Not many people will be driving their supercar (or classic car) on a daily basis. They are usually reserved for weekend best, for a treat on sunny days. Used for a blast down some country roads to a lovely pub for a spot of lunch or on special road trips (like Radical Rally perhaps). But if you are daily driving your supercar, it’s going to get dirty fast. So we thought we’d put together our top tops for cleaning the exterior of your daily driver supercar in between visits to the detailing shop.

This is a simple guide that you can use to maintain the appearance of your car at home with the minimal effort, tools and chemicals.

This is part one of a two part series. The article on interiors is coming next.

What’s your aim?

Most of us have little time to clean our own cars unless it’s a real passion. Life gets in the way and there is always something more pressing to do. Even at Radical Autoworks we find ourselves too busy with customer cars to lavish any attention on our own vehicles. So you have to ask yourself, is your aim to keep the car clean for your enjoyment or for other people to admire as you drive down the street? You can answer both of course, but if it’s just one of those you can save yourself a load of time.

For example, if you are most concerned about how it looks in the sun as you roll down, the street then you’re better off spending more time on cleaning the exterior of your daily driver supercar.

Preparation

One of the best things you can do for your daily driver is to get a full detail and polish done first to get the standard of the car up to a really high level before you start. That should include getting a ceramic coating applied as this will save you a ton of time maintaining the appearance of the paint and will go some way towards protecting against the increased washing cycles that a daily driver endures.

If you start with a clean car, you have much more chance of keeping it that way without too many specialist tools or chemicals. 

Exterior cleaning method

The single most important thing about washing your daily driven supercar is your washing technique. If you get this part wrong you’re going to be introducing small marks to the paintwork with each wash. Not only will this make the paint look less perfect but it will give us a big headache when you next bring it in for a full detail and paint correction. 

Make sure the car is cool to the touch and out of the sun when you start. Also make sure you don’t wear clothing with metal fasteners, buttons, belt buckles etc as they can damage the paint. 

  • Start with the wheels as they will likely be very dirty. Using a couple of brushes make sure you agitate the entire wheel surface and in between the spokes as there is nothing worse than leaving a dirty patch and finding it later. Use dedicated brushes and a specific PH neutral wheel cleaner. Then make sure you thoroughly clean out your bucket if you don’t have a dedicated wheel bucket.
  • If you have a pressure washer, use it to liberally apply a snow foam product. If you don’t, you can get pump action aerator bottles that do a similar job. Leave it to dwell on the car for 3-5 minutes then wash off.
  • Mix up your car shampoo or wash & wax in one bucket using cold water. In the other just put a small amount of cold water – this is your rinse bucket. Using your microfibre wash mitt, start at the top of the car and wash a section at a time. Rinse out the mitt in the clean water each time before you go for more shampoo. Make sure not to pick up debris from the bottom of the bucket. Work your way round the car quickly and methodically finishing with the areas around who wheels, bumpers and side skirts. If you drop the mitt, STOP. You must use a clean mitt or thoroughly wash it out so you’re not dragging grit from the floor around the car and scratching it.
  • Thoroughly rinse off all the shampoo.
  • Use clean rinse out your snow foam lance or aerator bottle and fill with diluted hydrophobic coating. Spray liberally over the car while it’s still wet and let it sit for a minute or two. Avoid the windscreen. If you have a soft top, this step is not recommended as most hydrophobic products are not suitable for canvas roofs – you need a specially designed one.
  • Thoroughly rinse off the hydrophobic coating.
  • Using your drying towel, carefully dry the entire car from top to bottom, paying close attention to areas where water can collect. Again if you drop the towel, STOP. You will need to replace it or clean it.
  • Then open all the doors, bonnet, boot, fuel cap, etc. Using a clean microfibre cloth, wipe round all the door jams, sills and other areas that were covered for the previous step. If the cloth gets dirty, put it in the laundry pile and get another.
  • Do a final walk round to make sure you have caught all the drips and runs – you always get some after opening the doors etc. 

Make sure to thoroughly clean your equipment after use and launder your cloths (without fabric softener).

Tools and products

We’ve tried to keep this list short and sweet and get you the best results with the minimum of special tools and products. Otherwise you’ll end up being like us with a whole workshop full of specialist gear!

Tools you’ll need:

  • 2 buckets ideally with grit guards in them
  • A couple of dedicated wheel brushes (for the face and between the spokes)
  • Pressure washer with snow foam lance or aerator bottle
  • A microfibre wash mitt
  • A high quality drying towel
  • Selection of microfibre towels

Products you’ll need:

  • PH neutral wheel cleaner
  • Snow foam
  • Good quality car shampoo or wash & wax
  • Hydrophobic coating

Golden rules

There are a couple of golden rules you must follow also…

  1. If you drop a cloth or a wash mitt… don’t keep using it. Get a clean one to carry on and thoroughly wash that one later.
  2. Always clean your tools after use and put your cloths through the laundry (without fabric softener) so they are ready for the next use.
  3. Never, ever, visit a regular car wash. Automatic ones go without saying, but hand car washes can be just as bad for your paint. If you’re stuck for time, give us a call and we can do a quick maintenance wash for you. 

If in doubt, call us. We’re always happy to talk to people about detailing their pride and joy. It doesn’t matter if  you’re in the UK or not…. just be aware we might not answer if its 3am here when you call. You can also contact us by email here.

Image by Janis Liepa from Pixabay