you drive.

Keep engine in tune. Be sure to give your car regular tune-ups. A misfiring spark plug can reduce a car’s fuel efficiency by as much as 30 percent.

Replace air filters. Keep a close eye on your engine’s air filter. When the engine air filter clogs with dirt, dust and bugs, it causes your engine to work harder and your car becomes less fuel-efficient.