How to take care of your automobile.

Avoid scratches as much as possible
We start with scratches. Why? Because they are the biggest enemy to your car's finish. And avoiding scratches is the secret to keeping your car looking good. Dirt and grime, rubbed in while washing or drying, will act like sandpaper and dull your car's paint. There is one basic rule which will guide you whenever you touch the surface of your automobile:

Anything that comes in contact with your car's finish should be soft.

Protect your cars finish from the elements.
This means storing the car in a garage or covered area. Also, the use of a car cover is highly recommended. A car that is constantly exposed to sunlight and other environmental hazards will deteriorate quicker and require significantly more cosmetic maintenance.

Always keep a good coat of wax or paint sealant on the car.
In addition to providing gloss and depth, wax will also protect your car from the elements, including sunlight and many other circumstances that you will encounter, from bug carcasses to bird droppings.

Be aware of your car's finish.
Make regular quick inspections of your cars surface a habit. Look it over and note its condition, keeping in mind its recent history and what you anticipate will happen in the future.

Make a habit of detailing your car.
In most cases, washing your car once a month is adequate. Once every two weeks is better and necessary if the car is subject to harsh conditions.

Do it yourself, Hints and Kinks

· Wash the windshield wipers using the sponge or mitt reserved for harsh applications. Also, windshield wipers can be made to last longer with occasional dressing (Armour-All, etc.) treatments. Be sure to wipe off all the excess after your application.

· Apply a coating of graphite oil to your antenna mast. This will make raising and lowering it easier and will make an electric unit more reliable.

· Most of the time it is best to apply a spray product to an application cloth, rather than directly on the surface being treated. This will prevent over spray from affecting nearby areas.

· Others may disagree, but in our opinion bumper stickers, decals, license plate frames with messages and other forms of distraction have no place on a well detailed car.

· A simple black or chrome license plate frame is a nice touch however. Be sure that any legally required license plate registration tags are on straight and cover the previous years sticker. Some detailers will go so far as to position the slots on the screw heads so that they are both horizontal.

· Try using a photographer's loupe, which is basically a magnifying glass set up to be the right distance from a given surface, to inspect your cars finish. If your car has been repainted, consult the painter regarding how long you have to wait before you wax your car. New paint needs to "cure", time in which the solvents that are part of the process dissipate. Applying wax, which seals the paint, will interfere with this process. New cars do not have a waiting time before waxing requirement, as their paint is cured in ovens at the factory and are cured quickly.

· When cleaning glass, use a vertical motion for the exterior, and a horizontal motion for the interior. If you have any streaking, you won't have to guess which side of the windshield it's on

· Always attend to bird droppings as soon as they appear. Their content is very harmful to your paint and is a good reason to keep your wax job or paint sealant up as it will help to protect you. When cleaning bird droppings, resist the temptation to scrub hard as the material is coarse and can cause scratches. Try spraying the area with Windex or your favourite glass cleaner and then try and "dab" the area to remove the offending material.