Just like with anything else you own, if you take care of your car it will look newer longer and its aesthetics will last longer. Here is a simple list of ways to detail your car and tips for keeping it looking fresh.
1. Wash your car. Yeah, this is rudimentary stuff, but so many people just don’t wash their cars.
In four years of college, I don’t think I ever lived with a roommate who washed her car.
In general, dirty cars do not look appealing, but abstaining from car washes can cause long-term damage to paint.
Sap from trees can eat through clear coat causing what looks like permanent water spots.
Bug guts from the highway can eat through paint as well, causing the loss of paint in unappealing chips.
Also, don’t take it to the car wash if you can help it. Especially not the automatic drive throughs.
Cars can sustain body damage and sometimes lose parts from the rough and tumble of the automated wash.
Self-service is not nearly as bad, but don’t ever let anyone tell you that high-pressure washes are good for paint.
And please avoid any type of chemical cleaning agents they offer like bug remover or tire cleaner.
Turtle Wax has some great tips for some more specific issues like removing stickers and bugs: turtlewax.com/pro-tips.
2. Wax. Stepping it up a notch.
Don’t let waxing intimidate you! Remind yourself that if you wax your car you don’t have to wash it as much.
It is worth it in the long run. Some masochistic people like me use a four-step wax, but you don’t need to do all that.
You can just go buy a bottle of simple wax from Turtle, Meguiar’s or Mother’s, or if you’re feeling really ambitious, try a two-step wax: cleaner wax and then polish. If you have a dark-colored or black car like me, definitely invest in black wax.
3. Protect your interior.
Invest in a $10 sunshade or a tint job.
My aunt puts towels on her seats to keep them from fading, but that’s a bit ridiculous.
Don’t do that.
Getting tinted windows is really the best thing you can do, and the sunshade works wonders as well.
There is not much you can do once the interior has faded from the sun or the dashboard material begins to crack or peel.
Take these preventive measures and you’ll have a nicer interior and a cooler car during the boiling summer months.
4. Clean your interior.
Take trash out of your car, clean the liquids that spilled in the cup holder or anywhere else, etc.
Just clean.
Cars need to be dusted. It seems weird, but check your dashboard: there is dust.
The accumulation of dust, like on a household surface, can get pretty gross, so don’t forget about it when you’re cleaning.
If you use lotion on your hands and then get in your car, that lotion causes a buildup on the steering wheel and anything else you regularly touch in the car.
It can also permanently fade and wear paint and coatings off the leather or plastic.
5. Clean your headlights.
People forget about headlights.
Headlights used to be glass but now most, if not all, are made from plastic.
Whether your car is new or old they can get cloudy, resulting in icky-looking lamps and a dim beam.
The state of your car reflects on you.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a brand-new Benz.
Don’t let what you drive stop you from taking care of something you may be stuck with for a while.
You’ll feel happier walking up to whatever you drive if it is clean and noteworthy.
Erika Canfijn is a UF public relations senior. Her column appears on Thursdays.
[A version of this story ran on page 7 on 7/30/15]
