The Best Cleaning Chemicals & Equipment for Automotive Cleaning

If you’re a business that relies on a fleet of vehicles to handle your workload, then chances are you’ll regularly find yourself tasked with cleaning those vehicles, and that can be an enormous task! Automotive cleaning is vital if you’re going to keep them in tip top working condition though and let’s not forget how a dirty vehicle can reflect on your brand and business. It is something that’s well worth taking seriously and investing time and money in buying or renting the right cleaning chemicals and equipment to do the job, and that’s where we come in. Here’s our complete guide to automotive cleaning including the equipment and chemicals we recommend…

How to clean vehicles properly…

1. Work in a cool space, so on hot days make sure you’re washing your fleet in the shade! This is important because working in a hot or sunny environment may cause water, soap and other cleaning chemicals used during the cleaning process to dry too quickly, causing unwanted streaks and smears on the paintwork.
2. Start with a rinse down. We recommend using a pressure washer for this as it will help remove any loose dirt and grit from the vehicle’s surface before you start scrubbing. This is important because starting to lather up with soap before any loose dirt is removed can cause scratches and damage to the paintwork. Don’t forget, when it comes to pressure washers you now have the option to go green as well, by using one of our revolutionary electrically heated pressure washers. They have low running costs, high performance and zero emissions.
3. Wash the vehicle top down with a traffic film remover (TFR). Our non-caustic traffic film remover is a great example of a TRF and it is the perfect cleaning solution for removing grease and road film from all manner of vehicles. It can be used in pressure washers too, which makes it super easy to apply, speeding up the entire automotive cleaning process. If you’d like to know more about traffic film removers and how to use them, then check out our other handy blog post that tells you everything you need to know about TFRs.
4. Rise down as you go. By rinsing as you go you can more easily avoid any soap marks drying onto the paintwork. This makes for a better finish overall and saves some elbow grease when it comes to drying and polishing later, if you’re aiming for a streak-free shine.
5. Dry the vehicle off. Similar to our point above about rinsing down, also taking the time to dry your vehicle properly is key for a streak free shine as well. The best things to use here are a chamois leather or a microfiber cloth.
6. Wax and polish to finish. Once the vehicle is clean and dry, following on with a wax and polish will help create a protective barrier on the vehicle paintwork, meaning fewer washes are needed in the future to keep it looking it’s best.

Don’t forget, cleaning the inside of a vehicle is just as important as cleaning the outside of a vehicle too and for that, you can’t get a better piece of cleaning equipment than a powerful professional vacuum cleaner and we have those for sale and to hire too! If you need to invest in cleaning equipment and chemicals to help keep your fleet looking it’s best, then speak to our experts today and we’ll find the right solution for you.