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Step 1
Washing:
For this you will need a plastic bucket, a wash mitt or cotton rag and a quality car wash that is PH balanced. Be sure to use cool water for washing the car, otherwise if you use hot it will help to soften the wax. And you're going to have to re-wax more often. Another thing that you might do, is to make sure that your car is out of the sun and the paint surface is fairly cool. You will wash the car from top to bottom doing one section at a time. And then rinsing to ensure that the soap doesn't dry on your car. -
Step 2
Bird droppings need to be removed right away as they are highly acidic and can damage the paint. So the longer they are left on your car the more damage they can cause. Bird droppings can be easily removed with no salt seltzer water, many car enthusiasts like to keep a bottle in their car at all times. No salt seltzer water is just water and carbon dioxide and is not harmful to paint. First remove the lid from the seltzer water and then with your thumb over the spout just shake it up and allow it to spray over the droppings. Bird droppings contain gravel and grit which can scratch the paint so you don't want to try and wipe it off with a rag.
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Step 3
Be careful about parking your car under pine trees. During the warm summer months the sap can drip onto your car where the heat will cause it to bake onto your car. If left on the car for very long or during a very hot period this can completely ruin the paint job. A few of the remedies that I ran across called for using WD 40, peanut butter, and mayonnaise to remove the sap. In my case the damage was so bad that the car had to be repainted.
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Step 4
With some of the newer waxes on the market you may only have to wax your car once a year. But when it reaches the point that the water no longer beads on your car you know it needs to be waxed. Having your car professionally done is nice, but most of us are trying to cut back and save a little money by doing things on our own. And waxing your own car is a great way to do that but before you wax make sure that your car is completely clean and out of direct sunlight. Also if your car has any black trim be sure to keep the wax away from it. Otherwise it may leave a dull film on it that is very hard to remove.










Comments
joshtb86 said
on 3/31/2009 great ideas
ilivetoteach said
on 3/30/2009 Thank you for reminding me that my car is way overdo for a wash and wax. *5
hardworker said
on 3/25/2009 great info. im definitely gonna need to pay attention t the bird droppings. i had no idea they were that bad for the paint. 5*
pondripples said
on 3/25/2009 Thanks. It's too late for my car's paint. I'd never heard of the seltzer water for bird droppings. I'll have to keep that in mind.
sunshine11219 said
on 3/24/2009 Good tips on keeping the paint job on a car looking great