Chapter 23

Keeping Your Vehicle Clean and Beautiful

In This Chapter

Cleaning your vehicle’s exterior efficiently

Keeping the environment safe from chemical cleaners

Getting rid of dirt and grime under the hood

Waxing and polishing your car to protect and beautify it

Caring for glass, chrome, vinyl, leather, and more

Cleaning and repairing upholstery, carpeting, headliners, and more

A vehicle is more than a collection of parts and systems. When you drive it, try to trade it in, or sell it, it’s judged on its appearance as well as its performance. Contrary to popular belief, the main reason for washing your car often and keeping a good coat of wax on it isn’t to keep it looking good but rather to wash away the salt, mud, and chemical-laden dust and dirt that provide breeding grounds for rust and accelerate paint deterioration.

If you live in an area near the seashore, where a lot of salt is used on the roads in the winter, or where there’s industrial air pollution, it’s imperative that you wash your vehicle at least once a week. If you have no access to a hose or a place to wash your car, or if the weather in your area gets so cold that the water freezes on the windshield, drive to a coin-operated do-it-yourself car wash and use its facilities. The steamy hoses keep both you and your vehicle warm enough to wash away the mud and salt in the winter and can do an even better job than you could do at home, especially if your water pressure is low.

If you use a do-it-yourself car wash with high-pressure hoses, be sure to adjust them so you don’t damage the paint and protective coatings on your vehicle.

Always clean the interior of your vehicle before you wash the exterior. For advice on how to deal with each of the materials you may find inside your car, see the “Cleaning the Interior” section later in this chapter.

In this chapter, you discover the best ways to keep your vehicle clean and in good condition — inside and out and even under the hood!

Whenever you encounter a term set in this font, you’ll find it defined in the glossary in Appendix A.

The lazy person’s guide to “good housekeeping”

If you have no time or inclination for cleaning your vehicle yourself, hire someone to do it for you. The expense more than pays off in the increased life of your car. At the very least, take it to a car wash every week or two and be sure that the interior gets cleaned and vacuumed as part of the deal.

Car washes vary considerably in efficiency and reliability. Be aware that your vehicle will probably respond to the rather rough and impersonal scrubbing it will receive from the machines at some car washes by acquiring scratches and losing a bit of paint around the edges. Spinning car-wash brushes are especially lethal for vehicles with clear-coat finishes. To keep the damage to a minimum, find a low-cost “brushless” or “touch-free” car wash that uses curtains of jiggling strips or one that washes vehicles by hand.

Forget about the optional hot-wax sprays offered by car washes. They’re simply not strong enough to provide sufficient protection. Unless the car manufacturer warns that waxing will mar a special finish, most vehicles need a good coat of wax or one of the new polymer products to protect it from rust and fading. If you don’t want to wax the car yourself, hire someone to do it by hand.

If you drive a convertible or a luxury or classic car and you can’t keep it clean yourself, hire someone to wash it by hand at least every couple of weeks. Running such a special vehicle through a commercial car wash is tantamount to murder!

Environmentally Safe Ways to Clean Your Vehicle

Washing a vehicle can require a fair amount of water and produces some nasty runoff. A major advantage of using a car wash is that, rather than allow the dirty water to run into natural bodies of water via storm drains, most of these facilities are required to either remove contaminants like chemical cleaners, soap, oil, and grease and recycle the water to wash additional vehicles; or send the runoff to the sewage treatment plant so it can reenter the environment harmlessly. Because the price of water is rising, many car washes are recycling it whether or not they’re required to.

When washing your vehicle at home, use biodegradable cleaning products to minimize environmental pollution. Try to do the job on a grassy or graveled area where the water can be absorbed and filtered by the dirt below, or do your washing near a drain connected to your home’s sewer system. Do not just let the water run down the street and into a storm drain.

No matter where you wash your car, conserve water. Don’t let the hose run while you work. Use it only to wet and rinse the vehicle, and shut it off when you don’t need it. Car Wash Association studies have found that people often use as much as 140 gallons for a single car wash, which isn’t surprising when you consider that a 5/8-inch hose can deliver 14 gallons of water per minute.

A good way to save water by not having to wash your vehicle as often, but also to preserve the finish of your vehicle, is to protect it with a car cover. The sidebar entitled “Car covers” later in this chapter tells you what you need to know in order to buy the right kind of cover for your vehicle.

Cleaning the Exterior

Keeping the exterior of your vehicle clean isn’t a matter of being a fanatic who spends every second of free time washing and waxing and dusting; just spending an hour or two each week can keep your new set of wheels young or brighten up Old Faithful.

De-bugging your vehicle safely

Getting rid of the bird-poop, tree sap, and other icky stuff on the body, windows, chrome, and wheel covers of your vehicle requires special treatment, often with harsh chemicals. Here are some precautions to take:

Don’t scratch at hard-to-remove dirt. Soak it loose by placing a wet rag on it. Wash off bird droppings and sap immediately with mild soap and water. If left to harden, they’re much harder to remove and can permanently damage the finish.

Before you use a product designed to get rid of tar, dead bugs, and other hard-to-remove substances, read the label to make sure that it won’t damage the finish. Test specialized commercial solvents first on a door jamb or other hidden painted surface.

Be sure to remove intense cleansers thoroughly and wash the surface with soap and water immediately afterward.

Safety tips for using commercial products

A commercial product can be just the thing you need to keep your vehicle in great shape, but with any store-bought cleaning supply, it’s in your car’s — and your — best interest to pay attention to a few common-sense and safety rules:

Always read and follow the directions on the package. Some products can damage your skin or your car’s surface if left on too long or if applied and removed improperly.

Never use a spray in an unventilated area. And never get your face close enough to inhale it or risk getting it in your eyes.

Don’t smoke when using chemicals or petroleum products. As a matter of fact, don’t smoke, period!

Washing your vehicle’s body

Most people think that there’s nothing special to know about washing the outside surface of a car, but this isn’t the case. Doing the job efficiently saves you time and effort and ensures that the vehicle’s body comes out looking great. If you work in a haphazard way, the task takes much longer, and you run the risk of scratching the finish, streaking the surface, and leaving the body vulnerable to rust.

Most modern vehicles are painted in a two-step process that produces a clear-coat finish, which can far outlast the acrylic lacquer or enamel used on older vehicles. Although a clear-coat finish protects and enhances the paint, it’s extremely sensitive to abrasion and chemicals. If it wears away, the paint beneath it will deteriorate rapidly.

Protecting the surface

Whether your vehicle has a clear-coat finish or not, to wash its body efficiently and preserve its sensitive “skin,” follow these guidelines:

Never wipe or dust the body with a dry cloth. The tiny particles of dust and grit on the surface can scratch the paint, leaving it looking cobwebby wherever the sun hits it.

Never wash a vehicle in the hot sun. The cool water will cause the hot body to contract, which can crack the paint and ruin the finish. Park in the shade or wait until morning or evening.

Be sure the windows and sun roof are closed before washing. (Don’t laugh, it can happen to anyone!) If you’ve never washed the vehicle with a hose before, spray lightly around the edges of the windows, sunroof, and rear deck lid for a short time and then check to see if the weatherstripping leaks. If it does, consult the instructions in Chapter 24 for patching or replacing weatherstripping, and try to avoid spraying these areas until you remedy the problem.

Before you wash the car, hose it down to get rid of the surface dust, and then clean and polish such exterior surfaces as vinyl hardtops, convertible tops, glass windows and sunroofs, chrome bumpers and trim, side mirrors, wheel covers, whitewalls, and tires. Then, when you wash and rinse the whole vehicle, you’ll be sure to get off the last residue of all the substances you used for those jobs. Later sections of this chapter explain how to clean and restore some of those special surfaces.

Use cold or lukewarm water and a hose rather than a bucket of water to wet and rinse the car. A bucket holds a finite amount of water. As you rinse out your rag or sponge, the dirt is transferred to the water and back to the rag, where it can scratch or streak the paint. A hose with a spray nozzle can project a stream of water forceful enough to loosen the mud, bugs, bird waste, and other baddies that stick to the surface.

Blasts at extremely high pressure may loosen and chip paint and parts.

Use a sponge, soft rag (old terrycloth towels, T-shirts, or cotton diapers are wonderful), or a cotton wash mitt. Cotton swabs and an old toothbrush will help you get into small areas.

To avoid cobwebby scratches, follow the contours of the surface rather than going in circles. Rinse the rag often to get rid of grease and dust particles. Be thorough but gentle; vigorous scrubbing can scratch and remove the paint.

Don’t use the hose under the hood because the water can damage electronic circuits. I explain what you can and can’t do in this area in the “Cleaning under the Hood” section later in this chapter.

Use gentle cleansers. Your vehicle’s sensitive skin requires gentle cleansers just as your own body does. Use a commercial car-washing product, not laundry or dish soap or detergent, which can remove the wax and other protective finishes from the surface. If you have a unique paint job or other special surfaces on your vehicle, check your owner’s manual for instructions on how to deal with them.

Doing the job methodically

Every job goes more smoothly and efficiently if the work you do is organized properly. The following tips help you wash your vehicle in an order and manner that will get you the best results.

Always wash the body of a vehicle from the top down so that soap scum and sludge don’t muck up freshly washed areas.

Remember to get to all the corners where dirt can collect and rust can form: behind the wheels, inside the fenders, and behind the bumpers. Don’t forget the underbody — this is usually the muddiest and greasiest place of all and the most prone to rust. It’s okay to use a more powerful jet of water under here to dislodge the mud, salt, or grime.

Wash one section of the vehicle at a time. Hose it down, soap it up, and rinse it off. When you finish the entire vehicle, hose it all down again to get off every last bit of soap. Remove the spray nozzle from the hose and use a medium stream of water that flows off in sheets and makes drying the car easier.

Make sure that no water collects in the tiny rust-prone spaces around the trim and behind the bumpers.

Towel-dry the car immediately with terry towels, cotton diapers, or a synthetic chamois to get rid of water spotting that can mar the surface. Chamois are good for this purpose and can be washed, rinsed, and used for years. But they’re more expensive, and I find that old, dry terry towels and diapers work pretty well, too. Don’t rub hard, and if the towel-drying rag you’re using gets dirty, switch to a clean one to avoid scratching the surface.

At regular intervals, apply a coat of wax or sealer. A high-quality polymer sealant provides the best protection because it binds with the paint. The slippery surface retards water spots and makes it easier to remove bugs and tree sap. A good sealer can last up to six months. Carnuba wax gives a deeper shine but lasts only a couple of months. Follow the instructions in the later section, “Clear coat and other delicate finishes,” to get the best results.

If your vehicle has a clear-coat finish, use a product designed for it and don’t use power buffers or polishers on it. These are too intense for your vehicle’s sensitive skin. The sidebar “Electric buffers” later in the chapter explains why.

Restoring visibility to windows and mirrors

Just as “the eyes are the windows of the soul,” the windows are the eyes of your car. In both cases, clarity is important! Employ the same products you use to clean glass in your home to clean your car’s glass windows and mirrors. Many of these products simply spray on and wipe off without rinsing. Just keep the following in mind:

Be sure to use a lint-free soft rag or sturdy paper towels to avoid scratching the glass. Newspaper also does a pretty good job.

Wait to clean the inside surfaces of the windows and sunroof until you do the interior of the car. The “Cleaning inside the windows” section has tips on how to clean these properly.

Use vertical strokes on the outside of the windows and sunroof, and horizontal strokes on the inside, so that you can see at a glance which side the streaks are on when you’re wiping off the cleaner.

Lift your windshield wipers away from the glass to clean under them, and don’t forget to wipe the wipers, too. A dirty blade can streak or scratch the glass. Handle the wipers gently to avoid bending the mechanism. Remove dead leaves that may have accumulated in the well under the wipers. Chapter 2 has instructions for checking and replacing windshield-washer fluid and wiper blades.

Carry a package of pre-moistened glass cleaner wipes and a clean soft rag in your car to spruce up the windshield when visibility gets cloudy.

If you have a convertible with a plastic rear window, that window may become cloudy from oxidation, especially if the hot sun shines on it constantly. Excellent conditioners designed to keep plastic windows clear and supple without scratching them are available. If your convertible’s rear window is already clouded beyond visibility, I’ve found that Meguiar’s Mirror Glaze Clear Plastic Cleaner polishes the cloudy stuff right off the window, leaving it relatively clear again. If you must park your vehicle where the sun can shine directly on its plastic window for long periods of time, cover the outside of the window with an old towel to protect it from the sun.

Polishing metal trim and chrome

Consider its shining trim to be your vehicle’s jewelry and keep it protected and looking good. Several excellent polishes are designed specifically to clean chrome without scratching the delicate layer of plating. These preparations also retard rust and leave the surface bright and shining. You can use chrome polish on other metal surfaces, too. Here are some tips for polishing metal trim and chrome:

Try not to get the polish on the surrounding paint. The polish can discolor it.

Be sure to do the inside surfaces of a metal bumper, too, if you can reach it. And don’t forget the metal frames around the lights and side mirrors.

Use a special glaze on black metal or plastic trim around the windows, on bumpers, or as side-protector strips. The glaze, usually liquid, restores some luster to the blacked-out trim. As with metal polishes, avoid getting the glaze on the vehicle’s paint.

If you find rust on any metal area, get rid of the stuff immediately! For instructions, rush directly to the section on rust removal in Chapter 24.

After you clean metal surfaces, wax them to prevent rust from forming. Use a special wax designed for chrome bumpers and metal surfaces because these areas require more protection than painted surfaces do. Other types of wax may prevent the chrome from getting the oxygen it needs to preserve its shine.

Caring for wheels and tires

Wheels come in a variety of styles and metals these days. They can be chrome-plated or made of aluminum or magnesium alloys or steel. Choose a wheel cleaner designed for the wheels on your vehicle, and apply it gently (your soft old toothbrush or a clean soft paintbrush comes in handy here). Clean one wheel at a time and rinse it immediately before the cleaner dries in order to avoid staining the metal.

Clean the sidewalls of your tires whenever you wash your car. (You wouldn’t take a bath without washing your feet, would you?) Use mild soap or dish detergent to remove dirt and grease. A brush or scratchless kitchen scouring pad removes the stubborn stuff, but before you go at it like you’re scrubbing your bathroom grout, be sure to wet the tires.

Never use gasoline or kerosene to clean tires. If your vehicle has whitewalls that are extremely dirty or greasy, you may have to resort to a special whitewall cleaner to restore them to their original pristine good looks.

If you want your tires to look extremely shiny and spiffy and preserve the rubber as well, spray them with a tire protectant. It will leave them shining and retard ozone checking. You can usually use the same stuff for other black vinyl or rubber exterior surfaces.

Cleaning and repairing convertible tops

A convertible is a joy to drive with the top down, but if you don’t take care of it properly, you may find yourself cold and wet when the time comes to put it back up. This section deals with cloth tops (affectionately known as ragtops) and vinyl-covered hardtops.

Ragtops

If you have a convertible with a cloth top, keep that top clean by vacuuming it often or by using a whisk broom to get the dust out of the areas around the trim. This isn’t just a matter of cleanliness; the dirt can cause the fabric to rot away if it’s allowed to remain there. Do the following to keep your ragtop in good shape:

Check the top occasionally to make sure that it’s not getting caught in the mechanism that raises and lowers it. This can leave greasy streaks on the fabric, weaken it, and cause it to tear. If your top has a plastic rear window, make sure that it isn’t getting scrunched by the mechanism when the top is down, and follow the instructions in the earlier section, “Restoring visibility to windows and mirrors,” to clean it without scratching it.

Inspect the metal mechanism that raises and lowers the top and polish it occasionally to keep it shiny and beautiful. Put a coat of wax on the metal to retard rusting, and oil the hinges now and then to keep things working smoothly. Use the oil sparingly to avoid staining the top.

Remember to dust or vacuum the well into which the top folds and to keep it free of objects that can puncture or mar the top. I remember a friend who had a convertible with a glass rear window. The top was up for most of the winter, and that well seemed like an ideal place to stash her umbrella and other paraphernalia. Then one day the sun shone, and she happily pressed the button to automatically lower the top. Crunch! End of story.

Check for weak spots or tears, and check the seams for threads that are beginning to break. Seams that are loosening up can be restitched by hand before they become major problems. Try to use the same holes as the original stitches, stitching right on top of them, and use strong thread in the same color as the original.

If you see a weak place or a small hole, reinforce it by placing a patch on the inside of the top, and glue it in place with a good adhesive or stitch it down securely. Convertible tops are under considerable tension, and a tiny rip can swiftly tear right across the top.

Vinyl hardtops

Vinyl tops usually clean up easily with water and mild soap or dish detergent. If the top is very dirty, you may want to try a commercial product made especially for vinyl tops. Use a fairly soft brush to get the dirt out of the tiny crevices in the finish (a recycled toothbrush or nail brush easily gets into the areas around the trim). Brush in circles because the crevices run in every direction, and rinse often to wash the dirt away. Vinyl hardtops respond nicely to a light coat of wax or the proper silicone preservative.

Here are a few more tips:

If you find that your vinyl hardtop has bubbles in it, prick the areas with a pin and try to press the air out. If any adhesive comes out of the holes, wipe it off the vinyl immediately. When the air is out, press the vinyl against the roof to reseal it. If the adhesive has dried out, you can use a glue injector to insert a tiny amount of vinyl adhesive under the surface. Air bubbles can create holes in the vinyl if something catches them.

If you find holes or rips in the vinyl, use a vinyl repair kit to correct them. You can find different types of kits on the market. Before you buy anything, read the instructions to be sure that you select the simplest kit that suits your purposes.

If your vinyl top has faded and become discolored, excellent sprays are available that can renew the color for you. Before you use these sprays, be sure to mask the surrounding areas of the car. Always choose the same color or a slightly darker shade to cover up spots.

Electric buffers

You may have seen professionals use electric buffers to apply cleaners and wax and to shine a car to a high gloss. Although buffing pads are available that can be attached to the shaft of an electric drill, don’t use these or any other high-speed gadgets to buff or polish your vehicle. Professional buffing equipment works gently at slow speeds to avoid scratching or grinding the paint right off the surface. Low-speed buffers also are available, but most of this equipment can burn the finish if not used properly. So unless you have the light, experienced touch of a professional, I suggest you employ one.

Cleaning and polishing your vehicle

Let me be clear on the distinction between washing and cleaning and polishing the exterior of a vehicle. Washing, which I cover earlier, gets rid of the dirt on the surface. Cleaning and polishing goes a little deeper. As a vehicle gets older, especially if it’s exposed to the sun and other elements, the top layers of paint or clear coat begin to fade and oxidize, giving the body a hazy or smoky-looking surface. Regular washing and waxing usually retards this process, but an occasional good cleaning and polishing actually removes tiny scratches and dead paint.

Clear coat and other delicate finishes

If your car is a dark color or has a delicate lacquer or clear-coat finish, you want to avoid removing the thin outer layers. Look for a polish or wax/cleaner designed for these finishes that contains chemicals rather than abrasives because scratches really show up on these finishes. Don’t use an abrasive cleaner on chrome or plastic unless the label specifically says that you can. If you do, you run the risk of scratching the surfaces and removing the chrome plating. Do not use rubbing compound or electric buffers or polishers on clear-coat finishes; these products and tools can ruin the finish. The sidebar “Electric buffers” provides the details.

Acrylic or enamel finishes

When you clean and polish a vehicle that’s been painted with acrylic lacquer or enamel, you use special products that actually remove a very thin layer of paint. When this layer goes, so do the scratches, oxidation, and thin coat of grime that regular washing doesn’t get rid of, leaving even a well-kept vehicle shining with unusual brilliance.

To clean and polish a lacquered or enameled vehicle, follow these steps:

1. Wash the car and all its surfaces, as explained in the earlier section “Washing your vehicle’s body.”

2. Use car polish to remove the scratches.

If the finish is in such bad shape that just using car polish doesn’t shine up the dull surface or eliminate scratches, try using a rubbing compound, carefully following the advice in the nearby sidebar, “Rubbing compounds.” If the finish is somewhere between perfect and really bad shape (that is, if it feels slightly gritty to the touch but doesn’t have scratches and a lot of oxidation to grind out), try using detailing clay. You rub the clay over the paint surface after applying a spray-on lubricant that comes with the clay bar; it grinds away surface contaminants without taking off any paint. A well-clayed car finish can feel as smooth as glass.

3. Protect your vehicle from the elements by waxing it; instructions are in the next section, “Waxing your vehicle.”

A variety of cleaning and polishing products are available to you, including some that combine wax with a car cleaner to reduce the number of steps you have to go through. These combination products are easy to use and work well if the vehicle isn’t too filthy, but they can’t substitute for a thorough waxing when it comes to long-term protection.

Some commercial car-polishing products contain fine particles of abrasive, which effectively remove an infinitely small top layer of paint and grime. For this reason, don’t use these products more than once a month. Don’t use them at all on clear-coat finishes.

Rubbing compounds

Most polishes have a mild abrasive action, but the abrasives in rubbing compounds are designed to dig a bit deeper into the surface, discard the top layers of paint, and get down to the fresh stuff underneath (assuming that there is any). As a general rule, avoid any polishing preparation that contains such strong abrasives because it can go right through your vehicle’s painted finish.

Some cars are painted with acrylic lacquer or enamel that has a hardener in it, which helps protect the finish and keep the color from fading for a long time. However, if your vehicle is in really sad shape, with paint that has faded and dulled to the point that it has little shine, you may want to try using a rubbing compound to restore the finish before you spring for a paint job or dump Old Faithful for a better-looking set of wheels.

Rubbing compounds come in fine, medium, and coarse grades. Always try the fine grade first because the others may be too harsh. The coarse grade removes so much paint that it’s usually used for prefinishing jobs in which the surface is taken down, restored, and repainted. Use rubbing compound sparingly. Follow the directions on the package and don’t bear down too hard. Go easy at first to avoid removing patches of paint that have loosened from the surface, bubbled, or chipped around the edges. You can always apply a bit more elbow grease if your initial efforts prove to be too gentle. Always wax the car after using a rubbing compound — unless, of course, you’re going to paint it.

Waxing your vehicle

If washing removes the surface dirt, and cleaning and polishing removes the dead layers of paint, waxing a vehicle preserves that clean and shiny finish and seals its “pores” against dirt, water vapor, and rust. If water doesn’t bead on the surface of the vehicle when it rains or when you hose it down, it needs waxing badly. Don’t neglect this step. Even if you use a car-washing product that has wax in it, you must still give most vehicles a thorough waxing at least twice a year, in the spring and fall, to protect them from heavy weather. Nothing is more vital than a thorough wax job if you want to keep your vehicle rust-free and looking young for years to come.

To avoid scratching the surface and trapping minute particles of dust, always be sure to wash the vehicle before you wax it, no matter how clean it looks. After applying wax or polymer sealant, use a terry cloth towel to break up the hazy surface by rubbing in one direction. Then switch to a soft, lint-free cloth (a cloth diaper works best) and rub in the other direction to bring out the shine.

If you drive a dark-colored vehicle or one with a clear-coat or sensitive lacquer finish, make sure that the cleaners and waxes you use have no abrasives in them. If you’re unsure as to whether the finish on your vehicle requires special handling, check your owner’s manual or call your dealership for instructions.

Unless your vehicle came with specific instructions from the manufacturer, you can choose from a variety of waxes, ranging from combination products that have both cleaners and wax together, to liquid, soft, and hard waxes. Or you can use a polymer sealant. Here’s a closer look at your options:

Liquid waxes: Generally speaking, liquid waxes are very easy to use but don’t last as long as soft or hard waxes, although some of the abrasive-free liquid wax/cleaners specially formulated for vehicles with delicate finishes are quite effective. Liquid wax is excellent to replace the wax you lose if you wash your car with a wax-free detergent or soap, or for a touch-up between professional waxings.

Soft waxes: These are my favorites. Soft waxes are light and fluffy and are very easy to apply and remove. Some are mixed with a light cleaner, but be sure to wash the car thoroughly first anyway to remove particles that can scratch it. Apply soft wax with the applicator pads provided or with a soft terry cloth rag. Simply wipe on the wax, following the contours of the surface; allow it to dry to a haze; and wipe the haze away.

Because the waxes that contain cleaners usually contain abrasives, don’t use them for every car wash or more often than once a month. In between, use a liquid car cleanser that contains a little wax.

Hard or paste waxes: These types of waxes provide the most protection and should be used for your semi-annual major wax job. They last longer than anything except polymer preservatives. Hard or paste waxes are harder to apply and require rubbing and buffing to bring up a high-gloss shine. Always do a small area at a time to avoid letting the wax harden to a point where it’s hard to remove. Apply the wax according to the directions on the can with an applicator or soft, lint-free rag.

Polymer preservatives: Products that contain polymer substances claim to protect a vehicle more effectively than wax and for longer periods of time. They literally bond with the surface and prevent it from fading and oxidizing. At the auto supply store, you can buy poly-sealants that are easy to apply and are supposed to protect your vehicle for six months to a year.

Polyglycotes: Professionals and auto manufacturers offer silicon-based polyglycotes that are supposed to last from two to five years, but the jury’s still out on whether they can live up to their promises; most have to be freshened and buffed periodically to maintain the shine, which isn’t much different than waxing. If you still want to use one of these products, wash the vehicle thoroughly and give it a good cleaning and polishing first (see the earlier sections in this chapter). Some polyglycotes products say that they can be applied over wax, but I prefer to get all the wax off the vehicle before applying them. When the surface is really clean, shiny, and dry, apply the protective coating, following the directions on the label. Make sure that it gets into all the little crevices around the trim and on the painted metal inner surfaces of the doors and deck lid. I recommend that you regularly inspect your vehicle for rust to make sure that this miracle stuff is really doing its job.

Cleaning under the Hood

Many car owners never bother to deal with the dirt under the hood on the assumption that what they can’t see can’t hurt them. Although it’s true that only people who exhibit show cars or are compulsively fastidious set much store by having the engine area constantly at its pristine best, there are practical reasons for removing a gross accumulation of grease, oil, fuel, and dirt from under the hood and for making an effort to keep things under control from then on.

Most engines are made of metal and depend on rubber hoses, gaskets, and wiring, if they’re to work properly. Because all the aforementioned baddies can seriously deteriorate nonmetal parts and wiring, keep the under-the-hood area as clean as possible. If it’s beginning to look grubby, get a rag and wipe off as much of the dirt and grease as you can without removing or moving hoses and wiring.

Never use a hose to wash under the hood — the water can ruin the electronics. If the situation has reached the unspeakable stage, I strongly urge you to have a professional clean the area. Although engine degreasers are available at auto supply stores and coin-operated steam-cleaning facilities at do-it-yourself car wash centers, I don’t recommend that you try either of these alternatives and instead have your engine cleaned professionally if it’s too dirty to wipe clean yourself. When the job is done, you should be able to keep it in good condition by simply wiping off the area every now and then.

If you’re planning to sell your vehicle, think twice about having the area under the hood cleaned. Although cleaning certainly spiffs it up, potential buyers may assume that it was done to obliterate signs of unsuccessful surgery on the engine.

Whenever you clean under the hood, make sure that you clean the blow-by on the inner surface of the hood, too, and that you remove the mud and dirt that have accumulated on the inner walls of the car’s body and near the wheel wells.

If you find that oil accumulates very quickly on your engine, first check the PCV valve to see whether it’s plugged up. This little gadget is responsible for rerouting the exhaust fumes from the crankcase back to the engine, where they’re burned again and then released through the exhaust system. If the valve gets plugged, pressure can build up in the crankcase and create oil leaks around the engine. A PCV valve can be checked and replaced very easily (read all about it in the section “Servicing the PCV Valve” in Chapter 8).

Oil also may seep from under the valve cover gasket if the cover needs to be torqued down properly or the gasket needs to be replaced. If this seems to be your problem, check with a mechanic.

If you think that cleaning your engine is compulsive, my uncle sprayed the under-the-hood area of his secondhand Cadillac with gold paint so that he could impress the service station attendants!

Cleaning the Interior

The interior of your vehicle is like your living room at home: It’s “decorated” with carpeting, paint, fabric, plastic, vinyl, and glass. Some cars have rubber, leather, and wood as well. Unlike the interior of your home, your car stands out in public and reflects your personal habits (and you certainly don’t want everyone to think that you’re a slob!). Keeping the interior clean is more than a matter of pride; because dirt contains grit and chemicals that can eat away the surfaces of your automotive “furniture,” it’s vital to practice the same good housekeeping techniques on your vehicle that you would on your home in order to keep it in decent condition for a long, long time.

Generally speaking, the same procedures and products that you use at home work quite well in your car. If you’re an old hand at housework, read the following sections just to make sure that you don’t forget anything. If good housekeeping has never been your bag — or if you’ve spent your life in hotels — the following sections tell you how to clean and care for the interior of your vehicle.

When you’re ready to go on your cleaning campaign, pick a day when you have time to putter about. Arm yourself with a portable hand vacuum cleaner; line up all those groovy bottles of special cleaners; festoon the area with clean terry cloth rags or other softies, an old toothbrush, and cotton swabs for getting into little spaces; and tackle the entire interior in one glorious effort. Unless you habitually drive out into the wilderness, chauffeur a horde of wild kids armed with ice cream cones, or the weather gets really terrible, you probably won’t have to go through this task more often than once a month — less often if you’re very fastidious and don’t travel around a lot.

Keeping things tidy

Clean the interior before you do the exterior. The most effective thing you can do is vacuum the seats first, remove and clean the floor mats, and then vacuum the carpets. Dust the dashboard, rear window shelf, and other surfaces, and use the swabs or toothbrush to get into A/C vents, around dashboard knobs, and other tight places. Aerosol cans of air used for cleaning cameras and computers can force dust from tiny apertures.

Never use a dry rag or paper towels to clean the plastic lenses on instrument panel gauges. Small, dry particles of dust and grit can scratch the surface. The lens-cleaning cloths or tissues you use on your eyeglasses or camera do a good job. If the lenses are clouded, use a plastic cleaner sparingly with a clean, damp terry cloth rag or sponge. Excess moisture can damage electronic instruments.

Here are a few other ways to maintain order and cleanliness in your vehicle:

Keep the clutter under control and the seats free of everything but you, your passengers, and the seat belts. Objects left lying on seats may rip or stain them as people enter, leave, and move about. Maps and guidebooks belong in the glove box. Store the flashlight, tools, and a copy of this book in the trunk; or store them under the passenger seat, if you can secure them there adequately.

Your fire extinguisher takes precedence over any other candidate for under-the-driver’s-seat storage. You have to be able to reach it quickly in case of an emergency (and the trunk is right over the fuel tank). Store the fire extinguisher securely so that it can’t roll out from under the seat and interfere with your driving.

Don’t keep objects on the rear window ledge or dashboard. If you have to stop suddenly, they can obscure visibility or fly around and hurt someone. Small objects like pencils and coins can fall behind the dashboard and damage the air vents, so find a better place for them as well. Shiny items will reflect on the windshield and obscure vision.

To reduce sun damage and keep the vinyl, plastic, or leather surfaces from cracking and fading, apply a conditioner with UV protection (that doesn’t leave a shiny surface) to the dashboard regularly.

If you have children who require a supply of toys, store the toys safely. Keep them on the floor in an open carton that fits snugly between the rear seat and the back of the front seat, and make putting them away a regular part of each driving experience.

If your car doesn’t have a cup holder, buy one at your dealership or auto parts store.

Don’t allow old food and drink containers to clutter up your vehicle. They attract ants and other insects that can “bug” your vehicle’s equipment and wiring, and they stink.

Follow the instructions in your owner’s manual when cleaning seat belts. Ordinary household cleaners, ammonia, and solvents can weaken the webbing.

Remember to vacuum and clean the trunk compartment. It’s part of the vehicle’s interior, too!

Cleaning upholstery and carpeting

You can use the same products to clean car upholstery and carpeting that you use to clean your chairs, sofas, and rugs. Keep the following in mind:

Avoid using large quantities of water; you don’t want to get the padding under the fabric wet or rust the upholstery buttons, if there are any. Avoid sponges, working instead with damp rags wherever possible. If you think that you’ve gotten things too wet, use a portable hair dryer to dry the padding quickly and evaporate water from around buttons and seams.

The best products for fabrics and rugs are the ones that spray on, turn to powder, and are removed by vacuuming. Stain-repellent sprays are excellent if the fabric is clean and new; otherwise, they simply preserve your stains forever. See the later section “Fighting stains and odors” for more information.

To keep upholstery from fading and deteriorating, park the vehicle facing in a different direction as often as possible so that the sun doesn’t keep hitting the same surfaces. During dry seasons, keep a window or the sunroof open a crack to prevent heat from building up inside. It can dissolve fabric adhesives and crack vinyl seat covers.

Vinyl and plastic

Vinyl seats and interiors and plastic surfaces such as dashboards, steering wheels, and interior moldings usually respond well to water and a mild soap or dish detergent, but you may have to resort to special vinyl-cleaning products if you’ve allowed things to get out of hand. You can use a soft brush on vinyl to get at the dirt in the graining, along the welting, and around upholstery buttons, if there are any.

Protect all vinyl and plastic surfaces from sunlight and heat with products designed for those materials. While you’re at it, use them or a spray silicone lubricant on dashboards, weatherstripping, vinyl or rubber floor mats, and tires, too, to prevent them from cracking and drying out and to keep them supple. Avoid oil- and petroleum-based products that can damage vinyl and leave it brittle.

Leather

If you’re lucky enough to have leather seats in your vehicle, take care of them. If properly cared for, leather can last a long time but, like all skin, it dries out and ages prematurely if it’s not kept clean and moisturized. Follow this advice for caring for leather upholstery:

Use a high-quality product like saddle soap to clean and preserve leather seats. Neatsfoot oil waterproofs, softens, lubricates, restores, and preserves leather that has been cleaned first.

If you must park where the sun can get at your leather seats, lean them forward or drape something over them to protect them. If conditions are severe, think about installing window film that blocks UV rays. If this is impossible, take comfort from the fact that leather seats don’t get as hot as vinyl ones, so you can probably sit down on them without screaming.

Fighting stains and odors

Stains are caused by a wide variety of substances and can be enlarged or set permanently if you try to remove them improperly. In the interest of brevity and because I believe in leaving specialized areas to the specialists, I suggest that you refer to a stain-removal guide before tackling stains on fabric upholstery or carpeting. These stain-fighting tactics may also help:

Be sure to attack the stain while it’s fresh; the older a stain gets, the harder it is to remove. You may want to stow a small spray container of stain remover in the trunk so that you can attack stubborn stains before sunlight and heat set them, but test the remover on a hidden spot first.

Avoid drastic measures that can harm the upholstery. I prefer to consult the experts on things like chewing gum, tar, blood, and other hard-to-remove substances.

To avoid spreading a stain, work from the edges in toward the center. Use a minimum of liquid and dab rather than scrub. When the stain is gone, dry the surface with a portable hair dryer.

You may be able to cut the stains off high-napped carpets and then camouflage the resulting bald spots with loops cut from a hidden area and glued in with clear adhesive. Try this trick on an area that doesn’t show first to see whether your handiwork would look better (or worse!) than the original stain.

Odors are considered stains, too — even though they assault your nose rather than your eyes. Odor removal sprays encapsulate odors, lift them out of the fabric, and destroy them, rather than masking them with stronger fragrances, as most air fresheners do.

Repairing tears and holes

Auto seats get considerable wear and tear, and reupholstery is very expensive. If you catch small tears and holes early, you can save yourself a lot of money. Try the following:

Sew up tears in fabric seats with strong matching thread or use patch kits that allow you to put the patch under the fabric and seal the wound with a colorless adhesive.

For vinyl upholstery, check out the various vinyl repair kits available and choose the simplest one that can do the job. If you have to patch an area where the vinyl no longer exists, be sure that the patch is at least 1/2 inch larger than the hole so that when you slip it under the hole, the adhesive doesn’t contact the padding. If your seats need major corrective surgery, go to a professional who can do the work properly.

Caring for headliners

The headliner is the covering for the inside of your vehicle’s roof; it’s usually cloth or vinyl on older models and a form-fitting felt-covered plastic on many newer vehicles. Many vinyl and cloth headliners are held in place by adhesives that can be dissolved by cleaning materials or pulled away by strong vacuuming, causing the headliner to sag. For this reason, treat it gently. If the headliner is badly stained or torn, either spend the bucks to have it professionally repaired or replaced, or live with it until you get a new vehicle.

Cleaning floor mats

The vinyl floor coverings that substitute for carpet on many new vehicles don’t look very sturdy to me. Floor mats are useful for protecting them and are easy to remove and clean. You can also use mats to protect existing carpets, especially in rainy or muddy areas, and to hide carpeting that’s stained or torn.

Clean vinyl and rubber floor mats with cold water and soap. You can take them right out of the car and hose them down as you wash the car. Use a brush or scratchless kitchen scouring pad to gently remove caked-on dirt. Be sure to rinse mats thoroughly, and don’t replace them until they’re dry on both sides. Clean mats made of carpet with a carpet cleaner or shampoo.

Place old or worn mats or throw rugs on the floor of the trunk or hatchback area to reduce the noise level and protect the interior.

Cleaning inside the windows

Clean the interior surfaces of your windows and sunroof and the rearview mirror to remove the films caused by smoke and by the vapors that vinyl, plastic, and adhesives give off. Wash them the same way you wash your windows at home, or refer to the earlier section “Washing your vehicle’s body” for general instructions. When washing windows, remember to use horizontal strokes on the inside and vertical ones on the outside so that you can tell which side of the glass the streaks are on.

Avoid products with ammonia, which can damage tinted window film, and don’t get dedicated glass cleaners on synthetic surfaces because it can stain them.

Remembering Those Final Touches

Just to cover all the bases: Oil the hinges of the doors, hood, and rear deck lid now and then; and spray the door and trunk locks with graphite to keep them working smoothly. Be happy that you don’t have to put fresh flowers in a little crystal vase in the passenger compartment, as some chauffeurs used to do! (But if you’re lucky enough to have one of the modern Volkswagen Beetles — complete with dashboard bud vase — stop by the florist on your way home and pick up one of your favorite blossoms.)

Car covers

After you have your vehicle looking wonderful inside and out, it pays to keep it that way. If you have no garage and you must park outdoors, you may want to invest in a cover to protect your vehicle from the sun and keep the dirt and dust off it. The first thing you should realize is that you don’t buy a cover to protect a vehicle from moisture. People who purchase vinyl or waterproof covers to keep their vehicles dry innocently cause more trouble than they prevent: Moisture gets under the cover anyway — from underneath — and is trapped there and prevented from evaporating quickly. So, a vehicle that’s covered with a waterproof cover remains damp longer than one that’s been unprotected and has dried quickly in the air and sunlight following a storm.

Now that you know not to buy a vinyl or waterproof car cover, here’s what to look for when you’re shopping for a cloth cover:

The best covers on the market are cotton or cotton and polyester, woven so closely that they keep out the sunlight, prevent a good deal of moisture from getting through, dry out quickly, allow any moisture to evaporate easily, and are durable enough to last a couple of years. The fabric is also soft enough to avoid scratching the finish. The best covers come in shapes and sizes designed to fit specific vehicles, and you order them by year, make, and model. These can cost up to a couple of hundred dollars, but they save you money in the long run if you have an expensive vehicle to protect.

Some covers come with cables that slide under the car and lock onto the cover to keep it from being stolen. You may want this option, especially if your vehicle sits unattended for long periods of time.

The cheaper car covers designed for small, medium, and large models work fairly well. If you buy one of these, make sure that it has no metal cleats or grommets that can scratch the car and that it will stay on securely in gusting, windy weather. Mail-order ads in car magazines have some of the best buys.