6 Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Vehicle’s Exterior

Cleaning the exterior of your vehicle is an important step of car care.

Spring cleaning isn’t just for the house! Here are some tips to make sure your car or truck looks spotless after a winter and spring of salt, rain, and mud.

1. Use the right products! Get good quality car soap, wheel, window cleaner, and cloths or brushes designed for cars. Just like you wouldn’t use dishwashing soap to clean your clothes, don’t use it to clean your truck either. A wheel cleaner will get rid of grime, dirt, and brake pad dust, but won’t damage the finish on the wheels. A good quality microfiber cloth or brush won’t scratch your car’s paint.
2. Deep rinse. With a hose, rinse off the car starting at the top and moving to the bottom. Make sure to give an extra rinse to the area behind the wheels and in the wheel wells where sand, salt, and mud from the winter roads tends to linger.
3. Make the tire shine. Tires have deep grooves that trap dirt and mud, so start by spraying them down with water, then use wheel cleaner and a scrub brush or cloth, and finally rinse them off with water.
4. Top down. Use a brush or mop and soap to start scrubbing the top of your vehicle. There are lots of telescoping auto brushes that will reach the top of your truck, van, or SUV. Washing in small sections will allow you to rinse off soap so that it doesn’t drip down the sides.
5. Final rinse and dry. When you’ve given extra attention to all the problem spots and hidden dirt, give the car a final rinse with the hose. Getting off all the soap will help with an even finish. Use a terrycloth or microfiber cloth to dry off the car to prevent water spots. (Don’t use cotton towels! They can scratch the paint and won’t do the job right.)
6. Think about waxing. Waxing your vehicle could be a whole blog post in itself! If you have time, consider using a carnauba wax, paint sealer, or synthetic wax depending on how often you can wax your car and the tools you have. If you just want a quick shine, a spray wax or detailing spray can do the trick.

Don’t forget to clean the inside! See our tips for spring cleaning the interior of your vehicle too.

Spring Cleaning with Trick Tucks!

Accessories like a truck-bed liner can always help making cleaning the exterior of your truck easier. If you are interested in a truck bed cover from Trick Trucks, or one of our many Exterior Truck Accessories, please contact Trick Trucks today by calling 1-866-60 TRICK or click here today! You can also check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!