DIY Car Detailing Tips

Starting with Detailing Basics

Your car is a big part of your life. Not only is it one of the largest expenses you will have in your lifetime, but it is your place to jam out, make hands-free calls, and carry you and your family around for tens of thousands of miles a year. All of this driving ultimately leads to your vehicle becoming dirty both inside and out. There is nothing quite like the feeling of a clean car! With these simple DIY car detailing tips, cleaning your car will be a breeze!

Tools for a Detailed Car Interior

There are several different approaches on how to detail a car interior, all of which achieve the goal of a fresh ride. There are many different pieces of equipment and materials that are available to help assist you.

1. Vacuum
2. Towels
3. Detailing Sprays and Cleaners
4. Detailing Brushes & Sponges

DIY Window Cleaning and Care

One of the most important parts of interior and exterior car detailing is keeping your windows clean. Whenever you have your windows down, dust and debris can find its way into the window channels. In order to help keep them clean and your windows functioning normally, follow these steps:

1. Lower your window about halfway down
2. Spray paper towel with window cleaner
3. Wipe the length of the window

When detailing the inside of your vehicle, you are potentially using a host of different products and sprays that can overspray onto your windshield or door windows. While cleaning fingerprints from your kids off the interior glass might sound like a good place to start, it’s actually where you should finish. Cleaning your windows before anything else will only mean you need to clean them again to remove any of the aforementioned overspray from other products.

Interior Detailing: Air Vents

Another place dust and debris like to collect that is often overlooked are in your air vents. The best way to remove those particles are with small detailing brushes that can reach deeper and wipe out more than a traditional microfiber towel, when used with an interior detailing spray, such as our TechCare Interior Detailer.

DIY Exterior Car Detailing

At one point or another, odds are you have looked at the outside of your car and thought, "I could definitely use a carwash!" All of that road grime, construction dust and winter salt can take a heavy toll on the clear coat and overall paint finish of your vehicle. A car wash is among the most important steps to help preserve your vehicle, and it starts with a rinse. Follow these tips for the best car wash results.

1. Rinsing your vehicle off before applying soap or any kind of scrubbing material is the most important step you can take to prevent scratching and swirl marks.
2. If you hit your dry paint with soapy water from the get-go, you’ll just grind the surface dust and road grit into your paint finish.
3. It is essential to make sure you are using an automotive car wash soap instead of a dishwashing detergent. This sucks important oils out of your vehicle’s finish and can potentially shorten the overall life of your paint as well.

Car Detailing Tips: Wiper Blades

Another detail that can become overlooked are your wiper blades. If they begin to streak, skip or simply not clear off your windshield, it is time to replace them. Luckily, modern vehicles have simple latches that make them easy to replace, and often come with instructions as well!

DIY Wheel Detailing

Lastly, a good DIY exterior car detailing tip is for your wheels. If you’ve been driving down the road and notice how dark a vehicle’s front wheels are, that is brake dust. Sometimes this dust can be so bad, that it becomes discolored and ruins the finish of the wheel due to the heat from the brakes. If you wash your own car in your driveway, it is imperative to deep clean your wheels to help avoid this build-up. With the help of detail brushes and our TechCare Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner, your wheels will have a new shine in no time!