7 Weird Tricks and Pro Tips to Clean Your Porsche

Keep Your Porsche Looking Clean

Porsches are beautiful pieces of machinery that happen to be rolling art. Beyond the good looks, they can move like nobody's business when the go pedal is pressed down. The problem is, once the gorgeous creation of Stuttgart leaves your home, it is susceptible to the environment and all its dirt, debris, and bugs. Here are the tips on how to wash your car to keep it cleaner for longer.     

1. Check the Temprature

Washing your car when it's too hot, which is either right after driving it or if it's been sitting in the direct sunlight, can result in soapy residue and deposits. So if it's going to be a warm day, wash the car early and cover it up or wait until dusk when the car has had a chance to cool off for a bit before you get to work. 

2. Wiper Care

Move your wipers up into the air so they are out of the way from any soap or debris running down the windshield. Take a paper towel and pour a bit of rubbing alcohol onto it. Then run the paper towel along the wipers to remove dirt and dust from the blade. Using the rubbing alcohol will clean and prevent smearing later on when you run the wipers. 

3. Checking and Cleaning

The best method of protecting your lovely vehicle from the effects of the environment is frequent washing and application of a preservative. However, most people neglect the underside of the vehicle and that also needs to be cleaned and cared for in order to remove cinders, salt or sanding. Checking underneath your car can save you from the awful smell of a melted bag or piece of plastic that happens to get stuck to hot components on the undercarriage. When you are satisfied with getting any extra debris off, use a fresh water pressure gun to clean the underbody and the wheel wells. Use a nozzle or tip that produces a 20 or 25-degree fan and spray gently. Use a double strength shampoo in the wheel arches and spray at a constant distance from the area you are cleaning. You should be no closer than a foot using a 2000 psi strength.  

WARNING: Do not hit the heater hoses with a concentrated spray or you could tear a hole in them. Stay away from the distributor also or the car could be running a cylinder or two short until the engine warms up and dries up. 

4. Wheels

Now to get to the parts of the car that you (along with the general public) will be seeing of your Porsche, the wheels and body. The wheels are where you will start, as they are usually the dirtiest part of the car and will take the most work to get cleaned up again. Another reason the wheels will be cleaned first is to avoid any over-spray getting on the clean car while working. Make sure that you have a totally separate bucket just for the wheels, as the debris and contaminants found on the wheels will cause damage to the paint finish.   

With the wheels wet, use a course detail brush to get inside of the tight areas and reach the inner areas of the wheels. Make sure to dip routinely into your wheel cleaner bucket for fresh water solution while scrubbing. Then use a clean sponge to clean the face of the wheels before rinsing them off. 

5. Body

Start at the top of the car and work your way down to keep from doing double the work and moving dirt from one area to another. Spray the car down and try to remove as much grime and debris as possible. Then soap it down and use a bit of elbow grease with a sheepskin mitt on the car to massage the exterior. Afterwards, rinse the car again.

Make use of a clay bar to get those tough contaminants off the paint. Use a bit of water to keep the clay malleable as you work. Now put on a coat or two of wax to the car. 

6. Windows

Clean the windows using an automotive window cleaner product and avoid Windex and normal window cleaners. These contain chemicals that can damage tint and cause some discoloration to glass.  

If you have an older car or have issues where road grime and bugs gets blasted onto the windshield where the windows  become a bit cloudy and harder to maintain, then this trick is for you. All you need is Rain-X, steel wool pads (the finest grade available which is 4 ott), 2 cotton towels and an old sock. Take the pad and rub the windows to remove bugs, grime, and water spots from the surface. This may take five-to-ten minutes of your time. 

Take the sock and soak it in Rain-X solution. Apply it in overlapping circles making sure to cover all parts of the window. After it dries apply a second coat of Rain-X to the windows. Then take a water-moistened towel and wipe the glass to remove the Rain-X film from the windshield. Then take the second towel and wipe the windshield dry and you're all done. 

7. Interior Care

For interior sprucing up use a small bit of olive oil on a paper towel to naturally condition and polish the leather on the dashboard. There is no smell to using this method even when parking your Porsche in a hot area for a whole day. 

Use a hard bristled toothbrush to get out crumbs and dust from the seat grooves. Use a soft bristled brush in conjunction with a vacuum hose to clean the console and vents. Brush them clean and hold the vacuum hose close to your work area so that the particles are sucked away instead of moving to another place.

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For more information on maintenance or repairs, visit our how-to section here in Rennlist.com.