The Magic Blog

If you’ve had your car for a while, you may start to notice small scratches in the paintwork that dull the radiant glow that the paint once had. These small scratches can be caused by washing your car with poor technique, inferior or dirty sponges, harsh brushes at self-service carwashes, drive-through carwashes with flicking straps that aren’t well cared for and can even be caused by birds and cats walking on the car or from driving past bushes and shrubs. The good news is that superficial scratches can often be improved or even avoided with a few simple steps at your local car wash.

Welcome to the Wash Club, a Richmond exclusive service and your ticket to a perfectly clean and gleaming car all year ‘round. Devised to offer a safe, low cost car care option for those amongst us who know that a regular wash is the key to a long lasting duco.

When you go all out and buy that swanky new car straight out of the showroom, or the second-hand car in perfect condition that you somehow stumbled across, you suddenly start to worry about every drop of rain, every bird flying over head and every wayward door. We look at how to give yourself that extra peace of mind to ensure your paint stays protected long after you’ve driven out of the car dealership.

The sun in the Australian summer beats down as the weather is beaming and you’re planning road-trips and beach visits a-plenty. So how can you ensure that you keep your car in tip-top condition with all that sun, salt and sand?

Hard water spots are usually caused by deposits of minerals like calcium and magnesium that is found in water. After the water falls onto the car, the water eventually evaporates leaving behind mineral deposits in the form of small dots on the surface of your car. It can be particularly noticeable on car windows.

Detailing your car regularly is one of the best ways to keep your car in tip-top condition. It will ensure you look and feel amazing while you’re driving around town and will also be likely to improve the resale value of your car when you finally decide to move on to the latest and greatest model. Not all professional car washing and detailing services are made the same though, so how do you know what to ask for and how much to expect to pay?

When it comes to washing your car, one of the most important things to consider is the shampoo or soap that you use to remove the dirt from the surface of the paint. Whilst sometimes you might think a good spray down with water from a hose will remove dirt on its own, washing with a pH neutral soap will ensure that the dirt is lubricated and can easily wash away without causing any damage. Proper lubrication helps to avoid superficial scratches to the duco and maintain a showroom shine for much longer. Be cautious with touch-free and self-serve car washes as they often use more acidic soaps. You’ll find pH neutral shampoos are the product of choice as most professional car washes and are also available at auto retailers, just make sure you read the label.

If you’ve ever seen a car with baked on brake dust you’ll know how unsightly it becomes as the layers of dust build up over time. Not only can brake dust become corrosive if left unattended, but when you do finally clean the brake dust away you can scratch the surface of your rims and even your paintwork by moving the brake dust around if you’re not using the right cleaning products. 

When it comes to spills in your car, there is not much that can more quickly and lead to not-so-pleasant smells developing and lingering in your daily drive. Not to mention unsightly stains that make driving your car less than a dream. Whether your morning caffeine hit overflows from time to time or you’re carting around a tribe of kids and dealing with juice, ice-cream and (god-forbid) vomit, it’s important to stay on top of spills as they happen in order to avoid staining and foul smells setting in place. Application of hydrophobic interior protection products for fabrics and regular leather treatments are the best precaution to safeguard your surfaces. This is often an optional extra when you purchase a car, but you can also get a great deal on interior protection at your local hand car wash - often for a fraction of the price that the dealership will sell it to you for.

Just like with most things in life, when you decide to cut corners problems can start to appear. Whilst waterless car wash products might seem like a good idea in theory, using this method to regularly wash your car can be disastrous for your duco. We take a closer look at some of the risks of using waterless washing products.