Taking care of your car

This week let’s look at how our cars could be kept cleaned and how some maintenance work could be carried out so that you have a clean without rattles and squeaks. Let’s look at maintenance. Before you clean your car you may want to look at areas that create driving discomfort like rattles and squeaks […]

This week let’s look at how our cars could be kept cleaned and how some maintenance work could be carried out so that you have a clean without rattles and squeaks.

Let’s look at maintenance. Before you clean your car you may want to look at areas that create driving discomfort like rattles and squeaks or annoying noises. Please it very importance to trace these annoying noises because it can develop into a very serious fault that may incur heavy expenses. Particularly used cars are prone to these kinds of problem and need almost an immediate attention. It may be a fitting that has gone out of place or a bearing that is worn out, which makes your car very unsafe to you and the passengers. Prevention is better than repair should be a noteworthy slogan for your car. This means that your car should always undergo a weekly inspection for any maintenance work. The most neglected area is the underside of a car which is the point where many cars begin to develop problems that become almost irreparable. This area experiences damages from the bad roads in Nigeria and within Abuja. (This area will be treated another time).  If treat your car as a cherish piece it will definitely remain as a desirable car even for a third hand value.

Washing and polishing

As part of maintenance culture we have to do a lot of cleaning on our cars. The upholstery and carpet can be kept in good condition with cleaning agents and upholstery paints. Above all the most obvious parts are the paint work and chrome trimming (which are the silver lining around the doors and fenders). As having a clean car is important, when it comes to Abuja cars it should be washed every day if possible and dirt should not be allowed to build up, especially during dusty seasons.

Before you begin to wash you must have as much as possible all the cleaning equipment and materials. Let me list them for you

1.     Hose with brush and shampoo (you may ask any GNLD distributor for a car shampoo).

2. A vacuum cleaner and attachment

3.     Bucket

4.    Propriety cleaners and upholstery paint and polish (which are thing like tar remover, plastic upholstery finish and chrome cleaner depending on what you can find in the market)

5.     Brushes, foam and polishing cloths with a scraper for the wheel arch.

The washing of the car should start from the roof down to allow the stubborn dirt to get soaked at the bottom. If you look at the illustration you will see the sequence of washing the outer body of a car. Please avoid throwing water or aiming the hose at the windscreen of the car. It was not made to withstand that kind of treatment. The car can be polished once or twice a year but I would recommend a little more three times because of the harsh weather conditions here in Abuja. But before applying polish check that you are using a suitable polish for the paintwork otherwise you could make the metallic work become dull. If your car has been newly sprayed or resprayed don’t apply polish until after two month for the paint work to dry and harden well.

For the interior the same principle of inspecting and cleaning applies. You need to pull out the carpets and the remove seats to also inspect the floor pan for any leaks or rust. You need to be careful when doing a spring cleaning, the fittings holding the different parts of the interior should not be damaged. A regular basis the interior should undergo damp cleaning exercise and brushing to keep it clean.

It is really important to keep both the exterior and interior clean so that the car can be preserved for it to retain a good selling value. I still remain the one and only in your motoring world, to help keep your car shining. So be careful and drive safely.