misc. car care facts

I think some people might learn something out of this thread...

For example, i have just recently learned that peanut butter will take off old decal lines. (hey, it was cheaper than buying a can of Goo be Gone or something like that)

So what car care related stuff do you know about?

It's best to wash yuor car when it's cold & not in sunlight

:smile:

If your car has yellowed headlights, go over the covers a few times with a low concentrate acetone, then clean it off really well and apply chrome polish. Apply, buff, apply, buff, about 3 or 4 times then wash with windex and put a coat of regular car wax(meguiars gold class works well) and voila! Clearer headlights in 10 minutes. :)

an even easier way to recondition those yellow headlights is with toothpaste. use it like a polish, takes a little time but works well

Yeah - collgate has done the trick for me :smile:

I know jack squat about keeping up my car, please inform me

Originally posted by YogsVR4
Yeah - collgate has done the trick for me :smile:
yes but sometimes you really should try it on your teeth too:biggrin2:

this is kinda off topic......but they say taht colgate cleans up jewelry too.....its supposed to make it shinier and clean off all the dirt and stuff......

Originally posted by Neutrino

yes but sometimes you really should try it on your teeth too:biggrin2: What are you trying to say :icon16:

he's saying feel free to use it

get back to the subject.
Peanut butter gets out old decal/sticker lines
Wash your car in the shade or where it's cool
Acetone and/or toothpaste will clear up yellowed headlights
toothpaste will also clean up jewelry a bit

lets keep it movin....

I've heard that the Coca-cola corporation uses it's own product (Coke, duh!) to clean the engines on it's delivery vans...

it's true and never leave it on the bare metal of the car or it'll eat holes...happened to the old van before we got another one

also if your car has hubcaps, to keep them shiny and free of brake dust and road grime just get a roll of paper towels and a bottle of windex...they'll be shiny in no time

Before waxing your car, wash the car using Tide laundry soap. It will strip off any old remaining wax. I also use Tide to wash my car care towels to get old crap out of them.

Wax the car in the shade, not in direct sunlight.

Clean windows in the shade, and when the glass is cool. Sunshine + heat + windex = nasty.

Dirty motor? Spray (mist on) mixture of Simple Green and water on motor (don't directly spray any wiring or electrcal components). Let sit for 2-3 minutes, rinse off with hose nozzle set on mist. Spritz motor with Meguire's Vinyl & Rubber cleaner. Wipe off any metal/chrome parts to avoid staining. Let car sit for 15 minutes then go for a drive, engine heat will finish it off. Make sure to cover your cone filters (if it applies to you) before doing the cleaning and make sure to remove covering before driving. If you miss a chrome part, wheel polish will remove staining and make it shiny again :D

Corroded battery terminals? Pour mixture of water/baking soda and use a scrub brush to give battery and terminals a good cleaning. Make sure to rinse well and wash driveway afterwards too.

Dingy black door handles/mirrors/moulings? Meguire's Vinyl & Rubber cleaner to the rescue.

Wheels need a quick cleaning? Eagle 20/20 and a rag...it is an ammonia-free window cleaner.

Use a funnel for pouring oil (or other fluid) to avoid spillage on motor/exhaust.

Need to work on the car after the drive home from work? Pop the hood and blow a fan directly on it to help cool is faster.

Always remember to use jackstands if you are gonna be working under the car, don't risk using just the jack. A fellow Neon enthusiast did this a few days before the big show in Carlise and the jack collapsed. He was crushed by his car :(

Have a hard time remembering when the next service is coming? Keep a small pocket notebook in glove box and write down when last service was done (mileage) and when next service is due....then make sure to check it often.

Always carry spare fuses in the car.

Use a locking gas cap to avoid someone tampering with your gas tank or stealing your cap.

Doing major motorwork? Use making tape and a marker to label which hoses/wires connect to what part. Also bag bolts separately and label bags for which part they go to. Use tape to make reminder notes and stick them on the windshield....i.e. remembering to put oil in motor before starting it after repairs are done.





That's all I could come up with for now :D

genius

I used to work for a car detailing place/mechanic attatched. Heres some small tips for the actual washing:

-Use side to side stroked instead of swirl/round and round strokes. Covers a greater surface area quicker and gives a better finish.

-Make sure the car is thoroughly wet (soaking!) in water before you put any soap on it.

-Use the entire surface area of your chamoix along the entire section of car (eg. one stroke from engine to boot) then squeeze out and repeat.

-Go over your rims in a soft, white cloth to get any gunk off after cleaning and to dry. Apply some armor-all or tyre silicon with another rag to the entire visible section of the tyre.

-Use the chamoix and a clean white cloth to clean any glass - press hard with a s lightly damp chamoix to clean, use a razor blade for any stuck on c@rp and go over with clean white cloth.

More later when brain has had coffee.

Microfiber cloths work very well for cleaning windows, and removing sudges or lines is you left any while cleaning.

Keep a microfiber cloth inside the car near the drivers seat, when haze starts to build up on the windsheild and other windows, softly wipe it off witht he cloth. Removes the haze, leaves no smudges.

Microfiber is also exellent for removing wax and polish when waxing or polishing a car.

When waxing your car, after cleaning your headlights and tailights, wax them.

When using a cutting compound, always start with the least aggerssive and work up if needed. automagic's blue clay works great (best clay I found) for removing bonded continates. Use a bottle of a quick detailer type product (like mcguires quick detailer), spray it on the car, and the take the clay bar to the sprayed area (rubbing) Wipe clean with microfiber. This will help resore your finish to that smooth as glass feeling (if not using a buffer with a cutting compound, some of these will remove bonded contamians too, don't use a rotory bufer unless familer with one's usage). If you drop the clay on the ground, dump it and get a new peice.

Wax your rims, especially the painted/power coated once like racing hearts bronze rims. Not only does this give them a nice, reflective shine, the wax helps protect them as well.

Automagic's Special Cleaner Concetrate is a great product to keep on hand. Delute it to desired level and use. Among it's uses (at various levles of delution) Engine Degreaser, Wheel Cleaner (spray off with water) interior cleaning, carpet cleaning, cleaning vinyl, leather. Cleaning off wax/polish residue/splatter off of trim.

To aviod spraying tire shine onto wheels, tire gels with a foam applicator work well. For low-profiel tires, just flip the appilcator to horizontal instead of using vertically.

Thats all I can think of at the moment.