Car Care Summer is tar, sap and bug season. In the summer months, bugs are at full population, trees produce more sap, and the heat softens the asphalt, producing tar balls on tires. While tar and tree sap can be difficult to remove, they do not present a threat to your paint's finish. Bug stains, like bird droppings, are very acidic and represent a significant danger to the beauty of your paint and trim. As you drive, your car is bombarded with small specks of asphalt, tire rubber, grease and oils kicked up by the cars and trucks in front of you. Left on your car's finish, these petroleum based contaminates will firmly affix themselves to every exterior surface. Soap and water washing will do little to remove these ugly black spots. To remove road tar you need a solvent. Most commercial tar removers contain kerosene, mineral spirits or another petroleum distillate combined with lubricants to surround and buffer the road tar from your paint. Don't leave sap on the car, wash the car as soon as you can. Don't try to remove it with your hand or fingers, this will damage the finish . The goal is to use the least pressure possible to reduce the risk of scratching the paint. After removing heavy sap, have a professional buff the treated areas with a good polish to clean up any marks created during hand-rubbing with solvent. The treated area must also be re-waxed. Another threat is insects, As the bug's exoskeleton explodes, acidic fluids are firmly embedded in the surface of your car's paint. Any attempt to remove the catalysed remains without the use of a special cleaning solution could result in scratched paint. The secret to removing insect remains is to loosen and dissolve them with a solvent that will cut through the shellac.After Removing Tar, Sap & Bugs:All of the chemicals used to remove the aforementioned road stains also remove your wax or sealants. After removing tar, sap or bugs, plan to spot wax or re-wax your vehicle. If you don't have time to wax right away, we offer a hand wax while you wait. Water Spots: Have you noticed some water spots on your car paint? The same water we use to bathe our cars can also damage our car's paint. The spots and damage are caused by the minerals in the water. When water evaporates off of your car's paint, it leaves behind the trace elements it contains. Calcium and metals are the most damaging elements found in your tap water, whereas rainwater contains damaging acids from air pollutants. Getting rid of water spots can be easy if you chase after them. The best solution is to use a quick detailing spray after you wash, or as soon as you discover the spots wash the car. If the spots sit for a while, they will attach to and harden on your paint. When this happens, you need to use a mild acid to get them loose. If your hard water spots are bad, they will etch the paint. So, even though the minerals are gone, the paint still has spots. In this case, it is necessary to use a polish or heavy-duty paint cleaner. Again, to keep spots to a minimum, try using a detailing spray after you wash. A good detailing spray contains wax. The wax will condition your paint and reduce hard water deposit spot formation. Why Wax Your Car? Today, the multi-layered finish on your car, from the primer through the top (clear) coat is only .006 to .008 of an inch thick. Regardless of how fine the finish is now, it will deteriorate and dull. Radiant and ultraviolet energy, acid rain, salt, atmospheric pollution, insect fluids, and bird droppings wage a constant war on your car's finish. Waxing provides an easily renewable transparent barrier between the finish and a hostile environment. Interior Stains: With our active lifestyles and the amount of time we spend in our cars, the average car interior is easy prey for a myriad of stains and odors. Stain and odor removal is almost a science into itself. Upholstery fabrics and carpets widely vary, as do the composition of stains. However, in my experience, there is a correct method and a suitable cleaner for most car interior problems. Common upholstery fabrics are more likely to stain than vinyl or leather. To best prevent stains altogether, it is necessary to properly treat upholstery, carpet, vinyl and leather. When the inevitable happens, and your three-year-old drops (or barfs!) his mustard-loaded hotdog on your brand new velour upholstery, stay calm, and remove as much of the spill as possible (by blotting, not wiping, with paper napkins, paper towels, etc). Then, don't let the stain sit too long before you get to work on it. Within a day or two, most spills will set and permanently stain your upholstery or become very difficult to remove. Bring the car to the Car Wash to have it removed. Stain Removal Basics: Some stains, no matter what you try, will be permanent. If an indelible stain has penetrated the fibers of a material, they will not come out. You might be able to make the stain less noticeable, but no cleaner or method will remove all of the stain. You will have to live with it or have the section of carpet or upholstery replaced. In some cases, leather and vinyl stains can be fixed by color matching the area with a leather or vinyl repair system (a job for a professional). "How do I remove the smell of cigarette smoke?" and "My child vomited, how do I get rid of the smell?"  Most bad smells in cars are organic (i.e., food, urine, vomit, tobacco, grass, mold, mildew, etc.). I recently had a professional detailer tell me a client had spilled fish in his car, which I know from experience is not pleasant. At the Car Wash we use a product with enzymes that kill odors in their tracks by stopping the organic material from decomposing Tobacco smoke is one of the most difficult smells to remove from a car. The smoke permeates everything, including the foam rubber used in seat cushions. You can successfully remove most of the tobacco smell by shampooing the carpets and upholstery and wiping down all other surfaces with a sponge After the carpet has dried for 24 hours, sprinkle baking soda on the carpet, rub it in with your hands, and leave it for a week. After a week, vacuum your carpets. The baking soda will absorb the remaining odor in the carpet. Don't forget to scrub the headliner, as this is the source of a lot of the smell. Winter Preparation: You wouldn't dream of facing winter's ice, snow and sleet without a coat, gloves and other cold-weather gear, would you? Your car deserves the same level of protection. This article is designed to help you prepare your car to make it through the cold, wet winter season. Your car is in for a tough time this winter. Your car's paint, tires, glass, plastic and other surfaces will be at the mercy of the elements, including wind, rain, sleet, snow, sand, gravel, cinders, salt and road oil. Fall is your best opportunity to inspect and prepare your car with a protective layer, giving your car a fighting chance. Your car's paint, tires, leather and rubber trim all need touching up in the fall, even if you have cared for them all summer. If your car will be exposed to extreme winter conditions, the best protective coating is an acrylic sealant. Unlike waxes, an acrylic sealant can shield against water and road salts. The hard acrylic shell locks into the paint with an elastic, non- chip, shrink proof, scratch resistant finish. A high quality acrylic sealant will last five to six months, providing more than enough protection for the winter season. Your car is more likely to be scratched during winter due to all of the potential debris on the road. As moisture penetrates deep scratches and chips in your car's paint and repeatedly freezes and thaws, it weakens and eventually cracks surrounding paint. This allows oxidation to rapidly set in. A quick and easy way to reduce oxidation caused by winter road damage is to wash your car as often as possible and inspect for paint chips and scratches. When found, seal new paint chips with wax or an acrylic sealant. Winter is also hard on leather interiors. Cold, dry air pulls the moisture from leather. So, it's important to treat leather prior to the onset of freezing temperatures. Once the daytime temperature dips below 50 degrees (Fahrenheit), the leather will not accept conditioners. Although the surface will look good, you have not provided moisture to the hide. If you live in a region that gets snow and ice, another easy tip for winter car protection is to spray tire dressing in the wheel wells to prevent buildup of snow, ice and road salt. Other parts of your car's exterior such as the bumpers, trim and rubber door seals need extra protection when the mercury drops, too. These materials are affected by extreme temperatures and the Sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation. UV radiation causes fading, hardening and cracking, especially in the winter with a reduced ozone layer. If you drive a roadster in cold winter weather, now is the time to clean and protect your top. If water penetrates your top, then freezes, your top will be prone to severe damage. Click for larger view and directions