Keeping your car looking like it has just rolled out of the factory requires some serious maintenance work on your end. Over time, your car’s body paint may get dull, the leather seats could deteriorate, and the cabin could smell so bad you’d curse every time you have to hop onto the driver’s seat.
Fortunately, you can prevent a lot of the normal wear and tear on your car’s interior and exterior spaces with some simple maintenance tricks. Many of these techniques don’t require spending anything, just some muscle-flexing.
Here are six easy and budget-friendly hacks to keep your car looking and smelling like new for a long time:
Give it a tough paint coat.
If your car’s paint is still relatively fresh or if you intend to give it a fresh coat of body paint, make sure to allocate a budget for a tough paint coat. Preferably, it should be a ceramic car coating applied by a reliable contractor to enjoy the best results possible.
This revolutionary technology prevents shallow scratches, protects paint longer, and acts as a hydrophobic layer over your car’s body paint, so water, dust, and other contaminants would just slide off harmlessly. It may cost you a few hundred dollars, but the protection your car’s body would get from it is priceless.
Do regular vacuuming, spot cleaning, and deodorizing.
Your car’s interior spaces could get dirty and smell nasty within just one day if you’re not careful. Food crumbs, soda stains, mud, and other dirt could turn your cabin into a dumpsite. Also, cigarette smoke could make your car’s interiors smell just horribly, especially for family members who hate the stench of it.
The quick fixes for these issues include periodic vacuuming of the upholstery using a portable vacuum cleaner with a built-in battery or a cigarette lighter plug, spot cleaning of car seats, and deodorizing done by a commercial contractor. These tricks will help keep your cabin spotless and smelling like new.
Do regular washing and waxing.
You should treat your car like a family friend that needs to get bathed often to keep its pristine beauty. As such, make sure that you’ll give it a thorough wash in a shaded area and then wax it afterward. There are plenty of car shampoos and wax that you can easily snap from a shelf, so better stock up on them if you have the budget.
By giving your prized car frequent baths, you can keep its aesthetics intact longer and avoid costly repaints and detailing expenses.
Do quick touch-ups if needed.
If you’ve noticed some small chips and scratches on your car’s body, you have to quickly touch them up to prevent rusting due to the exposed metal parts. Car supplies stores usually have items intended for those quick, DIY touch-ups so it should be easy to grab one.
Keep in mind that time is critical, especially if you have exposed bodywork since rust could develop quickly and lead to an expensive affair. Make sure to act immediately once you’ve spotted any exposed metal to prevent degradation of your car’s exteriors.
Invest in a good car cover and don’t park your car too long under direct sunlight.
Your car’s body paint is not designed to be exposed for an extended period under direct sunlight, which is why you should make it a point to park in a covered or shaded area. If you must park it in an open space, find ways to limit the hours it’s exposed to the sun to protect its paint from fading.
Additionally, you have to buy a great-quality car cover that gives great protection to your car against dust, bugs, and potential dings and scratches. It would be ideal if you’ll buy one that is waterproof on the outside and soft on the outside to protect the paint against micro marring.
Use olive oil for leather trims.
That bottle of olive oil in your kitchen isn’t just great to whip up tasty meals but is also excellent as a polishing solution for leather trims inside your car. You only need to put a few drops of olive oil on a clean cloth and then gently wipe your car’s dashboard, seats, doors, and other leather trims inside the cabin. This is an inexpensive hack that will give your car’s leather components looking like new in a snap.
Prolonging your car’s brand-new look need not be complicated or expensive. Just follow these simple tricks and you can maintain your wheel’s excellent appeal for a very long time.