Spring Clean Your Car

Give your car the professional look, with our 20 point guide to the ultimate car wash.

Auto Express Car Reviews

April 2011

Want to give your car a forecourt finish? As the weather improves, now is the time to remove the signs of a long, hard winter on salted roads, and restore your car's protection against rust and rot.

Below, we've listed the 20 key stages of a professional car clean. You'll find details of the best car washes, wheel cleaners, tyre shine, bumper restorers, polishes and waxes to the right of this page.

1. Prepare yourself first.
Valeters wear soft clothing such as a fleece and cloth trousers. Zips and jeans can damage paintwork when you lean over.
2. Use a jet wash to rinse the entire car.
Pay particular attention under the wheelarches, and always keep the jet at a 45-degree angle to the bodywork.
3. Clean the engine bay and under the bonnet.
Cover any electrics with cling film, then use a pump action sprayer with a mix of car shampoo and water to cover the engine with soapy water. Leave it to soak in and lift dirt before rinsing off.
4. Soap the rest of the bodywork using the sprayer and shampoo.
Go from bottom to top to allow the shampoo longer to clean dirtier lower sections. Use a pressure washer to rinse the suds off. Start with the roof to prevent muck running down on to clean areas.
5. Take a sponge or wash mitt and dip it in a bucket of soapy water. After you’ve done one panel, dip the sponge into another bucket to remove grit.
6. Rinse soap from panels.
Using a jet wash, again working from roof down.
7. Pressure wash the wheels.
To shift the thin layer of road grime.
8. Spray a dedicated wheel cleaner on to your alloys.
Make sure you get into the gaps in the spokes. Wear goggles and gloves when using acidic cleaners.
9. Rinse off the formula with a pressure washer.
If the car will be test driven, consider using a wheel wax to prevent brake dust build-up.
10. Dry your bodywork using a chamois or microfibre towel.
Wring out the cloth frequently, but ensure it stays damp, otherwise it will be difficult to use.
11. Bring the car into the shade and apply polish to the body.
Squirt a small blob of polish on to a cloth, spread in circles, then finish off in straight lines.
12. Buff polish with a clean microfibre cloth.
Depending on the product, and the size of car, you may need to tackle one panel at a time and buff straight off.
13. Dress under-bonnet area.
Dry the engine bay, and consider an engine cleaner if needed. Restore black shine to the engine cover with a spray protectant.
14. Remove the car mats and brush them down to shift gravel.
Use an interior cleaner and a vacuum, and don’t forget to wipe the underside of the mats.
15. Spray interior cleaner on the dash and trim cleaner on the seats, then wipe.
You may need a wet and dry vac to remove tough marks, brushes shift dog hair from seats and dust from air vents.
16. Remove fingerprints and sat-nav suction cup marks with glass cleaner.
Buff off quickly with a cloth to prevent smearing.
17. Vacuum the cabin from top to bottom.
Move the seats forward and back to reach hidden dirt, and get between them with nozzle attachments.
18. Use a metal polish and wire pad to restore your exhaust’s shine.
Just make sure the engine has been switched off for a while, and that the pipe is cool.
19. Dress your rubber with a tyre shine.
Spray formulas work, but BMW recommends a brush-on solution. Run the brush round the wheel sparingly so that the formula doesn’t drip down on to your clean alloys.
20. Move the car slightly and check the wheels.
It can often be easy to miss awkward parts of the alloy and tyre because of where the car is resting.