How to prep a car for a car show

You want to enter your car into a car show but to win the trophy you will have to make sure your car stands out above the rest. I will show you what you will have to do to get your car ready to show.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Detailing kit
• Car wash supplies
• Glass cleaner
• Lint free towels

1. 
    
   Your interior should be spotless when you are done

   The best way to clean your car is from the inside out, start by wiping clean all the interior surfaces, including the dash and give all leather or plastic surfaces a treatment of armour all or similar compound. Get a small paintbrush and clean out hard to reach areas such as in your dash vents. Vacuum all the dirt from your carpet as well as from under the sea areas. Vacuum the carpet under the floor mats and vacuum the floor mats as well, I flip over the drivers floor mat and run with the plastic side up until the car is parked at the car show. Flip it back over to reveal the clean side up for the "just vacuumed" look. Wash all the interior windows and dry with crumpled newspaper (black print only) for a fog free finish. Once the interior is done give a once over check to see if you missed anything.

2. 
    
   Cleaning the engine compartment is next

   Wash the engine compartment, degrease the engine and make sure there is no gunk left behind. Dirty motors cost points in a car show. If you have chrome on your engine then make it shine, make sure the firewall and strut towers are clean. Make sure your battery terminals are clean. If you have belts that are showing age, cracks, etc. replace them with new ones and nothing impresses a car show judge more than using OEM parts. If it's a Ford put Ford parts on it, especially if it's in a visible spot such as a battery. Leaks are a downer, fix any leaking gaskets, water pumps and radiators beforehand. Make sure the underside of the hood is clean and the insulation is secured to the bottom of the hood. I've trophies lost because of missing fasteners or wiring that is out of place. Once you think everything is perfect under the hood make sure you give another once over to make sure you didn't miss anything.

3. 
    
   Make sure the rims are spotless

   Wash and chamois the outside of your car, don't leave any water spots. Washing your car with soft water works best to defeat water spots. Touch up any paint chips with touch-up paint. Wax your car if it needs it, but make sure you don't leave any wax residue behind in any small cracks. Use your lint free cloths to remove any swirl marks from buffing. After you are done washing and waxing, then clean the windows on the outside. I usually wash the windows right before going to the car show to remove any dust that may have settled on them. Make sure all the car lights and lens are in great condition, a headlamp with a hole in it is a downer. Clean your wheels and tires, put some tire shine on the wheels to give them a new tire look. Use steel wool to clean any surface rust off of rims. Once you think you have everything perfect give it a once over and try to find anything that looks out of place or not cleaned.

Tips & Warnings

• Arrive early to the car show to allow some prep time, you will do a once over on the interior, under the hood, and around the outside.
• Take a friend with you to the car show and have him/her check it over when you are done to see if you missed anything
• organize and clean the glove box

[moleguy]

on 9/23/2009 Beware of rainy days because they can ruin the entire show. I just saw a virtual classic car show on www.oldcarpartz.com and it was really cool.