How to Wash a Luxury Vehicle

At Rusnak Auto Group, we pride ourselves on high standards of service. Would you expect anything less from a luxury dealer that sells such brands as Audi, Bentley, Maserati, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and Rolls-Royce? Many of our customers come to us for advice about luxury vehicle ownership advice, and that extends to maintenance and car care, including car washes. We’d be more than happy to point you toward a reputable luxury car detailing service in Pasadena—but we can also teach you everything you need to know about how to wash a luxury car at home. Contact us with any questions on your mind.

How to Wash a Car: Quick Tips

• Cleaning Supplies: Instead of hand soap, dishwashing soap, or household glass cleaner, use solutions that are designed to protect your car’s paint. Use a natural sponge or wool mitt to wash.
• Washing: Lather up your car with soap and clean the sponge with fresh water as you wash the car body, windows, tires, and wheels.
• Drying: Don’t air-dry your car, as this can cause swirl marks. Use a chamois or terry towel to handdry the surface.

How to Wash A Luxury Car: A Detailed Guide

Plan Ahead

Washing a luxury car should be done with great care — especially a hypercar or ultra-luxury vehicle that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. While washing any car should be done carefully, when washing a luxury vehicle, you should go to extra lengths to ensure you’re doing things “by-the-book”.

Accordingly, the first step we recommend when washing a luxury car is inspecting its condition. Next, prepare by washing in an area that’s not too hot or in direct sunlight. Plan to wash your car at a time of day conducive to good weather conditions. If you have a climate-controlled garage with drainage, even better.

Rinse & Wash

If you want to perform a traditional wash, you’ll need:

• A lambswool wash mitt, a chenille, or a microfiber cloth
• Two buckets with ‘grit guard’ technology for washing and rinsing
• An ammonia-free solution for your windows
• A low-strength, acid-free cleaning solution for your windows and tires
• A car wash soap that has been designed for automotive use

Once you have it all, you’re ready to get started:

1. Rinse your car to remove loose dirt and debris.
2. Wash your vehicle by panel, not all at once. Additionally, work from top to bottom. If your mitt falls on the ground, it will pick up debris. Switch to a new mitt or risk scratches.
3. Dry your vehicle using a soft, specially-designed drying towel or silicone drying blade.
4. Inspect the paint. You may need to re-wash sections or apply bug and tar solution to certain areas.
5. Once you’ve finished washing the car’s body, clean the windows with your ammonia-free solution.
6. Wash the wheels and tires with your low-strength, acid-free cleaning solution.

Clay & Compound

Do you intend on polishing or waxing your car after you wash it? If, when using a plastic bag run on your car’s paint, you can feel anything other than a glossy, smooth finish (AKA if you feel bumps), then your car requires claying. Here’s what to do:

• Using a clay bar lubricated with a quick-detailer, gently buff away tree sap and other embedded contaminants attached to your car’s surface in overlapping sections.
• Work panel-by-panel, ensuring that the surface does not dry. You want good lubrication for the clay bar to glide over the paint. Automotive clay can get “gummy” causing a mess to get off your paint if you don’t use a quick-detailer with it.
• After claying each section, dry it off and buff to a shine if needed.
• You can also apply compound with a dual-action polisher to smooth tiny scratches beneath the surface. If you do use a compound, though, plan to follow it with polish and wax.

Apply Polish (If Needed)

Dual-action polishers work best. The abrading agents in the polish will level out your paint to give your car a sleek, glossy look. Polishes come in varying abrasions or grades, like sandpaper. Thus, it’s best to start with the least aggressive method possible. If it doesn’t do the trick, move up to a higher “grit” polish, and then move down the line. Usually polishing is a 2 or 3 state process following by sealant or wax to lock in the shine and protect the paint.

Wax or Seal Your Car

Car wax does more than improve the appearance of your vehicle; it protects the paint from UV rays and helps it retain its sheen. Carnauba and polymer are the two most common types of car wax. Polymer wax costs a bit more than carnauba, however, it doesn’t haze and doesn’t need to set for long periods.

How Often to Wash a Car

Now you know more about luxury car wash best practices and can answer the question “how to wash a luxury car”. But how often should you perform this car care task? It really depends on how often you drive in Thousand Oaks and how dirty your vehicle gets! Of course, you can always choose to schedule luxury car detailing with us at Rusnak Auto Group if the above processes seem like too much of a time-sink for you and your busy schedule.

Get More Car Care Tips from Rusnak Auto Group!

Ready to learn everything you need to know about caring for your high-end luxury vehicle in Pasadena? Rusnak Auto Group can help! At our service center we’re here to help you however we can with your car maintenance needs. Looking for information on how to keep your car cleaner from germs and viruses via sanitation? Check out our guide to car sanitization now!