Washing your car
Car waxing
Glass care
Wipers and washers
Wheel care
Tyre care
Lingering odours
Metal care / rust
Leather care
Car Care Products
MicksGarage has a wide range of car care products and accessories to help you look after your car and keep it clean.
Shop for car care products
Washing your car
Wash your car regularly - at least once a month. Items like bugs, bird's dropping, or limestone dripping damage the paint leaving permanent stains if not washed off in time. When the car is clean, all the moisture dries up quickly, but when it's dirty, the moisture accumulates in dirty areas causing corrosion.
Wash your car in the shade so that the car itself is cool and you won’t have the sun drying it faster than you can work, leaving spots. Start with the wheels, one at a time. Hose down one wheel and then spray on a wheel cleaner on the wheel AND rim. Using a brush scrub down all the dirt and mud. Rinse, and then move on to the next wheel.
Hose down the car, from top to bottom. Using a sponge, scrub the roof, in straight lines, from the innermost part out to the edges. Rinse the bonnet. Next, do the sides in the same manner, using straight strokes from top to bottom. Remember to rinse the sponge or mitt frequently. After rinsing the sides, do the bonnet and the boot.
Be sure to pay special attention to the bumpers, especially in the front where bugs tend to accumulate. After these surface areas are finished, spray down the undercarriage to remove the dirt and mud buildup.
Once the car is completely rinsed, use a clean, soft cloth to dry it. You’ll want to run it lightly over the surface of the car to smooth out the water droplets. You might need to use more than one cloth, depending on its size and the size of your vehicle.
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Car waxing
Wax helps to protect the paint, minimising harm of chemicals and protecting the paint from fading; plus the car looks shiny. It takes only about 30 minutes to wax a whole car and high quality car wax stays on the car for three - four months. In order to maintain a protective coat any product needs to be reapplied periodically.
To wax your car you will need some good quality wax, small soft sponge and clean soft cloth towel. Your car must be very clean and dry. Park your car somewhere in the shadow - usually it works better when the car surface is cool to the touch. Work one section at the time, for example, a door. If you use liquid wax, shake the bottle well before use. Apply small amount of wax on the sponge and, spread it evenly to one section of the car. It's good idea to start from the top, and do the bottom panels last because there is always some dirt left at the bottom.
Make a thin even layer of wax. Try not to touch the surfaces like black window trim, rubber door seals and black matte plastic - the wax will leave white stains on them. Work one section at a time. Allow the wax to haze (takes about a minute or two). Then buff it to a perfect shine with clean soft towel rotating it frequently - clean part of the towel works best. After the whole car is done, clean the wax from matte unpainted surfaces (e.g plastic mouldings, unpainted bumper, rubber door seals). Window cleaner spray will work well for this purpose.
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Glass care
There's nothing more dangerous, than looking out of a dirty windshield. Dirty glass deflects the light and can make visibility dangerous at best, impossible at worst.
A good washer fluid for your car will improve windscreen cleaning performance and the wiper blade life. You can also get windscreen sprays which removes street grime, silicone, grease, and oil from windscreens. It's always advisable to wipe the product off with a paper towel that doesn't leave streaks.
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Wipers and washers
The windshield wipers and washers are obviously very important parts of your car, and they need periodic maintenance. Windshield wiper blades should be replaced once a year to maintain a perfect seal against the glass. (Hardened rubber can scratch the glass surface and will not remove water effectively.) When replacing wiper blades, make sure that the refills are the exact same length as the OE ones. This will prevent metal-to-glass contact and the serious scratching that usually results.
The windshield washer reservoir should also be checked and filled with a cleaning product, not just water. Periodically use the washers to make sure they're functioning properly. Driving in slushy snow or muddy rain can impair vision and require frequent use of the washers. Don't neglect this safety item.
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Wheel care
These days, almost all new vehicles are factory-equipped with alloy wheels. Some of these wheels have a natural finish, some have a natural finish with a clear coating and some are powdercoated. Regardless, all eventually get caked with disc-brake dust and road grime. It’s important to select a cleaner that's designed for your wheel type. For example, clear-coated wheels should be cleaned with a different cleaner than natural-finish alloys or steel wheels.
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Tyre care
There are good tyre care products which will clean and condition tyres as well as improving the natural appearance of your tyres. We supply a very good Tyre Foam product which is formulated with UV and Ozone protectants and does not contain harmful petroleum which causes deterioration of rubber. Make sure your tyre protector has water-resistant components which will help maintain results for weeks. You can generally apply a tyre foam product directly after you wash your car.
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Lingering odours
Some motorists can find that there is an odour (cigarette smoke, mustiness etc) in the car which cannot be removed by cleaning or shampooing the car interior. This is often down to bacteria in the air conditioning system.
Air Conditioning Cleaner is an effective means for removing odours from the air conditioning unit by treating the source of the odour. While other products eliminate the odour by neutralizing or masking the source of the odour, they don't clean the evaporator core surface - the heart of the air conditioner system where water condensation accumulates and where the odour originates. Our own Einszett foam air conditioning cleaner works by 'scrubbing' the evaporator core reducing the opportunity for odours to reappear.
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Metal care / rust
To prevent rust it is best to protect your paint. Proper car care will not only protect, but strengthen the paint. A good cleaning and waxing regimen once every two months has been proven to greatly reduce the occurrence of rust. Regular cleaning will remove contaminates that will weaken or even etch into the paint. Car wax or car polish will create a stronger, slippery surface that will be more impervious to the elements and help seal out moisture which can start the rusting process.
Rust is like cancer for a car. Once it starts it will only get worse and grow. Keep an eye out for any possible areas where rust could start. Look for nicks, scratches, dings, anything that breaks through the paint. It is important to notice these areas as early as possible so you can prevent rust from ever starting. To treat a deep nick or scratch, it is important to cover the spot and seal it from moisture. There are products available which will remove rust and oxidation from chrome, aluminum and other metals and restore the original luster.
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Leather care
Leather care is very important for your car. Dirt can get into the pores and fibres of your leather and there it acts like tiny razor blades to cut those fibres and then you get cracks, and once that happens, there isn't anything you can do. Today, many leather producers treat leather in a variety of colours and textures with a clear protectant to prevent cracking and drying. This process results in finished leather. While finished leather requires less care, it still requires attention.
A good Leather care product will utilize natural waxes and conditioners which moisturize to prevent cracking, replenish natural oils and maintain leather luster. Use on interior car fittings or motorcycle cladding and will remove dirt, grease, and body oil from the finish without leaving a greasy film. High-quality care components protect the leather surface from becoming brittle and restore the leather to its original softness.
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