We reveal all the expert car cleaning tips you need, from a simple wash and wax to a full valet with clay bars and sealant.

Simple wash | Expert wash | Cleaning the interior | Products | Video

Simple wash

This ten-step guide will show you how to wash your car in under an hour. It won’t break the bank and will leave your car sparkling for up to a month.

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What you need:

• Car shampoo (do not use washing up liquid as it can remove wax and leave swirl marks)
• A sponge or washing mitt
• Two buckets
• A hose
• Two car cleaning cloths
• Leather chamois
• Wax

View our car cleaning gallery:

How to wash:

1. Fill one bucket with a mixture of car shampoo and water, and the second bucket with water
2. Hose the car down if it’s particularly grimy
3. Dip the washing mitt in the bucket filled with car shampoo
4. Start at the top of your car and work your way down, going round the whole car and cleaning every panel
5. Rinse the washing mitt in the bucket of water when it gets dirty
6. Don’t forget to clean the wheel arches, bumpers, outer skirts and inner door panels
7. Lift up windscreen wipers and clean underneath
8. Clean the wheels
9. Rinse down the car with a hose or wet cloth and dry using a chamois leather
10. Wax the car using a cloth and apply in a circular motion. Leave for a few minutes to settle. Swipe your finger across the bodywork – if there’s a powdery residue wipe the bodywork with a second cloth.

Expert wash

For a full wash you’ll need some extra time and equipment but the result will be a car which looks as good as new. It should stay that way for up to two months.

What you need:

• The equipment listed in the simple washing guide
• Microfibre mitt for tyres and wheel arches (check out Halfords washing mitts)
• Clay bar (check out Halfords advanced clay and detailing kit)
• Car polish (check out Halfords advanced car polish)
• Glaze
• Tyre shine
• All purpose cleaner
• A brush
• Five applicator pads and cloths
• Glass cleaner
• An old toothbrush

Extra equipment you may want to use:

• Pressure washer
• Jack and wheel brace
• Bodywork detailer and sealant
• Wheel sealant
• Alloy wheel cleaner

How to wash:

1. Follow our simple washing guide ignoring tips 8 and 10 (cleaning the wheels and waxing the bodywork)
2. If you’re using a pressure washer, work from bottom of the car and work your way up – this means dirt from the bottom of the car won’t get sprayed onto areas you’ve just cleaned

Wheels

3. Once you’ve washed and rinsed your car, clean the wheels using watered-down all-purpose cleaner or alloy wheel cleaner
4. For a thorough clean remove the wheels using a jack and wheel brace – this will also allow you to clean inside the wheel arches
5. Clean inside the wheel hub using an old toothbrush
6. You can use tyre shine on the side of tyres but take care not to get cleaner into the tread as this can reduce grip
7. Leave for one minute and wipe off
8. Use a wet brush to clean the inside of wheel arches and mud flaps
9. Spray clean using a hose

Clay bar

10. Place a clay bar into warm water or use detracting spray to soften it up
11. Wipe the bar across the car’s bodywork in a square motion, one panel at a time – this gets rid of fine contaminants in the paintwork
12. Leave for a few minutes and wipe off
13. Dry the clay bar and store it away for next time

Polish

14. Shake the bottle of polish and apply a dab of polish onto a washing pad or cloth
15. Wipe the polish onto the car in a circular motion, one panel at a time
16. Leave for a few minutes and wipe off – starting from the first point you polished and working your way around the car

Glaze

17. Treat glaze the same as polish – repeat steps 13 to 15

Sealant

18. Treat sealant the same as polish and glaze – repeat steps 13 to 15

Wax

19. Wax the car using a cloth and apply in a circular motion. Leave for a few minutes to settle. Swipe your finger across the bodywork – if there’s a powdery residue wipe the bodywork with a second cloth.

Glass cleaner

20. Spray glass cleaner onto the windows and wipe off

Cleaning the interior

Making your car look great inside is just as important as getting the outside right. Follow our top ten tips to make the interior look and feel like a million pounds.

What you’ll need:

• Vacuum cleaner
• Dashboard cleaner
• Glass cleaner
• Two microfibre cloths
• Upholstery foam
• Brush
• All-purpose cleaner
• Gloss or matt interior wipes
• Air freshener

How to clean:

1. Vacuum the carpets, mats, seats, dashboard, door trims and any dusty crevices
2. Remove mats and vacuum the carpet underneath
3. Grubby mats can be washed with upholstery foam and a brush
4. Use dashboard cleaner on – you guessed it – the dashboard
5. Empty ashtrays and cubby holes before spraying and wiping them clean with all-purpose cleaner
6. Use a clean warm cloth to remove any dirty marks from interior trim panels
7. Use gloss or matt interior wipes to finish cleaning all upholstery parts, available in a variety of finishes
8. Clean glass using a window cleaner and microfibre cloth – wipe in a side-to-side motion on the rear window to avoid damaging heating elements
9. Fit a new air freshener
10. Remove ink stains and cigarette burns from the upholstery. You can do this yourself using surgical spirit, but be careful as it can discolour your car’s upholstery – check before buying. It may be worthwhile to pay a professional.

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Car cleaning products

You can browse a range of products at Auto Trader’s Car Accessories Shop, including:

• Wash mitts and sponges
• Wax, polish and shampoo
• Wheel cleaners
• Applicator pads and cloths
• Air fresheners
• Leather chamois
• Brushes
• Leather care cleaners
• Clay bars

The products used in this article were supplied by Halfords.