Pamper Your Ride

RUB DOWN THE SKINS. You have to routinely moisturize and clean  the dash, doors, and seats to extend their life, says Larry  Reynolds, CEO of Car Care Specialties. The coverings are  probably vinyl or plastic, in which case you’ll apply a thin  coat of vinyl cleaner (we like Lexol Vinylex, $9) with a soft  cloth and rub it in. For leather, you’ll want a separate  cleaner and conditioner (we like Meguiar’s Gold Class for  both). If you’re not sure what’s vinyl and what’s leather,  stick to leather products. Each year, clean your skins twice  and condition them four times.

MIND THE CRACKS. On older cars, a hazy patina develops in the  clear-coat paint from hundreds of “microscratches,” says Mark  Greene, executive vice president of Griot’s Garage. Polish  applied with an orbital polisher should buff them out. (Greene  is partial to Griot’s Garage Machine Polish, natch.) A deeper  gouge requires touch-up paint. Don’t use a brush, though. An applicator designed for touch-up paint (available at any  auto-parts store) will be more precise.

DITCH THE SAP. Never scrape tree sap. You’ll pry off the paint, says Mike Pennington, an automotive-wax and -cleanser  specialist for Meguiar’s. Instead, apply a few coats of  bug-and-tar remover to soften the sap, then shave it off with a plastic razor (available at any auto-parts store). Buff and wax the area, and quit parking under trees.

CLEAN YOUR SLATE. If you intend on selling your car anytime  soon, you’re going to want to lose the faded bumper sticker  (who was Lieberman again?) and the dealer nameplate (are they  paying you to advertise?). A strand of fishing line will saw  through the adhesive holding on the nameplate, says Pennington.  If the stickers tear as you peel them, use a gunk remover like  Goo Gone or Goof Off to soften the adhesive. Vinyl stickers  will peel away easily if you warm them with a hair dryer first. Coat any stubborn stickiness in WD-40 and gently wipe the  remnants away with a soft cloth.

HIT THE FLOOR. Treat floor mats with a degreaser, such as P21S  Total Auto Wash Citrus, using a soft nylon brush to work out  any stains. Hose them off and let them dry. Go easy on other  carpeting inside or you’ll strip off the stain protection.

BRIGHTEN UP. Plastic headlight lenses tend to grow hazy as the  years go by. Use the same clear-plastic polish made for the  vinyl rear windows of convertibles to remove the fog.

DON’T BREAK THE SEAL. If the doors’ rubber gaskets break down,  you’ll get whistling air and water leaks. The first is  annoying; the second makes the doors freeze shut. Neither  impresses dates. You can keep gaskets supple with a cleaner and Polish formulated for rubber. (Try Wurth Rubber Care Spray.)  Use it twice a year.

Create your own garage.


CREATE A GUY'S GARAGE
Transform the most overlooked room of the house into a personal sanctuary

Pull in. Exit car. Kick aside sports equipment. Enter house. That’s the extent of interaction most guys have with their garage. Instead, turn it into a space to behold.

LIGHT IT LIKE A SHOWROOM
Fluorescent lighting with a high CRI (color-rendition index)  will make your ride look new, says Bill West, author of Your  Garagenous Zone. It’ll also make working on your car inside the garage easier. Look for CRI numbers above 75. Add high-quality task lighting near your work space to reduce glare. At showroomgarage.com, you can buy the same lighting used by BMW, Ferrari, and Rolls-Royce dealers.

GO BASIC ON FLOORS
Spend your money on simple and protective flooring, not a  flashy pattern, says Dan Woods, host of Chop Cut Rebuild on  Speed TV. We like the industrial PVC floor mats from BLT ($160 and up, jnkproducts.com). The material can take a beating, and  you can hose it clean.

ADD A VISUAL FOCUS
Stick to one simple but powerful centerpiece in the garage,  like, say, a Lamborghini. But if you have a smaller budget, consider a neon nostalgia sign from Vault ($3,000 and up,  showroomgarage.com).

STEEL THIS ROOM
Imperativ stainless-steel wall panels ($18, ikea.com) could enliven a dungeon. They will also help protect walls against dings.