Retail & do-it-yourself

Car exterior cleaning with the Essentials

By carefully cleaning the car's exterior and choosing the right finish treatment, you protect and maintain the paintwork. In this Insight,
you will read about cleaning the exterior with Cartec Essentials products!

1. Engine Wash

Start by cleaning the engine compartment. For this, it is important that the engine has cooled down before spraying. It is not recommended to use Engine Wash on a hot engine. Spray the entire engine compartment and let it soak for 3 to 5 minutes. Then clean the engine compartment with a pressure washer.

Tip: Use the Engine Wash also behind the tank lid. The dirt you will encounter here is often greasy and this is easily removed with the Engine Wash. This prevents, among other things, dirty hands when refuelling the car.

2. Wheel Wash

It is important to start with the most polluted parts of the car. So we move on to treating the rims and tyres. A lot of brake dust can be found on the rims, causing them to turn grey or even black. The Wheel Wash will remove this effortlessly. Spray the rims with the product and let it soak in for a minute. The use of a brush is usually not necessary. After a minute, clean the rims with a pressure washer.

Note: Try the Wheel Wash on an inconspicuous area first to avoid possible damage. Especially specially treated aluminium can be vulnerable to tarnishing.

3. Tar Remover

While driving, all sorts of things splash up along the wheel arches and doors. Often, this is stubborn dirt and therefore difficult to remove, such as asphalt, tar and glue residue. When you find this on the car, you can remove it with Tar Remover. Spray the Tar Remover on the dirt and let it soak in for 1 to 2 minutes. Then remove the dirt with a clean cloth or rinse it off.

Note: Don’t leave used cloths on the paintwork. Test the Tar Remover on an invisible spot first to avoid any damage.

4. Exterior Multi Cleaner

Before washing with a washing mitt, it is important that all traffic dirt is removed from the paintwork. This dirt is easily removed with Exterior Multi Cleaner. Spray the paintwork well with the product and leave to work for 1 to 2 minutes. Afterwards, spray the paintwork clean with a high-pressure washer.

5. Insect Remover

After all the steps, flies or other insects may still be present on the paintwork. These flies or other insects are easy to remove with Insect Remover. Spray Insect Remover on the insect remains and leave for 1 to 2 minutes. Then wipe off with a soft sponge or cloth. Rinse the affected areas well with water.

6. Fallout Remover

Iron particles such as fly rust or brake dust can usually be found on the paintwork. These iron particles fall onto the paintwork, rust and damage the paintwork. The iron particles are easy to remove with Fallout Remover. Spray the paint and rims of the car, within a few minutes you can see exactly where the metal particles were present. The product reacts with iron particles, creating a purple effect and dissolving the metal particles. Fallout Remover will remove brake dust from the rims. Rinse off the product before the purple colour starts to turn brown or the product dries up.

Tip: Fallout Remover can be used in combination with car clay products. This will speed up the process of removing metal particles. Want to know more about car clay? Read ‘When should car paint be clayed?

7. Wash & Wax

It is now time to hand wash. After all the previous steps, most of the dirt has already been removed. This step is to remove the static dirt. These are very small static dirt particles that can only be removed by mechanical washing. The Wash & Wax Shampoo is very suitable for this. The car shampoo gives protection and a high gloss to the paintwork. The car shampoo is easy to mix in a bucket, use 1 part shampoo to 80 parts water. After washing with a sponge or washing glove, rinse the car with a gentle stream of water, so the wax effect remains as visible as possible. Brush off any remaining drips with a microfibre drying cloth, if tap water has been used.

8. Glass Clean & Shine

For deeply cleaning windows, Glass Clean & Shine is the ideal product. It removes insect residues quickly and effectively. Glass Clean & Shine dries streak-free after use. Spray the product on the glass surface to be cleaned. Leave on for a few seconds and then buff to gloss with a clean cloth.

Doortje Stam

Works at the online marketing department at Cartec. Keeps an eye on the developments within the social media platforms. She loves sportive cars, social media and creative content.

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