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Ever wonder why your car never looks quite as good as some others after a car wash? It\u2019s all in the details. DIY car detailing starts with a car wash but doesn\u2019t stop there. Its purpose is to get your car looking showroom-new on the inside and out \u2014 or as close to it as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n 1. GET YOUR CAR READY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Before you start, roll down all the windows, remove all loose stuff (change, trash, phone cables, mounts, etc.), remove the floor mats and empty the trunk.<\/span><\/p>\n 2. VACUUM THE INSIDE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Put the soft brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner, and go over the upper and lower parts of the dashboard, the center console and the fabric or leather parts of the doors. Next, vacuum your seats from the headrests down. Use the wand attachment to clean in between and under the seats. Don\u2019t forget to vacuum out cup holders, change trays, door pockets and the glove compartment. Do the trunk next, and save the carpets and floor mats for last.<\/span><\/p>\n 3. CLEAN YOUR UPHOLSTERY AND CARPETS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Now that all the loose dirt, leaves and random bits and pieces have been vacuumed up, look at what\u2019s left behind. You\u2019ll probably need to do some upholstery and carpet cleaning. Use a fabric cleaner or a leather-specific cleaner to avoid damaging your seats and mats.<\/span><\/p>\n 4. CLEAN ANY HARD SURFACES<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n Use an all-purpose cleaner to wash any hard plastic surfaces, such as the dash, the cup holders and the seat belts. Be careful around any electronics \u2014 use more precise tools like cotton swabs to avoid damage. <\/span><\/p>\n 5. ELIMINATE LINGERING ODORS<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n If you have leftover odors from mildew, food, sweat or anything else, don\u2019t cover it up with a hanging air freshener. Find the source, and use an odor eliminator. This could be as simple as using a spray or even leaving an open box of baking soda in the car (while parked). For tough odors, some pro detailers use industrial-strength ozone generators.<\/span><\/p>\n 6. WASH THE BODY OF YOUR CAR<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Find a shady spot and get the car wet before you get it soapy using the two-bucket method: Use one bucket for clean, soapy water and one for rinsing, dipping a microfiber cloth in the first bucket and cleaning it in the second bucket. Wash your car a section at a time, starting at the top and working downward, so dirty water doesn\u2019t run over an area you just cleaned. Use a soft chamois cloth to dry the car. <\/span><\/p>\n 7. CLEAN ANY GLASS AND TIRES<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n After you\u2019ve cleaned every crack and crevice of your car\u2019s body, move on to washing the windows, windshields and mirrors with a glass cleaner. Finally, scrub the tires and possibly apply some tire blacking as well. <\/span><\/p>\n 8. POLISH AND WAX YOUR CAR<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n Before you apply wax, see if the finish looks dull after you\u2019ve washed and dried it. This could be oxidization, especially if it\u2019s an older car with a paint job from before the advent of clear coat. This is where a polisher pad would come in. Once you\u2019ve got that perfect shine, protect it with a good wax. <\/span><\/p>\n Make DIY car detailing part of your seasonal routine to keep your car looking great between washes. You\u2019ll appreciate the time it took when you see your everyday vehicle looking like it just rolled off the lot.<\/span><\/p>\n Check out all the polishing products available on NAPA Online or trust one of our 17,000 NAPA AutoCare locations for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on DIY car detailing, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your local NAPA AUTO PARTS store. Photos courtesy of Jeff Swain.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ever wonder why your car never looks quite as good as some others after a car wash? It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":null,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.primeroinstx.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.primeroinstx.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.primeroinstx.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.primeroinstx.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.primeroinstx.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.primeroinstx.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.primeroinstx.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.primeroinstx.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.primeroinstx.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}