Clean Your Car Like The Scratch Doctor

How To Valet Your Car Like A Pro.  

Because I always drive a pristine vehicle I often get asked where I get it done. The truth is I don’t get it done, I do it myself. I reckon my motor is far too precious to let someone else scrub it for me. It’s not that difficult and it feels fantastic when you get admiring looks as you park outside a restaurant. Here’s what you need to do.

Get the correct equipment together before you start. Once you’ve bought what you need you’ll be ready for a regular cleaning session. Always keep it all in the same place for the next time. I use the following:

·         Non-residue car shampoo – make sure you have plenty of it and go for a reputable brand

·         2 wash mitts (one for the wheels only and always keep them separate)

·         a soft brush for the wheels

·         2 buckets

·         3 Microfiber drying cloth

·         a good quality polymer two stage polish

·      a good quality plastics/surfaces protector (Armor All Protectant)

·      a strong vacuum cleaner and an extension lead and clothes brush

·         a shady spot to park and clean your dirty car – there is no point in trying to clean your car in the sun, the water will dry too quickly and leave smear marks.

Useful tip: if it rains heavily, I take my car out of the garage and let the rain pre-soak the paint work, it saves quite a bit of time in removing ingrained dirt, bird mess and the likes. It’s always much easier to clean the car after a wet spell.

Start with the Exterior of the Car.

If there is a lot of ingrained dirt and I’ve not been able to get the rain to do it for me I use a concentration of car wash or a specialised product to pre-treat stains. While the product soaks in I move on to the wheels.

Only work if wheels are cold, I use one mitt and if there is a lot of dirt I use a soft brush to dislodge it. With one bucket filled with soapy water I give it a good clean and before it’s got time to dry I spray the wheels with a power jet. If you don’t have one of those, don’t worry, a hose will do fine. Don’t forget to empty your bucket and rinse it out properly.

The stains on the bodywork are ready to wash off now but I don’t touch the paint as I don’t want to risk scratching the paint work. What I do is use the hose or put the power jet on “gentle spray” and I start at the top. The idea is to get the dirt to run down the bodywork but gently. I make sure I remove any dirt stuck under windscreen wipers, anywhere it accumulates. I let the water do the main job.

Useful tip: While the car is soaked I open all the doors, the trunk and hood and I clean out any dirt off the paint work. I don’t use the hose but I use a clean cloth and wipe gently all the dirt towards the outside. You have to remember to keep your cloth clean. It looks really impressive and you can tell when a car has not been done properly just by opening a door.

Ready for a good clean now!

I fill up my 2 buckets, one with car wash and the other with clean water. I use the clean mitt to give the paintwork a good soapy scrub. But don’t scratch! You start at the top and you work your way down in small sections. I go over the whole car twice using exactly the same technique.

Useful tip: Keep rinsing the mitt in the bucket of clean water so the soapy solution stays clean.

Now the car is ready to be rinsed. I use a gentle stream of water, start at the top and let the water run down until all the soap is off. I finish with the wheels.

My last step is to dry the body work quickly before I get water stains. This is when I use my Microfiber cloths. I go over the entire car to absorb the water. Then I dry the areas inside the doors, the trunk and hood. I keep one clean cloth just to do the windows and the outside mirrors.

The Interior of the Car

I start by emptying the cabin completely, even the floor mats. I use a vacuum cleaner to go over everything, don’t forget the floor mats. Go over the seats with the vaccum and the clothes brush. The clothes brush will pull large amounts of ingrained particle dirt from velour or cloth weave and clear the stitching areas on leather seats.

I go over every surface inside the car. I keep shaking and rinsing my cloth until it’s completely clean. I use the cloth I used to dry the windows and I clean the inside windows and the rear view mirror. Before I put the mats back in I have a good tidy and get rid of any useless rubbish. Once the inside surfaces are clean, apply a good quality plastics/surface polish protector such as Armor All Protectant.

Trick of mine: While I clean the inside I leave the floor mats in the sun (or inside if there’s no sun). I spray them with a mild solution of house fragrance – my favourite is lavender plus anything you like. Leave that to soak in and dry before you replace the mats.

The Finishing Touches

This is what is going to get you noticed. I wax the bodywork with a good quality polymer two-part polish product #1 prep solution, #2 deep polish. Start from the top of the car and work your way down. After applying the prep solution leave for several minutes in a cool shady spot. When removing the prep solution, make sure to be thorough and clear all the dried residue from all surfaces, bunch the cloth to reach those tricky areas between panels. Now your ready for the deep polish. As before, you start at the top and work your way down, working in small sections. It's best to use a linear stroke not circular motions and this can result in 'swirls' in the polish finish.

When the entire car has had an application, it's time for a rest. I believe the longer you can leave the second stage polish on the paint the better. On average I will leave the polish on the paint for an hour or so before removing every trace with a good detail buff.

It's now time to move on to the alloys. As I cleaned the wheels in stage one, when I washed the rest of the car, it is easy to check if there are any scratches or nicks in the rims. As I'm not satisfied with anything less than a perfect finish, I will treat alloy scratches with my Alloy Wheel Repair Kit before applying an alloy polish/ protector. If it's worth doing - it's worth doing like a pro!

Your car has just had the Scratch Doctor Pro Treatment.

Step back and admire your work!

Useful tip: Once your car has been waxed you can keep it clean more easily after a heavy shower. Wait until it’s stopped raining and with several Microfiber cloths wipe the rain off gently. Don’t forget the areas inside doors, trunk and hood. Finish with a clean cloth on windows and mirror. Put your car in the garage but leave the garage door open to let it dry. You can do this several times before you need to give it a thorough wash again.