SCFAQ: Car care maintanence tips
01-16-05, 05:25 PM
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SCFAQ: Car care maintanence tips
Info Provided by Rich @ http://www.intellexual.net/faq.html#00
Maintanence tips:
Cleaning Interior:
In my experience the best cleaning agent for our cars is Soft Scrub (available at Safeway in the cleaner isle). Soft Scrub Original, Lemon, and Orange are all exceptable. Do not use Soft Scrub with bleach. I use Soft Scrub Orange to clean my leather seats, seat backs, head rests, arm rests, dash, steering wheel, door panels, etc.
Directions: Apply Soft Scrub cleanser evenly to a towel or paper towel and rub into affected spot. If your leather has cracks in it, work the cracks harder to remove deposited dirt. Once you've effectively cleaned the surface, take another towel, soak it in water, squeeze out the excess, and wipe the residual cleaning agent from the surface. Finish off by wiping with a dry towel. You will be quite satisfied with the results of your labor.
Your first time cleaning will be tough and tedious because you will likely have many layers of grease and dirt to cut through. You will have to apply many stages of cleanser to your interior. Routine upkeep is the key to easy cleaning. You should clean your interior with Soft Scrub every one to three months.
You will be amazed and apalled by the amount of dirt and grime you lift from your interior! The steering wheel is especially dirty. After you've cleaned the interior, pronounced cracks in the leather will barely be visible, your steering wheel, seats and arm rests will be smooth to the touch, and your leather, especially if tan-colored, will be bright, shiny, and will look brand new comparatively.
Washing car:
The washing of your car should always be hand-washed by yourself. Do not drive your car through a car wash machine, do not pay to have a car wash shop wash it for you. Both places use dirty recycled water, sometimes even harsh detergents, and the quality of washing is always lower than if you just did it yourself.
The first rule of car washing is: do not use detergents or dish washing soaps unless you intend to strip wax from your car. If you are stripping wax from your car, it should only be because you intend to rewax it that same day. For normal routine car washes, buy a car shampoo specifically forumlated for car washing. When mixing the shampoo with a bucket of water, it is not necessary to oversaturate the water with shampoo until the bucket resembles a soapy, colorful bubble bath. Follow the directions on the bottle, and if your car isn't terribly dirty, use a little bit less shampoo than instructed even. Soapy water works to strip protective car wax from the car. Hardcore detailers recommend you use two wash mits: one for the upper half of your car above the trim line, and one for the lower half of your car below the trim line. This is left up to your discretion depending on how serious you take car washing.
You should wash your car in sections (ie: hood, roof, front right fender, rear bumper, etc), rinsing down the soap after each section so that it does not dry on your paint. Car washes should be a weekly task depending on how often you use your car and how dusty your area is. You should always dry your car down with clean, non-abrasive cotton towels and not let the water evaporate or dry on your car. When you wash your car-drying towels in the laundry, do not use fabric softener as they contain detergents that are harmful to your car's clear coat.
Register your Lexus with Lexus.com!
Some might not be familiar with this fairly new feature of Lexus.com, which is why I mention it here. If you go to LEXUS.COM and register your Lexus ownership with Lexus Corp., you will gain access to their VIN database and be able to see all the features and options your specific car was issued off the lot. This is a very useful tool that offers a wealth of information on your specific car. If you are not the first owner of the car, registering here also updates Lexus' ownership records so that your VIN is now associated with your name. Other benefits include free subscription to Lexus Magazine, online manuals, online garage, online mileage/service tracker, etc. All you are required to give is your email address and VIN number. This service is free, but only available to Lexus owners residing in the United States.
Maintanence tips:
Cleaning Interior:
In my experience the best cleaning agent for our cars is Soft Scrub (available at Safeway in the cleaner isle). Soft Scrub Original, Lemon, and Orange are all exceptable. Do not use Soft Scrub with bleach. I use Soft Scrub Orange to clean my leather seats, seat backs, head rests, arm rests, dash, steering wheel, door panels, etc.
Directions: Apply Soft Scrub cleanser evenly to a towel or paper towel and rub into affected spot. If your leather has cracks in it, work the cracks harder to remove deposited dirt. Once you've effectively cleaned the surface, take another towel, soak it in water, squeeze out the excess, and wipe the residual cleaning agent from the surface. Finish off by wiping with a dry towel. You will be quite satisfied with the results of your labor.
Your first time cleaning will be tough and tedious because you will likely have many layers of grease and dirt to cut through. You will have to apply many stages of cleanser to your interior. Routine upkeep is the key to easy cleaning. You should clean your interior with Soft Scrub every one to three months.
You will be amazed and apalled by the amount of dirt and grime you lift from your interior! The steering wheel is especially dirty. After you've cleaned the interior, pronounced cracks in the leather will barely be visible, your steering wheel, seats and arm rests will be smooth to the touch, and your leather, especially if tan-colored, will be bright, shiny, and will look brand new comparatively.
Washing car:
The washing of your car should always be hand-washed by yourself. Do not drive your car through a car wash machine, do not pay to have a car wash shop wash it for you. Both places use dirty recycled water, sometimes even harsh detergents, and the quality of washing is always lower than if you just did it yourself.
The first rule of car washing is: do not use detergents or dish washing soaps unless you intend to strip wax from your car. If you are stripping wax from your car, it should only be because you intend to rewax it that same day. For normal routine car washes, buy a car shampoo specifically forumlated for car washing. When mixing the shampoo with a bucket of water, it is not necessary to oversaturate the water with shampoo until the bucket resembles a soapy, colorful bubble bath. Follow the directions on the bottle, and if your car isn't terribly dirty, use a little bit less shampoo than instructed even. Soapy water works to strip protective car wax from the car. Hardcore detailers recommend you use two wash mits: one for the upper half of your car above the trim line, and one for the lower half of your car below the trim line. This is left up to your discretion depending on how serious you take car washing.
You should wash your car in sections (ie: hood, roof, front right fender, rear bumper, etc), rinsing down the soap after each section so that it does not dry on your paint. Car washes should be a weekly task depending on how often you use your car and how dusty your area is. You should always dry your car down with clean, non-abrasive cotton towels and not let the water evaporate or dry on your car. When you wash your car-drying towels in the laundry, do not use fabric softener as they contain detergents that are harmful to your car's clear coat.
Register your Lexus with Lexus.com!
Some might not be familiar with this fairly new feature of Lexus.com, which is why I mention it here. If you go to LEXUS.COM and register your Lexus ownership with Lexus Corp., you will gain access to their VIN database and be able to see all the features and options your specific car was issued off the lot. This is a very useful tool that offers a wealth of information on your specific car. If you are not the first owner of the car, registering here also updates Lexus' ownership records so that your VIN is now associated with your name. Other benefits include free subscription to Lexus Magazine, online manuals, online garage, online mileage/service tracker, etc. All you are required to give is your email address and VIN number. This service is free, but only available to Lexus owners residing in the United States.
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