Wheels & Tires
Wheels and tires are about the hardest surfaces on a street rod to keep clean and shiny, especially given today's use of chrome, stainless, paint, or billet surfaces. That's because they're the surfaces closest to the road. Each of these sensitive exteriors (chrome, stainless, paint, or billet) needs specially formulated products to provide maximum cleaning without causing surface damage. OK, what are the recommendations to keep those wheels lookin' good? After cleaning, move the car a few feet to spot any untreated areas. Use trip protectant on the wheel arch plastic when clean. To avoid staining the ground, apply Platinum Series Tire Shine with a cut-down sponge.
Glass Care
After paintwork, depending upon the style of your car, this may be the largest area that requires attention. Yet often times it is merely wiped off and not properly attended. Many street rods have wipers nowadays (especially due to the efforts of the NSRA Safety Program). Well, for wipers to work properly, the glass has to be free from silicones, which washing doesn't necessarily remove. What to do? Recommendations here are: Drop opening side windows by a couple of inches to clean the top edge. Glass doesn't only mean the windows, so don't forget to clean the rearview and side mirrors.
Interior/Upholstery It seems as if it's just as hard to keep the inside of a car from getting dirty as the outside. Interior surfaces include vinyl, fabric, and leather upholstery, carpeting, plastic or rubber floor mats and dashboards. (Careful on the dashboards, as many street rods have painted surfaces, like the body of the car, and the dashboards are not covered in a material such as today's cars.) Tips from the pros at Turtle Wax tell us: Before cleaning these areas, vacuum to remove loose dirt, particularly from the folds of the upholstery. Once you've finished cleaning the seat fabric, make sure you allow time for the treatment to dry out. To get the headlining back to its best, a coarse decorator's sponge is the perfect tool. Rub an ice pack over chewing gum to make it hard, and easier to remove. Keep cleaner off steering wheel, gear level, and pedals. (This is a good one. I can tell you story after story of street rodders using a protectant on the steering wheel and/or the pedals to get that nice showroom look only to find out that in the practical world this wasn't a good idea. Next time you see me, I will tell you my "you might be a redneck if" story.)
Rubbing & Polishing Compounds Some of you may think you need a new paint job, when all you really need is a paint rescue job-and a new life for your old finish. This is especially true when rounding up cars with decade(s)-old paint resting on the metal. (The difference here is some forms of patina are desired, while "tired" paint may not be what you wished for.) What you need is a good-quality rubbing and polishing compound. What a rubbing and polishing compound does is rub away the top layers of oxidized film, as well as some paint, restoring (hopefully) the paint to its original or near-original condition. How to achieve this: Be careful when applying; don't break through the primer coat. For cars with conventional finishes, we recommend Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound and White Polishing Compound.
Winterizing Your Vehicle
Granted this aspect may be more inline for your family stocker than for your street rod, but you shouldn't ignore the fact that even a pampered ride needs attention-even if it is sitting under a car cover in a garage. Before tucking your "baby" to bed for the winter, make sure to thoroughly wash the car with Zip Wax Car Wash, and towel dry. At this time, it is also a good idea to remove any remaining tar and stains with a bug and tar remover. Next up, seal any exposed metal from scratches with touch up paint or Turtle Wax Color Magic with ChipStick. Now the car is ready for wax. Remember, a car can be waxed in cool weather as low as 50 F. When winter ends, and as soon as the weather starts to warm up, get ready to re-wax to restore shine and exterior paint protection. Seasonal car care, which includes a good quality car wax like Platinum Ultra Gloss liquid or paste, will keep a car looking it's best.
Wax On, Wax Off
Well, there you have it, a primer on some quick and easy ways to keep your street rod looking fantastic for years to come. Your car is a large investment. It only makes sense to take care of it.
ICE clay bar is applied wet...
ICE clay bar is applied wet and then polished, making it the fastest-working clay bar on the market.
Wheels and tires, even on...
Wheels and tires, even on your street rod, are the hardest areas to keep clean. Turtle Wax ICE Car Wash is formulated with a blend of surfactants and special paint conditioners that gently wash away dirt, road grime, and dust, making caring for your wheels and tires a much easier job.
Have a good wheel detail brush,...
Have a good wheel detail brush, one that will get into hard-to-reach places and will not scratch chrome, paint, or polished aluminum.
When it came to getting the...
When it came to getting the wheels all shiny, it was great to have Michael Schultz of Turtle Wax on hand (no pun intended) to show us the easy way to bring back the shine to those five-spokes with Turtle Wax Premium Polishing Compound.
Cleaning the polished surface...
Cleaning the polished surface on aluminum is a two-step process. First, apply the polishing compound with a sponge or cloth. Second, clean it off with another polishing cloth. You might even enlist a third cloth for final detail.
...Second, clean it off with...
...Second, clean it off with another polishing cloth. You might even enlist a third cloth for final detail.
Wet 'N Black Ultra Wet Tire...
Wet 'N Black Ultra Wet Tire Shine is formulated to make tires look very clean and deep black. It contains UV inhibitors to help protect against sun damage, and also works great on weather stripping and hard vinyl trim.
Turtle Wax Leather Cleaner...
Turtle Wax Leather Cleaner and Conditioner is a one-step product designed to gently clean, condition, and protect leather surfaces. It will clean and condition automotive leather upholstery, and at the same time block the sun's harmful ultra violet rays, while preventing fading, drying, and cracking of leather surfaces.
Make sure to get in between...
Make sure to get in between the pleats and into the cracks between seat cushions as this leather needs cleaning and protection as well.
ICE Detailer is also ideal...
ICE Detailer is also ideal for chrome parts as well.
Don't forget the engine compartment....
Don't forget the engine compartment. There is a lot to keep clean in here as well