The Ultimate Car Cleaning Process?

[jtay2024]

Hi all! I am planning to carry out probably a full 2 days of cleaning & protecting on my little old Peugeot 306 over the next few weeks. I am trying to think up the ultimate cleaning process which covers as many areas as possible!

Interior
- Full interior vacuum.
- All hard surfaces wiped over with diluted cleaning fluid.
- Wet vac of carpet & seats.

Exterior
- Full snow foam
- Citrus wash coating & jetwash
- Tar spot removal
- Iron fallout removal
- Deep clean wash with wash mit and Bilt Hamber shampoo
- Spray coating using ceramic based detailer.
- All door & boot seals removed and cleaned out.
- Door & boot seal locations washed & ceramic coated.
- Rear light clusters removed and cleaned out & coated.
- Under bonnet cleaned & coated.
- Engine bay citrus cleaned & degreased.
- All drains & water channels thoroughly cleaned out and ceramic spray coated to ease water flow & help drying after rain etc.
- Under wheel arches jet washed & cleaned out.
- Wheels removed, cleaned & coated.
- Brake calipers thoroughly cleaned, regreased sliders.
- Wheel jointed faces greased & reassembled.

Well, that's the plan anyway! Can anyone think of anything else that should be done? I'd like to do a thorough underbody clean but I'm not sure how best to tackle that!

Here is a pic of the car. It's looking a little worse for wear since this photo was taken, so I want to try and return it to a much better standard.

 

[PontiacHO]

Do you know how to use a rotary buffer? Buffing with a quality light compound-cleaner before any wax results in a better longer lasting shine. I like 3M, Meguiars, or Mothers. products.

 

[hrv]

Hi all! I am planning to carry out probably a full 2 days of cleaning & protecting on my little old Peugeot 306 over the next few weeks. I am trying to think up the ultimate cleaning process which covers as many areas as possible!

Interior
- Full interior vacuum.
- All hard surfaces wiped over with diluted cleaning fluid.
- Wet vac of carpet & seats.

Exterior
- Full snow foam
- Citrus wash coating & jetwash
- Tar spot removal
- Iron fallout removal
- Deep clean wash with wash mit and Bilt Hamber shampoo
- Spray coating using ceramic based detailer.
- All door & boot seals removed and cleaned out.
- Door & boot seal locations washed & ceramic coated.
- Rear light clusters removed and cleaned out & coated.
- Under bonnet cleaned & coated.
- Engine bay citrus cleaned & degreased.
- All drains & water channels thoroughly cleaned out and ceramic spray coated to ease water flow & help drying after rain etc.
- Under wheel arches jet washed & cleaned out.
- Wheels removed, cleaned & coated.
- Brake calipers thoroughly cleaned, regreased sliders.
- Wheel jointed faces greased & reassembled.

Well, that's the plan anyway! Can anyone think of anything else that should be done? I'd like to do a thorough underbody clean but I'm not sure how best to tackle that!

Here is a pic of the car. It's looking a little worse for wear since this photo was taken, so I want to try and return it to a much better standard.

and after all that it will rain or snow the next day.....

 

[jtay2024]

Do you know how to use a rotary buffer? Buffing with a quality light compound-cleaner before any wax results in a better longer lasting shine. I like 3M, Meguiars, or Mothers. products.

I do. I have a pretty decent one. It's just difficult to get the weather for long enough to really dedicate the time to it.

 

[PontiacHO]

Yes it is this time of year.

 

[walterjay]

Treat all the door seals to a protective coating.

 

[atikovi]

No mention of claying or polishing the car? That's basic to any full detail, otherwise you're waxing over embedded dirt and contaminants. What about cleaning the glass inside and out? Crystal clear glass can make even a grubby car look nicer.

 

[zzyzzx]

Obligatory:

 

[Rand]

Obligatory: Video

That is comedic gold.

 

[proveitwithdata]

Hi all! I am planning to carry out probably a full 2 days of cleaning & protecting on my little old Peugeot 306 over the next few weeks. I am trying to think up the ultimate cleaning process which covers as many areas as possible!

Interior
- Full interior vacuum.
- All hard surfaces wiped over with diluted cleaning fluid.
- Wet vac of carpet & seats.

Exterior
- Full snow foam
- Citrus wash coating & jetwash
- Tar spot removal
- Iron fallout removal
- Deep clean wash with wash mit and Bilt Hamber shampoo
- Spray coating using ceramic based detailer.
- All door & boot seals removed and cleaned out.
- Door & boot seal locations washed & ceramic coated.
- Rear light clusters removed and cleaned out & coated.
- Under bonnet cleaned & coated.
- Engine bay citrus cleaned & degreased.
- All drains & water channels thoroughly cleaned out and ceramic spray coated to ease water flow & help drying after rain etc.
- Under wheel arches jet washed & cleaned out.
- Wheels removed, cleaned & coated.
- Brake calipers thoroughly cleaned, regreased sliders.
- Wheel jointed faces greased & reassembled.

Well, that's the plan anyway! Can anyone think of anything else that should be done? I'd like to do a thorough underbody clean but I'm not sure how best to tackle that!

Here is a pic of the car. It's looking a little worse for wear since this photo was taken, so I want to try and return it to a much better standard.

just reading that list of cars is exhaustive, congrats for really give that car some tlc

 

[bcossa2020]

I would add cleaning the seat belts. I’ve had success with diluted Woolite and a stiff brush.
I’ve also seen more thorough vacuuming done by putting a vibratory sander/muscle massager/buffer directly on the carpet to shake out more of the dirt.