With the winter months rapidly approaching, we want to offer some helpful hints for maintaining your classic automobile in the rougher weather ahead. Even though your car may spend the majority of its time in a garage, you still need to know how to maintain it and clean it up after any outward ventures.
The first thing we recommend is to always wash your car as quickly as you can after use, but also after the car cools down. You don’t want to wash a hot car because it will leave spotting as well as cause potential damage. However, you don’t want to leave dirt and grime sitting on your car because they can cause wear, tear, and even rust spots to begin forming.
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Use specially designed car soaps; not because they are fancy and expensive, but because many of them are designed to remove dirt and grime without cutting through the vehicle’s wax job.
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Don’t forget the details. So often, we see people who spend the majority of their time washing the body of their car, but forgetting the smaller details like the tires and wheel wells, the wipers, the grill, and more. Neglecting to wash the detailed parts of the car will make the time when you do focus on these parts far more difficult.
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Don’t neglect to use the appropriate products for different areas of your car. Standard soaps won’t cut it when it comes to cleaning and polishing your leather, or cleaning up the upholstery in your classic. Spend some time researching the products you might like to use for all the different parts of your highly valued classic, and invest in the quality and longevity of your vehicle by caring for each part correctly.
We urge you to spend as much time learning about how to care for your vehicle long term as you did researching what type of vehicle to purchase, or what parts to use for a restoration. Consumer Reports offers a number of excellent suggestions when it comes to cleaning, detailing, and maintaining your car. Be prepared before the rough weather hits this year, and have your cleaning products on hand so you can do the best job possible of maintaining your classic.
What are your favorite products for cleaning your classic? Do you use special materials such as cloth diapers? Is there a certain brand that performs best for older vehicles?
If you would like help in valuing a car in your current collection, or if you would like a quote for a potential addition to your collection, the experts at Classic Auto Insurance can help you with our free, instant classic car insurance quote service! Give us a call at 888-901-1338.
