[1]Now that the show season is in full swing, car enthusiasts all over the country are looking for the best ways to keep their precious rides in tip top shape, not only when it comes to performance, but also aesthetic appeal. Luckily, Meguiars [2] makes a whole line of products to keep your ride looking its best, whether you’re just hitting the local cruise or drag racing it, showing it or putting it through the ringer on the autocross course. So who better to turn to for advice on the best way to keep your car squeaky clean all summer long than the experts at Meguiars?
In a recent press release, Meguiars car care experts divulged their best plan for getting your car show-ready and keeping it clean all year round with easy maintenance. Check out their list of tips below.
“During show car season, the golden rule is to work smarter, not harder, ensuring your show car finish exceeds expectations.” – The Meguiars Car Care Team
[3]Cleaning Up
The first step to getting your car show-ready is to clean it, but we’re not just talking about a quick spray-off with the garden hose in the front yard. Because a clean exterior is the perfect base for a shiny car, one must wash the vehicle properly to rid the surface of any contaminants that could mess up the car’s finish or even the underlying layers of clear-coat and paint.
[4]To achieve a proper wash, Meguiars recommends using a product with conditioners and nutrients right in the soap, like their entire line of car wash products.
This will not only get your car clean, it will also give it its first level of defense against elements that can greatly affect the wear and tear of a car’s finish.
Although we’ve all heard that it’s okay to use dish soap to wash your car, Meguiars cautions against it.
Just like with washing greasy dishes, dish soap strips all the built-up layers of wax and protection your car has from previous washes and waxes. Constantly stripping your car with a dish soap bath can cause it to become less protected from the elements.
[5]Claying Off
Preparing your car’s surface for polishing and waxing is the next step. Whether it’s with a clay bar or other compound, the goal is to remove any bonded or stuck on contaminants in this step. Not only will this leave your car with a smooth surface to work with, it will also help remove sub-surface defects that washing leaves behind. Meguiars offers many products for this step, including their Smooth Surface Clay Kit and their Ultimate Compound.
[6]Polishing to Perfection
You know that extremely deep shine that some show cars exude? Well, that’s achieved by a proper polish of the vehicle’s surface.
Polishing adds brilliance to your car’s finish to create a high gloss, but with Meguiars’ expertise, they’ve added something more to make their polish stand out from the rest. Not only will their Ultimate Polish gloss up your car’s finish, it will also polish out superficial imperfections from your car’s clear-coat or paint. That means that any super fine scratches can be polished away for a brilliant deep gloss no matter what color your car is painted.
[7]Protection and Prevention
Just like sunscreen is used on skin to protect it from sun damage, protective products like wax, polymers, silicons and resins are used to protect your car’s surface from the elements. But unlike sunscreen, car surface protectants work round the clock for extended periods of time, fighting off that unsightly clear-coat peel or paint fade.
If you’re looking for a good product to provide long-lasting protection for your car, Meguires offers their Ultimate Liquid Wax and Ultimate Quik Wax, which both offer defensive barriers between your car’s surface and Mother Nature, all in easy-to-use applications.
[8]Maintenance Matters
After all your hard work has gone into prepping, polishing and protecting your vehicle’s finish, the last thing you want to happen is for Mother Nature, storage horrors or unexpected surprises on your drive home to destroy your work. So Meguiars recommends regular maintenance of your vehicle’s surface. For this, Meguiars offers products like their Ultimate Quik Detailer, which helps remove contaminants that are always building up on your car’s surface and prevents them from bonding, giving your car that sleek look even between washes.
With a little bit of effort and attention to detail, your ride can look like a show car all year long. All it takes is following the proper steps and maintaining the results with proper maintenance!