Keep your car sparkling: tips from IAM RoadSmart

Car washing seems to be one of those Marmite topics; some enjoy the simplicity of the task and the instant improvement it produces. Others detest the chore and would rather get it professionally cleaned.

This time of year, mud, drizzle and the start of the road-salting season all prove a challenge to keeping the paintwork shiny. However, there are good practical reasons to keeping your car looking like your pride and joy, even if it isn’t. IAM RoadSmart’s head of technical policy, Tim Shallcross, has put together some top tips to keep your car in shape:

• The first, is the issue of wide cars and narrow parking bays. Nothing is more irritating than getting a filthy smudge on your clothes as you squeeze between two dirty cars – at least if yours is clean you stand a chance of exiting untarnished.

   

• More important is the fact that a layer of grime, salt, tree sap and road grease will dull the paintwork if left undisturbed. The caked-on chemicals gradually eat into the ultra-smooth top layer, making it rougher at a microscopic level, which stops that glossy showroom sheen.

   

• A thorough wash will stop the action from the chemicals and even if the car gets covered in road dirt the following day, the dulling process will take time to re-start. If you polish it as well, the new look will last even longer as the polish acts as a barrier between the paint and the dirt. Regular washing will keep the car looking new underneath the dirt for much longer!

   

• If you only wash the car when the “clean me” scrawls get too embarrassing, restoring a showroom look when it comes to selling the car will need an awful lot of elbow grease, or you risk quite a slice off the resale value.

   

• There’s also the problem of bird droppings. Car factories do much less damage to the surrounding environment than they used to and one of the major contributors is the move to eco-friendly paints. They are also softer than their toxic predecessors and very prone to being permanently marked by bird droppings that are left on for any more than a couple of days.

   

• So, you face two choices. If you really can’t stand the thought of getting a bucket and sponge out, a hand car wash near you is one of the best value things a fiver will buy these days; maybe a couple of quid more if you have an SUV or stretch limo. They do an excellent and thorough job – wheels, door shuts, tyre shine and all.

   

• Alternatively, the bucket and sponge option is for those of us so inclined, very satisfying and it is very healthy exercise. Various estimates fly around the internet, but you can burn about 325 calories by washing a car and anything up to 1,000 if you polish it as well.

   

• Use a proper car shampoo, NOT washing up liquid. Fill a bucket with hot water (saves your hands freezing), and don’t overdo the shampoo – too much and you’ll have lots of streaks. Use a hose with a trigger spray attachment to wet the body all over first, to soften the dirt, then plunge in with the sponge.

   

• You can get decent sponges for 99p almost anywhere these days, so don’t use a worn out ragged one – and using two sponges will make life even easier, one in the bucket soaking while you scrub away with the other.

   

• Start with the roof and end with the wheels, then rinse off, stand back and admire your work. Use a leather or microfibre cloth to dry it – or just go for a drive for a couple of miles then wipe off the few remaining drops.

   

• Finally, get a cloth, open the doors, wipe the sills and door shut areas and enjoy the smug feeling as you look at your gleaming pride next to all the mud spattered, salt encrusted neighbours.

   

• Until tomorrow, of course, when your car will be indistinguishable from the rest. But you had some healthy exercise, the dirt isn’t eating away at the shine and anyway, you know it’s gleaming underneath the dirt.

ENDS

1.       Tim Shallcross is IAM RoadSmart’s head of technical policy.

2.       IAM RoadSmart has a mission to make better drivers and riders in order to improve road safety, inspire confidence and make driving and riding enjoyable. It does this through a range of courses for all road users, from online assessments through to the advanced driving and riding tests. IAM RoadSmart is the trading name of all businesses operated by the UK’s largest road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and was formed in April 2016 combining the IAM, IAM Drive & Survive, PDS and IAM Driver Retraining Academy. The organisation has 92,000 members and campaigns on road safety on their behalf. At any one time there are over 7,000 drivers and riders actively engaged with IAM RoadSmart’s courses, from members of the public to company drivers, while our Driver Retraining Academy has helped 2,500 drivers to shorten their bans through education and support programmes.

To find out more about IAM RoadSmart products and services visit the new website www.iamroadsmart.com

To find out the name of your own local IAM RoadSmart group please visit: https://wwwiamroadsmart.com/local-groups

Media contacts:

Further information from:

IAM RoadSmart press office – 020 8996 9777 

press.office@iam.org.uk / www.iamroadsmart.com

ISDN broadcast lines available

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On Twitter: @IAMRoadSmart  

ENDS ALL