Why you should not ignore car detailing
Kwesiga says all inside car detailing, including removing of seats, exterior washing and engine washing costs Shs30,000. When you include internal roof cleaning, it goes to Shs50,000. To have all this done, you need to be patient for about three to five days.
When you wash your car at home or drive into a washing bay, it is highly likely that you or the bay attendant will concentrate on washing the carpets, car body and wiping the seats and the dashboard area.
However, according to Lucky Jesse Kwesiga of Tango-7 Auto Centre at Lunyo-Banga Village in Entebbe, detailed car washing goes beyond washing the car body, carpets and dashboard.
“Instead of the normal powdered detergent, I use a detergent meant for car bodies. A cupful (the lead) of the detergent is mixed with five litres of water to have the best results.
However, depending on how dirty the car is, in some cases, one cupful is enough for, say, a saloon car,” Kwesiga explains.
Separate sponges
According to Kwesiga, in detailed car washing, you have to use different sponges for the different car parts. You have to have one for the body, another for the tyres and one for the interior.
It is not advisable to mix the sponges because when, for instance you use the tyre sponge on the body, it will leave scratches on the car paint. Such scratches from sponge sand or dust fades the car paint overtime.
Kwesiga says he gives the car approximately five to 10 minutes after scrubbing before jetting off the foam. This is done to allow the detergent wax element sink into and self-implant onto the car paint as well, simultaneously with hoovering the interior to rid the seats of the underlying dust and also scrubbing the stains off the seats.
“After the 10 minutes, the car is jet sprayed again to remove the detergent foam before the body and the interior are wiped dry. The dashboard, vinyl or woolen material of the interior are also wiped to rid them of dirt,” Kwesiga says.
This takes approximately 40 minutes after which the car is taken out of the shade to dry.
Here, all doors are opened to allow car aeration and sun drying. For cars that have been driven upcountry or carrying dirty loads, it takes approximately 90 minutes to be thoroughly washed. Because this process takes more water, you have to give the car more time under the sun to dry well.
Removing seats
When the seats are taken out and the car appears in form of a shell, they have to be scrubbed if they are to be washed thoroughly. Sometimes, when you see a certain part of your car seat dirty or stained, the dirt may not be on top, but rather in the internal thick mattress material.
However, much as it may be scrubbed when the internal source of dirt is not taken care of, the dirt will still surface on top of the seat.
When you are to rid such dirt or stains from seats, they will not dry in a day or two. It normally requires approximately four days of constant sunshine to dry well to avoid your car developing an odour.
Healthy
According to goauto.ca, your car plays host to food and drink spills. There are so many opportunities for germs to bunker down and multiply. And the biggest culprits include the dashboard, change holder, cup holder, car seats, floors, and door handles.
Cars with car seats and/or pets are at an even greater risk. “Every time you turn on your car’s fan, you are breathing the air that has been in your car’s ventilation system. This air may contain germs, road dust, vehicle emissions, mold spores, and more. This is why it is also extremely important to service and replace your cabin air filter regularly,” the site states.
Detailing car roof cleaning
In car washing, the internal roof is also part of detailing. Most cars have a cloth-coated roof that is subject to dirt, especially when you drive on dusty roads. In order for the roof to come off and be washed well, Kwesiga advises that all the internal side panelling has to be removed.
Hoovering the engine
According to Kwesiga, hoovering the electrical engine components is done at the end of all stages. What it achieves is sucking out any water or moisture that could have remained in sockets.
According to goauto.ca, the cleaner your interior, the better it looks, the more money you can get for it when you sell. If the person buying your vehicle has any idea about what they are doing, they are going to pop the hood and take a look underneath. If that person sees a clean motor, free of grease and grime and oil, will feel a lot more confident in your vehicle.
