If you love your car, you wash it yourself.

These instructions will tell you how you can professionally clean your car yourself at home or privately.

If you really want to thoroughly remove dirt from your car and don't want to risk scratching the paintwork, then clean your car yourself. In this article we will tell you what you need for the car wash and how to carry out the vehicle care correctly. Oil and petrol residues are always removed during vehicle care. You can find out whether you are allowed to clean the car on your property from the lower water protection authority in your city. Once you have found a suitable place - please do not wash in the sun - for cleaning, you can start.

The preparation

First we start the car wash with the body care and the exterior vehicle care. For this you need the following utensils:
For hand washing, please have two buckets with grit inserts, a sponge, car shampoo, rim cleaner and rim brush, bug remover, and a lint-free towel or two for drying ready. A glass cleaner is also required for the panes and special cleaning putty is available for very stubborn dirt.

The prewash

Car care always begins with the pre-wash. The coarsest dirt is loosened and no longer causes scratches when washing by hand. The insect remover is applied to the grill, hood, windshield and side mirrors. He has to act for a few minutes. The insect remover should only be applied to the dirty areas, as it is highly concentrated and, in the worst case, can damage the paintwork of the car. You can fill the car shampoo into a foam sprayer together with water and a snow foamer. It creates nice foam when sprayed, which is firm and sticks to the car. Spray the vehicle all over and let the foam take effect for about ten minutes.

During the exposure time, continue with the body care: Clean the rims with the rim brush or a rim glove. The cleaner is sprayed on directly. After that, you can wash the entire car with clean water. When washing the car, work from top to bottom to avoid spreading the dirt.

The main wash

To avoid scratches and micro-cracks in the paintwork, the two-bucket method is recommended when washing the car by hand. The buckets should have a grit insert so that the dirt picked up stays at the bottom of the bucket and does not get back onto the clean sponge or wash mitt. This prevents damage to the paintwork during body care. Fill both buckets with water and mix in the car shampoo in a bucket. With the car sponge or the glove, the car is now lathered with the shampoo in places. Wash off the shampoo immediately with clear water. Squeeze the sponge in the bucket of clear water. The dirt comes off the sponge and settles on the floor. So no dirty water gets on the paint. Also never pour the buckets with the remaining water over the car - because then you will have the dirt back on your car. If you want to rinse the car again, use clean, clear water. Then rub the car dry with the drying towels. This way there are no water stains.

Of course, car care also includes cleaning the windows. Use a good glass cleaner for this.

The preparation

Of course, a car wash not only includes cleaning, but also preparation. The paintwork of the car is polished with a polishing machine. But you can also do it by hand. Hand conditioning is even better because you're more likely to reach corners and edges and feel the pressure you're applying. Polishing residue should always be removed with a lint-free cloth. Now your car shines and shines again!

The sealing

After polishing, it's time for the sealing. There are two options here: you can either apply a wax or a sealant. Waxes always have a natural base, while paint sealers are artificial. The wax is applied with circular movements, excess wax is removed by rubbing with a lint-free cloth.

When sealing, the cloth is sprayed and the liquid is also applied with circular movements. Then you have to wait for the exposure time. At the very end, the sealing is also rubbed down.

The interior care

Of course, every car wash and every vehicle care also includes interior care. Again, some utensils are required: This is a vacuum cleaner with various attachments, microfibre and waffle cloths, brushes and brushes, universal cleaner and care for leather and plastic. And of course again a good glass cleaner for the inner panes.

First, the floor mats are vacuumed and taken out of the car. Then the floor is completely vacuumed. But that's not the only thing that's vacuumed when caring for the interior. Everything can be carefully vacuumed with a soft brush attachment: the gear shift area as well as the ventilation slots. And of course the upholstery and finally the trunk are also vacuumed.

Caution: Do not vacuum the speedometer display and the navigation system! Please only work here with a little glass cleaner and a soft cloth.

The steering wheel

When it comes to caring for the interior, the steering wheel is of particular importance: a leather steering wheel should look good and have a good grip. But after a few thousand kilometers it gets dirty and greasy in the truest sense of the word. Before cleaning the steering wheel, you should mask off the parts that are sensitive. A special cleaning agent can now be sprayed onto a waffle cloth or brush. Please always spray outside of the car so that there are no unsightly stains in the interior. The steering wheel is now cleaned piece by piece. It is important after cleaning that a leather care product is applied to the steering wheel. The care neutralizes the PH value and protects the leather from UV radiation.

The upholstery

If the seats are made of leather, proceed as with the leather steering wheel. If you have upholstered seats, you can tackle unsightly stains with upholstery cleaner and a brush. Lather the seats and work the cleaner in with the brush. With a vacuum that can also suck up water, your seats will look like new again.

The plastics

Many parts of the car are made of plastic. During vehicle care, these are also thoroughly cleaned. The cleaner is put on a microfiber cloth and the plastic parts, such as the door handles, are rubbed down. Special care is then applied here as well. The longer the care takes effect, the shinier the result. Finally, rub down again with a microfiber cloth. You can also use cotton swabs for very small areas, such as the windshield wiper system.

The windshield

To clean the inside of the windshield, lower the steering wheel as much as possible. Spray plenty of glass cleaner onto a waffle towel and rub the driver's side window first. Then turn the cloth over and dry the pane with light pressure and with strokes from top to bottom. Do the same on the passenger side.

Tip for car care

Use a soft brush for your car wash and interior care. A brush really gets you in places you couldn't otherwise. Spray cleaner or conditioner directly onto the brush.

Conclusion

You can see that car care by hand is not that difficult and complicated. And car care is actually a lot of fun. Especially when it's really clean again after cleaning, hasn't suffered any damage to the paintwork and is shiny and radiant again.
Incidentally, you can also find all products for car body care, interior care, preparation and sealing in our shop.