The Car Guy: 9 Car Washing Tips

. Then someone asked me about technique. How does one wash a car? Well, there really is no correct way. However, there are some things you should know:

• Don’t use dishwasher detergent. Most auto body professionals will tell you that this kind of soap could damage your paint over the long haul. It is important to have a soap that is designed specifically for automotive paint, otherwise your paint won’t last as long. Buying soap at the local auto store should suffice.

• Try to wash your car in a shady area. If you don’t rinse your car off quickly enough, you could burn some soap right onto your car’s paint. This isn’t the end of the world, but should still be avoided to prevent damage and create more work.

• Only wash your car with a nozzle on the hose. This will help you reduce the amount of water you are using. Furthermore, nozzles tend to produce better water pressure, which is useful to get the more stubborn dirt off.

• Try not to use something abrasive to wash your car. Buy a sponge that is designed for washing painted surfaces. Some sponges can be damaging to paint, so you should use your better judgment. If it looks abrasive, it probably is.

• I tend to have two separate items that I use to wash. I use a cloth-like item on my wheels, and a sponge-like item on the actual paint of the car. The brake dust can be extremely hard to get off of anything. It is very sticky (which is why your wheels are filthy to begin with) and it can be abrasive, which can damage your paint. So, it is a good idea to have two separate items--one for each job.

• Wash the wheels first. I find them to be the hardest part of the entire car to wash because they are usually the dirtiest part of the entire car. After washing the body, I might not want to put the same effort into the wheels, so I do them first.

• When doing the car, always start at the top and work your way down. Wet the entire car, and then soap up the roof and work your way down. Afterward you can rinse. Some people do their cars in sections as opposed to washing the entire car at once. For example, they will do their roof and rinse. Then they will do the front of their car and rinse, etc.

• Dry the car with a chamois (pronounced 'shammy'). Once again, you can get this at the auto store. If you decide not to dry the car, it might be covered in spots.

• Have you ever seen the words “wash me” scribbled on someone’s paint? Never a good idea. All of those little particles of dirt are scratched into the paint when that happens.

Did I leave anything out? How do you wash your car?