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I met a Porsche Boxster owner a few years ago who had just won best in class at a national show. I asked him how he managed to get the undercarriage of his car so clean... he finally admitted that he taped a toothbrush to a stick.






Have you ever noticed how show cars look really fresh and clean? Beyond just shiny, they are bright. This effect comes from the smallest details. A great place to start is with your tires and wheels.
Concours-winning show cars are clean enough to pass a white glove test. This includes the tires and wheels (front and back) and the wheel wells. Removing your wheels to detail them might seem a little fanatical, but it has several benefits, including:
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Inspecting your tires for proper wear and for damage.
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Inspecting your brakes.
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Inspecting your suspension. [/ol]
In the process of preparing a car for show, most competitors detail every square inch of their car, including the undercarriage. I'm not talking about the multi-million-dollar concours cars, which are built from the ground up to be show cars. I'm talking about everyday-guy kind of cars, cars that regularly see the light of day.







This isn't a show car, it's my family SUV, but I still enjoy keeping it looking sharp. Twice a year I rotate the tires and give the wheel wells and wheels a good scrubbing followed by dressing. The fresh, crisp look really stands out. My secret to super dark tires is a liberal coating of Sonus Total Eclipse followed by Sonus Tire & Bumper Dressing Gel.

I met a Porsche Boxster owner a few years ago who had just won best in class at a national show. I asked him how he managed to get the undercarriage of his car so clean, and he just smiled. After a little more cajoling, he admitted that he'd put his Boxster on jack stands, taped a toothbrush to a stick, and scrubbed the underside with kerosene while lying on his back. Now that's dedication to detail!
While it might seem to be going a bit overboard, undercarriage detailing has its purpose. You don't have to enter your car in a show to find benefit in putting your car on jack stands, pulling off the wheels and detailing the easily accessible, exposed areas. I like to detail the undercarriage because it allows me to inspect some pretty critical components that I rely on for my safety.
Here are some of the undercarriage areas I recommend detailing and the inspections they allow. I make this routine an annual ritual on all of my cars.
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Detail the entire wheel (front and back). If you have expensive wheels with exposed inner rims, the wheels will look great after a full detail. Inspect for undetected tire wear problems.
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Detail the wheel wells, brake calipers and suspension components, and coat the plastic liner with a protectant. This will add a crisp, clean look to your car. Inspect for brake wear and suspension or drive train problems.
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Detail under the side, front and rear aerodynamic components. Inspect for broken parts or loose components. [/ol]
Gaining AccessTo gain ready access to the underside of your car, you will need a lift, ramps, or a jack and stands. Ramps work fine for detailing under the front, rear and sides of the car, but they do not provide access to the wheel wells, brakes and suspension components. A lift or a good jack and jack stands are the best all-around solution. It is not necessary to lift a car more than a foot to gain good access.
Jacking Safety: Never jack a car without the use of jack stands. The jack alone cannot be trusted. Always use prescribed jack points to lift your car. Read your car owner's manual for instructions.







Use the proper tools to jack up your car and remove the wheels. Use a floor jack, jack stands and a good lug nut wrench. I use a torque wrench to retighten my lug nuts to factory specifications.
The following procedures assume the use of a hydraulic floor jack and jack stands to lift a car for wheel removal:
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Park your car on a flat surface.
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Place blocks behind the wheels not being lifted to prevent movement of the car.
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Use the proper size lug wrench to loosen wheel lug nuts on the wheels to be removed. Do not remove the lug nuts, just loosen them.
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Jack the car high enough to insert a jack stand under the end of the car holding the engine. The jack stand must contact a prescribed jack point or the suspension A-arm mount point. [/ol]
Warning: Never place a jack stand under your engine, drive shaft or transmission, as serious damage could occur.
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Continue jacking the car until you have enough clearance to insert a second jack stand at the opposite end of the car. Again, align the jack stand under a prescribed jack point or suspension mount point.
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When two jack stands are properly placed, slowly release pressure on your hydraulic jack, allowing your car to rest on the jack stands. Failure to release pressure slowly may result in your car being dropped onto the stands, which will damage the underside of your car.
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Before lowering the jack to move it out from under the car, inspect the jack stands again for proper placement. If not properly aligned, jack the car just high enough to make a correction.
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Remove the loosened lug nuts and remove your wheels. Be sure to set the lug nuts aside where they will not be lost or damaged. [/ol]







Be sure to place your jack stand under an approved jack point or where the suspension connects to the car's chassis.
If you followed the procedure above, your car is now safely jacked for undercarriage detailing.
Undercarriage Degreasing
Unlike in the engine compartment, there are no sensitive components that require safeguarding under your car. However, just as in engine compartment detailing, use of petroleum-based cleaners will reduce the life of critical components like rubber bushings, hoses and seals. The best alternative to petroleum cleaners are detergents and citrus-based cleaners.
As most undercarriages are generally pretty filthy, complete detailing may require several applications of cleaner combined with a lot of brush agitation. I have several different brushes I use, including an old tire brush, a 1" round brush, and a soft-bristle, fox-tail-style brush that easily reaches into odd places. Make sure you have an assortment of brushes before starting.
I recommend starting low and progressing upward. If you

 

MY GOODNESS JIM! An awful lot of FAQ's. That check at the end of the month is really going to look nice bud!

 

Lol......yeah I know mate.
I came across them and thought that they were really useful and in depth on topic.
Some members that are inot detailing etc may find some of the articles useful...........Well, thats the plan anyway

Jim

 

That's another huge post by the super dear mod
I think it 's worth paying such items

 

Just discovered an excellent long lasting tire dressing! TIRE PRO by Surf City!

 

Nice one, thanks for sharing

I use "Wet n Black" myself and apply sparingly with a sponge, but I'm UK based.