Long winter behind. The snowdrifts and ice have finally disappeared. But don't be so happy. Any experienced car owner knows that for him iron horse V winter time Freezing temperatures and snow are not so scary. Much more worrying are the salt and reagents that utility services use to save the city from snow. No matter what anyone says, modern chemicals that dissolve snow are so aggressive that they cause serious damage to the car body.

Reagents can ruin even painted car parts, not to mention bare metal. Photo: rustcheck.com

Influenced low temperatures and salt, the varnish layer on the car becomes thinner and dull. Then the paint begins to deteriorate and rust appears. Corrosion also affects parts on the bottom of the car. Repainting a car body is not a cheap pleasure, so washing your car after winter is a must. And this must be done carefully. If you do not wash carefully, salt and reagents will remain in hard-to-reach corners of the body, which will lead to destruction paint coating. Comprehensive car washing after winter is especially important in cities and suburbs, where there is a large amount of chemicals on the roads.

Professional car wash

It is best to leave washing your car after winter to professionals. As a rule, special sinks have everything necessary tools for quality work. Professionals know in which places in the car salt lingers the longest.

In addition, specialized car washes contain solutions and detergents that do not damage the paintwork on the car. You should definitely use the service of cleaning the underbody and arches of your car. This will help remove salt and reagents.

It is also worth remembering that throughout the winter, salt on the shoes of the motorist and his passengers ended up in the car interior. Rubber mats do not always save you, so over three winter months a decent amount of reagents can accumulate. They not only spoil the interior, but also cause allergic reactions, especially in children. Therefore, when a motorist carries out comprehensive cleaning car after winter, you shouldn’t forget about the interior either.

Self car wash

If you don’t want to trust your car to other people or you are used to doing everything yourself, then you can wash your car after winter on our own. Photo: premereautodetail.com

If there is a box or other room where you can wash your car, that’s great. But if it’s not there, don’t worry. The car can also be washed outside. You just have to take the weather into account. You should not wash your car in sunny or windy weather. The most suitable day is when it is cool, there is no direct rays of sun and strong wind. For high-quality washing after winter, the car owner must have:

• Large soft sponge.
• Hard brush.
• Vacuum cleaner (preferably more powerful and powered).
• Nozzles for the vacuum cleaner (at least three, of different shapes).
• Car shampoo (for body and interior).
• A special product for removing bitumen and grease stains.
• Suede for wiping, does not leave streaks.
• Large water capacity.

Before you start washing, it is better to put on rubber boots. Otherwise, your feet will quickly get wet.

It is clear that you need to wash your car thoroughly after winter, so there must be a source of uninterrupted water supply to which you can connect a watering hose. If there is no such source, then it is better not to carry out washing yourself.

Procedure

First, you need to spray the car thoroughly with clean water from a hose. This is necessary in order to wash off dried dirt. After dousing, the car should stand for a while to allow the dirt to soak naturally. It is strictly forbidden to scrape off dirt from the car using improvised means! Even unnoticeable scratches on the paintwork will lead to corrosion in the future.

If the top layers of dirt can be washed off with plain water, then reagents, exhaust gas residues, and various greasy stains cannot be washed off in this way. Therefore, in a container of water (preferably warm), following the manufacturer’s instructions, you need to dissolve car shampoo for the car body. It is prohibited to wash the car with various solvents, powders, bleaches or other products not intended for this procedure! You need to start washing from the top of the car. First, the roof is washed with a large sponge, then the doors, trunk and hood. And only last but not least are the bumpers and sills washed.

To wash the underbody and arches, you can use a special product for washing car sills. It cleanses well the reagents accumulated after the winter. This procedure must be carried out after winter. If this is not done, the salt will remain for a long time and will begin to corrode the parts of the underbody of the car.

Immediately after washing, you need to inspect the car for the presence of bitumen stains. If they are, then they need to be removed with a special tool that is intended for these purposes. Photo: irecommend.ru

If there are no stains and you are satisfied appearance coating, then the car needs to be doused with a large amount of water from a hose. To remove any remaining detergent. Then the car needs to be wiped with a dry cloth. To wipe windows, you can use a special suede that does not leave streaks.

In the car interior, salt and reagents may remain in the lower part. That's why rubber mats Be sure to wash with shampoo and then rinse with plenty of water to remove any remaining product. While the mats are drying, the interior of the car (especially its lower part) needs to be thoroughly vacuumed. For this, nozzles of different shapes are useful to get dirt from hard-to-reach places.

You can also learn how to wash the bottom of your car after winter from this video:

Bottom line

Every car owner makes a choice in favor of professional or self-wash car after winter. The advantage of self-washing is a more responsible attitude to work. And the disadvantage may be the absence necessary materials or special knowledge to perform quality work.

The flakes and flecks of bitumen are best seen on white paint. Regular car shampoos don’t remove them, but the right special cleaner washes them off in one go. The main condition: before use, read the manufacturer’s instructions so as to remove dirt and not damage the varnish. Usually, after treating stains, you need to wait for the product to work, and then the stain can be easily removed from the varnish.

Despite its stickiness, bitumen is one of the most harmless pollutants. Even after a month or a year, the bitumen stain is washed off without a trace, and the paintwork underneath remains intact.

Myth. The bitumen must be washed off immediately, otherwise it will eat through the varnish, and then nothing can wash it off.

Is it true. Age bitumen stain doesn't matter. Fresh and old dirt can be removed equally easily and quickly. Most likely, this myth arose due to the use of ineffective cleaners. A good special product removes bitumen without a trace.

How to wash bitumen and tar stains? It is ideal to use special cleaners. They wash away such contaminants quickly and without a trace. If you need an economical option, then instead of special cleaners you can use any solvent such as white spirit, diesel fuel or kerosene.

Kerosene and diesel fuel wash away bitumen without harming the paintwork. It is better not to experiment with solvents at random.

2. Wood resin and glue from poplar buds. Holes in the varnish

This problem is often encountered by motorists who park in the shade of spreading trees. It would seem that what’s scary about tree resin? Natural products, by definition, should be healthy. But in reality the opposite is true. Wood resins easily combine with heated varnish. The higher the temperature of the paintwork, the faster adhesion occurs. The leaders of the risk group are Japanese cars, which traditionally have varnish that is both softer and thinner. If the resin or wood glue has time to combine with the varnish, the marks will remain on it forever.

Wood resin is real problem. Firstly, it is really difficult to wipe off without damaging the varnish. Secondly, if you do not remove it immediately, it becomes attached to the varnish layer, and even after removing the old stain, the varnish layer looks damaged. Therefore, very often owners expensive cars They immediately go to specialists with such contaminants.

• In some cases, these are stains that can only be removed by polishing.
• In some cases, these are craters that can only be removed by painting.

Myth. Any tar stain cleaner can remove tree sap.

Is it true. Only a few bitumen cleaners deal with tree resins. Bitumen and tree resins have different natures and chemical composition, so it is correct to use special cleaners to remove them.

Myth. There is no protection against tree resin. The main thing is not to let the resin eat into the paint. The faster you wash it off, the lower the risk of permanent stains.

Is it true. Some types of ceramic protective coatings such as " liquid glass» are highly resistant to wood resin. Yes, with prolonged contact, even the coolest ceramics will most likely succumb to the poplar “glue,” but the factory varnish will remain intact. The rule “The faster you wash it off, the less the risk” also applies in this case.

This is the same “orange” cleaner that professionals use to remove organic contaminants. Including tree resin. Services and detailers buy this product in large canisters. For household use it is bottled.

Wash yourself? Or not wash?

• If the stains appeared recently and formed on a cold body, then it is better to clean them right away - yourself. You need to use a special cleaner. Directions for use are written on the packaging. They must be respected.
• If the stains are fresh, and they appeared on a hot body, then it makes sense to quickly send the car to detailing. Precisely in detailing, and not in “animal washing”. During detailing, the car will be properly cooled and washed with “orange” - a special composition containing fruit components that perfectly wash out the resin and do not destroy the varnish.
• If the stains are old and the dirty surfaces have been heated, you need to send the car to a detailer to have it cleaned, polished and treated with protection.

There are also special means in nature for removing poplar buds. But it should be remembered that even such car cosmetics work if used in a timely manner. If you are late, a rough spot will remain on the paintwork.

3. Lime. White spots that can't be washed off

Ceilings in parking lots are usually whitened with lime. It protects floors from fungi and mold. But when water flows from above through the ceilings onto the cars, lime flows along with it. And she is famous for her causticity. Whitish spots usually appear after the stains have dried. If the lime is removed immediately, it will not have time to cause significant harm. But there are cars that don’t leave the parking lot for weeks. And if so vehicle if lime spills, serious risks arise. On cars with hard varnish, lime leaves stains that can be removed by polishing. On cars with thin soft varnish, complete destruction or peeling of the varnish layer may occur. In this case, defects are removed by painting.

Lime stains should not be rubbed as they contain abrasive particles. But they can be dissolved using liquid product anti-scale or household cleaner to combat limescale. They are applied using a sprayer. But they must be used extremely carefully so as not to dissolve the varnish along with the lime.

Myth. You can remove lime stains yourself with a solution citric acid or vinegar.

Is it true. It’s better not to take risks, because trying to remove stains on your own complicates the work of specialists who will ultimately have to bring this matter to a happy ending. Yes, acidic compounds are used to remove lime, but these are special substances that need to be used skillfully and competently. In addition, very often, after removing the lime, whitish spots still remain on the varnish, but this is no longer dirt, but matted areas with damaged varnish. They need to be polished. In cases of catastrophic bad luck, lime damage has to be painted over.

If there are lime stains on your car and you don’t have anything at hand to wash it off, use regular lemon juice or vinegar. Using a spray bottle will speed up the process.

4. Metal dust. Rust that washes off

Owners of light-colored cars may experience a slight shock when they discover traces of rust appearing on the exterior of the paintwork. Is it really time to sell the car?! Before you panic, try washing off the rust. Often the appearance of “spiders” is caused by pieces of metal soldered into the paintwork. Usually this is metal chips that fly from brake pads. It is hot and, when it gets on the varnish, it instantly sticks to the surface. Then, under the influence of moisture, the metal dust oxidizes, and rust spots appear on the paintwork.

This is the very case when you need to use only special tools. To remove block dust there is good cleaners and at Liqui Moly, and KochChemie.

Myth. Metal chips from the pads are harmless. It can be washed with ordinary detergents at the cottage or at a self-service car wash.

Is it true. The dangers of metal dust should not be downplayed. It is soldered into the varnish and leaves microcraters on it. It cannot be scrubbed, as metal particles will scratch the varnish. Places where metal dust is localized should be treated with a special agent that will dissolve the metal. The ideal way to solve the problem is to wash the car at a detailing center from time to time, so that specialists wash not only the body, but also wheel disks, which are sprinkled with metal coating from the pads. If this is not done, the discs will quickly lose their appearance - they will look old and rusty.

5. Road reagents. What you shouldn't be afraid of, but should be wary of

In the cold season, cars simply bathe in the most different chemistry. The roads are watered with reagents, sprinkled with sand and salt, and “anti-freeze” is poured from the washer nozzles. And this cocktail ends up on the paintwork. The most dangerous component of the mixture is road reagents. They usually leave yellow stains on paintwork. They are washed during everyday washing. Particularly stubborn stain fragments can be removed with bitumen cleaners.

Rumors of destructive properties road reagents in fact quite exaggerated. Road chemicals “love” to penetrate into damage to paintwork; it actively interacts with bare metal. So it is extremely important before you start winter season repair all chips in the paintwork and treat the car protective composition"liquid glass" type.

Myth. Car manufacturers are aware of the problem of road chemicals, so they modern cars immunity from them. There is no need to protect the car with coatings.

Is it true. This would be true if all countries used the same reagent for decades. Unfortunately, up to 6 types of reagents are used on the roads of Moscow alone. Almost every year a new “chemistry” is introduced, which means that the machines were definitely not specially prepared for this “new”. Therefore, on the eve of the winter season, it is customary to expensive cars apply protective coatings. They absorb the impact of the reagents, prevent the formation of an ice crust, and repel water and dirt. In general, they preserve paintwork and save the owner’s money.

6. Insects. Evil is in their blood

Insects are such a nasty thing. If in the city they are annoying, then outside the city they simply harass motorists. A cloud of midges in an instant deprives the driver of his vision, and high speed such a “surprise” is a direct road to an accident. Water and wipers cannot cope with the mess of broken insects. You can quickly wash your forehead only with the use of special detergents. And if insects break on a hot hood, then a new risk arises: the mush quickly combines with the softened varnish, and along with it, hard inclusions - chitin and dirt - penetrate into the paint.

Coca-Cola has proven itself to be a great cleaner. It is also suitable for removing insects from the hood and windshield. The part that needs to be washed is first washed with water to wash away debris. At the second stage, the surface is moistened with a drink. Give it a little time to work and rinse off with plenty of water.

Insects need to be removed using special means and as often as possible so that the caustic porridge does not have time to penetrate the varnish. If a car with insects sits in the hot sun for several days, you cannot clean it yourself, because there is a risk of damage to the paintwork. The right decision is to take the car to a detailer. There it will be washed using a special shampoo, and damage, if any, will be polished.

Myth. Regular dish detergent and a dish sponge will wash insects off the hood in one go!

Is it true. If at the moment of contact with the insect the surface was cold, and the traces are washed off immediately - fresh, then yes: no consequences will happen and “Fairy” will cope. But if the insects accumulated on the already hot hood, and even “fried” in the sun in a traffic jam, then you need to go to the car wash without delay. Before washing, all flip flops should be treated with special insect removers. And be sure to read the instructions!

How to protect your car from insects?

The most troublesome way: clean the LPK every day using special means-cleaners. However, even with this approach, the safety of the varnish is not guaranteed. More reliable option: cover the body with a protective compound or films.

7. Bird droppings. Extreme causticity

Drivers know how dangerous bird excrement is, so they try to remove it from paintwork immediately. Problems begin if droppings fall on a car, which, for example, has been standing idle for a long time. If the droppings are not washed off immediately, they will corrode the varnish, penetrate the base coat of paint, and even oxidize the metal. Therefore, if such dirt is detected, you should immediately pour cola on it and wipe it off with at least a damp cloth, or better yet, wash it off with plain water or a handy tool. detergent. If marks appear on the varnish, do not try to clean them off. It’s better to show them to a specialist so that he can tell you how best to remove them. Most often, defects from droppings are removed by polishing.

To combat bird droppings There are many special tools. If the car comes under a powerful bird attack, urgent measures need to be taken. From available means, you can use the same Coca-Cola or a similar drink. If you have dishwashing detergent, you can use that too. The faster the droppings are washed away, the less harm it will cause.

If bird droppings are not removed immediately, then these ugly marks may remain in its place. Defects of this depth can only be removed by painting.

8. Foreign paint. It sticks worse to smooth surfaces!

If you're not sure, don't smear it! In order to completely remove foreign paint from the body and not damage the paintwork, you need to know exactly the composition and origin of the stain.

Paint from road markings It has an epoxy base, so it adheres firmly to paintwork. It will most likely not be possible to wash it off with improvised means. You can try rubbing with isopropyl alcohol. Sometimes it helps. You can use polishing clay, but you need to take into account that it has abrasive properties, which means that after cleaning, the spots where the stains are located will need to be polished and protected. In practice, paint from road markings has to be removed by abrasive polishing.

good ceramic coating with hydrophobic properties – best protection from hooligan graffiti. Foreign paint is simply washed off with water from a protected car.

Myth. Each paint has its own solvent. For the most part, they are not capable of harming the car's varnish. Therefore, any paint stain can be erased without damaging the paintwork.

Is it true. Solvents should be used with caution, as car varnishes different brands do not react to them the same way. Before wiping off a stain in a visible place, do a test where it would be uncritical to spoil the paintwork: somewhere in engine compartment. If the varnish does not become cloudy, you can start cleaning.

Every paint has its own solvent. the main problem– determine the type and variety of paint. Once this is done, choosing a solvent is not a problem. In any case, you need to use it with caution, because it is unknown how the caustic liquid will affect your car's paint.

Foreign paints are removed from the car body with solvents. Not everyone succeeds in finding the right solvent on the first try. To ensure that experiments do not ruin the paintwork, solvents must first be tested for aggressiveness.

How to protect your car from foreign paints?

Some protective coatings have a powerful hydrophobic effect, which helps not only against water, but also against foreign paint. The upper hydrophobic layer resists the adhesion of contaminants. Therefore even car paint from a spray bottle, applied to the body of a protected car, easily comes off during the washing process. Of course, such coatings make even abrasive paint removal safe, because in this case it is not the factory paintwork that is polished, but protective layer.

9. Concrete. Evil squared

You can get into concrete anytime, anywhere. There is always a risk of catching a drop of liquid solution from a “mixer” driving ahead; you can park unsuccessfully near a house whose facade is being repaired. What to do if you're unlucky?

Construction cleaners for concrete should be used with caution, as they can aggressively interact with car enamels. Before cleaning the paintwork, try applying the cleaner to the body in a place where the defect will not be noticeable. For example, there are suitable surfaces in the engine compartment.

High-quality concrete mortar sets very quickly, hardens and has good adhesion. If the stain has not completely set, you can try to dissolve it with an epoxy grout cleaner. This product is used by master builders to remove stains from freshly laid tiles. If it doesn't help, you need to go to specialists. Most likely, they will remove the stain with acid. It is dangerous to carry out this operation on your own. Working with professional acid-based cleaners requires certain knowledge and skills. After cleaning, the location of the stain will require polishing, since it will not be possible to fully protect the varnish layer from the negative effects of sand and acid.

Afterword

The modern chemical industry produces cleaners for almost all types of contaminants. It is important to choose them thoughtfully and apply them wisely. If a product from one manufacturer does not work, this does not mean that an analogue from another brand will be just as useless. And price is not always an indicator of effectiveness. Sometimes cheap auto chemicals work better than expensive ones. If one cleaner doesn't work, you need to try another.

This car is treated with iShield ceramic protection. The coating forms a layer with a hardness rating of 9H+. It protects against foreign paints and is not afraid of droppings and insects.

But if you are not inclined to risky experiments, then it would be better to immediately turn to detailing specialists. They will apply a hard coating to the paintwork protective covering– ceramics or liquid glass. A durable protective layer will take on all negative impacts, be it bitumen, marking paint, poplar resin, crushed insects or bird droppings. This protection does not always save you from stones flying at high speed, but surviving service in a beast washer without consequences will easily help.

A clean car is the pride of any motorist. However, turning the car body into a perfectly clean and smooth surface Not everyone succeeds. As a result, many motorists do not risk taking on the task themselves and use the services of specialized car washes.

In reality, everything is much simpler. Self-cleaning car body is accessible to everyone. You need to get down to business correctly and use the right product from the wide arsenal offered by car cosmetics manufacturers. High-quality cleaning is especially important during the subsequent application of various polishes and compounds.

Selecting cleaners according to the type of contamination

1. Superficial stains.

City dust or mud from puddles leave their very noticeable traces. However, getting rid of these contaminants is extremely simple. You need to choose one of the suitable car shampoos and wash the surface of the car.

2. Results of exposure to reagents or greasy stains.

Such pollution is especially common in winter, when roads are treated with reagents. The body becomes covered with a greasy dark film of dirt that cannot be washed off with shampoos. It is not always possible to avoid stains of fuel oil or fuel. The question of how to clean the body from such contaminants becomes a matter of five minutes if you use special degreasers.

You can use anti-silicone products available in aerosol form. Such products are easy to apply, they degrease the surface better than alcohol cleaners, since they contain powerful petroleum solvents. They are safe for paintwork, but a greasy film will have no chance. The use of such a product requires only spraying onto a washed body and then wiping.

3. Stains from tar, tar, bitumen, insects or pollen, as well as bird droppings arise constantly.

In spring, resin from sticky tree buds is especially annoying. These types of contaminants have such an unpleasant feature as absorption into the surface. Some of these stains will be washed off in the wash, but the most stubborn stains will not be removed without the use of special cleaners.

There are many cleaners designed specifically for removing stains of this kind. The product is sprayed onto the dirt and after some time specified in the instructions, it is removed with a clean cloth. If necessary, the action is repeated until complete cleansing. Now the cleanliness of your car's hood will be rivaled only by its luxurious interior.

4. Stains embedded in varnish.

If the types of contaminants from point 3 could not be removed with cleaners, then they have already penetrated into the surface. Any chemical effects on the car body remain in the form of pollution. Particularly characteristic are the remains of bird droppings that are not washed off in time, or the consequences of acid rain. In such situations, it is impossible to remove the consequences without special abrasives.

Stain remover for stubborn chemical stains is usually a paste with abrasive particles. Another option for removing stubborn stains is the use of abrasive polishes to remove the damaged layer.

5. Microparticles.

Insertion on the body, invisible to the eye, but felt as roughness, is removed exclusively with the help of cleansing clay. The composition pulls solid particles out of the paintwork. Its advantages do not end there. Clay can also remove the types of contaminants from point 3 (bird droppings, tar, soot, tar). It’s hard to imagine a more useful and versatile cleaner for stubborn stains.

The arsenal of tools for maintaining a car body in perfect order is extremely simple. It is enough to purchase a basic set to forget about stains forever and, if necessary, easily prepare the body for the application of any compounds. Now you probably know what kind of equipment your car dreams of.