CAR CARE

 

SOUTH FLORIDA AUTOMOTIVE

MEDIA GETS BRIEFING ON CAR CARE

If you are a car enthusiast — i.e., someone who looks at an automobile as a gift from God and not merely a mode of transportation — you probably spend a lot of Saturday mornings washing and often waxing you pride and joy.

Hate to be tell you this but you are probably doing it wrong.

Well, maybe wrong is overstating it a bit. After all, you’re getting your car cleaned and that’s the point.

But you can do so much more as a presentation by Blake Beamish and Jaime Ayara of Meguiar’s car care products revealed to South Florida media members at last week’s meeting of the Southern Automotive Media Association (SAMA).

Mequiar’s started out in 1901 making furniture polish but founder Frank Meguiar quickly recognized that the automobiles that were gaining popularity in the 1910s had the same wooden finishes as the furniture his products were targeting.

After working for years with manufacturers and dealers, Meguiar’s expanded into the consumer market in the 1970s. Today Meguiar’s offers hundreds of products for your car, boat, or recreational vehicle and choosing the right one depends on several factors.

“The No. 1 question very often we get is ‘What product do I use to accomplish whatever that goal might be with whatever problem they might have with their vehicle?’,” Blake Beamish, Global Portfolio Manager for Meguiar’s, said during his portion of the presentation. “We usually answer that question with more questions.

“We’ll ask about the condition of the surface, not necessarily how old the vehicle is but what’s its condition. What are your goals? Are you trying to get your car Show Car ready or are you just trying to clean it up.

“And also how much time to you have? Do you want to dedicate an entire weekend to cleaning your car?”



Evaluating the condition of the surface is actually the first in a three-step operation. The next step is getting the right product, and the final is using good technique. No, you don’t use the swirling “wax on, wax off” procedure popularized in the Karate Kid movie. That can lead to streaks in the surface. Wipe in a straight motion in one direction.

“So there are a lot of questions that go into what products you use,”Beamish said. “A lot of people ask us how many products do you have. The answer is hundreds. We have all these products to solve all these problems.”

Steps for a full clean can be broken down into five categories: wash (using quality tools like a micro-fiber mitt), clean (using a clay bar kit to remove items like road tar clay, tree sap, or other contaminants), polish for a high-grade shine (Meguiar’s offers 10 different polishes, including liquid and spray-on options), protect (wax/ceramic coating), and maintain.

“Frequent car care is easy car care,” Beamish said. “So just make sure that you are washing your car frequently. Washing it frequently we have these products that are called spray detailers. They are really great products to just have on hand. It’s a way to give your car that’s just been washed a detailed look by just spraying it and wiping off. It’s especially great for removing bird droppings. We also have some waterless products as well.”

And a final tip: “We also recommend washing the wheels first before you wash the car,” Beamish said. “That way if there is overspray (from the wheel cleaning product) you’re able to wash it off when you wash the car.”

For a review of the products you can visit the company website at www.meguiars.com. products include even waterless washes.